Part of Me was made for the person searching for a voice that could tell their story but didn't know where to start! All along they had this special something inside of them but never knew it until one day the flame was lit. With many influences including rock, metal, blues, and jazz, get ready for a guitar and drum driven genre where the riffs are heavily syncopated and the drums are thunderous! So pound your fist and sing along to a new genre of rock! Here are some background notes on each song: Intro – I’ve always been a huge fan when a band has a killer intro track they incorporate into their live shows. They always get you pumped! I wanted to write my own version and incorporate the feeling when someone is about to step outside of the mundane world and start a new journey. Breaking Bad – after being energized from the Intro, a fast paced instrumental follows with a four on the floor beat against a very syncopated guitar with a soaring solo. Think of it as putting your pedal to the floor and enjoying the ride! What We Could Be – this was written for those who feel trapped having the world tell them who to be. That no matter how hard they try, they will never be good enough to change anything or be different. They should just dredge through each day and do as they are told. Then one day, we wake up to realize that everything we could be or change was inside us all along. It’s all about getting up and reaching for the stars no matter what. But the challenge is getting over the fear of taking the first step. The song wrestles with the notion of staying in the norm or rising to new heights. Part of Me I – the first gentler track on the album is a blues/rock instrumental which draws on my influences of blues guitarist like Stevie Ray Vaughn and Joe Bonamassa. Although I’ve been a hard rocker for most of my life, there is a part of me that loves the slow sensual guitar voice and all its beauty. Part of Me II – my personal favorite! As the album title would suggest, Part of Me is a song about holding onto that special something we all have inside us yet may not know it exists. Life will try to take this special something from us but if we stay true to the fact that we alone have walked our own path, no one will ever be able to take this part of us because it is ours alone. Our Last Time – this is a tribute song to the military. Growing up in a military family I've always wanted to give something back to those who lay it on the line without question. The song takes you on a roller coaster ride from thinking the end is near to rising above the odds. Disguise – we’ve all met someone in our life who puts on a show in order to trap you in their world of misery. This song was written from the perspective of the trapped individual who realizes their mistake of letting the other person in and realizing they were fooled by a disguise. Stardust – a controversial subject in life is letting people move onto the next phase of their life when circumstances are insurmountable. Loved ones wrestle with the decision of whether or not to let them go. The question is always asked though “what would he/she want” if they could speak? The song is from the perspective of those persons with the insurmountable circumstances who, although they know their loved ones will be sad, have seen the light and know that they are ready to lay under the stardust and live again in a new life. The Games You Play – I tended to call this “the circus song” in the writing phase because of the eerie sound created by the effects in the verses. I thought it appropriate though to use a “game playing” theme as the song was written about addictions which can be eerie just like the circus. The addicted individual tends to blame their faults on the actual source which they bring into their life. In the end though they realize it was them along that started the game and brought all the eeriness into their life. Always – I decided to challenge myself and step outside my comfort zone to write an acoustic only ballad. In writing the song I thought it appropriate to give it a live feeling where the voice is not perfect nor is the instrumental playing because ballads are meant to be played from the soul for the one for which the ballad is written about. Frantic – simply put; my favorite part about a song is the bridge. It’s the one transitional part of a song that must connect the front end to the back end. They always stand out and add an element of tension since it’s a sound not heard recently from the verses and choruses. I challenged myself to take some of my favorite bridges I wrote and compose them into a single song which as the title suggests is full of frantic changes yet are creatively weaved into a very flowing/connected arrangement. End It – a solid and steady hard rock arena song to end an album full of diversity. The song was written for that individual who is always pushed yet never pushes back. Until one day they have had enough and they decide that the hate ends tonight.