About Scott

I'm just some old white guy from Michigan who likes to write songs and record them in my house, like millions of other guys.  I'm self-taught in everything involved with it, and I do it all myself.  I know I'm not that great at any aspect of it, particularly singing, but I do it anyway because I can and because I want to.  Refusing to give up for a couple of decades now probably sets me apart from most.  I mainly play acoustic guitar, but I also play bass, drums, piano, harmonica, marimba and ukulele.  The genres might be singer-songwriter, lo-fi, indie folk, roots rock, or Americana.  The lyrics are mostly about love and relationships.

I've become aware of solo artists before, started getting into their music, and then wanted to know more about them.  So, I understand the curiosity, and know it can make you become even more of a fan.  Since I've made my music available publicly and distributed it worldwide on all of the major streaming services, I guess this makes me somewhat of a public person, although I'm very private about my personal life.  As an artist, I'm not particularly important or remarkable, however, I do feel my music is worthy of notice and attention.  Without experiencing any of the negative aspects of fame or celebrity, I love flying under the radar without concern for popularity or financial gain.  I write songs and record them because it's fun, so I don't take it very seriously.  It feels weird to write about yourself, but I wouldn't mind if my music became more popular, and maybe knowing more about me will make you more of a fan, and more likely to recommend the music.   So here goes...

Early life

I was born in Flint, Michigan in 1967 and resided there for about 7 years.  Then I lived in nearby Grand Blanc for about 10 years after my parents moved my younger sister and I there.  At some point in my early childhood, my grandfather built me a banjo out of plywood and rubber bands - a project I helped with in his garage workshop.  I wrote my name on it, and I still have it.  At some other point, someone bought me a plastic ukulele, which I have a picture of, but I have no idea what ever happened to it.

I took a few piano lessons at about age 10, played a recorder in 5th grade music class, and sang in a church choir at about age 12.  I was not enthusiastic about any of these, but I did become a fan of listening to music.  I got a stereo record player as a gift around this time and began collecting albums, 45s and cassettes of what is now called classic rock, which is what they played on local radio stations.  As a teen, I enjoyed live music concerts at an outdoor ampitheatre at the nearby Pine Knob ski area.  I graduated from Grand Blanc High School in 1985.  My mom played a little piano, my dad sang in a church choir, and my sister played piano and flute very well.

In college, I took Intro to Poetry and Intro to Guitar my Senior year, using a used Yamaha acoustic I bought at a pawn shop in Flint, so this was my first time really playing an instrument at age 21.  I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Albion College in Albion, Michigan in 1989.  The only thing I was somewhat passionate about academically was writing, but my focus was on maximizing my partying time and getting the degree in 4 years while doing as little studying as possible.  Just like the piano lessons I took as a kid, the approach with the guitar course was to learn to read music notation first, which was intimidating.  I learned more from friends who played than I ever did from the class, and knowing a few chords and being able to play popular rock songs was fun.

Having been exposed to skiing as a child by my parents, I thought it would be fun to move to a ski area after college, so I did.  It was there - in Vail, Colorado - that I progressed from being a fan of bands playing live in bars to playing at open mic nights to actually performing a few paid gigs as the apres-ski entertainment myself.  Along the way, I become bored with cover songs and began writing my own.  While realizing my shortcomings as a singer and performer, this is when my lifelong hobby of writing songs began. 

Experiencing the ski bum lifestyle as a young adult had a serious impact on my outlook on life.  The transition from doing as little as possible to get by as a college student to working as little as possible to get by as a ski town resident in order to maximize time spent skiing was a natural one that strengthened what some might call a slacker mentality.  Living with a philosophy to prioritize the social life over the professional life is an unconventional approach that lends itself to finding happiness without financial or material wealth.  A move back to Michigan from Colorado to be closer to family in my late 20s coincided with the purchase of a 4-track tape recorder, and a fascination with recording songs I'd written began.

Personal life

I think most people who know me find me to be a good person.  Some might say I haven't been very successful or that I lack ambition.  Depending on how you define such things, I can admit I don't have an impressive resume of accomplishments, musical or otherwise, and I definitely like to take it easy most of the time.  I've been a late bloomer in many areas of my life, including the area of being a songwriter and independent solo recording artist.  I released my first official album at age 37, and since then, I've been bold, brave and consistent.  Although I've been a quitter in many areas of my life, music is not one of them.  It's a passion, despite not having natural talent or formal training.

I have been a technical writer in my day job as a career for the majority of my adult life, and although very good at it, do not enjoy it, which has resulted in switching employers often hoping for improvement, but never finding it.  The upside of this tedious, boring work has been that it probably made me crave creativity, which I satisfied with songwriting/recording.

Reconnecting with my home state rekindled my appreciation of the beauty the lakes and woods the state has to offer, along with finding my wife - the love of my life.  Lenore and I got married in 2003 after dating for a few years.  She is the only other musician heard on my records, having played accordion on several songs.  As a couple without children, we came to be enthusiastic dog owners, and are now on our 4th golden retriever, so that's a big part of our lives.

Artistry

Aesthetic

My aesthetic involves an appreciation of love, the people in my life, and the area where I live.  I find beauty in nature.  Not so much in appreciating flowers or gardening, but rather in simply spending time in undisturbed wild places.  I find beauty in lakes and mountains, and quiet activity like hiking in woods, sailing and skiing.  I also find beauty in small social gatherings with a lot of talking, eating and laughing with good people.  Sitting around an outdoor fire with people is always beautiful.  I find the ocean beautiful, but am not the type to lie on a beach all day.  The underlying principles are to just appreciate the simple things in life - family, friends, trees, lakes, and the sky.  Taking time for taking in great views and great surroundings - which include great people.  Appreciation for what you have.  Love and forgiveness are important to me, and there is great beauty in each.

Vibe

My vibe includes escapism, solitude, quiet time, deep thoughts, reflection, daydreaming.  My music reflects universally-appealing themes of life's ups and downs.  The atmosphere of a place I picture myself in might be in woods, on or near a lake, in a cabin/cottage/chalet, or skiing down a hill or mountain.  Spending time in a relaxed state with people you have good relationships with.  The feeling I want to transmit with my music is that life's never as bad as you think and you're going to have good times ahead.  Hope, and reminding people that worrying is a waste of time.  In an apres-ski setting as you reflect on an epic powder day, or reflecting on a good day of boating or hiking.  Having more fun after a day of having fun.  Reminiscing about past fun times as a way of having more fun times. 

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Related Information

There are several other pages of this web site on which I've also attempted to write about myself.  For similar and additional information about me, see these more humorous and lighthearted pages SCDb and ScottipediA, and for a take on this site's history and ongoing evolution, see the About page.  For related and more serious information about Scott, see the Bio, and Press Kit pages.  See also the FAQs page, where you can learn a lot more about Scott as well, and for a detialed description of his musical style, refer to the Music > About page.