I don’t mind the rain, it’s gotta come down time and time again. No, I don’t mind the rain. Let it come down. Let’s dance in it.

Sometimes I’ll write lyrics and it may not be until years later I truly understand what I was saying. If it weren’t for rain, life as we know it wouldn’t exist. It provides growth and nourishment that’s necessary for a sustained living. It’s the “rain” in our lives that provides an opportunity for growth as well. When it rains in our lives, that’s when we are going through a tough spell. A storm. And these rains, these storms, provide opportunities for inner growth.

As I started writing this, I realized the lyrics makes more sense to me now than the day I actually wrote the song. And when I wrote it, I was smack dab in the middle of the most brutal storm of my life. I was sitting in prison after a nationwide sweep by the ATF of the motorcycle club I was riding with. A far cry from where I was just years before when I was playing music full time and touring the country with my band Less Traveled. Miles away from when I followed my dreams to NYC to pursue a solo career.

When I hit rock bottom, the power of music was my saving grace.

I started singing when I was a young child. My brother and I were in the children’s choir at our church. Probably the only thing I enjoyed about church at the time.

My father during those pre teenage years of my life was singing in a local gospel band called the Middleburg Harmonizers. I loved going to see that band. I’d be at their rehearsals and wouldn’t miss a Sunday when they would travel and play at different churches across the state. They let me tag along and even help set up the equipment. Then I would sit back, watch them, and sing along. To this day I think I could sing every word on the album they made. When I was about 9 or 10 my father bought me a guitar and amp and I would try to play along with that album.

Gospel is largely influenced by the blues, and that’s what I gravitated towards once I started learning to play the guitar. From the old Delta Blues like Robert Johnson, to classic blues heroes like B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Albert King, Eric Clapton, and the list goes on. But it wasn’t until I heard Stevie Ray Vaughn that I was really hooked on playing guitar, singing, and later writing my own songs. It was during those years my true love seed for music was planted.

Well, like I said above, it’s the rain that provides growth. It’s the ups and downs. The good and the bad. The loves and loss thereof. The storms in our life. These moments provide an opportunity for growth and change. But it’s still a choice.

When I landed in prison and found out there were acoustic guitars, a live band room with a P.A. and heard we could perform live shows on the yard a few times a year, it was the love for music and choice to grow from the rains of the storm in my life that kept me positive. I wrote 11 out of the 13 songs on my last album, “Keep Moving,” while I was there, as well as a book of poetry and songs called “Behind These Painted Walls” that I plan to publish one day.

When the pandemic hit and the world “shut down,” all the growth and lessons I learned from previous life storms gave me the strength and resilience to really persevere during these difficult times. I’ve been able to dig in again. Be creative.

Music, it’s my life sustainer. My healer. My true love. And so much more.

Look for a new single to drop soon, leading to an album release in August. And remember “Don’t mind the rain. It’s gotta come down time and time
again. Let it come down. DANCE IN IT!”