Q2: After some research it seems you have, since a child, had the intention or dream of

becoming a famous singer/songwriter. Could you tell me a bit about that? (Do you feel that this

has been a drive given to you by God and why so?)

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ANSWER: Growing up, my mom never stopped singing around the house, my older cousins that I looked up to were musicians, and I heard stories of my great-grandfather being a traveling gospel singer in Appalachia often. So there were a lot of close influences in my life from early on that made music feel like this familiar and familial thing I wanted to participate in. I remember singing a solo at my Kindergarten graduation back in the day, where I also stated that I wanted to be a rockstar when I grew up. Now, did I have any clue what that meant or if I

actually wanted that? I don’t think so. But I do know that as I continued to grow up I was always deeply fascinated by instrumentation and lyrics that made me feel something. I also remember watching TV shows on Disney and Nickelodeon about singers or bands, and I used to think they were the coolest people ever and I wanted to be just like them. I started learning how to play the

guitar by watching YouTube videos in middle school. The older I got the less I thought about this, as I developed some serious stage-fright. Any part of me that wanted to play music in front of crowds of people quickly fizzled away in the later years of high school. Also, any desires to perform or sing in front of people that I did have then were certainly not coming from a good place. I think I had a lot of poor, selfish intentions then that led me to want those things, but God was certainly still at work despite my wrongful motives. It wasn’t until the end of high school and in my early college years that I started to take my faith seriously. It was also at this time I discovered artists like Jess Ray, Chris Renzema, Taylor Armstrong, and others who were making

unique and creative Christian music that brought unexpected clarity about the kind of music I

wanted to create myself. That is what led to me doing what I am now, and I don’t currently have

any strong desire to perform or be on a stage. I find the most joy in the writing and recording

process of the songs I’ve written and doing so with friends and family.

 

Q3: Where would you say you take inspiration for your songs? (Such as the Bible, your wife,

prayer, led by the Spirit etc.)

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ANSWER: I think what I find so refreshing is that inspiration can come from anything. Most

often though for me, inspiration comes from the following sources: personal life experiences, reading my Bible, sermons at church, listening to other people’s music, a line or phrase from a good book, nature, wrestling with hard questions, and doing life with the people I love and learning from them. All of these are really broad, but it’s that one individual moment, memory,

sentence, sound, sight, or thought that can bring an idea into existence. For example, the next song I am releasing is called “Orange Streetlights,” and I wrote it after falling in love with a particular streetlight in my neighborhood that was dying out but produced the most calming beam of reddish-orange. Every time I drove past it, I got butterflies and it brought me so much peace. This got me thinking of other things that make me feel similarly and culminated in a song about how these little reminders that bring me so much peace and comfort are gracious reminders of the peace and calm God offers and brings into my life.

 

Q4: What artists, maybe specifically Christian artists, are you looking to work with in the future (assuming that is a future goal.) (Is it a goal of yours to have your music played in churches?)

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ANSWER: There are so many amazing artists I would love to collaborate with in some capacity. If I had to narrow it down to a list of five artists I’d most want to work with in the future it would be John Lucas, Chris Renzema, Jess Ray, Taylor Armstrong, and Jonathan Ogden. Each of these

artists have been infinitely influential to my own music and writing style. It would be the biggest honor to ever be able to meet, work with, or collaborate in any way with any of these incredible people. The words they’ve penned and soundscapes they create have made me feel so many things in so many different seasons of life. I can only hope and pray my music might do that for

even just one person.

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Q5: As a follower of Christ and the music industry being now primarily secular, would you say

that that factor made it difficult to get your music career attention/begun?

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ANSWER: With the music industry being primarily secular, it definitely does make it harder for any Christian artist to get the same recognition or attention as other genres. Even within the

Christian music industry itself, there’s a massive divide between the Christian music “industry” and the independent Christian artists who are putting their own songs out there. That said, my answer to this could also be no. My reasoning behind this answer is rooted in the fact that, within this smaller genre of music (independent Christian music), there does not seem to be a lot of competition for attention like there may be in other genres, particularly secular ones. I have found it refreshingly easy to make friends with other artists in the independent Christian music

space, and I think that is because the people making songs in this category genuinely care more about the gospel being proclaimed and Christ being made much of than they do their own agendas or brands get in the way. So, has it been difficult to get my music out there to people in a mostly secular space? If comparing to the numbers and attention of larger, more popular artists

in the broader, secular space; absolutely. But in the context of the independent Christian music space, my experience has been quite positive due to the community who make up this particular sect of music. The streams and numbers of myself and many other artists may seem insignificant to industry standards or norms, but when the community and relationships become more valuable than statistics, it feels really special to take part in it, even in a small way.

 

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Q6: What are some other hobbies of yours that make you, you?

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ANSWER: Aside from songwriting, there are a lot of things I really enjoy doing! I have always loved drawing and other forms of art. I love collecting books and trying to hunt them down at local thrift stores. I have played soccer and basketball for as long as I can remember and enjoy

the occasional rec-league soccer or church league basketball game. I am also unashamedly into collecting Blu-ray DVDs of all the Marvel movies that take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Music has predominately taken up most of my free time, especially since starting to

write and record a full length album.

 

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Q7: Do you produce, write, and create your own music alone or with the help of fellow

believers/friends?

