guaranteed security

on my subway ride into work this morning, a teenage boy with crutches and a cast on his leg sat down in a seat next to mine alongside his mother and father. it was the manhattan bound local train. as we pulled in at the next transfer stop an express train was across the platform and his parents asked him if he'd rather take it, since it's a faster ride. his response has stayed with me all day. he said "my seat is guaranteed here, there's no seat guaranteed for me on that train."
his parents used their powers of persuation and pressured him to get on the other train. as i watched him limp away, it dawned on me how much we can take for granted without realizing it. though the other train was faster, he wanted to stay on the one he was on simply for guaranteed security. his condition was hopefully a temporary one, but sometimes it takes a temporary situation to teach us lifelong lessons of appreciation. i dont think ill ever see that kid again and i dont think he meant to teach me a lesson, same way i didnt walk onto this train expecting to learn one, but he did.

as a songwriter i hope to influence peoples lives in some way. i wish to leave lifelong impressions in peoples hearts. there would be no greater accomplishment than to have my words affect and help someone who might need it and be able to connect with people i may have never even met, but feel the same exact way as i did when i wrote them. music is more powerful than we know. hearing a song can bring back memories, make happy times happier, sad times sadder, good times better and bring hope to those who might need it. i am thankful to have music as such a big part of my life and have the support of my fans. without music i dont know who i'd be.

- stevenbaggs

what a week.

as our plane touched down on the jfk runway, i felt new york's cold winter chill through the drafty side window. i looked over at my best friend and it became all too clear that this short break we had taken from reality was over just as fast as it began. five days in sunny florida were now nothing but a memory. a blur, the way most good times end.

this trip was a change of scenery, but hardly a vacation. mornings were non existent and slept right through for the most part. my days, which began at around 2pm, were spent writing/recording new music. in the past few weeks a lot of changes have occurred in my life and they've compelled me to write. writing these songs have helped me see things i didn't see and realize things about both myself and the people in my life that i may not have noticed. this city never sleeps, but a lack of sleep can sometimes leave me with blurry vision which affects my judgment and the decisions i make. it's definitely been blindsiding me for some time now.

i landed in new york with a new state of mind, new songs and a new musical identity. i decided its time for a change and have been thinking of a band name for some time. in the last hour of our last day, the name came to me. it's funny how when you try to find something it never turns up, but when you decide to let it find you, it appears clear as day.

if everything we do is for a reason, then this little breaks reason was to induce me with clarity. i can breathe, i can breathe now.

- stevenbaggs