Who or what influenced you to get into music? I fell down pretty hard when I was 19 years old. Getting in to drugs and alcohol.
I was in school at the time studying environmental studies and climate
change. Environmental studies, when I was studying, had the highest suicide
rate in any of the university programs around the United States. I found
guitar right before I turned 20. I took out my frustrations on the world
through my music and haven't looked back. Where did you grow up? I grew up in Missoula Montana. Who taught you how to play guitar? I pretty much learned from the internet. I have taken about 15 hours of guitar lessons. I had already been playing for almost 3 years at that point. Living in Colombia, what is the Folk scene like there? The folk scene is actually pretty spectacular. Many of the cultures in the Amazon have their own style of music talking about their culture and what they have been through. They also talk about Catholicism quite a bit. What is your formula for writing songs? I usually just jam on the guitar. Something comes through me musically that I like, and then I stick with it. I sometimes ask people what the vibe of the song is to come up with a phrase that I write the song around. Other times I have something I am already thinking about, and find a good phrase to write the lyrics around. Do you play any other instruments? Yes. I play Native American Flute. I dabble in the djembe and bass guitar. I also play electric guitar sometimes but prefer to play acoustic electric guitar. Where do you record? I recorded at a place that no longer is a business due to high rent costs. This was in Missoula Montana called, Hi-Line Studios. Do you visit the United States at all? I am in the U.S. right now touring the Pacific Northwest to outreach for a grassroots organization I co-founded. I will mostly be playing street music, but it's a good set up for future tours. Tell us about your latest project. I am currently writing a song in DADGAD called 'When The Fire Calls'. I'm becoming more and more influenced by indigenous cultures and recently had an experience with an elder who has worked in many different tribes around the United States. Another song-writer helped me write it. It's becoming a three part song, with the first two minutes being a song that I had previously written, and the last part being a build up to the finish. It talks about how we need not look away when the fire calls. The fire, is a metaphor for ancient knowledge, but also the fire in our own heart to follow what we believe to be right. I am currently learning to step away from societies predetermined path and carving my own. Check out the grassroots organization I founded on Facebook @tpfpcolombia and our website: thepeoplesforestpr.wixsite.com/tpfp What can we expect from you in 2018? Not 100 percent sure. I may tour through South America the second half of the year, or return to the PNW to tour there. If I get some funding, I would like to finish an album called 'Fire in the People' with old songs and new songs. Copyright 2017 Hardcorejamz/Mix |
