Can you tell us about your early life and what initially inspired you to pursue music?
I first learned to play the guitar at age 13, inspired by bands like Green Day, blink-182, Guns N’ Roses. ‘American Idiot’ had just come out at the time and it was the only album I listened to nonstop. I was enchanted by the roaring distorted guitars and punchy drum rhythms, and of course lyrically the music truly spoke to me. My parents enrolled me to take lessons at a nearby music studio. It is there where I connected with guitar virtuoso Daniel Jakubovic, whose guitar playing and songwriting absolutely blew me away. He would show me mixes of his band and I remember thinking, “Wow! You can really make a living doing this kind of stuff?” and that idea truly resonated with me.
How do you think your music has changed or grown since you first started?
As I’ve gotten deeper into vocal technique, I’m way more aware of vowel placement and the rhythm of words. I’ve realized that there can be various ways to sing a phrase over a chord progression and finding what flows best and what feels most natural will always translate well. Writing lyrics for me is a lot of trial and error. “Road testing” the songs also helps me understand the message I am trying to convey to an audience!
Was there a pivotal moment in your career that had a significant impact on you?
After the disbandment of my previous project, Nerd Salad, I began to put everything into my solo project. In the band setting, I always had the other members to bounce creative and marketing decisions off of, but as a solo artist, everything falls on me. This has motivated me to play out more, look deeper into my songwriting, and take complete ownership of the creative process.
What is your songwriting process like?
Oh gosh, haha. I am such a music first, then lyrics kind of writer. Chord progressions and riffs come relatively easy to me being such a music theory nerd. When I sing a melody over a riff or chord progression, I will start singing words that come to mind and then adapt from there. This process can take minutes or years to find what fits! What helps me write lyrics is keeping a binder full of concepts and taking a few minutes each day to write freely. It helps me process what I am going through in life at that moment and how I can get others to relate to and connect with my words.
What’s the story behind your newest single “Run Away”? What inspired it?
I have a family member who is constantly stressed out and overworking themselves to the bone. Working so much that they often forget to drink water throughout the day. It’s always go, go, go, and oftentimes I feel that way too. Working in the music business is a constant uphill battle that eventually starts weighing on you. In the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ferris breaks the fourth wall and says to the audience, “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it.” This line has resonated with me so much that it finally has found its way into one of my songs.
How would you describe the musical style and vibe of “Run Away”?
My songwriting style often gets compared to Jeff Magnum of Neutral Milk Hotel and Tom Petty. The vocal harmonies at the beginning of the song really remind me of a classic Tom Petty song while the indie-folkiness of the track also carries the Neutral Milk Hotel and Vampire Weekend kind of rockness.
What was the production process like for “Run Away”?
In the fall of 2023, I had planned to record several tracks. As the final recording session approached, I pivoted at the last second to record “Run Away” as I felt it was the most complete out of what I had written. I went into the Koop Studio in the greater NYC area with my multi-instrumentalist virtuoso pal, John Marc Degaard, and we tracked everything there. Producer and engineer, Matt Graff, led the session while John Marc laid down the drums and bass first and then I laid down the guitars, synths, and lastly vocals. I love to layer vocals. I feel that the voice can oftentimes be neglected as an instrument and the studio provides an opportunity to really thicken up a track with vocal layers.
What message or feeling do you hope people take away when they listen to “Run Away”?
The message of “Run Away” is for listeners, and myself, to not get so caught up in the small stuff. To take the time to stop and look around every once in a while and find their happiness and passion.
How do you connect with your fans, and what does their support mean to you?
There’s no better feeling than playing a live show to an audience who is there to listen to your music. There is an incredible amount of craziness and nonsense that a musical artist must filter through to become successful. When the opportunity strikes to play for an audience where your music is the focal point, it makes all of the effort and lack of sleep completely worth it.
What are some important lessons you’ve learned in your music career?
It’s important to stay busy and to keep going. There will always be highs and lows no matter what stage of your career you are in.
How do you see your music evolving in the next few years?
That’s tough to answer because so much can happen between now and tomorrow, haha! We are all constantly changing and being introduced to new sounds and creative catalysts. I once listened to a podcast with Lin Manuel Miranda who said that it’s important as a creative to always have the hunger to improve. When a creative has decided “I’ve done everything I’ve can and I have nothing new to learn,” their art suffers. It’s important to keep being open minded and welcome new ideas, new genres, new instruments. Maybe my sounds will have some more bluegrass feel or Northern Classical Indian inspiration in the next few years. Only time will tell!
