Are You Lost?

"If we've met, then you already know that I have the words "give back" and "LOST!" tattooed on me.

Anyone that doesn't know me is prone to ask the meaning of these words, forever inscribed into my body. "Give back" speaks for itself but "LOST!"...well, that's another story...

When I was 14 I started playing in bands. I picked up guitar at 12, 4 years after my parents put me in piano lessons and I instantly began creating my own music. Eventually I'd end up behind a drum set and even further down the road I'd teach myself harmonica while driving around in my 15 passenger van (The "Lost" Bus).

Music. I was in it for the long haul before I even knew it. How was I to know it would become my life? It's nothing you can prepare yourself for. All I ever felt like I knew was that at 12, 18 and even 24 years old it was the binding force that got me out of bed, carried me through my days and got me through those tough nights.

At 18 I got together with a group of friends and we started calling ourselves Billy the Kid and the Lost Boys. It was a name that seemed to convey the spirit of the project and our manifesto; at the time we were living under a credo of quotes and mantras that read like a time line and became the soundtrack of our lives. It was our way of surviving amidst the mishaps of independence, by throwing out the maps that resulted in a conventional lifestyle and embracing a fierce determination to find our way (even if others deemed it to be a "Lost" Cause).

Little did I know that the term "Lost" would consume not only my vocabulary but my adopted way of life: There's Lost Records, the label I started to put out our second album that now houses 9 acts, 12 releases and operates as a collective of friends running under the motto "Kids in Bands Helping Kids in Bands". There's the Lostice, or Lost Office, where I've spent years booking not only my own projects but any friend who needed a helping hand, as well as promoting new musical endeavors and preaching the gospel of the Lost Cause. There's the Lost Bus, which has taken me a great number of miles beyond what I expected it would and now, there's the Lost Youth Music Society.

Once I began embracing the path that I had chosen, as random and sometimes meandering as it may seem, it dawned on me that perhaps to be a so-called "Lost Cause" isn't necessarily a bad thing. I began meeting kids across the country who felt the same way I did...they believed that we could find our own way and change the definition of "Lost". Now, if you're down with the Cause, you?re LOST! and it's a darn good thing.

It was with the help of these exceptional people, the crew who are part of the Lost Cause and my amazing family, that I began to realize it was now my turn to give back. I've been so fortunate during my time on this planet that I've always felt as if there's got to be something MORE that I can do. So, we've started a charity that is going to GIVE BACK, using the power of music to inspire and enhance the lives of kids who might not be as fortunate as we are right now. With the help of donations, music lessons, instruments and a scholarship program we'll find the Lost Causes out there and help them to find their own way. Remember, it's a good thing." - Billy the Kid