Bio

Hometown:

Silver Spring, MD

Non-structured ruminations on music:

I listen to whatever moves me. This mostly consists of alt rock, jangle pop, straight rock and other genres based around that sound.
I'll spend entire days listening to jazz (smooth, fusion, contemporary), though.
I refuse to let a genre or an artist make a song bad.
Seriously, guys, the frontman/frontwoman's personal life doesn't make their music any better or any worse.
People who don't write their own music don't count, I can make fun of them.
Lyrics don't matter to me as much as a good chord progression. Bad lyrics turn me off more than good lyrics turn me on. A good singer is nice, a bad singer is awful. (This is why I don't love everything the Fray does.)
Melodic composition can make or break a song.
My favorite songs either make me feel warm and fuzzy, psych me out, or make me solemn and melancholy.
The bass is an incredible part of the band. Violins are awesome, especially when combined with basses. Mandolins count too.
Everyone's obsessed with guitars for a reason.
Drums are fun to play. Complicated beats make my head hurt, but I love them.
Keyboards are great. Orchestra synth patches suck when people use them instead of actual strings.
Old stuff is good. New stuff is good.
Music is diverse, yet universal.

I play Irish music, as well as dabbling in others (such as jazz and rock).