I’m aware that I’m a few weeks late in expressing that sentiment, but know that it’s heartfelt all the same. The first days of 2019 have been spent re-charging, setting creative goals for the year, and starting to turn those goals into actions!
Halloween’s House of Ghosts album release was such an exciting event for me, and the good vibes have just kept coming. I’m thrilled to report that I’ve receive the vinyl test pressings for the album, and they sound fantastic! Thanks to local vinyl manufacturers Gotta Groove Records, my new album will be officially available shortly, and I’ll be sending pre-orders out hot off the presses – almost literally! If you haven’t reserved a copy yet, you can still put in your pre-order HERE. As my second offering on vinyl, I’m incredibly proud of how this album has translated to such a time-honored medium and can’t wait for it to be spinning on your turntable!
The album release party was also an opportunity to reunite my band The Mess Makers, and we’ve been back in action ever since. Not only are we booking more shows around northeast Ohio, but we’re also shooting our very first music video this coming Sunday! We’ll be doing a performance video to my House of Ghosts single “The Last Sunset” and filming at Cleveland’s amazing Hamilton Collaborative, home to Ingenuity Fest, Skidmark Garage, and dozens of other art, music, performance, and innovation projects and events. It’s an exciting space full of creative energy that, combined with the videography & direction of Brandon Radic of Lights & Sounds Media should make for one excellent music video!
Of course, the new album isn’t the only big happening from this past year. Just after midnight on New Years, I debuted Hello Headrush, a new multimedia performance project which tells the story of a race of androids and their conflict with humanity. From the beginning, I wanted to make sure the live experience was unique and immersive: the “band” is comprised not only of myself playing & singing live, but two additional characters – portrayed by me – rocking out on life-size screens on stage along with me (insert “I’m beside myself” joke here), my microphone stand has a 3D-printed robot hand holding the mic, I’m playing a badass space guitar that was painted using fluid acrylics by Fiercely Serene, and I’m wearing a facial prosthetic to round out the visuals. The music is a combination of electro-pop & hard rock with a plethora of other styles blended in (even a bit of disco!), and I’ll be releasing the first single, entitled “Second Life”, from the debut EP Humanity* on January 28, followed by a live show at The Empire in Akron on February 2.
My regular solo performances and those with the Mess Makers will continue alongside the Hello Headrush project, and I’m looking forward to another truly awesome year of music. I’ve already confirmed appearances at both the Cleveland and St. Louis Wizard World Comic Cons, along with dozens of other shows, all of which can be found on my website. Here’s a quick list of upcoming gigs – hope to see you in person soon!
As always, there’s a chance I might end up picking up a few more shows over the coming weeks, so be sure to like my various social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and keep an eye on the Tour Dates page to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Lastly, if you’ve ever wondered what music I personally listen to, here’s a little window into that; I put together a Spotify playlist that reflects how my 2018 sounded. Some of these are songs that were personally significant for me, some I found musically inspirational, and others are just bangers. I hope you enjoy – and if there’s any music you think I’d enjoy, please send it my way!
Once again, thank you for taking this journey with me. Let’s make 2019 a great one!
Halloween’s House of Ghosts album release was such an exciting event for me, and the good vibes have just kept coming. I’m thrilled to report that I’ve receive the vinyl test pressings for the album, and they sound fantastic! Thanks to local vinyl manufacturers Gotta Groove Records, my new album will be officially available shortly, and I’ll be sending pre-orders out hot off the presses – almost literally! If you haven’t reserved a copy yet, you can still put in your 
