BIOGRAPHY
I am a songwriter, performer, and recording artist. I work predominantly as a solo artist; however I have often played the role as band leader in both acoustic and electric configurations, ranging from duo's to twelve piece ensembles. In these configurations, I am the featured vocalist and lead guitarist as well. Although I am primarily a folk singer, I write and perform in a variety of styles including, but not limited to, most forms of American music: folk, blues, country, bluegrass, jazz, and rock and roll.
As a songwriter, I am able to translate the situations of ordinary people and tell their story, as well as spirit them with my own beliefs, intertwining key moments from my own life and my hometown, Virginia, Minnesota. My subject matter stems from my beliefs, ideals, dreams, tragedy, loss, love and politics. For example my upbringing on the Iron Range gave me the experience and perspective to write many of my songs. My 59 Coal Mines is a case in point. It tells the story of Lucky, an ironworker who is downsized, consolidated, streamlined, and finally, laid off, leaving him with a pregnant wife and bills to pay. Central to my artistic objective is to bestow a sense of dignity and give voice to those who don't often have one.
My songwriting occurs in various places and situation, from saloons to sanctuaries, subways to studios, solitude to city streets. Some of my work is concerned with providing lasting glimpses into the past, using newspaper stories, myth, personal experience and historical events, creating musical postcards of a fading America. For example, my song Jack Ruby is the result of historical research, combining actual fact with personal conjecture, couched in a style that recalls the great ballads of the Appalachian Mountains .
My original repertoire is meant to represent the broadest level of human experience. For example, my song Christmas at Molly's, a work of pure fiction based on my interpretations of the Spirit of Christmas, as seen through the eyes of a sailor. My latest release, Lincoln's Bedroom, is a direct and personal response to the increasingly partisan state of the American political climate and the danger I feel it poses to democracy.
Writing primarily with a guitar, I find the trick to be matching poetry, prose and story lines to the proper melody, chord changes and rhythm that empower and enhance the story without belaboring the point.