The arts have always been a part of my life.  I believe the arts - whether singing, dancing, painting, acting, writing, etc. - are fundamental to happiness.  It is through writing, acting and singing that I experience all levels of emotion without getting lost, or stuck, in them.  Typically, I write sad songs.  In fact, for a happy person, my songs are quite sad.  I haven't figured this one out yet.  I do know that it is in identifying with my own or other people's pain, helplessness, confusion, dreams, love - our stories - that I feel connected to life.

The artists I most identify with are Neil Young, Shane MacGowan, Bob Dylan, Janice Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Sinead O'Connor, Tracey Chapman, Simon & Garfunkel... and there are many more.  When my Uncle Scott played Neil Young's Sugar Mountain for me, when I was about 8 years old, I knew the guitar and singing would always be a part of my life.