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ANSWER: When it comes to production, my best friend Jadon Hayes is the person who gets all of the credit. Jadon works full time producing music at his home studio and is also part of a band called Kindred Valley. He and I work really closely together for the production of each song, as I

usually have a lot of ideas for what I want the song to sound and feel like, while he is able to

bring them to life. Working with him in this capacity has given me an opportunity to learn so

much and also enjoy the process of recording, which I know can be stressful for some people. In regards to writing the songs, unless it is a feature or collaborative effort, I tend to write all of my songs on my own. I have a few spaces at my house where I love to sit and write; the back porch, my office, and a guest bedroom with lots of natural sunlight. When it comes to creating the songs

you hear when they are finished, that is after several church friends have come alongside of me to give their time and gifts to make these songs sound better than I ever could. My friend Adam Bills drums on all of my songs, my friend Ethan Sharp provides a lot of different elements to the production, and so many other friends and family play other parts in providing feedback, vocals,

and other elements we wouldn’t have otherwise. Outside of the music, there are so many other

church friends and family who have helped me with photography, videography, social media, web design, merch design, and countless other parts of the process. Without these people in my

life who are willing to use their gifts to collaborate with me, none of this would be possible. God has blessed me with an unbelievably talented and generous group of friends to do this alongside.

 

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Q8: What has been the best versus the hardest part of this music journey for you?

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ANSWER: The hardest parts of this music journey so far have been finding time to continue

working on new songs, comparison, and raising funds to continue making music. When I would make music before, I did not feel rushed to finish a song or set aside time to work on them. I would just sit and play when I had time, and that was it. But now that I am working on bigger projects and have really stepped into writing and releasing songs more regularly, I feel a slight

pressure to use all the time I can to work on what’s next. In the past several months the Lord has been teaching me to slow down and be more intentional with my time, as well as making sure I sam getting priorities in the right order. Comparison becomes a challenge when I see other artists who seemingly have infinite time to work on their own music, social media presence, or seem to have everything figured out. I’ve spent less and less time doing this as time has gone by, but early on in this journey that was a difficult struggle for me that the Lord revealed and that I want to continue repenting of and guarding against. I also wasn’t aware of just how much it really costs to see one song come into existence if you don’t know how to make it happen yourself and are dependent on others to produce and distribute your music for you. That was a learning curve for sure, especially when I started to consider a full-length album. This has led to me needing to raise funds through selling shirts and other items in an effort to cover costs, as well as other steps that have been daunting and intimidating, but also rewarding. The best parts of this journey have far outweighed the difficult ones. I have had the pleasure of

connecting with so many amazing artists since starting to share my own songs. I have also been able to share some of my work at Cross Conference, which is a missions conference that my church has attended for years; so that was a huge honor. I have also grown a lot closer to the friends and church family who have come alongside of me in this process of writing and sharing these songs with others. I have also grown a lot in my faith and in my love for deep theology and biblical studies. One of the biggest highlights of the process is the moment a song finally comes together and you hear it for the first time with all of the vocals, instrumentation, and final pieces of production. Those moments are so special and so rewarding after so much hard work and time has been poured into each part to make it what it is.

 

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Q9: How did you come to prefer creating music within the genre of folk? (You should check out

Ivan Theva!)

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ANSWER: I will have to check out Ivan’s music! I’m always on the lookout for new artists to

check out, so I’ll give him a listen. But for myself, I am not sure how I started creating music that might be categorized in the folk genre. Personally, I don’t listen to folk music very often and have not had many musical influences that would fit into that genre. I am from West Virginia, so it would be fitting to assume that I make music in the folk genre. But to be honest, I was surprised when other people started labeling it as folk because I was not intentionally trying to make my songs sound like that. It may be because my producer Jadon is in a folk band that his style of production might lean more naturally towards folk sounds and instrumental styles, but we have not ever intentionally sought out to make folk music or songs that would be categorized that way (apart from Lone Ranger). My hope is that my songs sound and feel like a mix of several genres, taking bits and pieces from the artists that do inspire me and influence the type of songs I am writing.

 

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Q10: Lastly, do you have any advice for newer Christian artists looking to attract listeners or advice in general?

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ANSWER: Not that I feel at all qualified to give advice to other artists, but I would give several

pieces of advice to myself if I was starting over again from square one. The first thing I would encourage is to be the type of person who loves and cherishes God’s Word, serves others in the church, and makes it a habit to live out the things you write about. The most helpful advice I can give is that, if God is not genuinely in it, any work or labor we do will be in vain. A verse I think of often is Psalm 127:1, that says “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” I’ve also found that finding friends and church community to do this alongside of makes it infinitely more enjoyable. This doesn’t mean they have to be musicians or have any musical knowledge at all, but being able to run your songs past people who love God and His Word can help sharpen your writing and bring fresh perspective to the stories you are wanting to tell. And if you do happen to have friends who are musicians, include them in your creative process! You can also consider networking with other artists that are already in the genre or creative space you are wanting to be in and identify with! Or this could look like finding artists in a similar place as you and supporting each other as you both continue to see how God might use these songs that you’ve written and are willing to share with others. I also remember reading in Andrew Peterson’s book “Adorning the Dawn,” where he emphasized that art is a way of reflecting the beauty of God’s creation and a means of bearing witness to truth, goodness, and beauty. He encourages artists to share their art because it has the power to inspire, uplift, and invite others into deeper contemplation of life and faith. In this book, he also states that sharing one’s art can provide a sense of connection with others, as art resonates with people’s hearts and minds, inviting them to see the world from different perspectives. These themes have stuck with me and made me feel more comfortable stepping into a public space and sharing my songs with others.

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My answers to each of these questions may change in a year’s time.