CURRENT MISSION

I'm working on reaching a point of sustainability in my career as an artist. My schedule and lifestyle are somewhat unusual-- I teach piano and voice lessons during the work week, and spend the rest of my time working on music pursuits or writing.

ABOUT ME

I grew up on a farm in Nebraska where my dad raises corn and cattle. I've lived in Des Moines, Iowa for ten years now. I came here to go to university at Drake, and I've stayed because it's easy for me to work on my projects here. I would really like to try living outside of the Midwest, and I really want to travel more, but so far my opportunities have been limited.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I can show you around the Des Moines metro area and I have a couch and sometimes even a guest room.
I like traveling alone and with people, and especially love to meet up with couchsurfers when I travel because it's a completely different experience to see a city through local eyes.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

a friend I met on an airplane and the amazing day/night we spent exploring our first day in London. I met some amazing couchsurfers that day and was enchanted by the community.

Interests

nature (camping, sunshine, rain, biking, swimming, hiking, long walks [beaches appreciated but not required], sunsets/rises, stars, storms, trees, mountains, etc)

music (writing, listening, dancing, live shows, records, playing/singing with other musicians, discussing, etc)

movement (physical exploration is very important to me, so i try to
dance and do yoga as often as i can. kinesthesia is underrated)

literature (always been a bookworm, currently mostly reading sic fi)

film and photography (i've made one film so far, produced two music videos. I'm amateur but I think film is my second love to music. maybe even above literature)

theatre, history, visual art

• arts
• writing
• literature
• singing
• photography
• festivals
• dancing
• wine
• vegetarian
• yoga
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• music
• piano
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• swimming
• history
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

A few writers I Iove-- Ursula K Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Douglas Adams, Junot Diaz, J.D. Salinger, Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, E.M. Forster

Some movies I love--
Pretty much all Studio Ghibli films
Breathless
The Sound of Music
Amores Perros
Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind
Wasteland
Kubrick films
Annie Hall and Woody Allen movies

A few albums I loved on the first listen:

Beach House: Teen Dream
PJ Harvey: Let England Shake
Brian Eno: Another Green World
Cocteau Twins: Heaven or Las Vegas
My Bloody Valentine: Loveless

I also love old country like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, classical music (worship Mozart), David Bowie and Kate Bush, 20th century art music, minimalism, shoegaze, and the Sacred Harp. Always love to hear new music, there is so much of it in the past and present.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seeing Boulez at the 2010 Aldeburgh Festival, pageturning for Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Leon Fleisher on multiple occasions

Meeting Sarah Lucas!!

I enjoyed Galway when I was in Ireland : )

Biking around London.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach piano and music theory, vocal technique, how to have a good time in a small town, and how to sew buttons crudely on to coats.

I'd love to learn to surf, I'd love to make music with people, I'd like to learn how to tell which wine is good. I'd love to learn how to take photographs. I like to draw and paint with people. I love learning!

Countries I’ve Visited

Cuba, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

•