I remember as a child seeing my mother playing her Guild guitar and singing classic folk songs as well as songs she had penned.  I was touched by her passion.  I felt the music in the air.  It was magic.

As I grew my brother picked up the guitar and I would awake to the sounds of him playing the Star Spangled Banner, Hendrix style, on his electric guitar.  He was a teenager then and I could feel all his emotion in every note he played pouring out of his guitar.  It was magic.

I was eight and I wanted my brother to teach me to play the guitar like him.  He had me put my left hand around the neck of the guitar and told me to try to touch my thumb over the top of the neck with any of my other fingers wrapping around the bottom of the neck.  I couldn’t quite reach and he told me I’d have to wait until my hands were bigger.  I was disappointed.  I was even more disappointed when 2 years later my bother joined the Army.  It wasn’t till later that I would actually buy a guitar and take some lessons.  All the while I harbored dreams of singing and playing the guitar.  Dreams I would never tell anyone about.  Not then, hell, not till years after I had been playing and singing would I tell anyone that I had dreams of presenting my ideas and emotions to people through songs.

I’ve been writing poetry or songs since I was a punk ass.  Not a punk rocker.  Just a “Little Punk” as my bother would affectionately call me.  I’ve been trying to get out what’s inside my heart and head for a long time.  I want to get it out in a way that people understand what I am saying…  Feel it…  Know it.  Music is a powerful form of communication.  My chosen media.

I have been through quite a bit and I’ve seen a lot of tears and smiles, as we all have.  I guess one idea I hope to convey through the songs I write is that we all are human.  We all feel, sometimes intensely and although no one can know exactly how we feel, we all are united in the fact that we feel.  And even though we may feel completely alone, I am sure that someone can empathize with those feelings.  Every time someone says to me that a song I wrote perfectly explained the way they were feeling or what they thought, I feel gratitude that I could provide a positive outlet for another being.

My voice is my main instrument.  It tells the story of my heart and mind.  It solidifies ideas and emotions.  With it, I communicate ideas to the listener…  Ideas born in a nebulous zone, outside myself, to be filtered through my perspective and focused into more solid form.  There are many ideas to choose from and I try to choose ones that represent who I am.  I believe in presenting experiences in a way that leaves the truth of what they are in-tact.  Raw.  Some songs are fiction.  Some are direct personal experiences.  All are a part of me.

I thrive upon self-improvement.  I quest for understanding myself, this world and my place in this world.  I have categorized myself as a skeptical optimist…  Trying to find the balance that is right for me.  I dream of having a positive impact upon those I come into contact with, no matter how slight the experience might be.  I hope that a smile from me infects those that see it like all the smiles I have seen have infected me.  We all are faced with a choice each morning that we wake…  Are we going to be a drain on this world and those in it or are we going to add to it in a positive way?  Are we going fall in line with the sheep or be an advocate for positive change?  Are we going to be a part of the problem or a part of the solution?  Are we going to Fear or Love?  They are all the same question.  I will continue to live my dream and hope that I am playing my part and that it is a positive part in the unfolding drama.”

Check out Chucky Luv at www.chuckyluv.com