My Journey with the Guitar

I started trying to play the guitar when I was about 9 or 10 years old. My dad had given my mom an old classical guitar as a gift when they were in high school. They've been together a long time, so it was around the house.

She always joked that she knew one song, and it was just one chord. It went something like:

"You take a stick of bamboo, you take a stick of bamboo, you take a stick of bamboo."

I don't know anything about this song, but that was the joke: my mom could play the C chord and sing, "You take a stick of bamboo."

I started off by learning to play the C chord, and then I wanted to, you know, kind of shred, which I've yet to accomplish. But even just to be able to string together some of the easier chords was exciting.

The first song I really learned how to play on the guitar was House of the Rising Sun.

My First Performance Experiences

When I was in high school, I worked at a coffee shop that had open mics. I would go in and play covers and things that I had written. I truly believe that the only reason I even play the guitar was because I had to.

If I wanted to sing and write songs, there wasn't anyone around to accompany me; I had to do it myself. So I started to play maybe these two, three, or four chord songs at the coffee shop.

It gave me a reason to practice because I had a show. Then, at school, there was a talent show. My parents, as a gift for some holiday, bought me this red acoustic guitar that was steel-string, not classical or nylon-stringed.

Music as an Outlet

That was the beginning of me really using music and the guitar to process my emotions, feelings, and thoughts. I had to play; I had to share.

It became a vehicle for me to tell stories about my life and process things that were going on, whether it was about a guy I liked or just looking at the world around me, whatever was on my heart.

Once I got this guitar and could string together a few chords, I felt like I had this amazing outlet for my thoughts and feelings through singing, songwriting, and music.

Growth and Opportunity

As I went along, I started to get nicer and nicer guitars. Once I was in college, I played a lot of open mics and even opened for acts coming through town.

A club owner told me, "Hey, you have a great voice! You should really think about investing in a nice guitar." The one I had wasn't really that great.

For another holiday, my parents bought me a Martin guitar, a nice Martin acoustic guitar. From there, I just played anywhere that would have me.

As I played more, my muscle memory got stronger because I was practicing so much. The more I played, the better I got, and that's just kind of how it goes.