Big news! My FrogEyes Radio Artist Showcase aired for the first time yesterday. It will continue to air every every Saturday at 3pm, 7pm, and 1am (all times EST) for the next several weeks. The show is sponsored by my producer Josh Bright Productions, and it contains an interview with yours truly, plus several of my tunes are played throughout the 30 minute segment. So, pleaese go on over to FrogEyes Radio and check it out if you get the chance!

I'm excited to announce that several of my songs have been added to official ISSA Spotify playlists lately. Here they are in no certain order:

1. My Life (ISSA Americana Playlist)

2. Can't Find The Words (ISSA Modern Country Playlist)

3. Ain't Nobody Ever Gonna Love You (ISSA Blues Playlist)

4. Sometimes It Snows In April (ISSA Gospel Playlist)

We'll see if we can get "Squared Up, Headlong, And Gettin' Gone" added to an ISSA playlist sometime soon. That song is my only Spotify release not currently on an ISSA playlist. Stay tuned!

Thanks to NSAI for putting me in their EARS publication for June 2023! It's always fun to be recognized as a writer on the rise! This is my second appearance on NSAI's "Ones To Watch" list. Several other writers from the state of Alabama were included this month, including my friend Daniel Fagan. Daniel and I have already written one song together and we are tentatively scheduled to give it another go very soon!

Big news! Last night HUGS Radio's very own Cyrus Gray made my song "Can't Find The Words" their "Pick of The Week"! There are so many things happening lately with this tune. What a blessing. God is beyond good!

So, I've landed 2 artist features recently. One is for WFRG (DB) - FrogEyes Radio out of Perry, GA. They have scheduled me for an interview, which will air on their Artist Showcase very soon! The other feature is for Barn Door Radio out of Perris, CA. They will be first up, as I have scheduled an interview with them on Wednesday, July 5th, to air on their Artist Spotight segment! After accepting my song "Can't Find The Words" into their rotation, both stations contacted me to ask if I would be interested in doing a featured artist segment. I can't thank them enough for the exposure. Please go and listen to both of these fine indie stations if you get a chance!

The Struggling Songwriter Podcast can now be found on Google Podcasts in addition to Spotify! The podcast can be streamed on either platform for free. And don't forget, after airing, episodes are always available for download on this website. The episodes are in mp3 format, and they are 100% free!

I'm excited to announce the release of my new effort, "The Struggling Songwriter EP". Quite a bit of work went into this project and I'm elated to see it come to fruition. The EP is available at my Gumroad shop, and also on my Spotify artist page. Many thanks to God, my producer Josh Bright, and everyone who has ever been, or ever will be, interested in my little songs!

A blues song I cut awhile back has garnered a spot on a really great Spotify playlist put together by Don's Tunes! The of name my song is "Ain't Nobody Ever Gonna Love You". They had a lot of good things to say about the tune, which makes this songwriter proud! And I quote- "This is one awesome tune with great old school sound and emotional vocals and lyrics." WOW- thanks again, Don's Tunes! The playlist is called New Blues l Blues-Rock l Americana. Go on over and check it out!

I had an outstanding discussion this past Monday, with Craig Monday, through the Nashville Songwriters Association's mentoring program. Craig is a hit songwriter with several cuts by artists such as Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Aaron Lewis, and more! He gave me solid advice about the journey ahead, and he was very complimentary towards my original songs. Point blank, he said I had "good songs and a good voice", and that's good enough for me! 

The first episode of my new podcast, The Struggling Songwriter, is available now on Spotify! It should also be on Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts very soon. Thanks for checking it out!

(NOTE: Spotify users on a laptop or desktop, simply go to PHOTOS on this site, locate the spotify code for my podcast, and scan it with your mobile phone. If you are on mobile phone, screenshot the spotify code, then open your Spotify app. Go to the Spotify search menu, and click on the camera icon in the top right corner. Now upload the Spotify code screenshot and it will take you directly to my podcast.)

Great news! "Can't Find The Words" has won the latest Broadjam Hot 100 song contest! Many thanks to everyone who participated and helped push my song to the top! Prizes include a publishing contract with Top Ten publishing. God is good!

The title to Jason Cole’s single, “Sometimes It Snows In April,” refers to life’s unexpected troubles. In other words, it doesn’t usually snow in the spring. However, there are years when a region gets snow at unusually times – even in April.

Cole doesn’t explicitly say this, but there’s a saying that goes, ‘You can’t have pretty flowers unless you don’t also get a little rain.’ In the chorus, Cole sings about how his mother reminds him that April showers bring May flowers -- well, in so many words.

“Sometimes It Snows In April” has a plodding beat, with sparse instrumentation. There is a soulful organ part that supports Cole’s vocal the whole way through. It is a gentle ballad.

The singer/songwriter gets specific when he talks about a childhood friend that was always getting into fights growing up. His life ended suddenly with an adult fight, however. Cole reminds us “he died on a cold spring day sticking up for someone.” I like how he suggests this sudden death happened in April (“a cold spring day”) without specifically saying the month of the year.

This song is as much about the relationship Cole has with his mother, as it is about attempting to make sense of life’s seemingly unexplainable events. You get the impression Cole turns to his mother whenever he needs help seeing the bigger picture. They say that youth is wasted on the young. Nevertheless, Cole – a younger man – clearly sees the advantage of speaking with someone who has seen and experienced more than he has.

Stylistically, this track has the feel of an old Jackson Browne song from the ‘70s. Granted, his voice is very different from Browne’s. Even so, the arrangement – particularly the slow and steady beat and organ fills – brings to mind an approach to recording songs that served Browne so well.

This song is both sad and hopeful at the same time. Yes, bad things happen when we least expect them to. However, there is the healing sunshine, if we just have the patience to wait for it.

*Review by Dan MacIntosh

*(Dan MacIntosh has been a professional music journalist for 30 years and his work has regularly appeared in many local and national publications, including CCM, CMJ, Paste, Mean Street, Chord, HM, Christian Retailing, Amplifier, Inspirational Giftware, Stereo Subversion, Indie-Music, Soul–Audio, Country Standard Time and Spin.com.)