Welcome to the Under Blog

Music.  Where does it come from and where can it go?  It starts deep inside when you are young.  All of the sudden you are humming some song you heard on the radio, and you can't figure out why.  For me it was "Mack the Knife" by Bobby Darin.  I had no idea what the lyrics were saying, but that melody stuck.  That was the first one, I was nine years old. And all these years later it is still the same, the melody gets in my head and I can't get it out.  

And I remember when lyrics began to mean so much. "Abraham, Martin, and John" by Dion in 1968.  Bobby Kennedy was going to bring America back to where it had been after his brother was assassinated.  How could it happen again?  I did find some comfort from my friends in college. There, I really started to learn to play guitar, which helped me find my first girlfriend, who I wrote a song about. It said something very simple, but very real to me.  And when she left me a few years later, I wrote my first break up song, and it was therapeutic.  But amongst all of that, I had found my voice for writing, and began to do it in earnest.

It wasn't until 2006, having spent years in the record business helping artists find their dreams, that I found mine.  I had discovered Kenny Wayne Shepherd and helped bring Ambrosia to the top of the charts....such talent.  And when Joe Puerta of that band heard a song I had written which talked about going home to Chicago for Christmas, he liked it, said we should record it, and we did. My friend, Jim Cortez, created a video around it which instantly captured You Tube viewers.  It became a #1 record on the mediabase oldies chart, found great support on AC radio stations, and was used on ER, the NBC hit TV show.  And that was all great for me, truly.  But the real moment came when I was walking through a mall in Milwaukee where  several radio stations were playing the song.  Two teenage girls came walking out of a store, singing my song, arm and arm.  It is one of those real moments of pure happiness.  And I have never looked back.

Music comes from many places, so you just have to be open to it.  That is what has inspired me to share that part of my life on UNDER SONGS, and I hope some of my friends will share some of their musical moments with me.  I will offer many songs, and each has a real part of me attached.  And I know all song writers will feel the same way about their tunes, that's what makes it great.  So lets enjoy the moments, and perhaps we can all help each other along the way, as that is what the Beatles and many others did for me.  And if you are one of the lucky ones who grew up loving music, let's walk this new road together.  Off we go.........

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