As far as individual players there is people such as Tony Iommi, Randy Rhoads, Neal Schon, Santana, George Lynch, Steve Harris, Joe Satriani & Kerry King among others that have influenced my approach to the guitar in one way or another from the time I was just a little kid picking an axe for the first time.
As far as bands, it's a wide range of styles that have been with me musically over the years. There's Sabbath (of course), Boston, Iron Maiden, Journey, Slayer, Def Leppard, early Metallica, Rush, KISS & Judas Priest to name a few.
I'm looking for songwriting partners. This would be no-pressure, fun projects to basically get our creative rocks off. I have been wanting to put a band together pretty much since I moved to Chicago, but got a bit sidetracked with a little project of mine called Chicago's Rock. In my search, I have talked and met with quite a few people but unfortunately in their case, the "talk" was bigger than their skill -if they did anything at all. I got to the point where I was even willing to play in a cover band (not that a cover band is a bad thing, I just wanted to play). But then again, putting that much effort creating a big show, playing someone else's music with some of the "wishy-washy" and downright lazy characters I had talked to wasn't exactly a 'winning plan'. Maybe I'm just too picky, maybe it's just bad luck and I was talking to the wrong people. In any event, there are some very talented people out there that while still committed to their bands, would want to do a "one-off" for fun here & there, writing songs in a different direction or style than they would typically do in their own band. I'm fairly easy to work with but yes, I do expect people to do what they say and also expect a certain level of skill and quality. Interested? Drop me a line.
ABOUT ME / MY TASTE IN MUSIC
I've been a musician most of my life and for the last 20-or-so years, have also enjoyed working with the technincal side of things and other aspects relating to the production of educational, sports, music and general entertainment media, in additon to rocking out in stages across the country.
Musically speaking, I like a wide variety of music. I grew up with Sabbath and a lot of the guitar-driven 70's bands. My taste got a bit heavier in the early 80's when we were exposed to the -then-underground metal scene, [Slayer, Exodus, M'tallica], and what seemed to be a never-ending supply of very obscure -at the time- music [Kreator, Celtic Frost, Blood Feast] that a military-brat buddy would bring from Germany or Japan. As much as I enjoyed listening and playing in those styles, I would listen to and surround myself with different types of players as I wanted to learn how to properly play different styles and find my own sound in the process. I was always "the kid" in the group, so there was never a shortage of more experienced players willing to show me a thing or two and take me under their wing, which eventually led to other musical opportunities in the mainstream rock scene.
In my quest to expand my musical horizons, I started getting into piano music, acoustic arrangements and flamenco guitar. I was also big into new guitar talent. Guitar Player Magazine used to feature new talent on the [vinyl record] "sounds" page they included in their magazine and is where I first heard of Malmsteen (around '83-'84) & other young shredders that went on to become guitar gods and big musical influences for me. I played drums in H.S. as well, so I also dug the work in music from guys like Lombardo, McBrain, Peart, Harris, Hamm, Sheehan...pretty much had a lot of respect and admiration for bands/musicians who were/are good at their craft. Currently, I listen to mostly independent music. There are some good major-label-type bands out there, but indie, local bands are getting the lion's share of my attention nowadays.
As open-minded as I try to be, I have no tolerance whatsoever for Nirvana, any of the flannel-wearing, I-hate-my-life-bullshit from the early to mid 90's, rap-metal-hop, or trance-electronic-type stuff. I just don't get it and quite honestly don't think much of it. So there, that should give a fairly good idea of my musical taste and background. If you need to know more, just contact me.
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Hi Mario! My new singer-Juliet Gough-is taking off:) She is winning contests, topping radio charts, rising on ReverbNation and has 7,500 plus hits here for October! She is being tracked by a few labels as we speak! We will be touring her out next year. We have two options-one is an East Coast tour and one includes Toronto. I am seeing which looks like there is more interest! If I had solid interest-Chicago would be amazing, as my folk singer Steven Hollerup and his new band-The Northern Hooks, will be gigging there next season:) I will keep you posted as we narrow things down. Please keep the info coming! Talk to you soon, Cindy
Support Chicago music! To all of our Chicago area friends~A night of high energy high octane popular covers! Army of Souls play Friday Oct 30th with Ion Vein in Bloomingdale, IL. We'd love to meet you so hope to see you there! 21+ Show starts 9:30pm. If you cannot make it or aren't interested could you please pass this on to someone you think might want to come to the show. Thanks!
Support Chicago music! To all of our Chicago area friends~Come out to Nitecap nightclub to check out TWO TON ANVIL with our good friends Bloodstream Parade. Night of 1000 Knives opens for us from Grand Rapids. Click on the banner for more details. CD giveaways with flyer and/or RSVP. We'd love to meet you so hope to see you there! 21+ Show starts 9pm. Please pass this on to anyone you think would like to see the show!
Join me for the third Chicago Metal Entertainment Networking Party at Exit on Sunday, Nov 1, 2009,
NO COVER = NO EXCUSE!!!
Bands, business owners, venue managers, artists, videographers, photographers, producers, records label reps, promoters, DJ's, etc. are all welcome to come and network. Be sure to bring your cards, freebies, demos, ep's, etc.
DJ's, including Angelfuk, Ink, Fuego, XNA, Nekro Vox and more, will spin metal all night.
Drink specials include: $3 PBR $4 you call it drinks $6 Patron shots
Sunday, November 1st is super giveaway night! Win CD's, T-SHIRTS & tickets to:
MOONSPELL, DIVINE HERESY Friday, October 23rd @ Pyramid Club (all ages)
HANZEL UND GRETYL Friday, October 30th @ Reggies (17+)
TYPE O NEGATIVE Friday, October 30th @ Metro (all ages)
SKINNY PUPPY Monday, November 9th @ House Of Blues (17+)
VADER, GOATWHORE Friday, November 13th @ Pyramid Club (All Ages)
NOVEMBERS DOOM Saturday, November 14th @ Reggies (17+)
I was just informed that there is a poll for what fighters are going to be in the new UFC Undisputed video game. Please go to this link and vote for me. I'm in 2nd place right now and I want to be in this game, so help me out!
ION VEIN with Twelfth Gate and Army of Souls Friday October 30, 2009 Shark City 2240 Bloomingdale Rd Glendale Heights, IL 630-965-7625 www.sharkcity.biz
Long time no talk, hope all is well. Check out the photo's I have of Robert Deniro and Ben Stiller on the set of "The Little Fockers" in Wrigleyville. Oh yeah we have some music news on the site as well.
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