I took down the previous blog as I simply was not feeling all chipper and perky. I am definitely not someone who is a phony obnoxious personality. I am blunt to a fault. But that's me. Some people can accept me, others can find friends in their own manufactured likeness to feel safe and secure.
Now that that's out of the way...
I am excited to announce that the comp cd REFURBISHED is now streaming on a couple of sites such as Spotify and Amazon Music. It will be on iTunes, Deezer, Tidal, etc. The purpose behind my doing remasters of old songs was purely to get back in touch with who I was as a musician doing instrumental music full time. It was like looking at old yearbook photos, asking myself "What the hell was I thinking?" and "How was I so ambitious back then?" Come to think of it, even with my recent cd MARBLEHEAD, I ask the same questions about myself.
I am still ambitious and creative. Line-ups change faster than Uriah Heep and Rainbow combined, and that will happen when you're in the driver's seat. Even when I played guitar in TM Stevens' band for a bit, I never told myself "I am IN his band." I was offered the job, did it well but also knew he could call Al Pitrelli or Richie Kotzen in a nanosecond. I understood my place in his band.
And yes, new songs are flowing out of me. I have my handy Tascam recorder to capture these wisps of inspiration. Normally I say things like "I have a song that sounds like..." but this time, it's best to just leave it up to YOU to say "I think this sounds like..." or "This reminds me of..." I just write what feels good, period. I think that's what makes my music a challenge to anyone who listens or wants to audition for me. You can't just pop my cd in and immediately groove to it, or use it as backdrop for cleaning the house. You have to LISTEN to things and for them as well. I could easily toss off music that is a carbon copy of what's on the radio and life will be good. But as always, I make things difficult for myself and everyone around me. There's enough bands aping the "classic rock" sound or redoing power metal. Fine, have fun. I am always trying to find the uncommon chord.
As Martin Popoff said recently in a movie about the band Riot, "When you're ahead of your time, you don't get rewarded right away." (I am paraphrasing here so forgive me if these weren't the exact words, Martin!) Do I think my music is ahead of its time? Yes and no. Again, I leave that up to YOU to decide. All I know is, I will always be the ambitious forward-thinking musician who acknowledges the past without being trapped in it, or letting it define me.
Besides, I can't pull off the brutal metal look anyway.
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