:: OTHER OUTLETS ::

One thing people I meet ask me is, "How do you get all these things done on a regular basis?" I sleep less I suppose. You may be wondering, what are "these things" you just mentioned? Well, I don't like to pigeonhole myself into one kind of creativity. A few years ago I challenged my designer friend Roger to act upon every single idea he had for a new project or website or anything he or I came up with. The result is that I have ended up with my fingers in a lot of things. Below are links to some of them.
 

I started Men Who Look Like Kenny Rogers back in 2000. Since then it has been featured in Time, People, Esquire, The New York Times and just about every other magazine you can name. It was recently named one of Yahoo!'s Top 100 Websites of All Time.		  
I had an idea to collect all the funny sayings rednecks (like much of my extended family) use in daily life. I started aa website and soon ended up with a book deal with Chronicle Books. You should get a copy of your own today.
     
 

My friend a fellow designer Roger Sgarbossa is an amazing illustrator. I asked him to send me a character illustration every day and I would write a punchline for it and we would post the results. We ended up with a funny collection of cartoons you should check out.		  
I used to be in a band that tried to be famous. Now I just like to record music in my own home studio and hand out the resulting CD's whenever I get enough songs together. Check out my MySpace and maybe even be my friend. I'd like that.
     
 

In addition to making my own music, I play in a band called The Small Pox Mountain Boys with many of my old bandmates and musician friends. Mostly we play at Matt Hensley's bar in Carlsbad and sometimes Matt even plays with us. He's in Flogging Molly you know.		  
My real job is Creative Director and Brand Manager for the one and only Tony Hawk. I am also now the Creative Director for Birdhouse Skateboards. So, yes, I know Tony Hawk. Yes, he's a real person. No, he won't sign your kid's forehead. Yes, maybe his arm. If you bring your own Sharpie.
     
 

A few years ago I happened across an acoustic gutiar made by the famous pedal steel guitar company Sho-Bud. I couldn't find out any info about it and ended up getting so obsessed that I started a website about them and have become the default expert on Sho-Bud Acoustic Guitars.		  
Read the thing to the left about Sho-Bud guitars, then substitute in the words "Locobox Effects Pedals." It's the same story really. Now people ask me how much their pedals are worth and I tell them I don't know but I'll give ya $50. Sometimes that even works.
     
 

Recently I was the guest speaker at the Art Institute of California - San Diego. It was a lot of fun and I seemed to connect with the students, if I do say so myself. I'm kind of a goof I guess. If you'd like me to speak at YOUR school or whatever, feel free to contact me.		  
I started a blog about all the guitars I used to own that I wish I had back. It's called The Ones That Got Away and it has somehow become very popular in the guitar world. Now people submit stories to me and I post them alongside my own stories. Got a story of your own?