My first Nationally Released Project When i was 25 yrs old guesting on Sean Malone's 1st album, Cortlandt :
Influences
First & Foremost;
The Eternal, Self Existing, Uncreated, Triune Godhead consisting of The Father, Yeshuah Messiach, and Ruach HaKodesh
THE FOLLOWING LIST IS INCOMPLETE, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, AND WILL ALWAYS BE. Also, they are all INSPIRATIONS, but not all are necessarily INFLUENCES - know what I mean ?
I tried to list artists and genres, but the artists are too numerous to count, and everytime I think of one, another pops up in my head.
Yeshuah Praise Music
Andre Crouch, Fred Hammond, Keith Green, Deitrik Haddon, Commisioned, Psalms & Hymns by any artist, Donnie McKirkland
Blues
Jimi Hendrix, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, Otis Rush, Son Seals, Freddie King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, B.B. King, Roy Buchanan, Lonnie Mack, Walter Trout, Matt Guitar Murphy, Steve Cropper
Jazz
Swing, Bebop, Post Bop, Hard Bop, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Django Reinhardt, Thelonious Monk, Mc Coy Tyner, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Charles Mingus, Gene Harris, Ray Brown, Cecil McBee, Rufus Reid, Jimmy Raney, Chuck Wayne, George Van Eps, Grant Green, there's just too many cats to list !!
Rock Artists/Bands
Eddie Van Halen, Living Color, Kings X, Fishbone, Bad Brains, Weapon Of Choice, Funkadelic, Frank Zappa, Yngwie Malmsteen, Michael Schenker, Uli Roth, Ritchie Blackmore, Greg Howe,Tommy Bolin, Deep Purple, Tony Iommi, Gary Moore, Warren DiMartini, Frank Marino, etc . . , Steve Gaines, Dickey Betts, Duane Allman,
Jazz/Rock/Blues Fusion
Jaco Pastorious, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Alan Holdsworth, Bill Connors, AlDimeola, Mahavishnu Orchestra, John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Alphonso Johnson, George Duke, John Scofield, Scott Henderson, Dennis Chambers, Chuck Loeb, Bill Evans (saxophonist & pianist), Victor Bailey, Weather Report, Marcus Miller, 70's/80's Miles Davis, Jimmy Herring, Mike Miller, Derek Trucks, Chick Corea, Stanley Clark
The Great Composers
Stravinsky, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Zappa, Bartok, Debussy
To Be Continued
Sounds Like
Allan Holdsworth trying to play after getting his fretting hand caught in a rat trap
No claim to fame here, just a National of The Republic of Florida jammin' to backing tracks, as none of the tunes above are in full production - except the only original, "Journey to Freedom", which will be recorded this year with a real band, rather than as the demo with computer instruments which is currently uploaded.
The closest I may have gotten to superstardom was when I was an extra in a Goldie Hawn movie in which I was cast as a hippie strumming guitar at sunset in Key West. The movie was called Criscross, and was filmed approximately in 1990,but isn't even available on DVD; let alone televised on some low budget late night channel. Further, my scene got cut out, so there's my claim to fame - take it for what it's worth.
In summary, I was an extra in a scene that got cut in a movie that never even made it to late night TV or DVD.
My next big break was when my original band, The Pickles, got signed and did a world tour. Do you remember us? We started "Vlasic Rock" !!
All kidding aside, when I was 25, I was honored to have been asked to play on bassist Sean Malone's (Gordian Knot) debut CD, Cortlandt. You can listen to my solo on his site HERE
The tunes marked with "Althrax " are played over a backing track provided by a member named Althrax (Allan Whaite) at thegearpage.net
The blues ones are played over Wayne Riker's Stand Alone Urban Blues Play-Alongs. The Red Clay Cut is played over Jamey Aebersold's Rhythm Changes Vol. 60. "tidepool" is a track by myspace member "Lucidology"
Special thanks to Derek Neece for motivating me to put this space up & big ups to my good friend out of Dallas, by way of Tampa, via North Carolina, from Panama; Paul Wilkinson, my tone consultant.
Also, my good friend, Joey Abella has helped me immensely with helping upgrade & modify my amplifier components
I am available for recording & live gig sessions in most contemporary styles
Since the late 80's, I have played professionally in bands which have played funk/dance , hard rock, blues , top 40, straight ahead jazz, and fusion. In regards to recording, I have put tracks down for many artists of diverse styles and am known for coming up with inventive parts on the first take.
