When I left the Army, one of the soldiers said, "You came in Just Another Soldier and you left Afghanistan a hardened Amethyst". Amethyst means to heal, it's formed from Sand, heat and iron deposits, so that is how I got my name. Now I can teach people how to heal from tough experiences through my music.

Yes - probably the most thrilling was performing in front of 3,000 soldiers at Camp New York in Iraq - that was AMAZING -

I love how I can express my feelings through song and get the message to fans in Russia and Cheque Republic - even fans from China have written to me

Looking for a contract with someone who believes in my music and the messages.

"....Just about the time that poor Private Jessica Lynch and her unit made that infamous wrong turn in the desert, we entered the southern part of Iraq from the Kuwait and with our driver and GPS, wound our way through sand storms on the Western side of Iraq. Our goal was to perform for every US camp all the way to Tikrit, get through Bagdad and then just relax at one of the bombed out Palaces in either Baghdad or Tikrit.

I'm a "former" and I do mean former...Junior Olympic diver, so you can imagine what it was like to be in 135 degree heat and imagine a pool with golden fixtures at the end of your journey to dive into

After I got to meet Robin Williams, I knew that this was what I wanted to do. My squad leader had smuggled my keyboard into his footlocker and brought it to Afghanistan. So after that tour, my Captain helped me get an audition with the USA Express Touring Band. Going back to the Middle East and performing for our US troops was an amazing experience and something I will never forget. They are people who really appreciate a good show. Sometimes the sand was so black you couldn't see the front of the vehicle or your friends as they left the safety of the truck. Sometimes we went off the road but at each camp the cheers kept us charged up and going forward. It's easy to perform for thousands of screaming guys and gals. One of the hard parts was finally getting to this one outpost called Camp Udairi. It was in the middle of nowhere and when we arrived, only a handful of people came out with their lawn chairs. They looked so sad but they had been out there over a year and we had a problem....

In the distance, was a huge storm - we could see it coming and we couldn't outrun it. We had to decide, "Do we disappoint these guys and move on...or do we show them the respect they deserve and play for them, even though we might mess up all the equipment". It was no contest. When we got to Sweet Home Alabama, you would have thought that every guy was from Alabama, they SCREAMED it!" I never saw such happy smiles...and in the background...as the sand started to clear in the sky....over their heads....was that American flag.

When I left the Army, one of the soldiers said, "You came in Just Another Soldier and you left Afghanistan a hardened Amethyst". Amethyst means to heal, it's formed from Sand, heat and iron deposits, so that is how I got my name. Now I can teach people how to heal from tough experiences through my music. I hope you enjoy it...........Amethyst


......NOSTALGIA

Jim Brickman, Sara MacLachlan

Hollywood - it's like Disneyland for Adults

I use a Yamaha Motif 8

UPCOMING CONCERTS:

March 17, and 18 - 2 night show - VOICES IN MY HEAD - A NIGHT OF COMEDIANS, POETRY AND THE MUSIC OF AMETHYST - AT MOORPARK COMMUNITY COLLEGE - MOORPARK, CA - 7:00 P.M. IN THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

APRIL 21 - STUDIO S - NORTH HOLLYWOOD - 8:00 P .M. - TICKETS ON SALE NOW - ONLY 8.00 - SEND AMETHYST AN EMAIL AT AMETHYST@AMETHYSTLIVE.COM

APRIL 29 - SONGWRITER SHOWCASE - AMETHYST AT KAVA DUME IN AGOURA HILLS, CA 8:00 P.M.