People often ask why I'm always playing on everybody else's records instead of making my own. The answer is simple -- I don't ever seem to write original music unless something really, really bad happens. It's my way of dealing with loss. A few years ago I went through a rough stretch where I lost my best friend, my niece, my mother and my father, all in fairly rapid succession. I wrote and recorded four songs. It was writing and recording these songs that kept me sane and allowed me to channel my grief into something worthwhile. I've got about half an album here. Considering what it took to get these four songs out of me, I pray to God I never finish that album. These are just rough mixes and I rarely even perform these songs, but each one creates an emotional snapshot, forever freezing in my mind the image of a person I loved dearly.