How did Hot Rize begin?
The Hot Rize band began in ’78. Actually I moved away for a short bit – my wife-to-be was going to school in Minneapolis, so I moved there. We went to Minneapolis for awhile, got married, and on January 1, 1978, moved back to Colorado. So Hot Rize occupied you for the next 12 years? Yeah. We were together full-time for 12 years. Was ’92 the official breakup? No. It was on the first of May, 1990. We played Merlefest. That was our last gig together full-time. We’ve done some reunions off and on since. Nashville and Songwriting You moved to Nashville in ’96? Right. Why? It’s just the real music capitol. There’s a lot of infrastructure here. It made a lot of sense for me, especially with the publishing and songwriting. I make about half my living from songwriting. It’s closer to the sources to get stuff recorded. When did you write your first song? When I was 14 or so, but I didn’t really take it seriously. It became more serious when I was in a band that was going to make a record. That w
