I need to sing. I need to express myself through songwriting and I'll play pretty much anything with strings on it. Actually violin is my main instrument and you can hear it used in new and unusual ways all over this record.

My lyrics come from my life and that's scary for me but it means that I know why each word is there and that's the only way I can get up and sing the songs. This record, "Adam's Rib," is not my first but in some ways feels like it because it's truly the sound of who I am. For that I thank my producer Rick Neigher who encouraged me to take the chances I've taken lyrically, vocally and instrumentally.

My Dad's a music teacher and plays every instrument in the world, so I grew up in a house full of instruments and siblings to jam with. (It was my mum though who practiced with us everyday. Thanks Mum.) Ukulele was my first instrument - like George Harrison - and I still love playing it.

My brother and sister were writing songs before I ever did and it's through them that I became aware of music outside our livingroom: Beatles, Queen, Sting, Crowded House, Pretenders. . . .I guess because we had so much music going on at home I didn't listen to the radio or buy records much, and in grade three I even remember being laughed at 'cause I didn't know who Elvis was. Now of course I know he's a famous skater.

I come from a beautiful, romantic place called Nova Scotia and that has a lot to do with who I am. ...Being from a small region makes you a good observer. Outside looking in. You're close enough to feel a part of the world but you're far enough away to feel special and separate from it too. (Of course you don't always know you're separate and special 'til you leave.)

I've lived in Toronto for a while now and had the privilege of working with lots of great Canadian recording artists like: Jim Cuddy,The Pursuit of Happiness, Dayna Manning, Universal Honey, The Boomers, Larry Gowan, Charlie Major, Julian Austen, Bruce Guthro, Bob Snider, Tom Jackson, John Alcorn and Paul Gross. I'm a good side man but it's through working with other artists that I have found my own voice.

I took my first solo leap by releasing an independent 6 song E.P. that caught the attention of Sony Music Canada and they signed me soon after that. My first record for them was called Shakespearean Fish and I'm very proud of it. I toured Canada extensively with my band and experienced some disappointment as well as a renewed commitment to my music. I believe that things happen for a reason and if you can just hang on you will eventually know what the reasons are

The making of this new record is something I will never forget. It's as if everything I've always known I had in me finally came out. I can't say any of it better than I do in the songs so the best way to get to know me would be to listen to them.