While living in Colorado after college, I played in an Americana folk band called Pearl & Wood for about four years. It was the first time I was in a consistent band; it taught me so much about bringing the cello into contemporary folk music. There aren't a ton of us doing it, so I didn't have many examples to look to. As someone who had mainly played classical music up until this point, I stumbled through the learning process. Just trying things:

Should I use the bow or pizzicato here? Should I mimic a guitar or a fiddle here? How the heck do you set up a PA system? How do you EQ the cello? What pickup should I use? How do I remember lyrics and play my instrument at the same time?

Some things worked, some didn't.

Classical music is so different from popular music. In the former, you read music already written, and in the latter, you're often improvising as you read charts. In the former, you're responding in the moment, in the latter, you're creating in the moment. They each have their challenges, but playing in Pearl & Wood helped me bridge from one to the other. It was not easy! But it was fun.

This drawing is a quick sketch I made during a recording session for Pearl & Wood's first studio EP. The man drawn is our sound engineer - a cantankerous but lovable man full of sarcasm. We released the EP right before the band parted ways, but I'm so glad we put in the time and resources to make it. Our first real deal recording! A snapshot of time, of learning, of growth.

In March 2022, I was recording on a friend's album in a very special space, pictured here. The studio allows musicians to come and go as they please throughout the night between sessions, and many of us find ourselves sitting at the grand piano in wee hours. Sometimes alone, sometimes with others.

It's rare that I touch a piano these days, but it always feels like a gift to do so. There are several great pianists in and around my family, and I often feel humbled by the presence of the instrument. It seems to have the gravitas of a very large whale, though I couldn't tell you exactly why... the sheer size of it, sure, though I think it's deeper than that.

I always feel a bit clunky at the piano, having barely touched them since I first learned around age 5. But I enjoy how mathematical it feels. Pulls on the sides of me that appreciate science, math, problem solving. This improvisation was a late night melodic doodle in this cathedral-of-a-room. Perhaps you can feel the spaciousness of the 30-ft tall ceiling in the audio.

In creative pursuits, often music feels like work and drawing feels like rest. Perhaps because that's how I was raised: I practiced cello for school, because I was told to; I drew for fun, because I wanted to.

An observer at heart, I seek studies in color and light. I tend to gravitate towards warm tones, I assume because I relate to them – not because my body temperature runs warm (quite the opposite!! cold toe syndrome over here) but because warmth is central to my personality and ethos.

::BEGINNINGS:: I started playing cello at 9, played piano before that, and according to my mama, sang before I could talk. Ain't Little Ellie cute? So focused.