The big brother of three sisters, Damian has his dad to thank for sparking his love of music, while listening to his evening performances upon the family piano. "I begged them to get me a guitar, but they thought I would never have the patience to sit and practice and be successful. Finally they gave in! I have two wonderful parents. My mom was always the person I bounced ideas off of. She is such a smart lady!"
It wasn't until an ankle injury took him off the sports fields, however, that he found the time and focus to seriously pursue his singing and song writing. Following this mixed blessing, Damian finally brought his music to the ears of the public at his high school talent show. This inspired him to seek his fortune in the big city, where he joined up with a band in Dallas called Farmer Brown, which was chosen to become the only unsigned band to play at the 1997 Blockbuster Rockfest.
"College took forever because of my commitments to my bands. I graduated from University of North Texas and had the best times in my life while living in Denton. We played all over Texas and Oklahoma," Damian recalls.
Plasma Jack, his band at the time, eventually broke up after a recording of their CD. It wasn't long after that he suffered an injury to his back, which took him out of the spot light. During his time of physical therapy and convalescence, inspiration once again took possession, and in two years time, he wrote over thirty-seven songs. This brainstorm then gave way to a true storm, as hurricane Rita ripped through the south and wiped out his home. These setbacks however never dampened his spirit.
"I lived in my parents 'rent house garage' for a year after that. I believe that you have to keep moving forward though!"
Damian realized his childhood dream of appearing on MTV coming true when his music became licensed for the station's hit show 'The Hills'.
"I want to see my dreams come to life. I have accomplished many dreams already, but I want to be a professional musician. This is what I have prepared for my entire life. It is not an easy business, though. I want people to be able to relate to my music more than anything. I want them to be able to put on my CD and feel like someone knows what they are going through. If I was able to support myself by playing music and selling CDs, I would be on top of the world!" Damian tells us enthusiastically, and adds, "I hope that everyone continues to buy CDs and support new artists. There is no better feeling than ripping off shrink-wrap, putting on the new CD, and reading the liner notes! I love it!"
| written by Joshua Schrader
