Wow. So much to talk about! I’ll get right to it. I have been busy. Busy with work and busy with play. JUST recently I put out two new tunes from my upcoming album. You should be able to check out the songs on most streaming sources such as Spotify and Apple Music, or head on over to my Bandcamp page to listen, purchase, or dig into other albums. I’m pretty excited about these songs as they will be included on my upcoming album The Color Of My Soul sometime later this year. This album was recorded at different locations throughout the last few years, such as Ankeny School Of Performing Arts, my old apartment, and now the new Birdroom Studio at home, so the album will have a lot of different flavors, genres, and fidelities, thus the reason I am calling it The Color Of My Soul. It’s just an honest album that represents the somewhat chaotic and random wandering of my writing styles. Expect a full-length full of horns, synths, keys, and heavy guitars. It’s sort of all over the place…in a good way.

“Become What I Become” actually uses the phrase “the color of my soul,” my upcoming album title, and it’s a fun introspective pop song. I really like this one. It’s poppy, a little dark, and has a few changes and sections I feel really great about!

“Oliver” is a quick little Bossa Nova tune I wrote while waiting for the season 3 finale of Arrow to load on my computer a few years ago. Nonetheless, it’s a cute little ode to Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen/The Green Arrow) and Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoak).

Volcano Boys recently received our test presses for our new RECORD that we’ll be releasing in early Fall. I’m really stoked with what we have put together with Redd No. 7, and now we are putting out our first Volcano Boys VINYL experience.  We’ve booked the release show date, we’re putting details together, and I’m really excited to share this stuff with our Des Moines friends and hit the road in support of the record! More info on release and new music coming soon!

ALSO, I had my first 80/35 experience as DMMC staff. I am still buzzing on the experience a little still and I learned so much about what happens behind the scenes of a major music festival. The 80/35 core team is incredibly organized and care so much about the concert experience for those attending. It’s wild to think how much preparation goes into the festival. We’re starting to feel a bit more human recently, but we’re going to have to start diving into 80/35 2020 sooner than later, and I’m extremely excited to be a bigger part of building the festival for next year.

I also have some very exciting news to share about my upcoming podcast that I will be doing with the DMMC. More news on that when we make an official announcement about the program.

In other music news I have jumped in on keyboards to help Adam Bruce out at Hinterland this weekend. I think it’s been a great fit and the musicians I get to play with are all great people, professional, and talented. We play at 11:45am Saturday to kick off the festivities that day. It’s a pretty cool feeling to play the same festival as Jason Isbell, Maggie Rogers, Hozier, Kacey Musgraves, and more. It should be a great time!

And as always I am working on new music for TiRES, myself, Volcano Boys, and The Wheelers. The Wheelers have set some recording dates and we have been jamming new material for some time. I am excited to flesh it all out.  I can’t wait to share more music and information on upcoming projects and albums, but for now please check out my new tunes and we’ll hopefully see you around!

Extra Points!!!

Favorite Recent Album: I picked up Them Crooked Vultures on vinyl so I’ve been spinning that often. Probably my favorite Dave Grohl drum experience. I love the vibe of that album.  Plus the new 7” Greg Wheeler and the Polygamist Mall Cops has been in on a pretty consistent rotation with records recently.

Favorite Food: Ugh…I have been on a low carb diet for over three weeks now, so everything is starting to get a little gross, as it is a pretty limited diet. I’ve shed the pounds I’ve wanted and feel much better about moving in a healthier direction, but I’m going to stick it out until the end of the week. My fav dish is probably stuffed peppers with meat, jalapeños, sour cream, and cheese…but I’m looking forward to some pizza sometime soon. The plan is to moderate my food intake a lot more, make healthier choices, and try to stay as low carb as possible, but still enjoy the other foods in moderation. Self-control is an issue I have struggled with. This diet has taught me a lot about myself and I’m really proud I’ve seen it through!

Favorite Drink: I have been mixing Vodka and La Croix with a dash of lemon as my low carb cocktail option. I’ve also cracked a many White Claws the last few weeks, but I am still trying to moderate myself a bit better.

Also, special shout out of thanks to Caylin Graham for letting me use her art for my two little singles! Go check out her stuff on her instagram page!