"The Rogue"

 I've been wanting to do this for a long time...

The past couple of years have been kind of rough musically - I've seen the collapse of one of my most successful projects, The Here and Now come to an end and also had to deal with the loss of one of the members of that band, George Broyer, who passed away in early September 2021. 

On the upside (literally), I did start a new project with some guys I've known for awhile called, well "The Upside". What makes this so different from anything else I've ever done, is in addition to playing guitar, I am co-lead singer of this group. I've never had to be a front man before, but honestly, I've been loving it. It's taken me out of my comfort zone and I've really been forced to learn how to use my voice for something more than just background vocals. Trying to figure out my vocal range and what songs suit my voice best has been challenging but very rewarding at the same time. 

And since this band isn't gigging as heavily as The Here and Now was, it's given me time to focus on something else that I've always felt challenged by: songwriting. I've been writing songs since I was a teenager, but over the past 10 years, I've really focused more on becoming a better guitarist and learning how to play that instrument better. I always dabbled with songwriting when I had time, but was never able to really do much with it because of everything else going on. 

I'm happy to report that I'm finally in a place where I feel comfortable enough with my voice and songwriting skills where I am going to start recording some songs for what will be my first release, tentatively titled, "The Rogue". And honestly I have to thank my late friend George for being the catalyst for a lot of this. George did a lot outside of just playing in the cover band we were in together; he wrote and self-published a novel (and was working on a 2nd one at the time of his passing), traveled to other countries, and also wrote and performed his own music. There have been several things that have attributed me having more lyrical inspiration in the last few months then I've had in a long time. The first song I will be recording will actually be one that was inspired by George called "Waiting for the Light". Although to me it has personal meaning due to who I wrote it about/for, I think in general it's a great song for anyone who has grieved the loss of someone close to them. The songs on this EP, are going to deal a lot with loss and how to move on from difficult situations. I plan on blogging throughout the writing/recording progress for the EP, and am shooting for a late winter release on all major streaming platforms. Please follow me on Facebook and Instagram as I work on this project.