You can now purchase my first single. It’s a radio version of “Time”, the first track from my upcoming EP, “The Worktape Sessions”.

Thank you all so much for your support. It means a lot to me. I am so grateful to get to do what I love for a living, and with your help, the sky is the limit. God bless you all, and enjoy the music:)

I boarded the Southwest plane leaving Nashville, TN, headed for Los Angeles, CA, to celebrate the New Year with my brother who was living on the west coast. It was my first trip to LA, it was the first time I had ever flown alone, and it turned out to be one of the most important events of my life.

I took my seat next to the window, and waited with anticipation for that plane to leave the ground. A pleasant, cheerful looking little guy came and sat next to me. The normal airline greeting took place, “hi”, “hey”, (insert humorous icebreaker). Once we took off, the gentlemen pulled out a pair of Bose Noise Canceling headphones and placed them on his head. Of course, I did the unthinkable, and I said, “Excuse me sir, I know this is terribly awkward, especially since I don’t even know you, but is there any way I could try those head phones on?!? I’ve always wanted to try a pair out but have never had the chance!”

“Absolutely!” he said. “Here, put them on, then flip this little button…”

He responded just like I thought he would. I could tell this fella was a nice guy, just by his calming presence and cheerful disposition. Needless to say, the Bose Noise Canceling headphones blew my mind! They were awesome!

Well, that led to a pretty incredible conversation. I told him why I was headed out there, about my brother, my dream of music (at the time I had only written solo piano music, and barely ever touched lyrics). Then he told me why he was going out there…

Apparently, he played piano and sang for this Christian super group called Selah and was headed out west to do a show in LA. I was ashamed to say I didn’t know who they were (actually, in my defense, I didn’t know anything outside the confines of country music, REM and Coldplay). We had a great flight, a great conversation, and as soon as I got off the plane, I told my brother all about my new friend, Allan Hall, from a group named Selah.

It wasn’t until 2 years later that I had run across a notebook that belonged to my father…a notebook containing prayers, thoughts, lyrics. I found 4 lines on a single page in the middle of the notebook that really struck me. I immediately sat at the piano, and began putting a melody to those lines, and using them to complete an entire verse, and then a chorus…then I was stuck. By this time, I was early on in my first writing deal with Harley Allen Music, and I was writing melody and lyrics all the time. I had forgotten about the song until a few weeks later when I headed down to Nashville from Kentucky, listening to NPR, (yes, I’m a nerd), and I heard the most beautiful rendition of the familiar song…

“As I went down in the river to pray

studying about that good ole way

and who shall wear the starry crown

good Lord, show me the way”

Nope. It wasn’t Allison Krauss. It was Allan Hall…from the group Selah…and that was a cut from his first solo project, “House Of A Thousand Dreams” (which is, and always will be one of the most beautiful records you’ll EVER hear). I listened to that, and was reminded of the plane ride 2 years earlier. An hour later, I was walking into the Gibson entrance of Opry Mills Mall, and guess who I saw on the banner of Curb artist as I entered…that’s right, Allan Hall, and Selah. Well, I took this as a sign. Later that night, I took a chance, seeing as how I was a “professional writer” at this point, and I attempted to contact Allan via MySpace. I told him in the message that I had met him 2 years earlier on a plane bound for LA, that I was now writing full time, and that I had a song that I needed help finishing, and I would love to finish it with him. It was a long shot, I know, but it never hurt to ask. One month later, I got a message back…yes, he remembered me…and yes, he and his producer, Jason, wanted to write that song with me!

Super long story short, I met with Allan and Jason, and we wrote that song at Allan’s house in Nashville. We stayed in touch, wrote some more, and through it all, God blessed me with some truly great friends in Allan and Jason.

Flash forward to May 2010. I’ve got a new publishing deal on Music Row with Zavitson Music Group, and Allan invites me to a Curb writers retreat. There I write with Allan and a few other absolutely fantastic writers/artists. Flash forward to August, we begin work on my first EP, with Allan Hall as the Executive Producer, and Jason Kyle Saetveit as the Producer/Engineer.

I can’t begin to describe how excited I am about this project, but it pales in comparison to the friendships I’ve made and all the folks God has placed before me along this incredible journey.

I tell you all this story to share with you how amazing life really is. I guess everything really does happen for a reason. I’m so thankful for the opportunities I’ve been blessed with, all the doors that have opened, and I hope all of you out there enjoy the music that’s headed your way. Thank you all for your support…we’re just getting started!

Oh…and here’s the piano/vocal of that first song we wrote. God bless.

On Your Cross