I had the following text in the “About” section of this website from 2021-2024. I want to change some things around here, but I don’t want to lose this piece of writing. So, here you have it for the history books. *
Letter from Starlight*
“About Me”
I’ve often wondered whether it might be possible for me to choose not to be an artist, and I’ve attempted on several occasions to seriously set aside my musical pursuits. However, these attempts have generally proven to be futile, and they have typically landed me in a state of great pain, disorientation, confusion, and ill health. I have found that to make art fulfills an incredible amount of inexplicable desires, enables my mind to feel more clear and focused, heals my body, and instills a sense of purpose into my whole life. The benefits are endless, and the challenges inherent to leading the life of an artist form a vital part of the work.
I’ve been serious about writing songs since the age of 14, and, although there have been some years of musical neglect since then, I mostly never feel like I am not writing songs. I mean that the songs are happening inside of me at all times. New songs are always forming, developing, displaying identifying characteristics, and pushing their way to the surface. My work is to simply be attentive to their presence and to eventually bring them out into the shared reality that is experienced by all of us.
That’s where you come in. A song truly comes to life when it is heard by ears other than those of its maker. I labor away to make sure that the song can be played back in a way that sounds as close as possible to the song that I hear inside, and in a live performance setting the goal is also to transmit music that originates from the music that I hear inside. There are, of course, always some imperfections in the translation, but the aim is not perfection. The aim is connection. If the core DNA of a song is effectively transmitted and felt by another being, then that song has now come to life and can be shared infinitely.
I didn’t choose to be born a music-maker, but I did choose to obey the music. I must make that same choice every day of my life, and I have also chosen to share my music with you in the hopes that it might live on forever beyond the limits of my own mortality. I will freely admit that most everything that has to do with songwriting remains very mysterious to me, but this mystery is perhaps the most real and vibrant driving force behind my existence. I don’t need to understand everything about it. I only need to embrace that it is real and trust that, in spite of all of the unknowns that exist in this life, there will always be another song that will come around and ask me to be written.
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