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Music Projects (Click the Audio/Music Tab to Listen to My CDs)
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LATEST NEWS ! ! !
I recorded two guitar parts ( rhythm and lead guitar solo ) for the new Methods of Mayhem song Louder. I've been listed as a finalist (on 11/3/2009). Lets see what happens (an archived version of the page is here) |
NOTE: The page referred to by the "here" link above and all content on that page is subject to and governed by the copyright owners indicated on the page.
Now back to our regularly scheduled page content.
Introduction
Growing up in Miami, Florida, I was constantly surrounded by music. My father would listen to classic jazz on WLRN, while my elder brothers listened to a lot of classic rock that I also loved. My exposure to this gave me a great respect and love for music and of course going to get a new record (i.e. vinyl 12" or smaller "45" single) was always a big deal and a constant topic of discussion with friends.
This initial interest would grow into something bigger however...
"Learn How to Play Guitar Boy!"
Up until my 8th year of school I really had no interest in learning to play any kind of musical instrument. I'd played various instruments as part of elementary school curriculum, but really didn't pursue learning any particular instrument.
This all changed however when I went to a school assembly and saw some friends my age play popular rock songs that I knew. This ignited my interest and it was at that time I began to learn how to play guitar.
I convinced my parents to buy me a cheap nylon string acoustic (a Hondo II as a I recall) and also signed up for lessons at a local music shop. I took 8 lessons in which I learned the basic notes on the neck and eventually, in that 8th lesson, was taught the almighty bar chord.
With that, I practiced, and practiced, and when I wasn't practicing, I practiced some more. It took a couple of years to get comfortable playing and I took every opportunity to jam with friends whenever I could.
By high school, I was pretty capable and always enjoyed playing. Naturally, I played in bands some of which are listed below.
Early Work in Band Settings
Naturally, as I learned to play, I joined a few bands and also started one. This was primarily for enjoyment. Its always fun to get in front of a Marshall stack and belt out some bar chords that throw you against the wall accompanied by some rock solid drumming and bass work.
I joined a band (have forgotten the name) with a female high school colleague. The band was ok and played mostly covers. The singer had a particular fascination with Joan Jett. We played a few shows in Miami, one at the Tavern (which was down near downtown and primarily a blues bar) which is no longer around, and one at a British owned club. Both were good experiences, and quite honestly, that first show was tough for me in terms of nerves. I was in bad shape all day leading up to it, but the actual show went really well.
We actually recorded two demos of numerous original songs that the lead singer (Judy Ramirez) wrote. I still have these recordings, and did import them into my digital system. I hope to soon mix them down and put the up here on the site. It was basically power pop rock.
Garhoff (click logo to listen to songs)
That first band also introduced me to a drummer who became a great friend. He, I and his former girlfriend (who played bass) formed another band called Garhoff and recruited a vocalist. The band was pretty good, recorded a demo of about 5 original songs, but was short lived. We never did play a live show, but had our fun writing and practicing. Checkout the Garhoff page AND Music Downloads Here
26Fold
I later left the Miami area and while living in Mississippi, near New Orleans, I joined a local band as its bass player. The band was called 26Fold because everyone in the band at one time was 26. I on the other hand was 33. Go figure.
The band experience itself (barring the garbage that tends to surround most bands) was quite enjoyable and we did sound really good. Credit to the talent of everyone in the band (Chris, Joey, Gary and Dwayne). It was a band composed of talent and we played hard rock covers. We played at a local club (1 of 2 in the town) typically on Fridays and Saturdays in Picayune (Club Dominion) and had quite a following. A web search for 26Fold will give you a basic idea, but they disbanded years ago.
The place would get packed and I recall, while playing, just sort of watching the evolution of the place each time we played. You'd see this relationship between two people unfolding, another crumbling, and all kinds of antics going on. For the mostpart, the band itself was great, but of course had it share of garbage surrounding it (I'll leave it at that).
My Technology career then required me to move far from the gulf coast up to New Jersey, and that really was the last time I "enjoyed" the organized often dis-functional family like band experience.
Solo Efforts, Kookie Jar Records Recordings and Radio Airplay
Click Here for Examples of Satellite Radio (XM & Sirius) Airplay
My solo recording efforts were much more successful than the band efforts. These resulted in airplay and royalties that continue to come in. The projects are broken down as follows. View additional details about each of these efforts Chemistry using the sub menus under the top navigation. .
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The details and history of each of these projects and the commercial success I've had with Chemistry in particular (through radio airplay, satellite music channels and TV broadcasts) is available on the tabs on the top of the site (if you are on this page you will see them when the pages are available).
Comparisons I like :-)
I'll just go ahead and say it. It is nice to be compared to David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. For whatever reason, some reviewers of my music make the correlation, and I'm just fine with that. Here are a couple of reviews of music (one of which is a compilation) wherein I'm compared with the great one.
And I'm just fine with that.
The Years Ahead
I hear a rumbling coming this way. . . .