Recording this album has been a real gift for me. One of my big goals this year was to grow spiritually. Writing and recording this album has helped me do that. It’s been work but very satisfying.
When I first started writing all of the tunes the ideas flowed very naturally. As I mentioned in some of my previous posts, the songs practically wrote themselves sometimes. Then I hit a rut. Read More …
My musical taste is very eclectic. My dream was to be a rock guitarist but my love for the instrument has always had me digging deeper into other genres.
In Genesis Finale I focus primarily on major 7th chords that are common to jazz. I’m not sure what inspired this groove to be honest. Read More …
About 15 years ago Tonos.com sponsored a contest where I got to co-write a song with Steve Vai. Actually, it was pretty much just me coming up with all of the guitar leads and melodies in front of Steve’s backing tracks.
It was the perfect scenario for me since my studio has always been guitar friendly. I had a lot of fun with this song and I thought it turned out great. Read More …
I won’t lie. When I wrote this song I was totally going for a guitar-shredder type of tune. The feeling you get from bouncing off the low E string and adding hammer-ons and pull-offs is awesome. A driving rhythm with massive gain is always a recipe for beauty. Well, maybe not “beauty” as most would think of it but for guitarists who have the gain cranked to 11, it doesn’t get better than that. Read More …
This tune started off as a simple two chord progression. It was originally a very slow meditative piece.
When I started laying down the tracks I felt like it lacked movement. Even though it was supposed to be a slow more legato type of tune it lacked the energy I was shooting for.
I experimented by adding programmed drums and the song did a complete 180. It went from being a slow melodic sleeper to a vibrant high energy jam. I always favor the song over flashy technical guitar chops and I think this song is a good example of that. Read More …