Yes, Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Miles Davis, Todd Rudgren, Led Zeppelin, Mahavishnu John McGlaughlin, Return to Forever, Hatfield and the North, Pink Floyd, Afro-celt sound system, Bach, Brahms, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Bob Marley, Madredeus, Frank Gambale, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Scott Joplin, Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Cream, Blind Faith, Youssou N’Dour, Ali Farka Touré, Gabriel Fauré, Antonio Vivaldi, Gentle Giant, John Coltrane, Jethro Tull, Grateful Dead, Country Joe and the Fish, Stravinsky, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Tempest, Kuzanga, Leonin, Perotin, Chicago, Schumann, Chopin, Guiraldi, Indigo Girls, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Tan Dun, Stardrive, Pat Metheny, Eric Johnson, King Crimson, Thelonious Monk, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Oregon, Steve Reich, Pierre Bensusan, Michael Hedges, Santana, Sting, Weather Report, Traffic, King Sunny Ade, Olatunji, Dixie Dregs, Kansas, the Who...
Sounds Like
Ragtime, New Age, Prog, Classical, Fugue, Counterpoint, Reggae, Rock, Meditational, Electronica, Piano
When people ask me what type of music I play, I’m never quite sure what to say. I find myself responding: “if I could describe it, then I wouldn’t need to play it.” Even to listen to one piece will not really tell you, since each piece may be in a different genre. These are not songs to be heard once and then discarded. They are designed so that each subsequent listening will reveal another layer.
Sure, I can give you details, if you think that will help. My life has been fairly mundane. I live in Northern California, on the southern edge of the “Pacific Northwest.” I grew up in Silicon Valley (before it was really called that) and watched the personal computer being born. And I now live in the redwoods of Santa Cruz County, and work “over the hill” developing software.
I began studying classical music when I was seven, and wrote my first composition when I was nine. (it was an assignment from my piano teacher). When I was about 13, I heard the neighbor playing Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag over the fence, and decided I needed to study Jazz. In college I studied composition and counterpoint, and earned a BA in music.
I’ve played for a lot of theatrical productions, including the usual classics, Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, and so on. Community theatre has its moments, as anyone who has done it will attest, but the wonderful thing about it is that everyone there is doing what they love, or else they wouldn’t be doing it. Certainly, there’s no money in it.
Plus a fair amount of vaudeville, melodrama, you know, where I’m guy playing the corny music behind the overdone plot. And modern dance classes. Turning dance into music. My compositional style has grown out of my improvisational style, which in turn was cultivated in the departments of dance at local colleges.
Also on the list is a fair amount of time spent reading spiritual books, old and new, Vedanta, the Yoga Sutras, the Avesta, Louise Hay, Emmet Fox, and so on. If I told you I knew what I believed, it would imply that I understood the nature of belief, which would be false. This is the subject of a novel I’m currently writing. I used to read a lot of science fiction, but lately I’ve been reading vampire books. I used to believe in reincarnation, but that was in a past life.
I’ve directed a few vocal groups for churches, and have spent a fair amount of the past decade singing in various choirs. In college, I learned how the voice is the primal instrument, and even when I’m writing for other instruments, the lines and voice leading are always rooted in vocal composition.
I hope you will hear the influence of spirit, dance and drama in my music.
Haha... good point!! Incidently, I thoroughly enjoy your stuff. Each song has its own mood, personality and character as it well should. Good stuff... PEACE...
Thanks for the add, I appreciate it!! I'm not going to harass you into listening to my music, but if it's songs you want to hear- I have some for the listening.
Hello, I decided to join you so it would be easier to get to your music... well at least I will know where to find it. If you have extra time in the day, you can access my kids accounts and see what they are up to... if they have updated their space. The girls are both running and the younger one is dancing dancing dancing. Chris is looking for a job and Doug is looking forward to Cispus, outdoor school!! I am just trying to stay ahead of myself.
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