I never had any lessons or pressure to play something like a lot of people did growing up. I got a used electric guitar for my birthday when I was about 13. I played around on it from time to time, but skateboarding was my true love at that point. In high school some guys asked me to be in a band with them. I don't think I really even played anything in that band though; I was the singer. I started home-taping in about 1997 with a four track and knew pretty quickly it was something I wanted to get really into. Over the course of recording all the time for the last 10 years, I studied a lot of physics and electronics that all apply to music and why things sound the way they do. I love making things that sound cool, but I'm technically pretty ignorant about music theory and all that.

My first pivotal experience with music was listening to my brother's records when he was out on weekends when I was about 9 or 10 years old. It was mostly british new wave and 80's synth pop kind of stuff. When I started buying my own music, it was either punk or alternative. I lived to watch 120 Minutes in high school. I worked in a record shop at some point and definitely honed in on some of my touchstones during that time. I never really stopped listening to anything I ever liked though, just kept adding to the collection. The harder to classify, the more I like it generally.

I've kind of approached my studio setup with a lot of consideration towards being able to do whatever I want to on my own. I love working with other people but I like to work all the time and I can't expect people to be around when I want to do something or I have an idea to try something. I definitely like having a lot of people coming through the studio to help with the workflow and just vibing off each other. I think being a good musician is very much about listening to and working with other people.

I do love the fact that you can instantly release something to the world; it's pretty powerful. But realizing success in the digital age is definitely more complicated than just putting something on the web and expecting people to flock to it. It's an ongoing process just building your work and creating a listenership for it. All the tools are there, but I think generating continued interest in your work is the most crucial element. I'm still learning a lot about that.

It's alright, I guess. It really depends on what you're trying to do with your music. I'm tethered here for now. I would love to be somewhere that had a more cohesive music scene, with a lot of energy being exchanged between different artists. I got an arts grant this year for my work, so I can't complain about that aspect of living in Chattanooga.

I don't remember exactly. I started it about a week after I first thought of it though. It's not a new concept, and others have done similar projects. It seemed very much like some of the outdoor expeditions I've planned and done. I rode my bike from California to Florida in 1997 and this is just sort of an expedition of another kind. You set goals and you just do them. My reasons to do it were definitely born out of wanting to do something new with the way that I put music out. I've put out 8 records on my own and am pretty tired of that. It's more about pressure to be finishing something every week and not being too precious about the small details or obstacles, and just being comfortable in the process of making music.

One of my main goals is to work through my skill set to a point where I feel really dialed in to what elevates a piece of work. Whatever type of music it is, just being tuned in to how music works and flows. Part of that is reaching a little bit in terms of what instruments I might automatically turn to. I'm not really great at playing any instruments, so I kinda look at it like "what the hell? Give it a whirl". Recording is really fun for me and I love to try new things. I hope for things to get really far out at some point too. I would love for people to be in disbelief that I made some of these songs.

You know, I'm not really sure who my people are. I struggle with depression for sure, but my method of dealing with all that is just working as much as I can. I get really anxious when I can't make something. I do love sad songs, but I don't think that's my music exactly. I don't revel in being depressed, I just find the sound of it infinitely more interesting than the sound of being happy. That's been done enough already. I think I can make my own style of dark music.

I don't have a roadmap at all from week to week. I take a break on the weekends but I try to start with some basic concept on Monday or so. Whether that's writing from a particular instrument or evoking a certain spirit, or working from a melody I wrote in the shower I never know. From the concept, I start to build something that becomes, ideally, whatever it should be. Part of doing this project and its length is to be exhaustive with my work process. I guess I feel like I haven't really found my voice yet and hopefully this is a good way to do that.