THE GROUNDWORK
Foundations:
I kept touring with my folks right up until my voice started to change and crack. Then I picked up the guitar. Verdie Glenn was the town guitar teacher and was a million years old. he got me started on a good foundation and then it was off to a younger high school guy named dustin cleckLer that got me hooked on the inevitable: Classic Rock. which then of course back my entire identity at eleven years old. Combine that with a role in the “Wimpy Kid” movies, I was a walking recipe for social disaster.
playing guitar with the crew during our lunch break while filming Wimpy Kid 2
PB:
My youth pastor, Jason Kelley, was the first person to really give me a shot at playing in a band. he let me start leading the youth worship band in the seventh grade, a job I held in a couple different churches for the next 9 years. This was a pivitol point in my formation as a musician. it was tough and I sucked, but it was consistent. I owe a great deal to pastor jason.
ZR Praise Band ca. 2011
Chops:
Once my guitar and vocal chops started to take shape, it became pretty apparent that if I was gonna travel farther and play more shows, I'd need something to show for it. Mom took it upon herself to track down gospel producer Joyce MArtin to help me put together a full blown album. Joyce brought on Jim Reilly of “Rascal Flatts” to track drums and Will Douhgty of “poison” to play keys among a whole host of other players. We cut that album in two days and then took it on the road across the southeast for the first time. I was fifteen.
Jim Reilly (Rascal Flatts) & Will Doughty (Poison) in the studio
blast:
Since i was little, the high school put on one show every year: “Blast From The Past.” students would dress up and perform 24 songs ranging from johnny cash to britney spears. as a little kid I remember thinking, “man, those people are from here, which means I can do that too when I grow up.” I couln't play ball and get hurt while I was acting, so getting to be in Blast was my equivalent to making the varsity football team. Every couple years they let the alums come back and perform during the summers, I do my best to make every one. Mr. and Mrs. Mckee, the teachers that have directed the shows for the past thrity years, made it possible for a kid to dream of a life performing on stages in a town with more peach tress than people. I couldn't be more grateful to them for helping make that dream tangible.
