He is definitely my biggest influence vocally but there’s a bit more to the background of my vocal approach.

My influences are (in the order of obsessing on each) Lennon, Bowie, David Byrne, Roy Orbison, Elvis, Tom Waits.

I’ve always had a very limited vocal range as far as pitch goes, so to hit higher notes more consistently, I began to harsh out my vocal chords by singing like waits.

When you strain to hit high notes and play multiple shows a week, it’s like every other night, your voice is able to hit the note as you lose your voice. That doesn’t happen to me anymore because of how much I’ve shredded my larynx.

“Idaho Girl.” Is a good example of the other side of the coin for my singing style.