[This page will be updated. Some info is out of date.]
This is not a bio.
I was born in Warsaw, Indiana, but I consider Raytown, Missouri, to be my hometown. I’ve lived here for well over 20 years now.
I graduated from the University of Missouri—Kansas City in 2003 with a degree in secondary education and an emphasis in history.
I taught for six years at county court residential treatment facility for juveniles. I taught English, science, civics and life skills. In 2009, I graduated from Baker University with a Master of Arts in School Leadership, and switched to working in a middle school special education classroom. I’m currently a teacher and would like to eventually work in school administration.
I really love my wife.
I met Katy on a discussion list for the record label Velvet Blue Music while she still lived in Dayton, Ohio. Through some crazy circumstances we ended up meeting in person a couple of times. We kept in touch and eventually found ourselves dating long-distance for 16 months. I didn’t have a cell phone, but airline rates were cheap then.
I’m pretty sure I’m undeserving of her love. She never gets mad when I forget to readjust the seat in her car after I’ve driven it, she likes to hold my hand as we walk through the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, she allows me to fill the basement with musical instruments, she puts up with me when I’m anti-social and she bought me a sweet Genesis boxset.
I like music. A lot.
I have found something to like in every genre of music. Seriously. But I’m not the guy who’ll respond, “All kinds,” when asked, “What kinda music d’ya like?” How can I communicate that my album collection does not reflect the spectrum of choices found on the radio? I have a music blog and podcast called Radio Free Raytown.
I also make music. I have had several bands that most people have never heard of – My Science Fiction Twin, The Divine Appointments and The Cosmonautopolitans (to name a few). These bands played everything from jangly pop and rock to electronic music. I also make solo music that kinda blurs the lines between all of these projects. I don’t expect that to make sense to everyone else; it makes sense in my head.
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THE SMITHS 