Album Notes

Hi, everyone! Thanks for checking in. There's been a lot going on this past year. Most importantly, producer Michael King (The Mission Studio in Birmingham, MI) and I met up again to tackle my second CD, Pocket of Stars. I think the collection shows much growth for me personally, lyrically, and musically;in addition, the musicians who played with me on the CD made magic happen by evoking all the emotion that these songs can conjure up: Danny Cox on drums, John Dunn on bass, and Michael King on guitars make these songs powerful. You've got to hear it! The last two years have been tough on me-lots of new challenges and decisions to face-but from a writing perspective, they've been very good to me. I've never been so prolific, nor has there been a time when my writing has taught me so much about myself, strength of spirit, and the power of regeneration. The phrase "pocket of stars" just hit me one day as I was fooling around with some chords while working out "Epic." A year later, while finishing the CD and finally listening to the songs as a collection, I then realized this image conveys the message of this CD: in the midst of pain lies promise and possibility. The "pocket of stars" is a symbol of hidden optimism for me, and even though I've always considered myself a teeth-grinding pessimist, these songs have proven me wrong, given me new direction, and "a newness like I've never known."


Going along with that theme of newness, after being in the Ann Arbor/Detroit area music scene for ten years while teaching high school English, I've decided to move to Charlottesville, Virgina to go back to grad school. While keeping the music going down south, I'll be pursing a Ph.D. in English Education and enjoying a kindler, gentler winter than what Michigan had to offer. I'm currently working on making some venue connections in the Charlottesville, D.C. and Baltimore areas.