Funny… He doesn’t look Drewish
When you grow up in a very small town in Massachusetts, there are certain things that are inevitable. Everybody knows everybody, you rarely pronounce your “r’s, and outside of little league, the Boy Scouts, and other town or school based activities, you try to find something to set yourself apart.
For me, it was music. I was forever “obtaining” my older brothers’ cassette tapes. (With or without his knowledge!) Shortly after I turned 12, my parents generously bought me an import electric guitar at a local department store. Truth be told, it was a tree trunk with pickups and a sunburst finish, but I was in love. Heavy Metal was my deal, and I stuck with it for many, many years, playing guitar, and then concentrating on singing in any metal band I could form or find. But throughout this time, I also had a love for acoustic music. James Taylor, Jim Croce, Bread, etc. This stuff I learned and played for myself. Let’s face it… You can’t be singing Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath on stage, climb in the vehicle after the show and pop JT in the tape deck. People get scared…
One day, I heard about an Open Mic in town. Just for kicks, I went out and bought myself an acoustic-electric guitar, and went to the show. I played 2 cover songs, and 2 of my own acoustic tunes I had written as a teenager, and the response I got was something I never expected. This pushed me to do more Open Mic shows, and the same great response kept occurring. A while later, armed with 60 tunes, I started doing my own 3 hour shows at local clubs. The continued response from the crowds was so positive, I left the metal band I was in and pursued acoustic music exclusively. The “Metal Madman” had morphed into the “Mellow Troubadour”, and I never looked back.
And I never regretted it.
I hope you dig my tunes, and I hope you’ll tell me what you think. Without the public, a musician is just an annoying loud guy. And I will never, ever forget that.
Ever Forward-