I've been called a lot of things since I first climbed onto a stage with a guitar in my hands and butterflies in my stomach, but the one word that seems to fit best (and miss the mark least) is this one: songwriter. In fact, that's the one I use to describe myself as a performer, too -- especially after I hit a sour note in a vocal or blow a guitar lick, or otherwise need to extricate my ego from my performance in front of an audience. Whenever that happens, I just shrug it off as best I can, and remind anyone who needs reminding of the truest musical fact about me that I know: "I'm not a musician. I'm a songwriter."