Jesus, John Petrucci, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Steve Lukather, Marco Sfogli, Criss Oliva (R.I.P.), Mike Oldfield, Lindsey Buckingham, Rusty Cooley, Michael Angelo Batio, Paul Crook, Curtis Basque, Al DiMeola, Alex Lifeson, Steve Morse, Stevie Ray Vaughan (R.I.P.), Ritchie Blackmore, late 80’s/early 90’s hair metal (hey, I grew up with it...), Mili (vocalist from Steelheart), and many others. I tend to favor those who study their instrument and take their music seriously.
Sounds Like
Unashamedly Rockin' Out For Jesus, Because He's Done So Much More For Me!
(Oct 2009) I'm a 34-year old guitarist originally from Saint John, NB, Canada, but I now live in Culpeper, VA, USA with my wonderful wife Angie, daughter Skye Melody, very cool stepdaughter Rhiannon (yep, named after the Fleetwood Mac song, cause that's just how cool she is folks! ;) ), and our zoo of dogs and cats. I'm a Senior Networking Engineer (Cisco & Juniper stuff) by day and a shredder by night...for the time being. I also currently have active Cisco CCNP, CCIP, and CCDP certifications.
That being said though, my life's true passion is Jesus, and the more I submit to Him and put Him first instead of selfishly thinking of myself, the happier I become and the better my life gets. The talents I have on guitar, as well as the many other blessings I have in my life, I have because God gave them to me. This gift of music from Him is a true blessing to me, and not one I take lightly. My family and I attend Mountain View Community Church here in Culpeper on Sundays, where I co-lead the praise and worship music ministry, and I'm also the lead guitarist. I am blessed to be able to use the talents that God gave me on guitar for His Purpose and His Glory! :)
My more shreddin' style material is not finished yet, but once it is I will post it. A few details about my uploaded tunes:
Angie: I wrote this piece for my wife one night while I was still back in Saint John before we got married. I was originally going to go out to a local open mic jam that night, but I ended up staying home and finishing this instead. Thanks to my wonderful wife for being my muse! :) I no longer own the guitar I used to record this one, which was a custom Ed Roman Quicksilver (SN 141) with Seymour Duncan BlackBack pickups (custom made for Ed Roman's guitars) through my Johnson J-Station.
Wasteland: This is actually a song by Curtis Basque, a very good friend of mine and musical influence from back in Saint John, which will be on his forthcoming album TBD (usage of his song on this website by permission from Curtis himself). He asked me to play on this song, and so the solo you hear during the last two minutes is me. I no longer own the guitar I used to record this one either, which was a rare 1993 Washburn N4 made from Paduak (supposedly only a few hundred were made), which I modified with a DiMarzio HB From Hell in the neck and a Tone Zone in the bridge, and a Schaller Floyd Rose. I played through Curtis' rig for this one, which was a Digitech 2101 through an old Hiwatt.
I am blessed to have Ben Cordy and his family in my life as good friends, as well as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. God crossed my path with Ben's to give me an example of what He intends for my life as a worship leader. Ben is also a missionary with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Although we miss him while he's currently in other parts of the world to spread the Good News, we know that he is in God's hands and is living out His purpose to know God and make Him known. Click his pic to learn more:
I put off owning a neck-thru body guitar for far too long! My current guitar is a Schecter C-1 Classic in Antique Amber.
I'm truly beginning to see that there are certain things tonally that you can only get with a bolt-on Strat-style guitar with single-coil pickups. My next guitar will likely be a custom Carvin Bolt - with a DiMarzio Area pickguard loaded with 58/67/61 pickups, they sound awesome!
Metal Method - the audio and video guitar instruction that started a revolution in guitar lessons!! I personally own the below three DVD's myself, and I can attest that as much criticism as Michael Angelo Batio has gotten over the years, you can't argue the fact that he's an incredibly talented guitarist. The thing few people know: he's an AWESOME teacher! What I mean is - he's *very* good at laying things out for students to learn. Being a great player and a great teacher are two entirely different things, but M.A.B. does them both exceptionally well. Click on any of the banners below and check these DVD's out (or any of the others that Metal Method offers) and see for yourself - they're worth the price of admission! $19.95 is a *STEAL* for any of these DVD's (and package deals are also available!).
Came across your site and wanted to personally say "Thank you" for putting me in your 'Top 16'. I very rarely leave comments on peoples pages because I don't personally handle my page and don't really surf the net. Rockin' out for Jesus is ALWAYS a great thing! Keep it up. Thanks again.
I was coming on to myspace to leave you a comment only to find you had already left one for us. It's so awesome to see how God is using you and growing you! You're blessing our socks off!! Have a super week!
I hope you had a great Fathers day! I know Skye loved spending time with her daddy! I think it was awesome how she just kept staring at you when we were at lunch! Love ya! xoxoxox
Just dropping by to show ya some love and say "CONGRATS BRO!" on your soon-coming child. We're so happy for you and Angie! You're a great brother who will be an awesome Dad. Be blessed, shredder!
Metus Deus, nulla alius, Kevin Conner www.brandishingsteel.com www.myspace.com/brandishingsteel
Online Now!![Warclub Radio [Request Line 405-633-3705 24/7 365]](http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/91/s_4dc3f2fa98414a939c1c1829539d2105.png)
