I've been singing and playing blues harp for almost 30 years. In 1999 I finally picked up a guitar and started writing songs.

I don't remember the year, but some time in the seventies my folks took me to see Johnny Cash. June Carter was there, but as I recall Mother Maybelle was ill and did not perform that evening. The song "One Piece at a Time" was a hit around that time, and I remember being amazed at the man's stage presence.

I play Larrive and Guild acoustic guitars and my preferred harps are Lee Oskars or Hohner Special 20's.

My biggest influence in high school was Lowell George of Little Feat. I was a rock fan by circumstance, but Lowell's singing and songwriting brought together so many genres that were part of my roots, he really wowed me. I got into him as well as dozens of other artists outside the mainstream when my older cousin moved to our town from Kentucky.

I've played in blues bands, bluegrass/old-timey bands, and folk bands, as well as praise bands at church. I prefer to play in small acoustic groups and most often play at events and benefits for Darfuri refugees, since the fight to end genocide is an issue that I am passionate about and that has been a prolific source of songwriting for me.

I would love to have jammed with the "Million Dollar Quartet," the historic impromptu gospel sing-along Sam Phillips recorded at Sun Studios featuring Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash. They could have used a little harp.

My most memorable performance was probably the largest crowd (a couple thousand?) at a Save Darfur rally on the National Mall in Washington D.C. called the Gathering of the Tents of Hope in 2008. I had performed the day before and thought I was done the next day, but a friend who was speaking insisted I do a song I had written for the event, and having left my guitar at the hotel, I had the privilege of borrowing one from Sarah Lee Guthrie, who was performing that day. That was the thrill of a lifetime.

Different albums depending on the island. Some islands might be Allmans Bros Live at the Fillmore East, some could be Little Feat-Waiting for Columbus, some Stevie Wonder- Songs in the Key of Life, or certain islands might require the Stones, the Who, or even some Tull. You just never know.