NEWS

  (Posted November 3rd, 2009)

It's hard to know what folks like about what you do unless they tell you so. It's also gratifying to give them what they want.

That's why I'm leaving it up to you which recorded version of my song "Safe" appears as a B-Side on the forthcoming "Secondhand" single/ep.

One version is more up-beat, pop-sounding. The other is a lower-key, slightly slower rendition.

Listen to both and vote for your favorite--before Nov. 17th!

The Beachland Ballroom has been, for me, the venue I'd most like to play in Cleveland. It's not quite the "big deal" that, say, The House of Blues is, but (of the two), it's the one I prefer.

A few months ago, I joined the Beachland Street Team. My thinking was that it would give me extra incentive to get out, hang up my own posters and generally interact a bit more with the Cleveland music community. I also thought that eventually the Beachland folks would get to know me, making it easier to get an opening slot on one of their national-act bills.

Such an opportunity came quite a bit sooner than I'd even hoped. In fact, I didn't even have to ask. It was offered to me!

  (Posted October 4th, 2009)

As you know, I often play bars, clubs and coffeehouses, but I’m starting to turn the page.

All over the country, music fans and artists are discovering that they can have “house concerts,” which are remarkable way to share a concert experience--musicians (like me) perform in a living room (like yours) for a list of invited guests (20-30). Each guest donates $10 to the cause (me) and together we create an event all of us will remember for a lifetime.

Check out this 3-minute video for a brief over-view and illustration.

This year I again had the pleasure and privilege of playing at the Evening For Chuck benefit concert to raise money and awareness for pancreatic cancer. EFC is organized annually by Brecksville-based singer/songwriter "Zach" who lost his father to this most deadly of cancers in 2006.

There were raffles (including tickets to the Akron Symphony, Art Museum, the Cleveland and Columbus Zoos, the Browns, wine, jewelry and more!), healthy and delicious food (some dangerously good truffles stand out in my memory : ) and (of course) some of the region's best acts.

  (Posted August 7th, 2009)

I'll be heading to Philadelphia and New York City for my first 2-Day-Tour. I've played plenty of shows outside of my hometown, even as far a-field as Duluth, Minnesota, but this trip marks the first time I'm traveling for the expressed purpose of performing to new audiences. I'm awfully excited to see old friends and, of course, meet new ones.

It would mean the world to me if you could make it. However, if you're unable to attend but know someone (or several someones) in the area who you think might, you can get a FREE ADVANCED MP3 DOWNLOAD of "Seconhand" (Radio Mix) for inviting them!

On the next-to-the-last-day of July, I performed amidst the ivy plants, patio tables, patrons and passer-bys of Kent's newest performance space: The Kent Stage "Alley."

Lit largely by hanging strands of holiday bulbs--and a couple of confused motion-sensor spots, the small, make-shift stage provides an intimate, open-air alternative to the main, theater-stage I've had the good fortune to play a time or two.

I wasn't sure what to expect walking in. The last time manager Tom Simpson (The Mustached One) showed me "The Alley," it was a darkened alcove littered with more than a few bottles and