At 23, I was still a kid in most respects: irresponsible, impulsive and very vain. I grew up in an affluent community and though I wouldn't call my family rich, I never wanted for anything. I had excelled at sports since childhood, made friends easily where ever I went, and traveled all around the States and Europe. However, I also dropped out of college twice and was working as a valet at a hotel in downtown Monterey, CA. Day after day I saw my life slipping into a haze of bi-monthly pay checks and beers at the bar after work. Life was easy and I was lazy. I needed a push.
Part of me knew I'd hate the Army. I hate being told what to do and getting up early and I attest being dirty. But I knew that if I had something in my life to fight against I would gain a clearer picture of what I wanted to do with the rest of it. I thought for months about whether or not it was really the right path for me. Finally, in February of 2006, I took the first step and signed on the line and shipped off to Fort Jackson, SC.
Something in me changed in those first few weeks, and it had nothing to do with the drill sergeants or the routine or missing my family. I realized I couldn't live without music. I literally ached for my guitar. Everything I'd been thinking was wrong. It wasn't important if I was special or some superstar in the making, it was that I needed to share with others whatever it is inside me that drives me to create.
I needed that community and TTFR is helping me rebuild what I had given up. Imagine, people who recognize that soldiers aren't just numbers, that we were normal people with dreams and talent before we joined. We continue to dream even in the middle of the desert, thousands of miles from anything familiar. Soldiers come from all walks of life and join for all sorts of reasons; what better way to honor our service then to encourage our creativity and help share it with the world?
My first two releases "Perfect Parade" and "Short and Sweet" were recorded while I was at the University of Arizona right before I went to basic training. I think my newer music reflects how I've grown since becoming a soldier but still retains the playfulness that has never left my personality (shhh don't tell anybody). A few months ago I made a video for "Sand Hills to Sandals" from my barracks room at Fort Bragg. It may be the only song I ever write about the time I spent in Iraq and what it was like to come back home because I've never been one to mix business with pleasure. Maybe it will help people understand what its like if they have friends or loved ones deployed. If something positive can come out of the sadness that so many have had to face then I think it will have been the right thing to do.
So what's next? I'm one deployment down with another on the way. If I've learned anything it's that life is precious, and if you don't take advantage of the gifts you're given every day you'll look back a few years down the road and see a lot of wasted time. I know that wont be me. I may have taken a different direction that I'd expected but really, what are a few years of service when you gain so many rich experiences and memories? I look forward to the day when I can personally shake hand of the guys behind the emails, Sean and Mason and the rest of the team. They've given me such an awesome opportunity to feel like I'm still in the game even when I'm knee deep in the mud. But they know, they've been there and that's what community is all about. Sharing, growing and helping each other out… it's kind of like family.
Taken during training at JRTC at Fort Polk, LA this summer.
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