Autobiography

I am a philosopher, songwriter, visual artist, person… Seeking meaningful conversation. Creating with the intent of capturing story. A space that we can travel to, breathe in, experience first-hand—much like a photograph captures the fleeting of a framed instant— the work is a continuum of ideas with threads that tie existence together. With one foot in the South and one in the Midwest, my work is a modern blend of traditional Americana and a willingness to be Undefined.

People who haven't heard me play music ask me what genre I write for and I would like not to be rude, but it's difficult to give a single category or a 30 second elevator pitch on something you plan to work on your whole life... I don't set out to do 'one thing', so for a little while now, I’ve been saying  'I write songs for people who love Van Gogh's paintings'. I realize that's not an answer, but I want to have a dialogue about what I've written, what I’m involved in. Even if it means we only get to have it with our eyes while I perform. I want to provoke thought and connect with people. I would also love to see if I can get you to dance, laugh and cry a little.

I was born in Peachtree City, Georgia and started life as a southern gentleman; getting lost in the pines, hunting in the creeks and making child’s pottery with the red clay. My family relocated to the Midwest with my parents divorce to be closer to where family lived. So I spent my best memories from 9 to 18 fishing and daydreaming on my grandparents farm just outside of St. Joseph, MO when I wasn’t lost on the Belt highway looking for my own “American Graffiti” signs of life. 

My work is a reflection of the places and people I’ve met along the trip, the balance of joy and sorrow I’ve harvested.  Those spaces of timelessness that become our woven reality… The stories are told as a way of personally exercising the experience to identify what was learned, a search for understanding.  Always based on some version of the truth, occasionally romanticized to protect the guilty.

My influences are vast and often very recognizable… if you think it’s about you, it probably is. Thank you. You’ve made the journey worthwhile.

John