My influences range from folk artists like Pete Seeger and Woodie Guthrie to classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Neil Young was very important as were the Grateful Dead to my learning how to play guitar and play songs by other people.
More recently Ive been influenced by friends on the local scenes, some of whom are famous now, and some who should be even though they are not yet. (Regina Spektor, Nellie McKay, Timothy Dark, Paleface, Joie Blaney of Dead Blonde Girlfriend, Kimya Dawson (ex-singer/songwriter for the Moldy Peaches), The Larval Organs (with Daniel Penta).
While my style of song writing isnt directly impacted by these more recent musicians' styles they are all representive to me of the freedom and variations possible in music. Without them Id probably still be stuck in a rut musically.
Sounds Like
A far less succinct and yet hopefully more informative answer than the prior one: My current music is done with a $10 mic on my pc which is a few years old. The result is that it often sounds less than polished. Also when I record my songs they are often brand new and unmemorized so I might fudge a word or two here or there. In addition I miss the beat occasionally. So in summary I sound like an amature. Do not let this deter you from listening however. I do try to make the songs at least bearable.
Born and Raised in NYC, Ive been blessed with good parents and a calling to be a bum. Rather my parents (both artists) let me sow my creative seeds without interference. I cant claim any great success in the way the world measures such things. In fact some would say I am a good example of "why not?" when parents are asked by their kids about music careers.
Im no business man and the music business in particular is quite repugnant to me. In addition while I admire a great many local musicians and feel a few are friends I tend to isolate myself from the community as a whole so I tend to not be supported by many fellow musicians. Also I tend to have an ideosyncratic sense of rhythm so it takes a fairly good musician to keep in time with me. As such few have been willing to do so.
So while I have always dreamed of being in a rock band, Ive never pulled that together. On the other hand I write songs and music for them fairly often and so it is I feel my duty to share them with the world at large and not worry so much about whether they are good enough or whether people will like them. I already know some do and some dont. Some will, some wont. This is the way of the world as I see it.
Long time no talk to.. will give your music a listen whenever I can get the Myspace applet to load for me.. i'm a band manager nowdays, well for the moment not sure how long this adventure will last though.
Important Funky Service Announcement: Laura Cheadle’s Funk-Ship will be landing in New York City at the Baggot Inn *next* Friday, October 12th at 9:45 p.m. Your presence is kindly requested.
If you’re interested in making it out, and want another reminder a day before the show, just let me know!