The bio is below the picture
This page is unfinished. I should be playin' right now instead of typin' ! . . .
Born in Chicago, August 1970:
As a child growing up in the 1970's into the early 80's, I grew up liking the music of Earth Wind and Fire, Hall and Oats, Little River Band, Kool and the Gang, Waylon Jennings, J. Geils Band, The Blues Brothers Band, and even some of the 50's bubble gum music. Prior to picking up the guitar, around 1982, the Heavy Metal Motion Picture
Soundtrack really got me hooked, along with The first four Van Halen Albums and the band Journey. Further influences throughout the early 80's included, but were most certainly not limited to, AC / DC, Def Leppard, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Van Halen, Saxon, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, Ted Nugent, etc . . .. At or around that time, I started sifting through my Dad's record collection and discovered Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland album which was a significant turning point.
Growing up in Key West in the late 70's through all of the 80's, I was able to see many R&B/ Blues bands live at Sloppy Joe's and all of the "A" circuit hard rock cover bands at Durty Harry's by standing just outside the bar as an "underaged minor". My first significant local influence was a guy named Carl Wagoner, who was graduating highschool as I was just about to enter highschool and Carl still works as a musician full time in Key West to this day - check him out folks, he's a monsta ! He turned me on to Yngwie Malmsteen, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker, Al Di Meola, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. A real turning point was when Carl played Stevie Ray's "Tin Pan Alley" on his stereo. The slow minor key blues really grabbed me and motivated me to really want to start playing. I bought the "Couldn't Stand The Weather" and played it for my Dad, who grew up in Chicago listening to blues, and he said that that cut had to be the best slow blues he had ever heard. As I sifted further through my Dad's records, I started listening to John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, and the Muddy Waters' Hard Again albums.
As a result, I started playing in the Summer of 1984 at the age 13. I learned from some local guys how to form basic chords, bend strings with other lead techniques, and how to figure music out by ear off of the cassette tape (yup, I'm that old !). Once I was able to cop stuff by ear, I went on a serious period of self study by the age of 14 by being able to figure out Randy Rhoads, Hendrix, Santana, Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, Tommy Bolin, Richie Blackmore, SRV, Albert Collins, BB King, Robert Cray, Jeff Beck, etc . . all by ear without the aid of tablature. Another musically inspiring moment around this time was when I walked into a friend's house with Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon" blasting - definitely made me want to play the funk.
One of my first Music Theory Revelations was from a Doug Marks book called Metal Method in which I learned how to play the seven modes of the major scale up and down the neck, and the triads associated with it. The main problem was that the book was UNCLEAR insofar as resolving tones of the scales over particular chords. The next theory revelation was from Ralph Denyer's Guitar Handbook which taught me about intervals, harmony, long pentatonic runs, etc . . , all of which was the basis for my "formally self taught" instruction.
My first interest in Jazz occured around 1985 when another guitar friend was listening to the work of the session guitarists for Steely Dan (Larry Carlton, Jeff Baxter, Jay Graydon, etc . . ) and the Allan Holdsworth album, Metal Fatigue. As I got into jazz and fusion, I discovered John Scofield's Blue Matter, Weather Report's Black Market and Mr. Gone, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Allan Holdsworth's Road Games, and Jaco Pastorius's first solo album. Another mission into my Dad's record collection revealed John Coltrane's Impressions, Larry Carlton's Last Nite, and Miles & Monk at Newport, and The Best Of Dexter Gordon, all of which contributed towards what would be a life changing impact of how I wanted to approach music.
However, my theory self teaching methods came to a head and I could not figure out how to play the jazz as easily as i could figure out how to play the Blues, Hard Rock, Southern rock, and R&B. After many futile self teaching attempts and a failed audition for entry into The University Of Miami's Jazz Guitar Program; I had to start taking lessons, of which was done with Rick Peterson in Key West. Rick taught me about tri-tone substitution and how to play "around the chord" with "scale arps", but most importantly, I picked up a proper attitude to have when playing in any situation from Rick. I also could not teach myself how to read music notation, and local music instructor Robin Kaplan started my development of what would be a most potent skill for me to carry for my musical lifetime.
In 1988, I decided to enroll in the Jazz/Commercial Music program offered at Five towns College in Seaford, New York. My guitar instructor at Five Towns, Peter Rogine, showed me how to "unlock" the mysteries of fretboard, and he answered every question I could think of regarding how to approach jazz guitar improvisation. I never knew "how to" practice before studying with Pete, and Pete showed me how to developed a very well balanced practice regimen in regards to chords, scales, music reading, and repertoire.
