?1- About this time last year I believe you were in the studio recording Leisure. This time around, are you approaching recording differently? Are you sticking to what worked last time?

This time around, I am definitely approaching recording differently. The last album came out great in my opinion and I’m really proud of it, but it took way too long to complete. The vision for it kept on changing which was good and bad. Bad in that it took so long, but good because I was able to really grow and learn about the music and about myself as a musician. That being said, I will use what I learned from the last process to make this one better. This time around, I have a clear vision for the album and a clear plan on how I want to record it. I have done a ton of preparation for the process, but, more importantly, I have left a lot of room for energy. I want to make sure that the live sound that I pride myself on comes through on this album.

?2- How has the writing process been going? Do songs come to you quickly or are they ever evolving?

Writing is an interesting topic for me to talk about. I love writing songs. It seems like I’m always doing it. There are so many ways to write a song and so many things to write about. I carry around a little notebook because all sorts of random ideas pop into my mind all the time. Sometimes, I’ll hear someone say something and I’ll like it and I’ll write it down. I only write my songs from real life. My experiences. My real feelings. Listeners can see right through fake songs. Sometimes the music comes first and other times the lyrics come first, but, at the end of the day, as long as the feeling comes through, I’m happy. Some songs come to me very quickly and others take months. For this album, “hula� was written in one night. I was driving home from a gig and the lyrics just came to me. I jotted them down on some receipt paper I had on my passenger seat and, when I got home, I pulled an all-nighter and wrote the music for it. That song hasn’t changed very much since that night. Another song on the new album, “next to you,� took me over a month to write. There are some times when the mood you’re in and the energy you have allows the song to write itself. Other times, you want each little thing to be just right and you scrutinize each lyric, each note until it fits the picture you had in your mind for it. Songs are ever-evolving in that, as I play them live, they change slightly as I become more comfortable with them, but there comes a time when I have to look at a song and say to myself, “This is done,� otherwise, I can’t move on to the next one.

?3- I know you have kept a heavy performance schedule. Have you been debuting much of the new material/works in progress? Do you ever tweak them, depending on audience response or on the actual performance? Or are you pretty confident that you've got the song where you want it to be when you perform?

I do play live quite frequently. I love it. Playing live gives me energy, gives the songs energy and is a huge testing ground for new stuff. I have been playing a few of the new songs quite frequently over the past few months like “hula� and “girl next door.� A couple of them, I’m saving as surprises for the people who pick up the album when it comes out. For me, I have to play almost everything on stage or the songs just end up seeming flat to me. Playing them live gives my songs life and, yes, I do tweak them live based on audience response, but, like I said before, there has to be a time where they kind of have to stop changing so that they can actually “be,� you know? When I do debut a new track live, I’m already pretty confident that the song is where it should be, but I’ve usually left a little room for that live energy. I have to be confident in a new track because these songs are usually pretty personal and before I let an audience into my life, I have to be sure the song is right. However, songs are living things and they need to breathe and when a song gets thrown out to the public, I need to be flexible and open to things that might need to change a little in order to give the song that final polish. Sometimes, I’m not aware of those things when I’m sitting on my couch, but when I’m out in the open, the flaws stick out and little gaps get filled in naturally.

?4- You've been writing songs and rehearsing in these past weeks in preparation for your recording sessions. Have you been listening to anything in particular that has inspired you? Are there any new artists that you've gotten into or do you tend to get back to proven favorites?

My philosophy is to expose myself to as many different types of music as possible. I have really been paying close attention to beats lately and what the major labels are doing in the mixes of songs to make them sound huge in the speakers. That is a great way to get energy across on a recording. I always listen to my old favorites like Stevie Wonder and George Benson, but I love some newer stuff just as much. Marc Broussard has huge energy and I love what he’s doing. Jack Johnson can do no wrong these days. He’s chill and he’s an amazing songwriter. I’m psyched about Mayer’s new album. It’s nice to see him break the mold and do what he’s passionate about and I love Gavin DeGraw’s voice and power. These guys are also really great live which I appreciate quite a bit. Also, some of the new R&B guys are great. I always love a great singer and guys like Anthony Hamilton, Javier and John Legend are catching my ear as well. The more I hear, the more I learn and the better my songs can be. On the flip side, I listen to as much music as I can to make certain I’m not stealing anything from anyone.

?5- I'm all about lists. If you were to make a desert island mixtape, what songs would you choose?

Hmmmmmm. That’s like making a parent choose which children to bring with them… but I’ll give it a shot. There has to be two “sides,� (can you tell I’m an 80’s baby?) The first side is the pop/rock side and the other side is the jazzy side.

Side “A�
1. The Police: “Synchronicity�
2. Stevie Wonder: “Golden Lady�
3. Jack Johnson: “Holes to Heaven�
4. The Beatles: “Can’t Buy Me Love�
5. Sting: “Fragile�
6. Michael Jackson: “Rock with You�
7. John Mayer: “Clarity�
8. Christopher Cross: “Sailin� (hey… don’t judge)
9. Van Halen: “Mean Street�
10. Stevie Ray Vaughn: “Pride and Joy�

Side “B�
1. Frank Sinatra: “New York, New York�
2. Miles Davis All Stars: “Solar�
3. Thelonius Monk: “Round Midnight�
4. Herbie Hancock: “Cantaloupe Island�
5. Lee Morgan: “The Sidewinder�
6. George Benson: “Breezin’�
7. Grant Green: “Grantstand�
8. B.B. King: “Lucille�
9. Ray Charles: “I’ve Got News for You�
10. Nat Cole: “The More I See You