A Few Words About Me – And You

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Paul at the piano - 9 months old

From my point of view, it’s been about music all along.

I grew up hearing the popular songs of the day, my parents music, some classical music. I argued with my first grade friends over who was better, the Beach Boys or the Beatles. It seemed as though music was playing all the time, even if only in my head. Music was a part of my life, like breathing air.

I took classical piano lessons, then guitar lessons. I listened to The Beatles and the Stones, Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Carly Simon; and also Led Zepplin, Jethro Tull, Yes, Rod Stewart, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, and many others.

In high school, I once played my guitar and sang Morning Has Broken in front of the entire school. People said I sounded like Cat Stevens. My math teacher said he didn’t know that I played the guitar.

I sometimes played for friends, then in coffeehouses. In college my roommates and I performed together at the campus center. I started to learn about traditional folk music, music theory, renaissance and baroque music. That’s also when I completed my first songs – though the ideas had been floating around in my mind for years before that.

Another time, after many years of learning about music, and thinking about music, and writing songs, one day a friend surprised me by saying he forgot that I wrote songs. He just didn’t hear me talk about it, he didn’t see me doing it.

And that is so strange. Music mattered so much to me, and yet, many of the people I spent time around didn’t know. I’ve often kept it to myself, like a secret; I just didn’t think other people would be interested in the music that interests me. I went into another field – which I enjoyed – and made a living from it. There, I also worried that others in my profession would think I was less serious, if they knew how much I love music and songwriting. But from high school on, I wrote songs. I just kept doing it.

Ok, so what does that have to do with you? Well, in order to share my music I need to know who to share it with. It makes sense to share it with people who LIKE what I do (I’m told I have a keen grasp of the obvious.). The fact that you’re reading this could mean that you’re one of those people.

I have to say, I noticed that my friends usually seemed to enjoy my songs. And they would ask me to play more. So now I want to share my songs more widely, and find out who likes them. Maybe that includes you.

Also, I love to hear what other people have to say. People show themselves when they tell their stories.

It’s been an interesting journey, all these years, and now it feels like I’m just beginning. I’m sharing my songs more than ever before. I look forward to many more sometimes-difficult, always-worthwhile experiences along the way. Here’s to hoping that you are part of that journey going forward

If you’d like to hear some of my songs, you can find them here.

Thank you for being a listener, for sharing your stories, and for being part of it all.

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