Interview

You were born in Massachusetts and raised in Ohio. How did you end up in Atlanta and what routes have you taken to get there?

Although I was born in Massachusetts, I was actually raised in Florida and moved to Atlanta in my teens when my father had a job transfer.

You have strong Italian roots and Italians are known to be passionate people. This shows in your songwriting. What else about your heritage lends itself to your style?

There's nothing specific to my heritage that influences my music. All artists are passionate, it's the nature of their work and specific to their experiences. Indirectly, however, my heritage has influenced me in that my Italian roots led to me to my experience of a tightly knit family and my specific relationship wtih immigrant grandparents has colored my view of life.

How did your musical background begin? Who were your inspirations?

My mother always sang in the house when I was young. It was more the albums of her time that lead to my discovery of music and therefore the discovery of my voice. Fortunately, she had good taste and my origins were singer/songwriter in nature, Carole King, Elton John, etc.

When you write songs, who do you write for? Do you write for yourself, your fans or a mix?

I always write for myself. The idea of fans at all is an afterthought. Art is an intense experience with yourself, a following. A movement towards things known but not seen, an unfolding. The act of recording songs you have written is another art form in and of itself and in that art form lie the artistic decisions of how to express the music written, how to choose which language it will be spoken in, one that will lead it into pop culture or one that will let it remain a conversation with yourself.

What is it about the creative process that appeals to you?

It's like a huge puzzle and the picture is made up of pieces of my life. It's a psychological journey.

Which comes first, the music or the lyrics?

Neither. Expression has no pattern.