Walking into the store, eyes wide, looking at all of the instruments displayed, eight-year old Brandon Hurley spots the one he likes and proudly claims it as his own. Senior Hurley has had a passion for music ever since he can remember. This year he took his passion to a new level and created his first EP, ‘Paradise Gone,’ with four original songs.

Hurley started making songs and singing by himself at a young age. He began his journey into the musical field when he saw that his cousin played guitar.

“My cousin, Cole, used to play guitar, and I really looked up to him when I was little, so he was a big inspiration,” Hurley said.

When writing the EP, Hurley used life experiences, girls, break-ups, God and hard times to help him construct each song.

“It took about four months to fully complete the EP,” Hurley said. “It was a lot of work, but it was super fun. Recording is my favorite thing to do in the world.”

When choosing what songs that would be on the EP, Hurley decided he wanted his two favorite upbeat songs and his two favorite ballads.

“I just really wanted to get my music out there and share it with everyone,” Hurley said.

Hurley recorded his songs at Steve Mielke’s house, his church’s worship leader. Mielke helped with the audio engineering and also played a couple instruments on the EP.

“He is a huge [influence],” Hurley said. “And some of my role models in music are John Mayer and Ed Sheeran.”

Not only does Hurley play the guitar, but he also plays piano, mandolin and a little bit of the banjo.

“[Making music] is 100 percent my passion, so I guess it just makes me feel a lot of peace doing what I love,” Hurley said.

In the future, Hurley plans on going to Belmont University to major in Music Business with an emphasis on production. He wants to be a music producer.  

Hurley’s songs are available on iTunes and Apple Music under his name or ‘Paradise Gone.’