How long have you been playing out? Off and on for three years, so not that long, but I've been playing piano by ear since I was 5 or 6. And I started writing songs when I was about 15. My drummer and I actually went to middle school together and have known each other for over 10 years now.
I have to ask how your health has been since the accident, and that's kind of a wide-ranging question. I've pulled strength out of places I didn't know existed. Had you asked me before all this shit went down how I would have reacted, I probably would have told you I would have shot myself in the head, or given up, or fallen down. But for some reason, I don't know: there's this fire inside of me now. I'm not scared of failing. I think I have a better understanding of death now, and I'm not scared to live. I'm not scared to take chances because of the accident.
Every piece of advice that Dave has ever given me, I'm actually running with it now. He used to always tell me that he wanted me someday to be playing by myself to thousands of people at a grand piano. He said that to me one night, drunkenly [laughs].
My health is fine; I'm OK. I broke my right arm. I had surgery on my arm. Other than that, that's about it. I had a broken arm and a few scratches.
You mentioned you had written songs about the accident as well. A lot. In fact, I almost just want to record them and put them away and call it a day. One of my friends said that, after [I play] these songs I write, it makes people sad or it moves them. I'm a very honest writer; there aren't a lot of metaphors in what I say.
Has that been a form of catharsis? Oh, definitely. When I go to my upright piano, it's like my office, my church, my therapy. It's everything. You can kinda see: I think I've written six songs since he passed, and the first one was, like, "I miss you." The second one was "Bang Bang Bang" - like, I'm gonna shoot this guy that hit us. There's one about me not giving up; there's one about dealing with the post-traumatic stress disorder.
It sounds like you've worked through the five stages of grief in song. [Laughs] Almost! Through the songs, yeah.
