As a kid, my great grandmother Willie Mae said to me, “Bud, you ought to learn to play an instrument." I listened to records and music constantly. But I was never interested in learning how to play until I was in college. Seven years after she passed away, I picked up a guitar for the first time in college. 

I learned my first guitar chord from a kid in my dorm named Gianni . We started a band called ‘Sandalwood’ and started writing songs. My first live performance was singing “Good Lovin'" in front of 50 people in the “Backroom" coffee house at Marymount University. The crowd was clapping and singing along. I’ve been fascinated with the challenge of songwriting and performing for an audience ever since.

I moved to Athens, Georgia and spent my weekends as a volunteer youth counselor at my church in Decatur. Every Sunday, I played guitar and led songs for the youth group. My next band was formed with Rachel and Coley. Originally, we called ourselves ‘Better Than Coffee’. Until, our friend Billy saw me tuning and suggested a new name…’Straight Up Green’.

At Eddie’s Attic, I played the open mic and eventually performed every month on stage. I discovered that the Attic was previously a Belk Department store. My great grandmother, Willie Mae, had once worked in the very same building as a seamstress decades before I took the stage. I wish she could hear me play my guitar today.   

Since that time, I’ve performed on 99X, Good Day Atlanta, and Dave FM, as well as at Center Stage, Smith’s Olde Bar, Hard Rock Cafe, Six Flags, and more. I’ve recorded three albums of original music with producers Scott Patton (Sugarland) and Mitch Dane (Sputnik Studios). 

“…speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord" – Eph 5:19