I’ve always been a sucker for stories. Whether they’re told in music, on a stage, on a page or a screen, or by a campfire, stories have inspired me for as long as I can remember. Here’s (a so-short-it-verges-on-untrue version of) mine.

Music was it, at first. My parents wondered at how emotional their little boy got listening to movie soundtracks. Then I learned to read and write, and all hope was lost.

I have since childhood played several instruments and sung. Piano is my first love, though I have spent countless hours with a saxophone strapped to my neck, and dabbled with guitar, accordion, ukulele, and even the didgeridoo.

From the time I could read, I also wrote. Today I write poetry, prose, and—very occasionally—songs. (And statistical code, but let’s not focus on that.)

My first degree was a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre, which I completed at the University of Michigan. The second was a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, also completed at the University of Michigan. There was a moment in there somewhere that I decided I didn’t want the life of an artist, and thought I could satisfy myself with a practical, steady career, with art as a hobby. Idiot.