Today, among many days, is a day I am going to appreciate Dr. Z, Vox, Michael Kelly, Wampler, Origin Effects, Universal Audio and everyone else who has played their part in me finding the tone that I will get to record guitar tracks with. I use to spend a lot more time changing settings, moving mics, changing amps, changing guitars and changing pedals just to get something I was happy with. But after a number of years of doing that, my ear and knowledge has gotten better to

I can’t tell you how many seminars I have sat through where some person from stage told me to make a list of my goals and go to work on them. I’m grossly paraphrasing, but that was the jist of it. What if I said, to get to your dreams, you need to throw away your goal list? In most motivational circles, I might get stoned for this one. But before throwing the first stone, hear me out. What does your current goal list make you feel when you look at it. Is it 100% excitem

When I first began learning guitar I was heavily influenced stylistically by my friend who encouraged me to play and then I took it from there finding other influences. This was guys like Eddie Van Halen, George Lynch, Vito Bratta, well you probably get the point if you recognize these guys. 80’s hair band metal had a pretty specific set of tools that I needed in my toolbox and so that is where I spent most of my time. I put in my 10,000 hours on speed drills, scales, tappin

I went out for football my 7th & 8th grade year. I was really quick, but also really small. So when I did get hit, it usually sent me flying. I remember the cross country coach at some point pulling me aside and asking me if I’d ever considered that sport. It’s kinda funny when I think about it now. So I went out my freshman year and found out pretty much all we did was run everyday so I found a few JV runners that felt like a good place to hang with and that’s what I di

One of the things I love most about recording guitar parts is that I don’t know what path I’m going to take to get to the final product. The incredible adventure that happens for me with this method results in a song that develops into something bigger than myself. My brother and I have been planning to do a Christmas album and tour during the holiday season, but this year kind of got away from us and we didn’t get it put together. Then we got this opportunity to do 4 songs

“There’s gotta be a better way” I would imagine might be the phrase mostly commonly said before an invention is created. It’s what my dad said some time around my 3rd grade that led to the invention of a mechanical weed puller for row crops. At this time there were not chemical options for the weeds that came up in the row. A cultivator could be used for weeds between the rows but the only options for the ones in the row were to hire people (his kids) to walk each row and

Looking for evidence of good things in your life is the fastest way to have better things happen in your life. Finding even the smallest of circumstances or happenings and just relishing in them for 10-20 seconds is a great place to start. The next step is to allow your thoughts to move from one good thing to the next. I will admit that this is something that I am getting better at but occasionally will find times that I focus on the opposite of that. Sometimes I will st

Some of my favorite movies are superhero movies. I imagine that’s because of the vivid memory I have of trying to be a superhero as a kid. I remember being so convinced that the right type of cape, speed and launch off our patio deck would allow me to fly. Even today I still can’t help thinking that some of what we see in superhero movies is a potential of all we haven’t discovered yet. The conspiracist might say some of it is what has been discovered but our government h

What does it take to be comfortable in our own skin? What leads us to that point where we are not affected by external stimuli whether positive or negative. My former vocal and performance coach spent a great deal of time on this. As artists we can be known for being a little more sensitive to this than others. However, I don’t believe this is exclusive to those only in the arts. As an artist, it’s a little odd for my type to have ended up in a few different sales positio

There is a flow to life, when tapped into, can began to create a downstream type of effect on your daily existence. If you pay attention and look for it, you can notice athletes that have learned to tap into this. A football running back maneuvering with a thread the needle like path, just ever so slightly missing tackle after tackle. As a musician, I am always seeking to tap into this seemingly magical power that conducts movements in songs like an ebon flow of the tide w