The Top 5 Jamie FAQ's: 1. What kind of music do you play? I'm so glad you asked! I describe my sound as "Anthemic Rock." For those of you who are lost with that descriptor allow me to explain it. The sound is rock in the way that I use drums, a combination of electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards and vocals. The "anthemic" part refers more to the lyrical content. Most of my words speak about bringing people together or uniting all of us as a group of liberated, free-thinking individuals. Really, that's what an anthem is all about. 2. What's the name of your band? I don't have one. The songs that are currently being written, as well as all of the material on my first record, The Early Life involve me playing and writing the parts for all of the instruments. I was a drummer before a guitarist, singer and songwriter, so I commonly think of what the rhythm of the song needs to say as well as what needs to be delivered on the guitars and vox. 3. Where do you play live shows? I've spent the last 3 years living out in Los Angeles, going to music school and playing in bands. My last project before returning home was an original band called The Fire & The Phoenix. We played all around Los Angeles as well as touring Reno and Las Vegas on two separate occasions. Right now, I'm back in my hometown of Syracuse, New York and I've been playing solo acoustic sets at the local coffee-chain Freedom of Espresso. On top of being nearly finished with writing the material for my next album, I'm currently expanding my local venues and will be posting about new locations soon! 4. What is your focus for the next record? The album is going to be called Rise: Songs For The Wounded Listener. It's really the first concept album I've ever done. The songs cover a myriad of the sonic spectrum, including elements of rock & roll, pop, folk as well as rockabilly, celtic and even ambient. The thing that unites them is they all serve the purpose of identifying ways in which we have become wounded listeners. We've all had experiences that either make us believe the outside world isn't really listening, or we've been the one not doing the listening; even if it's not listening to our inner selves. Each song takes an angle on that idea and seeks to heal that wounded feeling. This is also the first album I've ever worked on that will incorporate elements of sound healing. My goal is to embed various techniques and styles of sound healing into each of the songs so that the music can serve a medicinal purpose as well as a musical one. I'm still very early on in my knowledge and study of the topic, so I'll be very interested to see how it all shapes out in the end. 5. If you could offer one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be? Despite what others might tell you and what the outside world throws your way, stick to what you know to be true about your music. Nobody can write your music better than you.