Beyond the obvious answer of this Website, Labby Road is my metaphor for an idea; Creativity for Creativity’s Sake. I believe that the constant pressure society places on us to conform to narrow standards and values discourages creativity, thus robbing us of spiritual enlightenment. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not talking about religion. I’m talking about the creative spark in each of us. It is the one thing that elevates us above the status of mere organism. It is our true soul and it can bring us countless benefits if we nurture it.

Unfortunately, we have made the mistake, over the centuries, of connecting creativity with approval, social acceptance and profit. It really has nothing do do with any of those things. The mere act of being creative alone has the power to instantly elevate our hearts and our minds far above the mundaneness of everyday existence. It can do this without outside approval, praise or monetary reward. Anyone who has had the profound experience of creating something and instantly knowing that it is good, without having to refer to “accredited experts”, knows the truth in this. Others discourage us from experiencing this epiphany, claiming that it is egotistical or delusional and that we are not qualified to judge.

There’s nothing egotistical about it. The instant rush of creative self expression is real and it is pure. Try it and you will see for yourself. Paint, draw, write, compose, whichever your muse tells you to do, and you will feel the truth in what I’m saying.

I’m no one, really. I’m not famous and I’m not an accredited artist. I’m just a poor slob who, like most of us, fell into an unfulfilling soul sucking career that pays the bills. For decades, I ignored my muse and gradually felt my soul begin to wither and die. Fortunately, I fell into the employ of one of those rare birds, the ethical organization, who was benevolent enough to leave me some energy at the end of the workday for my creative pursuits. I have no formal musical training, so if you follow along, you will see me improve with each new song I record. My goal is not monetary gain but to simply create and share my music and my experiences in the hopes that maybe I can encourage others to join me on this road.

There is no doctrine to be followed here, no right or wrong way, no higher power, and any salvation that you find along the way will be at your own hands.

Well, apart from being a lover of Labrador Retrievers, I’m also heavily influenced by the Beatles, having grown up during the sixties and seventies. Since the Beatles, in part, inspired me to create and since Abbey Road was my favourite Beatles album, I thought that Labby Road would be an appropriate pun name for my Website. The road crossing in the background of my site banner is, in fact, the “zebra crossing” made famous by the photo on the cover of the Abbey Road album.

I don’t make a conscious effort to conform to any musical genre or style. Some of my songs may sound like electronic or dance. Others may sound Classical or at least orchestral. Others perhaps a bit Jazz like. I just compose whatever comes to me and sometimes, during the process of recording, a song will actually evolve from one style to another.

Rather than trying to pigeonhole me into a particular musical style, I prefer to just call my songs LabbyTunes.

I don’t play any instruments in my recordings. At least not real ones. All instrumental sounds are generated using computer software, either by wave modeling or by playback sampled instruments. Everything is done on a single computer with a MIDI controller keyboard for performance capture. That is why I say, “No instruments were harmed in the making of these songs“.