Photo courtesy of Ariel Kassulke

The moment I knew I wanted to make music was actually a series of moments. The feeling first hit me when I was about 3 years old and I saw the Michael Jackson video for “Bad”. I started trying to do all of his moves and I even found a fedora and did my best to dress like him. It was a pivotal moment for me.

After that, my little sister and I started putting on singing shows for my mom and grandma and really anyone who stopped by our place. Then we took the show to the street corner and would sing songs outside. We even made a few bucks as people walking by would tip us sometimes. After we’d gone back into the house, it was sitting up watching VH1 and MTV, and we’d take turns singing our favorite songs to practice. My sister always wanted to be a singer, but I wanted to play an instrument, so I’d strap up the broom and start working on my moves. We were super poor and lived in the projects so there was no hope of getting a guitar at that time, but I would use that broom every time.

Around age 9 or 10, I started to draw pictures of guitars. I was sneaking to watch MTV late at night and saw the video for “Rhinoceros” by The Smashing Pumpkins. I remember wondering how they were making the guitar sound like that. I was instantly drawn to that band. I was talking about them at school one day and one of the kids in another class gave me the Smashing Pumpkins CD, Siamese Dream, that his older brother had given him. It only solidified my want, no need, to play guitar even more. That CD just did something to me, I felt it in my soul. That music wasn’t just an inspiration to play guitar, it was my escape from being a poor kid in the projects.

By the time I turned 12 I had gotten really good at drawing guitars. I drew them daily just to get my point across to my mom that I really wanted one. I spent two more years drawing guitars and collecting free catalogs from Fender and Guild. At age 14, I remember my mom unexpectedly got a child support check. It was a back payment so it was more money than we’d seen at once and my mom asked me, “How much can you get a guitar for?” I didn’t even hesitate and said, “$250 plus tax for the strat pack! It comes with an amp, picks, strap, bag and tuner.” She told me, “OK, let’s go get it.” I remember on the way over there she said, “You better stick with it, because I can’t afford lessons so you’re going to have to figure it out.” I swore on everything sacred to me that day that I would stick with it and not give up! I told her I wanted to play guitar more than anything and that I’d get super famous one day and buy her everything she ever wanted!

After about 90 days of playing the guitar, I had figured it out. I started jamming in my first bands, and even got a gig at the country bar nearby playing in the house band. It was a small town in western North Carolina, so no one really thought much of a 14-year-old kid playing guitar with grown folks in a bar. I was able to keep up and play all the songs you’d expect to hear in a local country bar - everything from “Freebird” to “Sweet Home Alabama”. I didn’t care what I was playing. I was happy just to be able to play.

I would spend every waking hour playing guitar that I could. I would even get suspended from school on purpose just so I’d get the extra six hours a day to practice. I wrote my first song that same year at age 14. It sounded very similar to The Smashing Pumpkins style of playing. I still remember it to this day. I have been on this journey ever since.