“My grandmother was studying to be a concert pianist when she met my grandfather. What really impressed me about their relationship was that she was willing to give something up that was so precious to her to be with him. What impressed me more is that she was able to keep that in her life. She’s 74 and she still plays. We’re able to do some stuff together now. She got a baby grand piano 8 years ago, and that was one of her dreams; he bought it about three years before he passed away. I actually have a song, ‘Love to Last a Lifetime', I wrote as a memorial to him and my grandmother - it’s basically a song about their relationship and the bonds of love that last way beyond anything we can imagine here.”
Faron began his own musical journey playing the trumpet in elementary school, through junior high and high school and eventually teaching himself to play guitar. “I went to a bunch of different regional auditions and stuff, did some things with concert bands, ensemble, and orchestra, went to a school for the arts. I got tired of people telling me how I should play my instruments. I was taking private lessons and they were telling me how I should sound. All that helped me a lot, but what I really enjoyed about teaching myself to play the guitar was that I could play it however I wanted.”
“What was really magical about playing a wind instrument is the chemistry between the whole ensemble. It gives almost a spiritual level. You can’t really find that unless you are in a setting with other people because everyone is really working toward the same thing, to make wonderful music. I really miss that about the trumpet, but at the same time, with a guitar, you can have rhythm and lead all in one place.”
He began writing songs in high school, but it wasn’t until his college days that songwriting began to flourish. In the fall of 2006, Faron got together with his current band mates and began playing shows in the Knoxville area and all around Middle Tennessee.
The band consists of drummer, Roger Moronie, who by day, is a molecular biologist; and bassist, Christopher Karow, who used to tour with the Wild West Picture Show in Atlanta. “I thank God every chance I get for actually having these guys to play with. You feed off of each other. A solo act, acoustic act, is nothing like adding drums, adding an electric guitar - it adds more depth and tonality to a set.”
“With live performances, some people are visual, some are auditory. If you can portray it where you can put emotion into everything, so you can see what the song is about, you can see the excitement; but the lyrics by themselves, you can make them feel it too. It takes it to a different level.”
“If I could do anything, I’d really want to be considered a songwriter eventually and have other people perform my music. But I’d still have the band and we’d still do occasional shows. We try and do at least two or three a month. It’s hard because we’re all professionals too.” Faron holds a degree in exercise physiology and manages a local gym. “It’s a unique dynamic because we all wear these different hats and we’re musicians, too, we have that common bond also.”
“I like the songwriting more than anything else. I think it’s just the emotional part that comes out. You can talk to people about your emotions, and it helps, but there’s nothing like finding the perfect melody and rhythm to match your emotions.”
| written by Debbie DuBois Miller
