"I grew up in (Essex) England , just outside of London , and I'm the biggest country fan ever! I started guitar and mandolin lessons when I was 5. I was also classically trained in clarinet. Hated it! I haven’t played clarinet for years! I always just wanted to play country guitar like Albert Lee, Ray Flacke, Brent Mason and Brent Rowan. Interestingly, back when I was a kid, I had no idea that Albert and Ray are both English. I’ve never played in a rock band - I joined my father’s country band when I was 13 and have played country ever since. My dad also had a radio show every Sunday for 2 hours. It was the only country show on the radio. The station used to give him all the albums they were sent, as they would never play country any other time. It was then I learned about Ricky Skaggs, Steve Earle and Restless Heart - my three favorite artists. All we ever listened to in our house. Mum and Dad loved Jim Reeves, Tommy Overstreet, Merle Haggard and the traditional artists," he reminisces fondly.
"I have two sisters, Jodie and Kerry. We grew up pretty broke, really. Our family certainly had a lot less money than any of my friends. It really didn’t matter though, we were very close and we had an awesome childhood.”
As an adult he’s again found that closeness, “ I’ve been married to Sandy for three and a half years now. It’s been awesome. Happy wife - happy life! She’s very supportive of my career."
Those that have been lured by the sound of Glen's strings are many. He has been the bandleader for Jason Michael Carrol and Danielle Peck. His music has also been heard across the realm of the tellie, including Hannity and Colmes, Jay Leno, and Good Morning America. While performing with Lonestar at Fenway Park, he was the opening act for the Boston Red Sox.
With these accomplishments tucked under his belt, he now seeks to step outside the footprints of others, hoping the sun will rise brightly from the new horizons he seeks. "I’ve recently decided to take time off from touring to concentrate on my own artist career. I’m putting the finishing touches on a five-song project, which I’ll shop to the labels. It feels great to finally do something for myself. I’d like to get a record deal and visit all my friends at radio with my own material. My biggest dream is to have a video (as an artist) on CMT / GAC. It was killer to see my name on the screen after the Jason Michael Carroll cut, but I still aspire to have my own artist career."
"Music is my life. It’s all I’ve ever done. I’ve never had a ‘real’ job! I’ve had countless people tell me that “Livin’ Our Love Song” was their wedding song. What could be more amazing than that? It means so much to me when people connect with my songs."
| written by Joshua Schrader
