Annapolis-based singer, songwriter Dave Tieff is throwing a CD release party for his sophomore album entitled A Trip Into The Sun at Metropolitan Kitchen & Lounge Friday at 8 p.m.

What’s Up’s Magazine nominated Tieff as one its “People To Watch,” and Indie Music Magazine called him one of the “Top 50 Acoustic Musicians You Don’t Want To Miss."

Tickets to the CD release party are $15, which includes the price of the CD.

Before he preforms on Friday, Tieff took a few moments to answer some questions about his music and his life.

Annapolis Patch: Why choose Annapolis and why specifically Metropolitan for your CD release party?
Dave Tieff: Annapolis is my hometown. It's a great music town with lots of musicians and artists. I recently played the Metropolitan for the first time, and I loved the intimate vibe of the room, so it seemed like the perfect place for the CD release party.

Annapolis Patch: How did you first get into music?
Tieff: I've loved music since I was a small child, as most children do, but I knew from about the age of 10 that I was going to be a musician. The idea of writing, playing, and performing music for crowds of people always seemed like the ultimate to me. I guess it still does.

Annapolis Patch: Who are your musical inspirations?
Tieff: In no particular order: The Grateful Dead, Sublime, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Sam Cooke, Simon & Garfunkel, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, and an American Indian folk singer by the name of Raccoon.

Annapolis Patch: What's the most embarrassing song on your iPod at the moment?
Tieff: "The Chicken Dance"—which reminds me, I need to delete that.

Annapolis Patch: What was the best concert or show that you've ever attended?
Tieff: My favorite, and most impactful concert experience is without question The Grateful Dead. I've seen them, or combinations of their members, over 50 times. I love the freedom, friendliness, and brotherhood of their concerts, but the counter culture also has it's dark side of drug abuse. 

The amazing music and art of Jerry Garcia was the driving force behind this movement, and yet he died at a young age from heroin addiction. For me, Jerry has always been a great inspiration on how to live—and how not to.  

Annapolis Patch: With your first album you asked people to name their own price, why?
Tieff: My wife and I made it a bucket list goal to raise $1 million for charity, and all of the proceeds for the first CD went toward that goal. We thought it just made sense to let people decide themselves how much they'd like to contribute.

Annapolis Patch: The first single off your new album is “Time To Fly." What inspired you to write it?
Tieff: Throughout my life I occasionally feel this cosmic pull to get out, play some music and see the world. Nowadays it only lasts for a little while, because I love being home with my wife and two sons more than anything.

Annapolis Patch: The video for “Time To Fly" looks like it has personal videos mixed in. Why did you want to include them?
Tieff: A lot of the video was taken during my cross-country college tour. I wanted to include it because it perfectly embodies the meaning of "Time to Fly." The tour started on a whim, but turned out to be something bigger than we could have imagined.

Annapolis Patch: What do you hope people take away from your music and/or this new album?
Tieff: I've been using my music as a vehicle to share my story of how I overcame drug and alcohol abuse, and how others can do the same. Even if it's not drugs, we've all had personal demons to deal with at some point, and this album is about taking control of your life and not letting those demons, or anything else, stand in your way.

If you're curious about what Tieff's music sounds like, you can click here to sample the album.