My first lesson with Pete will ring with me forever: Before he even taught me a note, he said, "write this down";
"Talent is not important, quality of consciousness is"
Another Instructor at Five Towns who had a profound impact on my playing and attitude was Dr. William Rayner (Billy Rock), who is currently a professor at N.Y.U. Bill invited me out to check out his gigs with his band, Last Generation who still performs in the New York Metro area. Bill's compositional abilities blew me away in that his explorations of 20th Century Classical compositional techniques fused with gritty funk and rock opened my eyes to a new musical planet. Notwithstanding the compositional brilliance, he and his band had top notch chops and would just wring every crowd out like a wet towel. His co-guitarist, Ted Lewan, was another mentor of mine in that he had a big bag of tricks ranging from Hendrix to Holdsworth. Then, at the age of 19, I encountered one of my most musically defining moments when Ted had another gig booked and Bill asked me to fill in for him in his place for that evening. Boy was that scary and edifying at the same time !!
Other instructors who had a significant influence on me were my jazz lab band instructors, Drummer Bob Emery, who really taught me how to groove and comp; and the legendary vibraphomist Ray Alexander, who really taught those of us who were listening, how to tell a story with our instruments.
After Graduating from Five Towns with an A.A. in 1990, I went on to Berklee in Boston to pursue a B.A. in Guitar Performance. That plan was derailed due to me developing a tendinitis condition as the result of
a compressed lower lumbar vertebrae injury I suffered when i was 17;
taking no therapeutic measures or exercise as a result; and
poor diet.
As a result, I moved back to Key West at the beginning of 1991 to heal and rest my hands. I took many odd jobs and finally settled into a steady job as a C.P.A. (Car Parking Attendant). I had changed my diet and got into heavy duty swimming, yoga, tai chi, and Chinese Kempo Boxing.
Since I had the parking attendant gig, I still practiced by bringing books of music, a metronome, and began sight reading without the instrument, yet envisioning where my fingers were supposed to land on the fretboard.
In the fall of 1993, I was mostly healed and I moved to Tampa for enrollment in The University of South Florida in order to finish my degree in Jazz Guitar Performance. My first teacher there was Al Hurley, who gave me great insights on time feel, walking bass lines with chords, and keeping my melodic lines focused and consistent. My next instructor, in 1994, was Barry Greene (Currently teaching at The University of North Florida); who really helped me with my sight reading and with getting my lines to flow more through complex chord changes by having me intensely study Pat Martino's Linear Expressions.
In 1995 and by the grace of God, Jack Petersen started teaching at USF, during which I had the fortune to study with him for 3 years until 1998. Jack was really my next main wave of guitar instruction revelation since I had studied with Peter Rogine. It was from Jack that I learned another system of chord melody, melodic line invention and chromaticism, comping, and how to really develop a solo and take it somewhere rather than "bash licks". Since 1998, i have accumulated enough knowledge from Rogine, Hurley, Greene, and Petersen to develop my own assignments fro myself in that I have expanded upon their lessons and organized them in another way.
During my studies at USF, I cannot leave out saxophonist Jack Wilkins' Jazz Theory and Analysis class, as he showed me how to organize my ideas and exactly what to work on as far as how to play over jazz chord progressions
HUGE HTML ADS WITH EMBEDDED PHOTOS WILL BE DELETED!
Hey Geoff, Thank you so much for the friend request!! I LOVE your music....it's just great. I'm a real fan of bluesy, jazz-fusion type stuff and your music has really got so much feel. Please stay in touch any time and I will be back to visit too. All the Best, Cindy
Hey Geoff, it's been a while! I wanted to stop by and say hello, I hope all is well. Now I will take a few and listen to what you have been up to. Have a great weekend!
Right on Man! Thanks for the support. I'm doing my first sober show @ Skippers Smokehouse on Sep. 18Th, I am so looking forward to it! Very focused Peace, Mike
You do realize I got the quotes mixed up, so I wil take credit for bend'em in, but I kinda like Mr. Parkers better...... Hope you had a great weekend CHEERS, Benjamin
Geoff... The DreamFest is approaching. So far, it looks like a go. Will need to get you guys prepared. My manager or myself will send more info and ALL the details soon about the gig, rehearsal, etc. Still interested?
I've got a concert today (jazz fest in Monroe MI). I'll touch base by Monday on details via direct email.
I'm looking forward to playing with the smokin guitar player from Florida (guy name Geoff J) - ever here of him?
