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Get To Know Him

Tell us about your first concert experience:
My first concert experience was with the band Earth Wind and Fire. It was 1979.I was 10 years old. My parents took me to the show as a reward for me winning a championship game in little league football. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to see the entire show… I was so exhausted from the game that afternoon, that fell asleep about 45 minutes into it.

If you couldn’t be a musician, what would you be doing instead?
If I couldn’t be a musician? Wow! that’s really hard to conceive… but, if I had to entertain such a thought–I would definitely get off into the world visual arts.

If you could collaborate with one artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
I would love to collaborate with quite a few people, but there’s one collab –that when I think of the positive effects it could have on the community-  really inspires me– and that collaboration would be with Lauryn Hill. I choose Miss Hill for two reasons…one being, we have a common interest in stirring up the spirit and conscience of our people, and the other is, I feel that the male and female dynamic resonates much deeper with  audiences -especially if the song they’re singing has the kind of content that offers up something for both the soul and mind.

If you became President, what is the first action you would take?
If I were president? I would take a chunk of the 700+ billion dollars spent on defense, and use the money to elevate the quality of education, restore and beautify schools, hospitals and the communities that surrounds them. The objective at this point I believe, is for the nation to get back to its healthier fundamentals.

What social cause is closest to your heart?
Being a parent, I do whatever I can to support the protection and development of children.

What does the right to vote mean to you?
R-E-S-P-E-C-T

What bands or artists did you listen to when you were in high school?  And which bands or artists influenced your style the most?
When I was in high school, I listened to the radio and my parent’s records. I don’t remember having a “favorite band”. But, if I had to single someone out–it would have to be Michael Jackson.( man! as I’m typing this, I still can’t believe he’s dead)  He was undoubtedly the biggest influence during this most impressionable period of my life. I didn’t really start paying attention to bands as a musician until the late eighties-early nineties. The simple and melodic writing talent of Tony! Toni! Toné ! caught my attention, and the raw, soulful bite of Nirvana– move me and inspired me to pick up the guitar.

What’s the biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in high school?  (could be personal or academic) 
Ha! The fact that I was the president of a “club” of preppies might surprise a few.

Do you do any volunteer or community work when you’re not on tour?
There weren’t really any major obstacles for me to overcome during high school. Other than adjusting to a transfer my sophomore year and my first major heartbreak in the 10th grade, my high school experience was cool!

What change would you like to see in our society in the next year?
Yes, I do. Most of it’s church related.

The biggest change I would like to see in our society in the next year- is a shift in consciousness- more spiritual than the material.

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