80's synthpop is in my blood, but I mostly listen to Electronic Dance Music these days. My songs draw from both, fleshed out with piano accompaniment. Anyone who took music lessons as a kid calls themselves "classically trained," but I stuck with it, earning a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance. Immediately after graduation, I left Beethoven and Brahms behind to pursue my first musical inspiration, Depeche Mode.

The line between inspiration and imitation blurred when my song "Ponytail Girl" spread like wildfire on Napster, mislabeled as a Depeche Mode b-side. Despite both parties' efforts to set the record straight (depechemode.com went so far as to address the mix-up in their FAQ), bootleg versions of Depeche Mode's Exciter album were sold around the world with "Ponytail Girl" included as a so-called bonus track. I used the incident as the basis for a tribute album to the band, Color Theory presents Depeche Mode.

I'm currently working on my 9th full-length Color Theory release, scheduled for 2013. Career highlights include winning the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, two songs in the hit video game Rock Band, and several song placements on MTV's The Real World.

For more information and free song downloads, visit www.colortheory.com.