Ah yes, a bio. I refuse to
speak in the 3rd person about myself. It creeps me out. So
until someone else options my musical life story, here goes…
I learned guitar somewhere
around the age of ten. My dad had decided to weather his mid-life crisis by
learning folk songs at a local community college. He’d come home after
class and teach them to me. “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” was a big, big hit. A
duet of “If I Were A Carpenter” wasn’t far behind. My brother, the music
prodigy of the house, (1st seat French horn, don’t cha know?)
helped round out my musical interests and talents by “encouraging” me (with
the implied threat of noogies) to accompany him on, seemingly, endless
renditions of “Saturday in the Park” on the piano. I believe my mother is
in the running for canonization simply by virtue of putting up with us.
Over the next few years,
progress in songwriting came in fits and bursts. Generally, they were
accompanied by someone crushing my heart, or ticking me off. After college
(Poli. Sci – go figure) at the University of Colorado-Boulder, I joined the
Peace Corps. People often talk about how they’d learn an instrument, take
time to write, etc. if they ever got stuck on a desert island somewhere.
Well, the campo in Paraguay provides such an opportunity, as well. I
wrote more music and lyrics in those 2 years than in the entire decade prior
combined.
After Peace Corps, and a few
years in N’awlins where I spent time getting to know my biological family –
who are, perhaps not coincidentally, also musically inclined – I was lured
back into the vortex that is Chicago. It only took one family jam session
to realize that my brother Jeff and I had both been bitten by the
songwriting bug. After some convincing (see post) to join NSAI, Jeff and I
started writing fairly frequently together. Many of the songs you’ll see
posted here are either co-writes or at least passed under his critical eye
once or twice (for which I’m always grateful).
Comments, suggestions, and
critiques are welcomed. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jules
