Bach, Bartok, Brian Blade, Beethoven, Britten, Brahms, Copland, Chick Corea, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Debussy, Danny Elfman, Duke Ellington, Bela Fleck, Kenneth Frazelle, Bernard Hermann, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Mahler, David McHugh, Mozart, Piazzolla, Rachmaninov, Ravel, Schoenberg, Shostokovic, JAMES WILLIAM STEVENS (father), Strauss, Stravinski, Tchaikovsky, Vagner, Luther Vandross, Geoff Vidal, John Williams, Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa
Music has been the driving force in my life since birth. When I was only a few moments old in the hospital in Licking County, Ohio, my father played me a fiddle tune he wrote for the occasion called, "The 10th of June." A few months later, as I was learning to speak, I would stand in front of the stereo speakers, pointing at them, and yell, "boom, boom!" - by which I meant, "play some music, dammit!"
I studied Suzuki violin starting at age two, took a couple of piano lessons throughout childhood, and played alto saxophone in the middle school band. I was one of the founding members of The Tune Mammals, and toured with them for over ten years. I was involved with several theater companies as a child - my career as a professional actor faded as I became less and less cute over the years, at which point I turned my focus more towards music. I studied music composition privately with my favorite composer, James William Stevens (my father), and spent hours in front of the stereo listening to anything I could get my hands on.
In high school, like every adolescent music-loving boy, I picked up the guitar and joined a band. I was in several bands throughout high school: 'The Window Pains' 'The Psycho Ninja Penguins' 'The Protein Alien Tribe' 'Acid Reign' 'Mother Velvet' 'Strange Brew' and 'Sobriquet.' After High School, I briefly attended Berklee College of Music as one of the umpteen-zillion guitarists in their guitar performance program. Afterwards, I turned back to the piano, and bought the essentials: Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer Piano, and Hohner D6.
I was accepted into the North Carolina School of the Arts as a music composition major in 2001. I studied under Kenneth Frazelle. I formed a couple of bands with my little sister - 'The Sea Monkeys' and 'Your Name Here,' before forming 'Gomachi!' and released the album, 'Good Evening Evolution.' Later members of 'Gomachi' formed 'The SoloS Unit,' and released the album, 'Electric City.' I have been in various other bands, such as: 'Liquor House Soul Revue' 'Rufus Grove' 'Fat Alberta' 'The Sextet' 'The Artimus Pyle Band' 'Go There' 'The Charles Greene Group' and 'The Love Jones Orchestra.'
I now work for Even Richey at Ovation Sound Recording Studios as an engineer, producer, arranger, and composer. I still play with various bands - mainly SoloS Unit. I write music whenever I have free time and hope to one day write music for Hollywood films.
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