when did you write your first song, and what was it called?
oh man… a pretty wretched little ditty called ‘near to you.’ god, it was awful. i knew three chords and i took a complete shot in the dark just to see what would happen. but some of the friends i had back then would sing along to it and ask me to play it. that was enough to get me to write another.
if your music was a place, where would it be?
there’s an image on the back of a record i have. i think it’s james taylor but i can’t be sure. i’d go look, but all my records are in a storage unit in texas. but it’s of these musicians jamming in a dingy room with a wooden floor, an old beat-up piano with a glass of whiskey on it, speakers hanging from the ceiling, the sunlight battling through the cigarette smoke. it just looks like the perfect environment. where i’d want to spend every day. and i remember pointing the photo out to friends and saying, ‘why cant we be there, right now?’
why did you decide to name your album “soldier”?
there’s a track on the album called ‘soldier.’ i recorded that song with my friends about four years ago in new york before i had a label, and it’s the song that got me signed because one of the owners of the label fell in love with it. the song itself is about fighting with everything you’ve got for something when you have no control over the end result.
is there a certain song you’re most proud of?
they’re all my babies and i constantly tell them to keep cool…
you’ve lived in a bunch of different places, is there one that has had the most influence on you personally and/or musically?
i went to new york when i was eighteen. that was my songwriting school. i probably wrote at least a hundred songs in the five years i was there. and kept fifteen of them. there was so much inspiration… living in the city was like being on cruise control at 300 mph.
what’s your favorite venue you’ve ever played in? and is there a particular venue you dream of playing in one day?
if i played at the beacon theater in new york i’d die a happy man. and my favorite place so far i think would be this small bar in the upper west side in new york where i used to play every thursday with some of my closest friends. it was in a basement surrounded by stone walls. we’d drink and play all night and the audience always asked for more. it was a great time.
if you could jam with any musician, dead or alive, who would you pick?
well, i automatically start sifting through all my heroes and i’m incredibly intimidated and awestruck by all of them. so i’m not quite sure who i would pick. townes van zandt? but what about neil young?? but what about mozart??!!! would i have to wear a puffy shirt?? i’d be down…
if your life was a movie what would the theme song be?
“changes” or “ziggy stardust”?, “space oddity”? pretty much anything by david bowie.
if you had a time machine where would you go?
2015 so i could ride a hover board with michael j. only four more years! i can’t wait for the self-drying jacket!!!
if you were deserted on an island what three things would you want with you?
a fire-breathing dragon, a saddle, and wilson.
tell me something most people don’t know about you.
i own a fire-breathing dragon named wilson.
the album, soldier, is available now on itunes – get it here!
and check him out on facebook or his website!
thank you so much geron!
