I had always thought about performing solo, but before 2006 I had only ever played one song in public with just me and my acoustic guitar. That was in a bar on Poplar Avenue in Memphis for an open mic night in 1975...I played Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On". It came off good, people applauded, and that was it. But I was a band guy...I enjoyed the interaction, camaraderie and totality of playing with a group, so that's what I did for the next thirty years. But in 2006, I decided to give the solo thing a shot. I was playing with Possum, a popular band in Birmingham Alabama, and I didn't sing at all in that band. That was a wonderful thing, being that I had always been a primary vocalist in every other band I had played with. Why? With Possum, I could totally focus on my instrumental parts without the "intrusion" of having my face stuck into a microphone as I began or ended a guitar solo or played the tonally-tricky pedal steel. But I did miss singing, and decided to try booking a few solo gigs. Fortunately, my membership in Possum made it easy for club owners to take a chance with an "untested" act. For the next twelve years, I played hundreds of gigs all over the Southeastern United States...just me and a guitar...from Key West, Florida to Little Rock, Arkansas and all points in between. I lived in Gulf Shores, Alabama much of that time and played there a quite a bit. And as I traveled with my ‘real’ job, I served six Southern states and played regular solo gigs in all of those as well. And though there's still nothing like playing in a band, I really enjoyed the solo experience.