I don't remember exactly when I started singing. I just know that music has always been a part of my life. My mother used to sing at home all the time. She still sings everyday. I suppose I just took after her. I remember dancing to Kung Fu Fighting, by Carl Douglas, in my grandmother's great room in Jamaica. I couldn't have been more than three years old. The music was in me even then. When we moved to America, I used to read every single road sign we drove past. My parents couldn't shut me up so they just let me read and read. Reading led to singing along to songs on the radio. I just had to keep my mouth moving. But then I needed something to do with my hands. The piano was my first instrument. My parents bought a piano for my brother but he seemed to lose interest over time. I liked teaching myself new things so I started playing. It's a beautiful stringed instrument but not so portable. I had formal instruction on violin and that's how I learned to really read music. In high school, I taught myself guitar with an old acoustic my father bought from a lady named Bonnie (name on the case) in the 1970s and some Mel Bay books and charts. I don't think my father ever played that guitar a day in his life. All along, I kept reading those road signs and singing.
I wasn't grown on Motown or the blues. It was more like Neil Diamond and The Beatles. Those were the records my mother played, among others. I listened to a lot of rock and roll in my youth and was made fun of for it. Guess back then I didn't fit in the box. Some people say I still don't. But that's ok 'cause I can read more road signs than them.
This music is a part of my journey. You know where I'm going 'cause you've wanted to go there too. I know I'm headed toward something increasingly greater than what was my last greatest achievement. You can read more about that at myspace.com/foodoflove07. Now the beat has changed a little and it just might make you move. I compare these new songs to different types of heartbeats; what pounds inside of you while you're experiencing emotions in life. I want the music to be universal enough to where you will find a connection to it in your own life. My only wish is that I move you with the music. Whether you are moved to anger or to tears, I only ask you to pay attention. Kevin and I write it; I sing it; you give it your best interpretation and feel it. Feel something toward it. Then I'll know it's all worth it.
