Hate to be the one piling on here. All these wonderful admissions and testimonies regarding the quality of this piece and now I come at the end of the line adding my two cents to the mix. In my defense I was one of the earlier commentators in this thread, but after my entry I decided to withdraw the comments. I was just uncomfortable, not really with what I had to say, but rather how I said it. Thought I needed to think this out a bit more, didn’t want to offend anyone. Hated to think I was being overly judgmental bordering on creepy. So now I have put my thoughts together a bit more, talked with FJ off-line and gathered a few facts. So here goes…

I was sitting at my computer early scanning the PG forums. Most of the problems in the forums I frequent were being well addressed by the regulars, so nothing much I could add. With a little extra time, I stumbled into the user showcase. I don’t go here too often since I don’t have the time to listen to a lot of music. I came upon an entry by FJ. I remember when he was the new kid on the block and with his first contribution recognized (as we all did) this was not our typical closet or weekend musician. My comment at the time was simply “…what are you going here?” This kind of talent doesn’t often just wonder into the bar.

OK, here is where I start piling on… I played The Simple Truth. As I was listening in my studio my wife walked by. “Hey” she said, “that sounds really nice, who is it?” I replied, “that’s FJ”, to which she answered, “Who’s that?”. I swear it was just like in the movie “Yesterday”. I knew who the Beatles were and no one else did! And that’s when it hit me! Years ago, I had asked FJ, “what are you doing here?” more or less like a cute comment based on a Billy Joel song and now today I wanted to ask “…why are you still here?” This song should be on every radio play list. It should be played at every wedding anniversary party. The vocals and lyrics reach inside and grab you to the core. I can only conclude after listening to The Simple Truth, that FJ is simply the most talented person I know who no one on the national level seems to have ever heard of! He sits on a stool at the end of our local bar as a shining talent and I wanted to know why.

I blame it on the music - when a singer/songwriter presents his soul in his art it makes his audience feel like they know him or want to know him.

After I removed my original comments, I spoke with FJ and he was kind to share bits of his musical journey. I was pleased to learn that this is a talent which he has nurtured and developed over a long journey. Like many of us in our careers, we may not have gotten to the promised land, but we have stood on the mountaintop and seen what few other have seen. FJ shared with me that he is content with his stool at the end of our bar. I was glad to hear that, and I want him to know how much his talent is appreciated. So if this is piling on, then I am guilty as charged.