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Wouldn’t you know it, I’m starting to dig MySpace again. Seems that everybody is on.
But just to be sure: if you really have something to say to me now, please send an email, because I might not check MySpace for months on end.
Cool, thanks. Here’s my bio:
My favorite records as a kid were always swinging and rhythmic. I didn’t care much for most children’s records. But I loved Harry Belafonte, Little Richard, Gypsy music, Latin bands, African drum music... music that had passion, movement and energy.
When I was nine years old I heard the Beatles for the first time. That year I joined the first of what would be many bands. I studied classical piano in elementary and junior high school, and at 17 began studying jazz improvisation with pianist Sal Mosca. I stayed with Sal for 11 years as I continued to work in various jazz and rock & roll bands. Sal taught me improvisation and insisted that if one can really improvise, that is, create spontaneous music without any impediment between intent, feeling and execution, one can play anything.
I thank G-d that I’ve been in touch with my inner voice as a player from a very young age. But for a long time I could not write a song of my own that didn’t feel false, contrived and derivative – exactly the opposite of how I’d feel when just playing. I have been very fortunate to have worked with some extraordinarily gifted and prolific songwriters, but I envied what I saw as their "gift" for songwriting.
In 1999 I bought my first guitar and suddenly songs started playing themselves through my fingers. I was writing like crazy. I’d have a new song almost every time I’d sit down with the guitar. Not because I was a disciplined writer; I wasn’t yet. It was just an overflow of energy finding expression. I don’t have the technical skill on guitar that I have ..boards. But something about having a different instrument in my hands, a different physical approach, opened a floodgate.
I soon found that I could take that creative context anywhere and write on either instrument, or no instrument at all.
The songs on this page are instrumental side trips I took in between real projects. My "songwriting" songs can be found either on The Baal Shem Tones page or Helene Kates’ page.
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