Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your latest album, and what themes or stories you aimed to convey through your music?

I suppose the inspiration is the need to say what’s on my mind these days. I have to watch myself on social media, for instance, and not put out what, to some people, may be an unpopular mindset or opinion about what we are experiencing, what we see and hear in the media on a daily basis. So I put it in a song. I’ve been doing that approach for years now. It’s a safe spot where I can take artistic license and dress it up into music and cool beat. The common theme is me calling out people that take advantage. “Some People”…. I don’t like bullies. “Player” I’m not playing your game. Keep your distance. “St. So and So”….We need the unknown “you” to save us somehow from what could very well be the return the soulless criminal in the driver seat. A large segment of the populations and the media just can’t get enough of him.

Music often has the power to transport people to different places and times. Can you describe a moment in your life when a particular song or album had a profound impact on you?

One of the first songs that ever had an effect on me was “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” (Vince Guaraldi Trio). I was 4 or 5 years old when I put that on my little record player. It frightened, mystified me. I played it over and over again. So many other songs made me happy. Later, it would be the Beatles, Traffic or Stevie Wonder. So many!

Many artists have rituals or routines they follow before performing or recording. Do you have any unique or quirky pre-show or pre-recording rituals that you find help you get in the zone?
I do vocal warm-ups, run scales on the sax, go over some song parts. I may even watch a video of somebody like Prince for inspiration. I walk, stretch.

Your lyrics often tell a story or convey a message. Can you share the story behind one of your songs and the inspiration that led to its creation?
In my song “Player” I talk about the entitled musician type, rock star, God’s gift to women, in his mind. He’s bragging about how many women he’s “got” in every town he travels to. The woman talking in the song, works alongside him, knows what he’s all about. She manages to shun his advances while warning him that she won’t be a part of the game he’s playing with other women, lying for him.

If you could curate a music festival with a lineup of your dream artists, who would be the headliners, and what would the theme of the festival be?

Stevie Wonder, Steve Winwood, Bonnie Raitt. Theme: Love & Peace

Music can be a powerful tool for advocacy and change. Are there any social or political causes that you’re passionate about, and how does your music play a role in promoting these issues?

As a child of the 60s & 70s I saw firsthand how music can change the mindset of a whole segment of society, spill into the media and culture as a marketing trend. I did a documentary project about it in a communications class I took long ago, using John Lennon, the Beatles, even Janet Jackson (“Rhythm Nation”), the song “We Are the World” as examples of the impact music can have. John Lennon was a threat to the Nixon administration because he had a major influence on people wanting to end the war in Viet Nam. Of course, he was huge in popularity, but if a large segment of artists did the same, it could happen again.

The music industry has evolved significantly with technology. How do you see artificial intelligence and emerging technologies impacting the creation and distribution of music in the future? I’m still learning what impact it could, will have. I can only hope it doesn’t damage the creative community even more than it already is, compromising artist creative property, earning power (what’s left off it).

Many recording artists evolve over time. How do you see your musical journey changing and growing in the next decade?

I keep pushing for the kind of support that would bring more visibility to my work as an artist to help bring my visions to a reality. Without it I’m not sure how much I can grow beyond what I do now. Aside from that, if I can keep writing, recording, performing, physically able to keep the cycle going at this stage in my life, I’m doing great!