My songwriting began in the stairwell of my Morganton home in the 7th grade with a cheap Sears guitar laden with brutal steel strings which made my fingertips ache. I can still hear the semi-sweet sounds of reverberation as I plunked the same three chords over and over until a melody emerged. My interest in music actually began a few years earlier with a tap on the shoulder at church. “Young man, you have such a nice voice. Why don’t you sing in the choir?” No one could shut me up after that. I was on my way in music.