On June 2, 2014 I entered a rehab facility in Lancaster Pennsylvania. It was the first day in over a decade that my body was entirely substance free. Among the many things I learned in rehab, and maybe most importantly, I learned that I do not have to do things because I am going to be the best at them or because they will make me money. I realized for the first time that I can simply do things just because I love doing them. I woke up. So I picked up a guitar and started writing songs.
Thank you for supporting my journey.
Update March 2017: As this album comes up on it's two year anniversary, I wanted to revisit it and make some comments. I have thought a lot about removing this album from the internet in the past 2 years. I am a completely different person than I was when I wrote these songs and first started experimenting with music in general. A lot of it is cringey to listen to. Especially the problematic language on \"Today I Didn't Rob My Friends\" that I feel I should specifically apologize for. I feel that I have gotten a lot better at writing songs and have grown so much as a person. I do not feel that this album represents good work of mine at all. But in the end, I decided to keep it up here because I have no right to decide for my fans what is good music and what is not. There may be some people who are currently going through the same feelings I describe in these songs and I have no right to deny them the comfort it might offer them to hear these. So, in the end it stays here as a testament to my growth as a musician and as a person.
Update Jan 2019: I randomly listened to this album again recently and I feel like I'm done seeing it as cringey. Well, its definitely still cringey and juvenile but might be so cringey that it's actually really good. I shouldn't be so harsh on my previous self. I'm heavily considering working some of these songs into full band sets, especially Connect the Dots which I think has some really great lyrics. I am also planning on *trying* to re record all of these songs as a full electric band for its 5th year anniversary in 2020. Someone hold me to this !!
