Tin Man Alley's Robert Wait has had the affliction as long as he can remember: words, melodies, and rhythms, flooding his thoughts, searching for a way out.

The story begins with a boy, six years old, begging his parents for a drum set. When an ancient marching snare drum shows up for Christmas, it's a good start, but still has to be customized with suitcases and pan lids to feel like the real thing. This suitcase set becomes the perfect foil to the two big sisters' cello and vocal recitals down the hall. Older brother helps too by taking up electric guitar. Picture the perfect musical household - harmonious and cacophonous at the same time.

Pretty soon, the Wait brothers are the John Bonham and Jimmy Page of Edwardsville, Illinois. And they're starting to write. Old Beatles and Stones records teach melody. Led Zeppelin and The Who take care of the wilder side. The two imitators are young, but they pull it off well enough to find themselves regularly smuggled into nightclubs to play with older musicians.

Then comes college, and a gradual separation of the two brothers onto individual paths. Robert goes to film school, where he learns how cool it is not only to make movies, but to score them as well. After graduating, he spends his days building a career as a film editor, director, and producer. At night he writes and records songs, hiding the tapes away like pages in a diary. A big diary.... It takes a dream-like journey through the Himalayas to inspire him to expose the diary to more ears....

The initial purpose for visiting Nepal was to make a documentary about the Sherpas. Yet, for Robert Wait, it ends up feeling more like a chance to wash away the clutter of Western life and get down to the essential elements of one's existence. Those essentials became very clear early one morning as he watched a tiny Sherpa woman convince a gigantic and unruly Yak to donate some udder milk for the morning tea. Seemingly from out of nowhere, Robert's inner voice began speaking to him.... "Life should be simple. Focus on what comes naturally. Do something with songwriting".

So upon returning home, when a film director friend familiar with Robert's nightly songwriting rituals asks for songs and a score for his next movie, the answer is simple. The resulting collaboration launches a career for Robert writing songs and scores for movies and television. Credits range from TV scores for cult favorites like "Alien Autopsy" and "Ghosts Caught On Tape", to feature film scores like "Breakaway" and "Under The Influence", to songs placed alongside Beck and The Rolling Stones in the Denzel Washington movie "Fallen". Currently, several major recording artists have chosen songs from Robert's catalog to record for upcoming albums.

Tin Man Alley's "Public Display of Affliction", marks the first full length collection of songs released on CD from Robert Wait's ever expanding musical diary. Stylistically something like Neil Finn playing with the Goo Goo Dolls and Vertical Horizon at Sarah McLachlan's house, it's an excellent CD full of songs you'll be hearing in your head, long after the CD player has been turned off. Altogether modern and retro, loud and soft, polished and rough, it features Robert's distinctive, compelling voice, attempting to make sense of all the variables life has to offer. Whether he finds answers isn't certain, but at least he's asking questions.

For a melodic, entertaining ride along fresh terrain in a songwriter's journey, head straight for Tin Man Alley. It's a good place to visit... and you may just want to live there.