the story.

the music dustin is writing today stems from the most recent non-profit/collective he recently launched with other seemingly spiritually homeless friends. he & his band of veteran rock n roll players slide effortlessly in between original songs about faith & faithlessness to songs about doubt & heartbreak to songs about love & loss & drinking too much with friends.

"my dad is a pastor, my grandpa's were traveling evangelists, & i've got half a dozen uncles & cousins that work in the baptist church", dustin says.  "it's like church is the "family business".  i've had a hard time with that.  truth is - it's not Jesus that i have a problem with though - it's church people & their judgmental comments, ridiculous rules, & overall what just seems like a boring life that lacks empathy & compassion for what other people believe & feel about Jesus...or anything else for that matter.  to me - it just feels like if you don't agree with them then your opinions on things like religion, politics, or any other polarizing issue is both instantly wrong & "beneath" them.  that just feels like the exact opposite of what Jesus stood for. "  dustin combats his deeply rooted conservative family tree by writing songs that reflect a well-rounded pursuit of life & faith.  He writes about things that seem spiritual & things that the seemingly spiritual would say is  meaningless.  the latter part is where he wants to spend most of his time & energy.  the most recent songs in his arsenal are usually anchored in his angsty blend of rock n roll, blues, & country he calls - southern fried rock.  

while good old fashioned rock n roll might be his "standard issue" these days, he still says - "i write songs about whatever i want.  i write about whatever feels like a reflection of the good, the bad, & the ugly of a life lived in an honest way.  i've hidden the "real me" before because of insecurities or shame.  it sucks.  it's exhausting.   it's paralyzing.  now - rather than just write about the ‘highlight reel’ of social media or through the filter & formula of what a producer says a "hit song" is supposed to sound like - i just share my story.  at the end of the day - i'm just a storyteller.  a songwriter.  i write songs for all types of people in all sorts of genres.  the places where people stream my music might seem stylistically schizophrenic - but i just decided to post all the pre-production tracks i write & record.  ordinarily - i lay all the instruments on the songs you hear on spotify or iTunes but occasionally i'll ask a friend to help if i'm looking for something specific or that's over my musical head."  

"truth is - i made a living for more than a decade writing & touring original christian songs & mainly playing mega-churches.  now - i'm really comfortable with my weird musical palate.  that's part of my story...so it's reflected in my art.   i'll sing about fighting with my wife, losing my faith, finding it again, or anything else that moves me or that i think might inspire others.  i'm writing songs now simply because i've re-fallen in love with music.  i've fallen  back in love with the raw & unscripted roots of rock n roll to just say things the way i see them rather than write with an agenda.  even though i've been making music for a while now - i feel like i'm just getting started."