The San Francisco-based singer-songwriter Sean Hayes visited the Fretboard Journal offices during a recent Pacific Northwest tour. Here, he performs “Miss Her When I’m Gone” from his 2012 album, Before We Turn to Dust.

Hayes was raised in North Carolina and grew up listening to the teen staples such as the Smiths, the Police and Led Zeppelin. A childhood friend named Michael Horowitz eventually turned him on to Irish music and bluegrass (Horowitz is now based in Seattle and known for his gypsy jazz playing). Hayes’ current songs are an amalgam of rock, folk and soul. “I don’t really write from genre, just from an emotional spot,” he says.

For this tune, Hayes is playing his Martin 00-15.