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2021 Year In Music

We are now two years into this pandemic fiasco, and it continues to dominate our daily lives on every level. Being an artist and navigating the 'new normal' is incredibly difficult, however, life must go on! We must adapt and conform while we continue to create because people need the arts now more than ever. Obviously we still need to be safe to protect ourselves and everyone around us, and unfortunately that means we still must be patient before jumping back into this full steam ahead. With that said, I was fortunate enough to contribute to some creative projects throughout the year, and have recently started returning to the road.

Gold Child

This was a tough year for Emily and myself, however, we were able to release our second full length album, which was started just prior to quarantine in New York. This album is a huge step forward creatively for Emily, and a great progression in her songwriting. We were fortunate to work with some excellent people on this project, including our good friend and longtime band member John Fredericks. Our friend Allen Tate helped us produce the tracks, friends Tim Lappin, Gabriel Rodriguez, Will McLaren, and Dan Kalisher played all over it, and friend Ariel Loh mixed the album.

Gold Child · Far From You

The Gloomies

I had started playing with my friend Andy prior to quarantine, and he had asked me to contribute drums to a track he was working on this past year. Since moving to Los Angeles, I still have yet to find a studio space of my own, but have still been able to find different spaces to remotely record drum tracks for friends. This track made it onto his recently full length, and we were fortunate enough to do a short tour of the midwest in December.

The Gloomies · Out There

Other than recording projects, I have recently become a live member of Lyn Lapid's band. This has been an eye opening experience and I have learned so much about the modern live show environment. I look forward to many more shows in the future.

2020 Year In Music

 As we all know, last year was... difficult. That may sound like an understatement, but we continue to move forward and distance ourselves from the events of last year, and I believe that however difficult our situations might have been, we can all agree that we would like improve our lives and improve the environment surrounding us. If I sound overly optimistic, it's because I am. I've had a lot of time over the past year to reflect not only on my creative output, but my life in general. Granted I wish I could've spent more of that time in the company of others, collaborating on music projects because that is what I've been drawn towards in the past few years, but I understand the need for a large pause in order to get this virus under control. If anything, it allowed me to reconnect with my own creativity and make music on my own for the first time in many years. Hopefully I can keep that momentum going into this new year. When last year started, I was very eager to see what the year had in store for me. I was playing a lot of music with people and I was scheduled to be touring for a large part of the year. At the same time, I knew my time in NYC was coming to an end, with Emily and I making plans to relocate to Los Angeles sometime in the summer. Obviously those plans didn't come to fruition, however, we did end up in Los Angeles, albeit with a short detour through Denver, and now I'm very happy and fortunate to be settled in a new city, eagerly looking forward to all that this year brings us. I am cautiously optimistic, but optimistic nonetheless.

With that in mind, 2020 wasn't a total loss. A second Gold Child album was already underway when NYC entered lockdown, and thankfully a majority of the tracking had already taken place. Our timeline obviously was extended, but I am very proud of Emily for continuing and ultimately finishing the record. Thankfully the modern recording process has already allowed for remote collaboration, so finishing the album didn't prove overly difficult.

Gold Child

The first single we released from the upcoming album is titled "Like You Used To.' I believe this is Emily's greatest work to date. I love how this song came out, and I really like the way it sounds. I hope you do as well.

Surf Rock Is Dead

The only other project that I worked on and released last year is the debut full length album from Surf Rock Is Dead. This had been in the works for a long time, and unfortunately could not be pushed back any further. This was going to be a huge year for the Surf Rock boys, and we likely would have been on tour for most of the year, starting with our first ever appearance at SXSW. I can only hope that one day soon we will be sharing the stage again together. They worked very hard to put this album together and it deserves to be heard by more people.

And that's it folks! I did do a few remote recording sessions at the beginning of quarantine, so we'll see how those pan out, but I can only hope 2021 will be a more robust year creatively. Fingers crossed.

2019 Year In Music

So here we are, the end of a decade. A decade of highs and lows and a period of tremendous growth for me a person and a musician. I have now lived in New York City for just over 10 years, for better or for worse haha. But in all seriousness, New York has played an important role in shaping me as a person as I finished my twenties and entered my thirties. I moved to New York will very little planning and much naiveté, so I'm not going to say that I could've envisioned where I would be in 2020, but I probably assumed I would still be here. And I probably would have assumed I would still be making music, which has quietly been increasing year after year. This past year was very important for me a musician, one of my most accomplished, and I've very proud of everything that I participated in. My journey is a slow one, but one that I have complete control over, so I am at least grateful for that. That being said, this coming year is shaping up to even busier, which I welcome with open arms. While I consider myself lucky to possess the talents which allow me to be a professional musician, it is an incredibly difficult career, one that I still struggle to earn enough income from without having to work an additional job. I understand there is a certain amount of privilege that is a part of being a musician, but that doesn't mean we don't work incredible hard to produce and present our art to the world. While the modern recording industry is still very young, it is not currently sustainable for most professionals. I think we can all agree on the importance of music in our lives, especially as we look for diversions in this current state that we have found ourselves in, and all I ask is that you think about how that music made its way to your ears. The creative process runs very deep and usually involves quite a few people, all trying their best to create their best work. Music is more abundant and available than ever, so I understand the difficulty in sifting through it all, but if you truly are a music fan, all I ask is that you support musicians in one form or another, of which there are many forms, and I trust you will find a few ways to best suit you. I will never stop creating, and I will never stop working with people who create because that is what I love to do, whether or not it is financially viable. I'll be fine, I hope.

Here is a selection of a few things I worked on this year:

Gold Child

This was the year of Gold Child! Emily released her debut full length album, and I am so grateful that I got to be a part of creating this beautiful record. There was nothing easy about putting this all together, and we worked many years on this project, but I think it's safe to say that we are very proud of the final product. I would like to thank Emily for writing these beautiful songs, and John Fredericks and Garrett Eaton for helping to produce the songs, and to Justin Gerrish for making everything sound great! The album is available on your streaming service of choice, but the Spotify link is below:

Dismal Stars

This is another project that I am more creatively attached to. Along with Nathan Aguilar and Ryan Hill, we have created a short album that I am very proud of. I would also like to thank Sam Wadsworth for helping us achieve a sonic reality. Playing this style of music is a thrill and I'm very happy to be a part of this band.

Surf Rock is Dead

Only one single was released this past year, which will be included on a full length album to be released May 1st. This year was quiet in comparison to years passed, however, 2020 is shaping up to be a busy one for SRiD.



We also released a music video for the single, 'Away Message,' which was a lot of fun to be a part of.




Also this year I became an active live member of the band Hideout, who I had admired for some time, and I am excited to participate in future recordings. I am also still a live member of Blonder, who is also about to release some new music.

Finally, I would just like to thank all the musicians I had the opportunity to make music with over the past decade, all the musicians I have met in during my time in New York, and all of the people who have listened. Because without the listeners, we would be nothing. Thank you.