A classically trained pianist and multi-instrumentalist, Sands taught himself the guitar as a more "portable" way to play music.  He began writing songs in his late teens before starting college at DePaul University, Chicago, in 2002.  Sneaking into bars and clubs, it was here that he began developing a knack  for writing folk and Americana ballads, which would later influence his paintings.  Sands sought to create a highly organic and colorful "art" sound with his recording, recruiting a variety of musicians that he would meet at college, at bars, and in the streets.  In 2004, his experiments with down-tuning guitars led to what he considers his first two "breakthrough" songs, 'Finally, For You', and 'Red Blue and Brown'.  Eventually Sands would begin recording social justice and darker folk songs, and his later recordings are marked by an absence of other musicians and were more purely "singer/songwriter."  Due to his shifting cycles of self-deprecating behavior,  many of his songs were never released or the recordings lost over time.  He still performs solo on occasion and is planning a new album due in 2024, with some "lost" and reworked bonus material.