Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I can’t recall a family gathering that didn’t include what came to be known as “Entertainment Time”, wherein my older brother and sister, my cousins and I would perform. We would take turns singing, playing an instrument, or putting on some music and dancing. By the time of my public debut, singing “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”, in my kindergarten Christmas Pageant, I was hooked. If there was a stage, I wanted to be on it!

My home town of Seattle is not only a place of spectacular natural beauty, but it has more per capita theatres than any other city in the United States. This afforded me an incredible training ground, giving me a diverse variety of performing experiences; from classics on a large repertory stage to original works at the fringe theatre festival. Over the years my work as an actor has taken me all over the map.

I try to apply what I’ve learned over the years to my music; to approach a song as an actor, and tell the story as truthfully and honestly as I can.
There is no political agenda to the music I choose. They simply are the songs that resonate for me most deeply. They bring me home. More than anything that I can think of, it is the movie musicals, from the Golden Age of Hollywood, that have influenced my taste in music. I no doubt inherited my love of the genre from my mother who is such a fan that she almost named me Gene Kelly Festin ! There was magic in those films. From early on I was enchanted by the glorious tunes and beautiful imagery. They fueled my imagination then, and continue to inspire me today.

This CD grew out of a series of concerts I began having on my birthday a few years ago. I wanted to celebrate by sharing with my friends the music that I love so much. In recording it I hope to include you as well.