about
My musical journey began before I can even remember—I was about one year old when my mom was playing her ’59 Fender Duo-Sonic guitar for me. By age five, I was watching my uncle Carl’s band, The Cicadas, rehearse in my grandparents’ basement. Music was everywhere in our family—my grandpa on harmonica, and my mom and aunts singing three-part harmonies inspired by the Andrews Sisters.
But if I had to pinpoint the real beginning, it was when my neighbor, country singer and guitarist Harvey Mihm, handed me a guitar and showed me three chords. I was 13. Not long after, I picked up a few Beatles songbooks and realized I had truly found something I loved.
About a year later, on a bus ride home from Horace Mann Jr. High, I reconnected with Charlie Eckhardt. We had known each other back in kindergarten but had gone our separate ways. That day, we started talking music—and ended up writing our first song together right there on the bus. Over the next few years, we wrote constantly, drawing inspiration from classmates and everyday life.
By the time we reached North High School, we met Jeff Radke and Matt Bayens, and together formed Bacchus Lotus.
I’m grateful to still be playing in that band with my best friends today.
For more about our band, visit www.bacchuslotus.com