One guitar track and one vocal track - that’s it - just the bare bones. I’m heavily influenced by rock, grunge and alternative stuff from the 90’s. I really bang out the chords. I don’t think the acoustic was meant to take this amount of punishment! Hammering out this style of music is awesome to me because the acoustic guitar and the heavyish music I love, kind of contradict each other. I guess I like to be different. In 1992 I picked up the strings. Since then, I have been developing my own style of playing and writing and I like to think that I have come up with something unique. My guitar style is sort of different. I never practiced my scales or learned in a conventional way. I’m a minimalist. I start with a little and attempt to make a lot out of it. There is only so much you can do with 6 strings and one set of vocal chords, but I try to take things as far as I can. I am very impressed by simplicity and I believe that great songs ultimately come from the core, not from many effects, gimmicks or flashy stuff. I’m inspired by everything, big and small. With my lyrics, I take little things in life and make them a big deal. I usually don’t use my lyrics to send clear messages, but rather to create imagery and feelings which remain open to interpretation. Of course I have meanings to all my lyrics, but it’s great when people come to me with their own interpretations. When someone creates their own meaning for a song, they connect to it at a personal level. I have learned one very important thing from song writing; lyrics can be just as important as the music. Music is my passion. When I’m playing it, it’s like nothing else matters, and when someone appreciates it, it is very gratifying. Did you ever get one of those little star-stickers on a test in elementary school? Not the silver one, but the GOLD one? That’s how I feel when someone else appreciates my music. It’s a very cool thing. So, now I have an album; Bare Bones. The album is pretty fast paced, however there are a few sombre moments. Most of the songs have an "alternative" style to them I suppose you could say, which basically means that I usually stay away from traditional styles of playing. ...Not that I do it intentionally really, I just play what I feel. When people ask me to classify my music, I find it pretty difficult. Maybe it's a style to its own. I think Bare Bones is. I really like that idea. Lyrically, the album is about living life the best way you can. Take in all the good stuff and don't get overwhelmed by the bad stuff. Do what's right. It's actually easier than it seems. It's also about challenging yourself. If you do, you'll learn something whether you succeed or you fail. Either way, you win. On the whole, Bare Bones represents basic individuality. I made all the decisions on the music, lyrics, recording process, artwork design... everything, with virtually no input from anyone else. Did I make the best choices? Frig, I don't know. All I know is I didn't hold anything back and I didn't try to be anything I'm not. It is what it is. All I can wish for is that a few folks can relate to it. If you like solo acoustic stuff, you may appreciate this because it's different. It's not really folk, pop, country, or your standard acoustic music. It's "bare bones acoustic rock n' roll."