Drew’s Mini-BIO
My name is Drew Rieder (ree-der). Thanks for reading this abbreviated personal snippet. Here’s a little bit of info about me in case you’re curious about where I’m coming from when I write or from what perspective & experiences my music is created from. Hopefully this will give you some background.
- I follow Jesus. I’d follow him on Twitter, too, if He had an account but I’ve found that prayer works better than tweeting to make connections with God. Plus He lets me use more than 140 characters.
- My favorite color is blue (navy blue to be specific).
- I’m an aspiring writer and musician.
- I’ve never been formally trained in either art form.
- I have a really eclectic music taste (Rock ‘n Roll, Jazz, Gospel, Soul, Blues to name a few).
- I was born on New Year’s Day in 1974.
- I love coffee.
- I love being creative and enjoy nearly everything about the creative process.
- As far as life goes, let’s just say, I’m in the process of becoming what I was made to be and working hard to make more progress toward my life goals.
- I have learned some things in my short thirty-some-odd years of life through a diverse set of experiences. Some of the things I’ve learned have really shaken my existence to its core (war being one of these). However, all of the things I’ve experienced have shaped me and I’m thankful for them. Here are 20 random facts about me (not listed chronologically):
- I was a stock broker for 2 years for a very large financial institution.
- I’m the eldest son of two loving parents who’ve been married for 40 years.
- I’m a husband & a father.
- I worked on a county road crew for 3 summers during college.
- I’m a trained leader who served our country in the military for 9 years.
- I come from a large family and have a huge extended family.
- I went through all private school education (K-College).
- I had a paper route for 8 years.
- I was raised with a Christian worldview.
- I’m an Army veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
- I am a product of Jesuit education (HS & College).
- I produced my first album in 2007.
- I’m a bit of neat freak enjoy organization.
- I love people.
- My favorite movie is Always.
- I love basketball.
- I studied Speech Communications in college.
- I love being near the ocean.
- I was involved in a hit and run accident with a drunk driver when I 16 years old.
- As a freshmen in high school I had my first on-stage acting & singing experience of my life while playing the role of Oliver Twist.
- So, there’s a few fun facts for your consumption. The truth is, we’re all molded and shaped by our collective life experiences. We’re a big bowl of our experience and our upbringing and our belonging.
- I’m a husband to the best woman on the planet and a father to three amazing kids that bless me beyond measure.
- I like to think of myself as a realistic optimist. What does that mean? It means that I acknowledge that the world is not perfect but I still have faith in how great life can be when people find their ultimate purpose in God.
- I think most people settle for less than what they were intended for.
- I’m hoping that some of who I am & some of what I do inspires others to look inward and ask themselves some tough questions. I’m hoping to connect with people who are searching for some answers and dialogue with them about life.
- I’m flawed yet passionate, vulnerable yet bold and full of crazy love.
- I believe there’s still power in using music and writing to effect change.
- I also believe that artists, musicians, writers & all creative people can have a voice even in this information flooded world we live in.
- Life is too short to sit on the sidelines. So, I’m diving off the deep end now and I hope you’ll join me underwater. There is a lot to do and see here. There’s much work to be done.
I hope to get the opportunity to meet you someday. I wish you the best. Thanks for visiting my online home. Feel free to leave your thoughts, ideas and questions in the “comments” section. I’d love to dialogue with you…..drew 
