Cody Rhodes

Music has always been that one thing in my life that ignites a fire of passion and energy. Performing in front of a live audience is like pouring gasoline into the fire. The stage is the one place that I am always comfortable and feel at home. I was brought up on musicians such as Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. My Dad grew up in the 50’s and was a huge fan of that era of music. From there, I was introduced to Merle Haggard and George Strait. It was during this time that the fire started within me and I realized that country music was where I belonged. As I grew older, I discovered Johnny Cash, Waylon and Willie and other great songwriters of that time. I was also lucky enough to see Garth Brooks take the stage several times. It was after seeing Garth for the first time that the fire really began to rage. That guy owned the stage like no other and that was really exciting to me. I was like…”Who wouldn’t want to be that guy!”As I grow and pursue a career in music, my respect for the likes of Merle Haggard has grown tremendously. His voice and songwriting are unparalleled in my humble opinion. It’s unfortunate that you have to turn on satellite radio to hear Haggard these days. Maybe that will change someday. If I am ever lucky enough to get radio airplay, I can guarantee that you’ll hear a lot more of the sounds of Haggard and Cash than a lot of the pop ear candy that graces country radio these days.