Born and raised in Springfield, Illinois. The first music I remember hearing and liking as a little kid was my older brother’s LP of Johnny Cash’s Sun hits. At twelve years old I had a friend who got me started listening to his brother’s old Beatles records. Shortly thereafter picked up the guitar and taught myself some chords.

My musical taste evolved and I cut my teeth on punk rock/new wave/indie rock. I started writing songs and playing in bands when I was fifteen years old. My first band covered songs by Pere Ubu and Wire.

In the 1980s and 1990s I lived in Iowa, where I played in a band called the Hollowmen. Played a lot of gigs, wrote a lot of songs, put out a few records, toured the midwest & west coast, made some good friends. After that band ended I attended the University of Iowa and got a degree in visual art.

I’d fallen in love with San Francisco on my first visit, and moved to the bay area in the mid 1990s. It was around that same time that my musical interests shifted to classic country music. I decided I was just better at playing, writing, and singing country music than I was at arty punk rock.

I released two CDs of my original music, Sings Heart Songs in 1999 and Songs That Make The Jukebox Play in 2002. In the 2000s I toured the UK and Europe twice with Scottish country singer John Miller. I also got married and started a family. Beginning in 2003 I took some time away from music altogether.

In the late 2000s I became active again, as a sideman in Bay Area bands like the Plain High Drifters and the Burning Embers. In 2011 I released another CD of my own music, Wine Stained Heart, recorded in LA. Produced by Rob Douglas, engineered by Pete Curry, and featuring the talents of Brian Whelan, Dave Berzansky, and Les James, I think it stands as my best recorded work yet.

In 2015 I relocated to Portland, OR. Portland has a terrific musical community and I’m proud and excited to be part of it. As of 2018, I have a new band drawn from this deep pool of talent, featuring Andrea Bohon, Keith Brush, Scott Pettitt, and Robin Suskind. You’ll find us playing my original tunes, alongside classics and deep cut covers, at venues such as Strum, the Secret Society, the Landmark Saloon, and the Laurelthirst, with more to come.

I also play bass in the Jackson County Kills with Matty Charles, Brian Byrnes, and Kevin Major; guitar with Zach Bryson and the Meat Rack, alongside Zach, Ian Miller, Kevin Major, and Marco Marcosz; and guitar in Johnny Credit and the Cash Machine, with Wade & Katy Oliver and Johnny Payola.