freemont

First, there was The Monkees. Then KISS. Then Led Zeppelin, then Rush, Yes, Kansas, Van Halen, Journey, Toto, ELP, etc. Then I heard The Introduction by Steve Morse. Thus began a long facination with all things Dregs-related.

Then in 1986 I heard Chick Corea Elektric Band, and everything changed. I obtained everything of Chick's I could get my hands on, and all I wanted to hear was jazz. That led to players like Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Keith Jarrett, etc. Other players like Al DiMeola, Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery...

Tim Brooks turned me on to Allman Brothers, and after some close listening, I realized that those guys could PLAY! I owe my most interesting playing experiences to Tim. (about twelve years' worth or so) :-)

When I played, I also became interested in the 18..th.. century classical works of Bach, Chopin, and others. I taught myself to play some of the simpler pieces, but not really well. I'm obviously drawn to instrumental works moreso than vocal. One of my favorite pieces of music is "Deborah's Theme" by Ennio Morricone, from "Once Upon a Time in America". I find it heartbreaking.

I can't stomach rap, hiphop, whatever they call that bullshit these days. These are mostly talentless losers who lack the skill to actually compose anything or play an instrument with any facility, so instead they lay down a beat and put a rhyme over it. As often as not, the rhyme is full of vulgar and hateful language. It is shameful. We've come a long way from "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to "Fuck tha Police", and it's not a good thing.

Bill Evans is probably my favorite... I dunno, flip a coin, it's either Evans or Corea.

Jazz is where my heart's at, but I still love most of that old rock stuff too.

Steely Dan has always been a huge influence. I named all my cats after them. (Aja, Josie, and Rikki. Pretzel got squished by a car, R.I.P.)

The Beatles have been there all along, so ubiquitous that they shouldn't need mentioning. Their music will never go away, so long as songs are sung.