THE STORY BEHIND THE ALBUM
The Better Part of Us grew from something I have thought about more as I’ve gotten older: what really defines us?
I don’t believe it is simply what we say, what we believe, or how we present ourselves to the world. More is revealed in the quieter choices - trying to understand before judging, being there without being asked, accepting responsibility, putting someone else first, and having the courage to stand apart from the crowd.
These songs explore those ideas through the people, relationships, and experiences that have shaped my own life - from empathy and the comfort of being truly known, to watching my daughter begin a new chapter and realizing that love doesn’t diminish when life changes. It grows.
At its heart, this album is about the difference between saying who we are and demonstrating it through how we live and the lives we change.
1. The Better Part of Us
The Better Part of Us grew from my belief that character is revealed less by what we proclaim than by what we actually do. It is found in feeling another person’s pain, reaching out when others don’t, accepting responsibility, standing alone when necessary, staying when it would be easier to run, and helping change another person’s life. The better part of us doesn’t need an audience - it simply needs to be lived.
2. Empathy
Empathy grew from a simple belief that has become more important to me over time: we rarely know the full story another person is carrying. It is a song about looking beyond our own perspective, listening before judging, and recognizing the humanity in someone whose life or experience may be very different from our own.
3. I'm Not Giving You Away
Written for my daughter as she begins a new chapter, I’m Not Giving You Away reflects the complicated beauty of being a father and watching your little girl build a life of her own. It is not a song about letting go, but about love changing shape—the realization that another person can now walk beside her without ever diminishing the bond between father and daughter.
4. The Things You Never Have to Say
The Things You Never Have to Say reflects on the relationships that become so deeply understood that words are no longer necessary. For me, it is about the people who truly know us - the ones who recognize the hurt behind a smile, understand a silence, and stay present without being asked. Sometimes our deepest connections are found in the things we never have to say.