Guitarist, songwriter, and Texas native Ryan Cabrera never planned on a career in music. His hobby turned into a passion after hearing Dave Matthews, causing him to turn his back on the noisy punk rock of his high-school band, Caine, and pick up an acoustic guitar for the newly minted Rubic's Groove. The group found popularity in the Dallas area, sharing stages with Cheap Trick, Ben Harper, and Third Eye Blind, before Cabrera's departure. Making the most of a block of studio time -- a birthday present from his brother -- the high-school dropout cut three original songs that impressed the engineer enough to offer the opportunity to do a full-length -- for free. Elm Street was a self-released success, selling out locally and garnering favorable reviews and a deluge of Internet orders. In 2001, Cabrera signed to Atlantic, which scheduled the long-player Take It All Away for release in 2004. Assisting behind the boards were Sabelle Breer and Curt Frasca (Avril Lavigne), Guy Chambers (Robbie Williams), and co-producer Johnny Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls). You Stand Watching arrived in 2005, followed by Moon Under Water in 2008.nn~ James Christopher Monger