How did you get into singing/songwriting?

Well, the whole thing happened over time for me, I guess. When I was about 13, my brother got this acoustic guitar for Christmas. It was a right-handed guitar, but he’s a lefty. Myself being right-handed, I picked it up and started playing things. I soon learned that I had the ability to listen to a song, and then be able to play it within 5 minutes. The writing has pretty much stuck with me since that age too. I’ve always had a thirst to perform, so I would write little rhymes and such. Over time, they just got better, and one day I decided to collaborate one of my favorite pieces of writing, and a song I wrote on the guitar. My dad saw this talent in me throughout my growth, and has been supporting me by my side ever since.

How would you describe your music?

The closest thing that would come to my genre would probably be folk music, either that or just plain indie/acoustic. What I create is a bit more on the soft side, very relaxing tunes with a delicate voice. In one of my songs, I wrote about a boy asking his girlfriend to marry him, on a snowy night out in a field. After hearing the song, someone mentioned that you can almost hear the snow falling in the song. But, every now and then, I get this urge to put together an up-beat song, just to mix things up a little.

 What does music mean to you?

Okay... I could take the easy route and say what lots of people do... that is, “music means the world to me.” But I will answer this one differently!

I think that making music, or even just listening to it, is the perfect way to express yourself. For all of us that have hearing as one of our five senses, we can all relate to it on some level- we just have to find what style of sound we like most. Whether it puts you in a great mood, or makes you want to cry, makes you sing it out loud or helps you “vent”, usually people can relate to music on a personal level. When you find the right sound, sometimes you can just feel it flowing through your body, and I know this sounds cheesy, but it makes you feel alive. On a personal note, I have a treble clef design tattooed on my foot, and two music notes on my wrist! Music will always be a part of my life; it’s just such a beautiful creation that is forever evolving. And if you don’t like the evolving music, you always have your old favorites that can make you feel just as good.

What have been some of your musical influences?

When I first started out, I was about 15 or 16. Back then, I had no real influences, I just went with my own “flow”. But as I grew, and grew up, lots of musicians were influential with me. I loved, and still love, Elliott Smith (may he rest in peace.) His lyrics are deep and meaningful, and his guitar sound is absolutely genius. Alanis Morissette is another one of my huge influences. I adore the way she’s so blunt in her music, so controversial and truthful, and the way she sometimes doesn’t hit the notes makes it sound so raw; she’s just such a hippie chick in my eyes, and I love it! Other bands like Iron and Wine, Matthew Good, Stars, and Gordon Lightfoot have all played a role in my inspiration.

What do you do to relax and deal with stress?

At this age, for some reason I haven’t been stressful in a very long time. But, what I like to do if something’s bothering me, is write a letter to someone and never send it. Say everything that’s on my mind, even if I have no intention of telling them, and then fold it up and throw it out. Talking to friends also helps- being in good company feels great. I’m also from the country, so relaxing is easy for me. Things like going out on the hammock with a blanket, floating around in the pool under the sun, watching an interesting, densely written movie (for example, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- my favorite movie), taking a jacuzzi bath with chocolate by my side... anything, really!

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