Dark Dessert FolkPunk: He, Then

Musician/Singer/Song writer Rated: R https://poplme.co/hash/D0GKryTb/1/s

While playing the He, Then Oblivion album one finds themselves on a journey reminiscing times many punk kids have shared, having a friend play you a song about the realities of life, somehow comforting you through the strum of the strings and the notes carried through their voice. The album itself told it's own story upon learning more about the creator. Something about hearing "Burn the beauty and let go of it all" at a beginning of a song you'll find the lyrics that follow so profound just by the brutal honesty alone.When this feature was submitted I didn't know what to expect and this one has wholeheartedly became one of the most relatable, moving, and inspiring features so far for me. We gladly and tenderly welcome He, Then to the Hellflower Media family.

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I have been making music from a very early age. From singing in youth choirs to playing various instruments from roughly age 5 on. Discovering new music and creating music were about the only accessible outlets for a young kid living in abject poverty. Through the years I continued to play and write music. I started forming bands about 20 years ago. All of them have failed. The most recent band broke up in 2022. After that break up, my very close friend (and drummer across 3 bands) persuaded me to take all the songs I had written and go into the studio solo. In March of 2022, I went into Audio Confusion studio in Mesa with about 35 songs. I came out the other end with my debut solo album of 9 refined tracks. I was booked for a few shows right after it's release and have since played 40-50 shows and released my second album (April of 2023). The real passion behind my desire to continue doing this is the notion and realization that music has saved my life, both literally and figuratively. Through violence, hunger, homelessness addiction, mental illness, music has been the one constant. Music has gotten me through the worst of me and has had a huge hand in creating a life where I have flashes of being the best of me.  My musical/literary/artistic influences are all so numerous and broad. My tastes and influences range from deep, sad folk music to brutal, raging death metal and literally everything in between. Even though it is cliche, I listen to all forms. In fact, I cannot even fathom a life without broad tastes artistically. The kind of music that I write, however, is very folk and punk based. That being said, my biggest musical influences that I could narrow it down to are Joe Purdy, The Milk Carton Kids, Ian Thornly (Big Wreck) David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) and Tom Petty among others. I also am inspired profoundly by authors and poets like Ed Abbey, Hunter Thompson, Noam Chomsky, Charles Bukowski among others. I also get very real inspiration and influence from all of the throw aways and outcast and forgotten humans like the millions that are displaced globally, the millions facing oppression and the millions facing genocide and ethnic cleansing. I feel my words and my passions are trying their best to be a voice for the addicts and the homeless and the mentally ill. I hope my very small platform can bring at least some attention to injustice and violence and hatred.  Honestly, my struggles with mental illness, my addictions (as well as my recovery) and my self-defeatism have been my biggest hurdles. I attempt to conquer those hurdles through positive, healthy introspection and continuing to hold onto the notion that making art is the healthiest coping mechanism I have, or have ever had. If I don't continue to create, I will follow back down those same dark paths that music helped me to crawl out of. That realization, that I could just as easily slip back into homelessness and addiction and unaddressed mental illness, if I stopped creating, is more than enough to help me overcome any hurdles artistically.  My greatest learning experiences was learning that I am capable of being a solo act. Learning that I can be on stage alone and that I can be exactly who I am on stage and through my songs, regardless of the venue or crowd size. There have been many stand out moments, especially over the last year with all of the shows I have done and the extremely diverse and varied acts I have shared a stage with. The one that probably sticks out the most though was playing The Rhythm Room for the first time early in 2023. Though this is a very small club, it is a staple in Phoenix, where I have seen numerous musical heroes of mine over the years. Stepping onto the same stage where I saw Joe Purdy, where I saw the Milk Carton Kids, was a very powerful feeling and a very powerful moment for me. So far, being able to play some of the more known venues in Phoenix like Crescent Ballroom. Rebel Lounge and Rhythm Room feel like my greatest accomplishments.  The stigma that I feel surrounds my art is that my music very openly discusses addiction, mental illness, suicide, homelessness and other taboo subject matter. These are subjects that are wide ranging, and that touch every last one of us on this planet in some way. I feel very strongly that our inability, or unwillingness to address these issues, or even discuss them, creates cyclical, broken systems. If we never address them, we will never fix them. Instead we use the "If we ignore them, they will go away". I have consciously tried to write songs that are not about any of these issues. Those attempts were futile. I can't help but to write songs about my experiences and songs for those who are still outcast. Through singing and writing about real human issues, I hope that I have at least sparked a few conversations, where the conversations didn't exist before. Even if I have only started small conversations or brought one large issue to the attention of one new person, I feel it is at least an attempt to change S%#T. "Think globally. Act locally."  Words to any wide eyed wonders would be Do it! Just fucking do it! Anything artistic or expressive is profound and healthy and needed. Speak and live through whatever it is you are passionate about. Every last human on earth has something that moves them. Whether it be making music, or writing poems, or tagging walls, or woodworking, or gardening. The list and the potential are endless. Do the thing you've always wanted to. Even if no one is listening or watching but you. Do it anyways.

It will keep you alive. It will keep all of us alive.

I am already prepared to go into the studio again for my 3rd record. I have about 20 brand new songs, as well as about 50 more holdovers from my first two album sessions. I would love to have that recorded and ready for release in March or April of 2024. I also have recently been approached to do musical collaborations with some of the amazing artists I've met and played with over the last year and a half. I have also never let go that there's a chance I incorporate this solo project into something with drums or banjo or fiddle or mandolin or all of the above.