I grew up in a Northern Minnesota mining town just south of the Canadian Border. To cope with the subzero temperatures I would play an upright bass late into long winter nights with a Marantz receiver dialed to an oldies station. Rather than practicing for my Junior High Chamber Orchestra I found myself lost in melody playing along with the likes of Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, and fellow Iron Ranger Bob Dylan. Being the son of a minister, pop music was a tricky negotiation. I quickly came to learn that folk music and the oldies were okay, but “Pour some Sugar on Me” or “Damn I Wish I was Your Lover” were a much tougher sell best left to be enjoyed with my friends in their bedrooms on their stereos. Somehow it all seeped in. I continued playing classical bass all the way into college and then during my junior year traded it in on a brand new shiny folk duo with my newfound friend Ben Kyle. Ben grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The combination of his accent along with a head full of dreadlocked hair tied back into one of his Father’s neckties undoubtedly made him the coolest person I had ever met in my life up until that point. We later started the Minneapolis based band Romantica. On the solid foundation of Ben Kyle’s beautiful melodies and honest songwriting, Romantica continues to be a Midwestern favorite. It was during that time with my incredibly talented and patient band mates that I learned to play the electric guitar as well as the bewildering mechanics of the pedal steel. To this day my time in the Minneapolis music scene is both cherished and missed. In 2010 the pedal steel managed to magnetically pull me from Minneapolis, MN to Austin, TX where I’m currently touring extensively, both nationally and internationally, with the lovely and talented Carrie Rodriguez. While on tour and in the studio with Carrie, I have been fortunate to share stages and perform with some of the finest songwriters of our day including John Prine, Chip Taylor, John Oates, J.D. Souther, & Mary Gauthier. Austin has become a wonderful place to call home, and a career in music is certainly a gift and a privilege. Likewise, whenever I hear Dylan’s “Girl From the North Country” I’m almost always transported back to the snow covered pines of my youth, and to those Northern Minnesota nights where the music began…
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Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media
I grew up in a Northern Minnesota mining town just south of the Canadian Border. To cope with the subzero temperatures I would play an upright bass late into long winter nights with a Marantz receiver dialed to an oldies station. Rather than practicing for my Junior High Chamber Orchestra I found myself lost in melody playing along with the likes of Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, and fellow Iron Ranger Bob Dylan. Being the son of a minister, pop music was a tricky negotiation. I quickly came to learn that folk music and the oldies were okay, but “Pour some Sugar on Me” or “Damn I Wish I was Your Lover” were a much tougher sell best left to be enjoyed with my friends in their bedrooms on their stereos. Somehow it all seeped in. I continued playing classical bass all the way into college and then during my junior year traded it in on a brand new shiny folk duo with my newfound friend Ben Kyle. Ben grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The combination of his accent along with a head full of dreadlocked hair tied back into one of his Father’s neckties undoubtedly made him the coolest person I had ever met in my life up until that point. We later started the Minneapolis based band Romantica. On the solid foundation of Ben Kyle’s beautiful melodies and honest songwriting, Romantica continues to be a Midwestern favorite. It was during that time with my incredibly talented and patient band mates that I learned to play the electric guitar as well as the bewildering mechanics of the pedal steel. To this day my time in the Minneapolis music scene is both cherished and missed. In 2010 the pedal steel managed to magnetically pull me from Minneapolis, MN to Austin, TX where I’m currently touring extensively, both nationally and internationally, with the lovely and talented Carrie Rodriguez. While on tour and in the studio with Carrie, I have been fortunate to share stages and perform with some of the finest songwriters of our day including John Prine, Chip Taylor, John Oates, J.D. Souther, & Mary Gauthier. Austin has become a wonderful place to call home, and a career in music is certainly a gift and a privilege. Likewise, whenever I hear Dylan’s “Girl From the North Country” I’m almost always transported back to the snow covered pines of my youth, and to those Northern Minnesota nights where the music began…
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Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media
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