That feeling of knowing, more than knowing, that all I wanted to do was make music had been with me since I was a kid. I used to howl along with Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" and practice guitar jumps with my friends down in the basement rec room. I'd borrow Keith Jarrett and Miles Davis tapes from the library and listen to them with headphones on. I'd OD on the recordings of such guitarists as Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bruce Cockburn, and Mark Knopfler. I geeked out on Eric the guitar guy Johnson's instructional videos and tried to steal his licks.Even though I studied jazz at Boston's Berklee College of Music, I have the dubious honour of holding the school's record for noise violations. But it was there that I met David, Brian and Forrest, who jammed with me and eventually formed Big Wreck.Touring with Big Wreck gave me an education about things that you could never learn in school. I learned about the business, compromise, money, tour buses, and crews. I also learned that I had to find my voice quite literally. I was writing most of the songs for the band, but we had no one to sing them. Reluctantly, I became the singer, and one more thing I had to learn was to get over my shyness about singing. Even though I still take on that role, I don't see myself as a singer.I had a lot of fun making music with Big Wreck and it was a good time in my life. But like a lot of relationships that start off when you’re young, it wound down and it became time to move on. After Big Wreck dissolved, I had no doubt in my mind that I would be in another band; I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I had the seeds of about 30 songs. All I needed was new fertile ground to plant them in. That was the beginning of Thornley.Around that time, Ken, Sekou and I would get together to jam while we worked on other projects. After a year and a half, we realized that we had a band and that we needed to put aside whatever else we were doing and focus on the band. We got a record deal, but we were missing a guitar player. After much searching, we found Tavis and he became the final piece to the puzzle.After Ken and Sekou left Thornley, Cale and Eric filled in. I knew Cale from touring with Three Days Grace; it was time for him to go from teching behind the scenes to playing on stage. Eric was a friend of Tavis and had also played in Big Sugar with Gordie.With Thornley, I've been able to take my songwriting in another direction. The music I had played for the previous ten years was complex and fun to play, but now I like to strip it down and let the melody take center stage. It's been great to work in a new way with different people and to use all the experience and knowledge I've gained. I still have to find the balance between what I want to do and what the gatekeepers want, but that challenge makes me work harder to create something that kicks ass.
Part of trying to achieve that balance is playing and co-writing with other artists.Recently, someone asked me what I would be doing if I weren't a musician. I couldn't come up with an answer. This is all I've ever wanted to be. Some days I'm floating and some days I'm working hard but when I get the feedback from the audience and feel that energy, I know that this is all I ever want to do for the rest of my life. I am a guitarist and always will be a guitarist.
