To music for a bit.
I come from a very musical family on my mother's side. My grandfather was a dixie/jazz musician on Capitol Records. My Great-Grandmother ran a musical theater in Wichita, KS.
I grew up listening to Hendrix, Beatles, Brubeck, MJQ, America (the band) because my parents were into them.
But my own musical awakening I believe was this song. I was into Chuck Mangione before almost everyone.
I wanted to WRITE stuff like this.
The Cello was played by Catherine Lehr Ramos, who is such a treat. She is currently Principal Cellist for Metropolitan Orchestra of St. Louis, and is on the faculty for the National Conservatory of Music, Mexico City, Mexico
At first I wanted to do jazz and musical theater. Learned to work the saxophone (thank you Steely Dan) and auditioned for the role of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, because that's where the meat of the musical is.
Wound up playing Herod. I played him as a snarling beast threatened by the events of the day.
Then my mother saved for months and bought me a piano. A used upright she certainly couldn't afford.
Everything changed at that moment. I needed to LEARN - to PLAY...
...EVERYTHING.
4 years later I was at UCLA, studying composition and playing second fiddle to Dave Koz, who was a year ahead of me. By that point I played Sax, Piano, Flute, Guitar, and was about to tear into synthesizers in the huge patchbays - the school had a MOOG.
I wanted to soak in everything. I grew up in a small town with not much culture despite what my parents could provide and everything was new to me. The first time I heard Oingo Boingo I was in my car and I had to pull over. I was astonished.
It might be the sake talking but I feel a need to put this all down right now. ^_^
I learned the genius of not only the classical composers but Coltrane, Elfman, Rundgren... I went to every concert I could sneak into.
Put together my first rock band, ASK. Played the LA circuit, opened for a few people you may have heard of. Took over on lead guitar.
After Koz beat me out for the Richard Marx gig I decided to concentrate on guitar. Band broke up. On a whim I recorded a dance tune on 12-string acoustic guitar, which some of the clubs in LA started playing. I got signed.
Record label wanted me to be MIchale Penn at a moment when even he wasn;t interested in being that anymore. They shelved the album. It's still shelved to this day.
@Skafish and I have similar story arcs, and like him there is a light at the end of the tunnel - I finally recovered the masters a couple of years ago. He's well ahead of me and has a larger following, and deserves it. ^_^
Put out an album on a minor label after getting out of my original deal. No promotion. Welp, that's that.
@Animeraider I appreciate our connection, brother! To your greatest and most wondrous musical dreams manifesting
in this world!!!