Andre Aklian has studied many forms of music since he was 6 years old. After taking piano lessons for 10 years, he tackled learning the guitar and bass on his own throughout high school and college, and eventually began to work on vocal technique. During his college years Andre played in various bands, honing his playing and singing. After graduation, Andre began to write songs, and has been writing ever since. Having a true love for creating and performing music, Andre provides songwriting from the heart, vocals with passion, and a HUGE guitar sound to Open Horizons. His rhythm tones are reminiscent of the big tones of Weezer and Linkin Park, and his lead playing is melodic like Santana yet raw like Slash!
The latest edition to Open Horizons, Bob brings years of experience holding down the low-end. Living in Linden NJ and originally from Jersey City, Bob has played/plays bass for bands such as Nougat, Budokan, Good Question, Slacker, and Copycat Jack. With a broad scope of musical interest (metal to classical), the driving force of influence behind the "thunder" comes from Iron Maiden's Steve Harris. Other influences include, Judas Priest, Dream Theater, Helloween, Testament, RHCP, Tony Levin, Dave LeRue, etc. Interested in "Opening his Horizons" once again in the world of original music, Bob has joined forces with Dre & Mike in this rock trio...
Hailing from Happy Valley, Mike "Cookie" Cook met Andre through college friends at Penn State. Lending his vast percussion experience, he is the backbone of the group. He has been playing the drums for 15 years, and has been in many high school bands as well as different Penn State percussion groups. His beats are strong, complex, wild, and stable at the same time, ranging from driving punk style beats to softer, almost jazzy drum tones. He is one of the most dedicated of the group, driving as much as 4 hours each way to play gigs, practice, and just have a great time with his bandmates.
Influences
Incubus, Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin, 311, Aerosmith, Dave Matthews Band, OAR, Chris Cornell, Three Days Grace, Blink-182, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Dashboard Confessional, Alter Bridge, System of a Down, Fuel, Iron Maiden, Dream Theatre, Robert Matarazzo, Ari Hest, Tonic, Shinedown, STP, Weezer, Green Day, Santana, and everyday LIFE!!
Sounds Like
Anything from Hard, fast, rock to "summery" fun songs and everything in between. Every one of their electric songs can be performed tastefully in an acoustic setting, without sacrificing any of the soul...
Hailing from the suburbs of New Jersey all the way out to Penn State University, Open Horizons is a group of friends who love to create, write, perform, and record music. Vocalist/Guitarist Andre Aklian recruited friends and fellow musicians Michael Cook and Bob Burke to create a rock trio that the world has not seen... Their combination of passion, technical expertise, and a love for music has created moving performances and catchy songs
Their sound is reminiscent of various music from 90's alternative and rock genres, with elements of metal, punk, acoustic, and blues rock mixed in. The lyrics are inspired by everything that has happened in their lives. Each instrument conveys powerful emotions to listeners, from the complex lyrics and passionate vocal delivery to soaring guitar leads, thick driving bass guitar and the thunderous beat of every single drum.
“At the end of the day, if just one of our songs emotionally moves a listener, and we can connect to a joyous or challenging moment in their life, then we did our part and are very satisfied” - Dre
"An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he - for some reason - thinks it would be a good idea to give them." Andy Warhol
so on that note , here is a reminder to all U U's out there in myspaceland ..........incase you didnt know
or receive the cordial invitation ............. our new little debut EP "Phazes" is out and available to U
Online Now!
