I first started talking with Julia Rose DeStefano back around 2007 when I was living at Chad's house in Marblehead, MA. I recall penning away such songs as "Electric Candle" and recording rough demos like "Hello, Amy", while in the background my small TV was lighting up the tiny attic space I had called home for a year and a half. I was recording video journals of my thoughts on Amyloidosis while at the same time struggling to figure out where to go from where I was.
These are just some of the many memories I hold close to me from that time period. But I will also never forget talking with Julia and being so inspired by her creativity, her musical knowledge and writing aspirations. I am very drawn towards people with similar crafts and ambitions. So it's no surprise that nearly four years later, we have once again connected and fused our artistic passions into her writing.
I used to always tell Julia: "I want you to review my CD when it's complete." At the time, Julia wrote, and still writes, for Boston's rock and roll magazine "
The Noise" and I knew I'd always keep this creative connection in my mental rolodex for when the time came. So when "What To Keep & Let Go" was completed, I pulled out her contact info and requested she review the CD like we had talked about so many years before. Being the great supporter of the arts that she is, Julia accepted. But it was better than I expected: She was going to feature me in a Spotlight piece in a
different magazine that she contributed to.
Performer Magazine, another of Boston's musicians' resource, ended up playing host to a very thoughtful, well-written piece by Julia, describing not only my musical history, influences and goals, but my "Healing Power of Music" and the effect that my writing has on ultimately aiding in my personal therapy. The article came out great and I couldn't be happier to have kept contact with Julia so it could finally become a reality. As all the creatives that come into my life, I hope to work with her again.
Thank you again Julia for such an amazing article! Your support for my project has always been very appreciated.
For more on Julia's artistic side, you can check out her website
here. And be sure to pick up the July issue of Performer Magazine, on sale in the Boston area. For now, I have attached a screen shot of the article.
Recently I have had the pleasure of working on a venue poster for Matt Koelsch, a musician I have never met in person yet he sings on one of my songs on What To Keep & Let Go. Anyway, to gather inspiration for the tone and emotional evocation I'd need to come up with an appropriate visual, I started listening to his music more. I have to say, he is one of my favorite independent artists out there right now. His songs are infectious, hooky and well-produced. "Against The Night" and "Fall Away" are two of my favorite, while "Vomperbach" helped inspire the waterfall/river aesthetic in his poster.
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