Storage Solutions

I woke up today and Google was practically shouting at me from my phone screen. Something about.. I had used up too much space and I wouldn’t be able to receive emails after a certain date.

I had options though. I could either purchase some storage from Google or “clean up space”. I chose to clean up space as it seemed like a better option from a financial standpoint.

This led me to looking at “large attachments”. There were a bunch of old videos in this section that dated back to 2017.

I had been hoping to see something from last year when I wrote FTE so I could hear how bad it must’ve sounded. It was almost a year ago when I first wrote that song, and my vocal ability has come a long way in that time. It is me vs. me, after all.

There wasn’t really much there of me or my music because I had stopped music in 2015 and didn’t resume until mid-2023. I always wish I had some of the stuff from the 2013-2014 years, but it doesn’t go back that far.

But what I found was even better. I found a video my old friend, Jon Tierney, belting out one of his classics, Uncle Sam, on stage at an intimate venue.

If you didn’t know him, Big Jon was an exceptional songwriter with a powerful voice. The kind of guy that brings silence to the room the moment he starts to play. Once he started singing though, that’s when he really had you.

Sadly, Jon passed away a few years ago. Today I was reminded of how fortunate I was to know him. I was even lucky enough to get to spend time alone with him a few times. Just us.

I must’ve done something good during a performance because he asked me to hang out with him and play music at his apartment. He saw some potential in my songwriting and he wanted to help me get better. We had gotten together a few other times, years later, as we did share some other common interests, but that was the only time we ever had the guitars out.

Jon played and jammed with a million guys, but that was a moment for me. I remember being excited by the prospect of being mentored by a songwriter of that caliber.

Jon was a big dude, but he always had this way of making everyone else feel big. There were plenty of talented musicians around that were great at making other people feel small. And then there was Jon, the best of the best, and he gave back all of that love and then some. He was great to be around.

I never really did get to play anything with him, outside of that one day, but I studied the way he played and I’’d like to think that I took some things from him stylistically.

The video of him that I found while trying to clean out my phone, turned out to be just 15 seconds long. That left me wanting more. So, with the history of recorded music at my fingertips, I headed on over to stream some of his music. Even now, all these years later, I still can’t help but be inspired any time that I hear that voice and that guitar. It still makes me stop what I am doing and listen. Most of all, it makes me want to play more. I’d give anything to have just one more opportunity to play with him, maybe write a song together, it would be epic.

I’d like to think that he’d be proud of what I’m doing and what I’m trying to build. I think he’d probably just say, “dude, it’s about fuckin time”.

So, I guess you could say that looking for storage solutions led me down the rabbit hole of listening to Big Jon all day, and left me more inspired than ever to write songs.

Music is powerful

DR

And so it begins….

If you know me, and you know that I launched a website, well then you know that of course I’ve incorporated a blog into that website.

It’s true, I love to write. I’m just so much better at it than talking… and singing. Writing is definitely my favorite form of communication. But if I’m being honest, it was the singing that brought me here.

Back in the middle of 2023, I began playing with my guitar for the first time in many years; that led me back into songwriting (always has been my favorite thing to do when I play a guitar), songwriting eventually led me into a recording studio. That recording studio led me to releasing original music as an independent artist. Once it became clear that I was going down that road, building a website only seemed logical. And with that website, comes this blog.

While original music is at the forefront for me, I am hoping to create a well-rounded space around this brand. Meaning, we get to engage with each other, learn from each other, maybe agree to disagree sometimes. I want us to recognize and respect our differences, and I’m hopeful that we can find some ways in which we are not that different from each other. I think we can all make some friends in the process. The world is so connected now. There are no geographical barriers that are holding us back from uniting together, anyone can be a DReamer.

When it started, back in mid-2023, I was completely broken. Years of overeating, overdrinking, not exercising, and many other poor lifestyle choices had began to catch up with me. It was plain obvious when I look back at photos and videos.

I can’t explain the drastic physical transformation that has happened to me. I really can’t. But I do know that pieces only started to fall into place, when I let music back into my life. Maybe, subconsciously, I always knew that I had this deep and powerful connection with music, and maybe, that’s why I steered clear of it for so long.

But I’m not that unique, everyone has a deep and powerful connection with music. Maybe you haven’t yet discovered it, or maybe you keep it suppressed, as I had for so long, but it lives inside of each and every one of us. I really believe that.

See, on the one hand, my deciding to play music was always going to lead me right here. Thrusting myself into a spotlight of my own creation. There was no way I was going to be satisfied with doing music for myself. But on the other hand, I wasn’t even close to being ready to share.

I know that many artists and musicians will say that they do it for themselves, they do it because it makes them happy; and if others happen to like it, then great, that’s a bonus!

That’s not me. There are some similarities; I do love it, and it makes me happy, and that’s exactly why I need to share it. It’s just like anything else I’ve ever done that brings me joy, I try to re-create that experience for others because I know that if it brought a smile across my face, there’s a damn good chance that it will do the same for them.

I love to eat, and I love to drink, and I’ve made a very successful career out of re-creating those experiences for others over and over again in the hospitality industry. I love being the General Manager of an iconic Rhode Island restaurant. People get excited for food and drinks, they love it!

In my opinion, there is no comparison for what music can do for people. Music brings on a kaleidoscope of emotion. The full range and spectrum of “feels” and “moods”. There is nothing else like it. The healing power of music can touch anybody at any moment. A phenomena that while almost impossible to explain verbally, is so easily conveyed, sonically.

It’s touched me, it’s healed me, and given me a new lease on life.

If you know me, and you know that I launched a website, you know that of course I have to share that with the world.