About

My musical journey really started at age 9. My dad played guitar and you could always find it hanging out in my room when it went missing. I was never really good at school. I guess that’s why I latched onto music so hard. I just got it. It made sense to me so I’d sit in my room, much like a lot of you and just play for hours and hours. Motley Crue, Skid Row, Poison, and Def Leppard could all be heard screaming from behind my closed door. So I played. It just made me feel good at something… I grew up in the church. My grandfather was a minister and being that I was there a lot I ended up on the praise and worship team. This was my first time playing with other musicians and to be honest it was awkward at first having to listen to other people and just blend while reading charts with only an hour of practice before we played. But it really prepared me for what was to come… After high school I jumped around in different bands just looking for the right fit and to connect with the right players. By this time my look had drastically morphed and that’s when found the project, Debris. This Industrial Metal band was heavy and melodic and the rehearsal schedule was fierce and we gigged a lot. It was during that time I started being introduced to the “rockstar lifestyle.” And although the other members were good guys and stayed strong, I got pulled in. It set a course in my life that I struggled with for years. Those were some really dark times in my life and although my life is different now I’m thankful for the perspective it’s given me on addiction. One From Many came to me in the form of a phone call from Josh McCormick to fill in on second guitar for the video Retrospective. We had known of each other through other players in the Portland scene. I would learn later his first thought was “there’s no way that guy is gonna be interested in this style of music” but he reached out, we hooked up and hit it off. And although my musical background is DRASTICALLY different, I bring something to the table and a new perspective that really puts a different spin on the writing process. I still get those questions from people about my crazy hair, tattoos and makeup and how this even happened and it just makes me smile ‘cause it doesn’t matter what you look like, it’s the music inside, your heart connection and bonds you build with those you invest in. And they chose to invest in me. “Different” is what helps create something new. Embrace it. Diversity is a powerful thing… As I look towards the future now with Beauty For Ashes which has been on my heart to put together for a long time there’s a lot of excitement as for what’s to come. I’ve been wanting to start something that was my own for a really long time now and finally choosing to break free and step out and make it happen has turned out to be the best thing I could have ever done. Pulling together everything I’ve been writing over the years that I have been saving especially just for this, I’ve teamed up with an amazing vocalist and friend Aaron Burnett and we have been locked away in the studio for almost a two years now. Ya I know that’s a long time but when you really value something so close to your heart you want to make sure it’s given the time and love it’s deserved. But it’s finally about wrapped up and we’re both really excited to start releasing the tracks we’ve poured so much into. We both thank you for all your love, support and most of all your patience through this process cause we know many of you have sacrificed a lot along with us. And we sincerely thank you for that.... Sincerely... thank you... Blistered fingers, Lack of sleep, Beer-stained clothes, No drink tickets, Flat tires, No soundcheck, No monitors, Broken strings, Deaf soundmen, smelly bus, Miles of boring highway, Dead 9v batteries, Lead singers disease, Crashing on floors, 2am load-outs, lethal B.O., DRUMMERS.............. Its all worth....

Favorite saying

• "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. - Genesis 50:20 “The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create — so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.” ~ Pearl S. Buck"