I loved a lot of different kinds of music, but for my own thing, I went for the singer-songwriters.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
It wasn't so much that I had to leave to make it in the music business as I was curious to be out on my own and sort of explore. I never felt that where I was ever influenced my songwriting.
Music was always part of my life - my mother says I came out singing. I wanted to be Gene Kelly - or Judy Garland.
I grew up listening to so many different things, and having a dad that also sang, music was innately born into me. Going through high school and college, I'd go see anyone who came to town, it didn't matter the genre.
I think songwriting was the biggest way that I found my identity.
It was my love for the guitar that first got me into music and singing. Growing up, I was inspired by The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Damian Rice was a huge influence for me musically.
Music had been my first love among the arts, and I was fascinated by it, as I still am.
I love, love, love music - have since I was a kid, and I'm still really into music - and I became a singer because I was too stupid to learn how to play an instrument, I guess.
I loved hard-rock bands, and I loved songwriters who told stories.
I had no choice but to work hard. I was a straight-A student, went to college, and I loved business. I never thought I was going to be a singer myself.
I wanted to play rock and roll when I started playing. Nobody at that time ever thought about songwriting. You sang songs, that's all. You sang other people's songs. That's all there were.