His first song took nearly 50 years to write… and it's not a long song.

 

Back in the day, Underberry’s Dad bought him a guitar after the Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Having witnessed the power of the guitar through the Beatles American debut, young Underberry became instantly smitten with this exotic instrument that would eventually infatuate his entire generation.

 

Over the years, however, his devotion to the instrument would ebb and flow as he navigated other variables, interests and pursuits. One of those pursuits was a masters degree in cinema studies at New York University (NYU).

 

It was while residing in Greenwich Village, meandering its Bohemian bustle of artsy spice, charming brownstones, and taverns of song that Underberry began to have vague aspirations of one day becoming a songwriter. The Village rubbed off on him and inspires him to this very day.

 

Underberry captured this spirit and sentiment of Greenwich Village in his earlier song, “McSorely’s,” from his debut album, “Ketty’s Kitchen.”

 

After taking formal guitar lessons for a number of years, Underberry made a bold move and decided to teach himself how to finger pick. He found fingerpicking afforded him to get “under the hood” of music and led him in wondrous ways to locate melodies and the mysterious emotions beneath. He stopped trying to emulate the giants and went inward instead. He could carry a tune but could not sing. A cover artist he was not. His was a long and winding road to songwriting. Perhaps for having been held in check for so long, Underberry’s creative output remains tardily bountiful.