First off, I’m 25 years old and live on a farm in Frankfort, Kentucky.  I’ve been married to my wife Bethany for almost 5 years now, and we have quite a happy and somewhat busy life.  We’re “parents” to 9 animals: 2 dogs, 4 cats (2 indoor and 1 outdoor), and 4 sugar gliders.  Both of us are outdoors sort of people - you can usually find us doing something outside on the farm in our spare time, when we get some of that. 

            I spent my summer vacations with one grandmother or another, and I was always finding ways to play outside.  Dad got me into Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, and I earned my Eagle Scout rank when I was 14.  I’m still active in Scouting today, and I use the skills I learned as a Scout almost every single day in one way or another.  I’ve also kept my love of camping and fire building, as most Scouts are usually too proficient in. 

            Mom and Dad raised me not only as an outdoor kid, but as a Christian as well.  They were able to instill good values in me before I figured out I already knew everything there was to know.  Christianity has been a central part of my life in one way or another as long as I can remember, but how I live it out is continually changing and evolving as I learn more and more.

             The main thing I believe I should be doing as a Christian is living in a way that shows everyone around me what Jesus is about.  I’m not a Baptist, a Pentecostal, a Charismatic, a Catholic, or Christian Church member, even though I’ve been to each of those at one time or another.  I’m a Christian in the basic sense of the word - I’m a follower of Christ.  Jesus.  I really try not to get hung up on church politics and religious doctrinal rule.  What I look for instead are ways to spread the message that Jesus was conveying when he was here.  Love God, and love the people you come into contact with.  Make sure they know it, and don’t just stand by and do nothing when you could be helping. 

               I got my first acoustic guitar for Christmas in 2000.  I learned some basic chords and taught myself to read tablature on the internet.  I picked up a lot in the first year, so the next Christmas I got an electric guitar, amp, and distortion pedal.  I was good to go then!  I kept working on my playing and in August of 2002 I was invited to play in a band called One Man Conspiracy.  We played a mix of popular Christian rock and worship songs, and got to play in Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee as well as Kentucky. 

            Under the leadership of Pastor Matt Thomas, my musicianship and my drive to learn more about Jesus increased at a faster rate than I had previously experienced.  It wasn’t long before I was playing on the church’s worship team as well, playing both guitar and bass (though not at the same time).  After Matt got called to Dayton to begin a completely new ministry, One Man Conspiracy disbanded and I got to work on my acoustic guitar playing a lot more. 

            In August of 2006, I started playing music with one of my friends from work, Aaron Gabhart.  The rest is history.  My personal musical influences include:  Green Day, AC/DC, Metallica, Disciple, Blink 182, System Of A Down, Trivium, Sum 41, Good Charlotte, David Crowder Band, Lincoln Brewster, Children Of Bodom, Dragonforce, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Randy Rhoads, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Zakk Wylde, Albert King, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Rush, Boston, Flogging Molly, Avenged Sevenfold, Collective Soul, The Who. My guilty pleasure is My Chemical Romance.

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