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Some of my first memories in the new house were sitting on the stairs leading down into the basement with my brother to preside over my dad’s band practice. Classic rock of the 60s and 70s was the call to prayer and I heeded that summon from around eight through my teenage years. When it came time to charter our own adolescent band, my brother, two years older, had already gained more proficiency on our dad’s drum set, and our neighbor across the cul-de-sac was more charismatic than either of us, so I was relegated to playing the bass. I was in fifth grade when it arrived on the front porch: a metallic blue PJ style Rogue that I ordered through the Musician’s Friend catalog.

 

Towards the end of high school, with at this point many years of violin lessons, bass lessons, and local gigs, I realized that music was about all that sounded appealing to me, so a year out from college auditions, I hunkered down and became serious about studying upright bass. This intense year – from spring of my junior year through winter of senior – gave me my first glimpse into what dedicated musical study looked like, and what I was capable of if I focused. I entered the freshman class at DePaul University in fall of 2012.

 

It took about a year for my enchantment with academic classical music to wane, and quickly I sought out opportunities to play other styles. With two of my closest friends, I dove into folk music and learned all I could about bluegrass, old time, and contemporary acoustic music, spending my hours working in the computer lab connecting all the players I was watching on YouTube like a web. Slowly, that web gained dimension and many of those ersatz instructors became friends and colleagues.

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I stayed in Chicago for four years after I graduated from DePaul and in that time learned how to be a working musician. I taught lessons, played all types of gigs, worked on original projects, toured some, and made about every mistake under the sun. Eventually, though, I was feeling comfortable and a little stagnant, and knew I needed a change and a challenge, so I moved to Nashville in winter 2020.

 

While 2020 was a unique time to relocate, although many did, the fact that everyone was in town and hosting jams in their backyards provided a great opportunity to make new friends and connections. Not to mention, my roommates and I, those same two college friends, Libby Weitnauer and Owen Burton, had the luxury of time to start a new band: Dallas Ugly.

 

In the intervening years, I’ve had the good fortune of carving out something of a niche for myself. I travel and record with The Arcadian Wild, a band that continuously stretches me and utilizes a large swath of my somewhat specialized skill set, I get to take creative reigns in Dallas Ugly, alongside Libby and Owen, and I get hired to perform and record with a wide variety of artist in many styles, including: DownRiver Collective, George Jackson’s Local Trio, Miss Tess, River and Rail, Rachel Baiman,  Liv Greene, Liam St John, and Slocan Ramblers to name a few. I feel hugely lucky to make music with such a diverse and inspiring community of people in Nashville, and to have crossed the country multiple times doing what I love. I don’t take my position in the scene for granted, and I’m excited for what the future has in store.

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