Atmospheric, quirky indie-music............ check  

Moody, blissed-out rock songs............... check  

Pop melancholy....................................... check  

Triumphantly sad 'alt rock'...................... check  

Lush, layered soundscapes.................... check  

Sad songs for happy people................... check  

Happy songs for sad people................... check  

ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO

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I’ve been writing and recording songs since 1985, between my junior and senior years in high school.  This is the ultimate hobby, and I’m always making efforts to improve my songs, my lyrics, my playing, and my engineering/mixing skills. 

My songs - written in locations such as Helsinki, Seattle, Brisbane, Calgary, Bangalore, Moscow, Austin, and Boise - run the gamut from electric folk to psychedelic rock to acoustic pop.  They often make use of lush, heavily-layered soundscapes with lots of sonic 'ambiance'. In this regard, I've been heavily influenced by artists such as Daniel Lanois, Radiohead, Talk Talk, Sigur Ros, and The Flaming Lips.  I play guitars, bass, drums, percussion, and keyboards on my songs - and I do all the singing.  But more importantly, I tend to use the studio as an 'instrument' in and of itself (my Beatles influence showing through).  I actually enjoy producing, mixing, and manipulating sound as much as songwriting itself - probably more

Lyrically, my songs tend to be introspective, from personal experience, with generally bittersweet themes.  Nature has also been a common topic, though I never know what I'm going to write about next.  Of course, there’s also the occasional bizarre experiment - I rather like using the studio as a 'sound laboratory', and I listen to a wide variety of stuff - everything from Sun Ra to Neil Diamond to Black Moth Super Rainbow. 

~ 

This site is a bold one.  Rather than putting up only my most polished music, I'm archiving well... most everything.  Starting all the way back during my childhood in Canada during the 80's, it's all represented here: GOOD, BAD, and OTHER.  I hope you find something here that catches your ear.  And, if you have the luxury of time to invest, you are invited to listen to my musical progression chronologically through the many years I've been doing this...  After all, what is life without progression

THERE'S 6 HOURS OF MUSIC ON THIS SITE.  Enjoy!

JSR