| Music is one of the great
joys of my life. I owe a part of that, I'm sure, to my
genealogical heritage. I understand that my great-grandfather
Ai Reed, whom I never met, was quite a musician (see the
pictures above). My mom loved music and played piano,
and my parents (including my step-mom after my mom died...)
always had a piano around the house. I wrote my first
melody as part of a requirement for a Music merit badge
at a Boy Scout in Troop 192 in Westerville, Ohio at the
age of 12.
My real love is listening
to music and writing it....much more so than performing
it. It's exhilarating for me to hear well-crafted music
played, and very fulfulling for me to create it myself.
I write some pop, jazz, country, rock, and contemporary
instrumental. I also end up writing most of my own lyrics....although
I have collaborated with a few friends over the years,
contributing either music or lyrics. Because most of
my 150 or so songs DO have lyrics, it will take some
time to get them posted, but I have begun working on
it, at least.
My ultimate goal is to
see my songs performed by others. I love gifted performers...
people who are passionate about bringing their talent,
focus and energy to bear on the art of performance...those
who "bond" with an audience and find their
greatest joy in sharing music with them. While I enjoy
sharing what I've created with others, it's never been
as great a passion for me to do that as it has been
to craft the songs themselves.
But, 'til others catch
on to the fact that I AM, in fact, the world's greatest
songwriter and they just MUST record any song of mine
they can get their hands on...<grin>... I've taken
it upon myself to "get the word out" by performing
and recording some of it myself, when possible. It's
been a real privilege, but I'll continue searching for
publishing opportunities so the songs can be "worked"
to established and emerging artists.
So what's next for me,
recording-wise? I am working on my third solo piano
album (it's already written...I just need some time
to get it recorded). And I have 3 more albums mapped
out: a spoken-word bedtime stories project, a christian
kids album, and my first purely educational project
for kids. point. | 
