"Songs for friends" are compositions that were written for me or by me between February and October 2024. 2024 was a horrific year for me. January began with me having a breakdown that led to the separation of me and my wife, splitting time with our three kids. It was impossible to imagine how to move forward - I was in a dark place it was all-consuming, I was let down, and having very little energy to change things.

I had a friend, Marius Gundersen who would check up on me everyday, we'd go for walks, talk over coffee, and our conversations always helped me feel better about things,.  One day in early February we had this idea to write a piece of music for each other - we are both guitarists and composer - something that would be a symbol of friendship and getting through hard times. We had some rules for each other: 2 to 3 minutes in length, and that it would be easy to play which it wasn't. And then in February, I know Marius's style, and this piece flowed out of me in just a few hours. I sent it off to him and he sent me one piece back. After that, I realised that musical creation was a really important anchor for me to get through tough times, it was a means for me to realise and process some of the emotions I was feeling and hadn't had words to express. I wasn't writing music to make me to sulk or feel worse (except maybe in one case where I explored the feeling of loss and resignation) but the compositions were a means for me to lift myself out of this horrible funk I was in. I realised this is something I had to continue doing; to continue writing. This allowed me to meditate deeply on friends - to give something back to people who meant for me positivity, have a spark, people who are uplifting people in my life, and what happened was that I received these beautiful, warm, reflective pieces back.

By July, I was pretty set on the idea of my wife and I not being back together, and I had been growing weaker, but was finding myself again through soul searching, some part-time work in a completely new field and composition. Then came one day when my doctor called me, and told me that they found two tumours - one on my stomach and one on my liver. I instinctively called my wife.  It was within a few hours, I packed my things and came back to my wife who helped me find treatment right away - it was awful getting that call, but it brought my old life, support from my wife and a partial answer as to why I had no energy or desire to move on. Surgery happened in August where they removed part of my stomach and, the tumor on the liver was benign, and I found out that I probably had cancer for 3 years, and was fortunate that it was taken out when it was.

Compositionally, the music after July 11th is longer and more imaginative - it feels more serene to me. During the summer, my friends at Austin Classical Guitar sent me an invitation to perform "Songs for Friend" pending on my ability to recover from the surgery and the medication which is ongoing. February, 26-27th, 2025, I performed for the first time the complete "Songs for Friends" all 12 songs for an audience that included two people for whom I exchanged pieces, and the children of my guitar teacher, Steve Aron, who also exchanged pieces with me.

This music pulled me through the hardest stretch of my 50 years, and I am so happy that it exists today. It reminds me that creativity is meant to uplift, it is meant for growth, a stepping into something that doesn't exist, and creating beauty out of good thoughts.  I am now living in an apartment with my wife and kids, and have to take cancer medication that leaves me guessing whether or not I will be ill again after three years.