Written by: Logan Cooper
Bobcat is a traveler at heart. Born in New Jersey, he left the East Coast as soon as he could to find something different, and found himself here in California – first in Tahoe, then in SoCal, and now in
Santa Cruz, with a dozen different stops in between. His travels are well-reflected in his music, which he describes as “gritty folk with country soul, also blues-ish, with elements from all over.”
His first got started with music at the age of five, when he began learning the piano. At ten, he started playing the guitar, which he found he liked better. Inspired by the blues and Southern rock that he had grown up with, he began to play in bands in high school, and started going solo during his university years in Pennsylvania, where he also played baseball. After tossing around the idea of going pro, he decided that music was his one true love, and continued to play solo shows as he hopped around California. Around the same time, he started to take performing more seriously: finding paying gigs at local bars, and using the internet to promote himself so that he could branch out to larger venues and 
tours.
As he travelled and worked and played, Bobcat had to find out by trial and error the right balance between work and creativity. Everywhere he’s been, he’s had to take side jobs to keep himself above water, however, he has been lucky to have always found jobs that allowed him time to record and tour. After finding that balance though, he has always found that his creativity flows easily. Most of his songs have their roots in things that he has experienced on his travels through California, however, he also cites transient feelings and the state of the world around him as impossible influences to avoid when writing his songs.
While advancing his musical career through touring and collaboration, Bobcat has also managed to 
pick up some more instruments to add to his repertoire. That is how he has picked up the banjo, as well as how he has come back to the trumpet, which he first picked up in school, but had to stop playing because he didn’t want to join the school band.
As for the question that has probably been on everyone’s minds, he got the nickname “Bobcat” while he was living in a tent just east of Yosemite – near Mono Lake. One night, as he was playing music with only his dog for company, he encountered a bobcat, and something about the name stuck with him.
When asked if there was anything else he wanted to tell about himself, he said that the best way to find out was to jump right in and give his music a listen. That in mind, go check him (and his music) out at his website, and be sure to come hear him at Event Santa Cruz: Live on December 14th.
