The past couple years have been transformative. Ive always embraced growth but I didnt notice how stagnant Id grown until I realized I had forgotten that I embraced it in the first place. It is easy to lose yourself and forget what is important. Music has always been a part of me but until my eyes were opened in so many ways I couldnt possibly have given it the attention it requires. Ive been playing piano since I was little. Earliest memories around age 5 playing "Joy to the World...all the boys and girls...", "Color My World", and "The Entertainer"... from my "Big Note-Grade Level One" book. My oldest sister taught me how to play. My mom taught me too yelling from the kitchen when I hit a wrong note, she was also an Art teacher. My father wrote poetry and painted however he was away landing jets on aircraft carriers. My grandmother was a piano teacher but she always lived several states away with my grandfather also a piano teacher and principal. He wrote several operettas and played a perfect rendition of "Moonlight Sonata" which was amazing. I must credit Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata is daunting to play with four sharps that switch mid-song to five flats, which I still try to play but I start going nuts since I cant perfect it. Music and art is in the genes but it takes much practice and effort. Despite the two years of piano lessons I took around middle school I missed the basics of learning chords, which I am trying to teach myself now. All my life Ive relied on reading sheet music so if you ask me to play something without it I cant really. After college I finally got my first digital Roland and for quite some time enjoyed playing Classical, Pop, and New Age easy-play music. My favorite New Age album worthy of mention is Sedona Suite by Tom Barabas. Free Spirit is a beautiful song that Ive played over and over it takes me away when I play it. When I lost my dad at age 6 it was difficult and I turned to music to console myself. I gained a step-family a year later and I grew up fast but learned hard work, the value of money, respect, and new music ranging from Earth, Wind, & Fire to The Beatles, Lynyrd Skynyrd to The Sugarhill Gang. And then the 80s and Madonna hit the scene along with Duran Duran who will remain at the top of my list. Early favorites included Tear For Fears (first concert), Michael Jackson, old-school rap and hip hop R&B but I mostly listened to Top 40. Ive always favored Pop, Rock, Rap, R&B, Country, New Age/Classical but like all music. So, I love to sing. I started singing with Olivia Newton John from the Grease album, age 6 Hopelessly Devoted To You. Won my first local singing contest in 6th grade and went to a state competition where I was terrified singing Oliver's "Who Will Buy" and walked away with a second place ribbon. I was the highest soprano and getting As in Art but had no clue that I could do something with it so instead I dropped music and art classes by high school and focused on business classes so I could make a living. It wasnt until I was about 20 or so and midway through college that I realized I could get an art degree and make a living in design. Singing continued as a hobby with occasional karaoke wanna-be pop star songs and I didnt find my voice until I started writing songs and singing backup vocals for my church. Im learning harmony for the first time. When I started last year I didnt know the melody from the harmony. I guess some vocal lessons would help but Ive not had any. Started writing music in 2004 since I realized that I could, I had never tried. Someday I will get better equipment and spend more time writing, until then, I am having fun and learning. My latest style of singing/songwriting is a blanket brush of not perfecting something and keeping it simple and moving on to find my style, which really depends on my mood. Many Are The Plans (2005) was written in about an hour, inspired from Proverbs 19:21, which was a memory verse at church and inspired me to write a song. I used to go to church once or twice a year but always considered myself spiritual without church. A big turning point was reading Purpose Driven Life, the first line says Its not all about you. I think we all have a grand purpose but find ways to busy and clutter our lives and it keeps us from what we should be doing. Rock n River I started writing in 2004 on notation paper and added more lyrics Fall of 2005. I recorded it a few times but discovered the extra layers were just muddying up the song so I pared it down to just a few basic tracks of piano and vocal. It is still crowded and the timing is off but I liked it enough today to post it. It's not posted yet, but I'll eventually get it posted here or find me on myspace, I've got lots of songs there...add me there too! I'm doing my best to duplicate what I started there over here in case you are just a jcfaither. For Samantha and Sufjan Inspired (Fall 2005) my piano rambles. When I get in a mode they flow but I couldnt do them again, at least not the same, if I tried and thankfully GarageBand captures them. Eventually I need to get Finale or another music writing software that will aid me in printing out the sheet music however Id like to focus back to taking time to write the songs on notation paper and planning them out. You may see occasional bursts of me changing out my songs as I get around to writing or cleaning up the ones I have. So what inspires me? The people closest to me inspire me and yes that includes God, and my old Jack Russell Sam. I haven't found "my style" yet, but I find inspiration in everything and I am enjoying the transformation and praying for sound purpose.

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