rsbeiti
"Everything has a beginning.. unless you're a prodigy."
Dear Everyone and anyone,
I'd like to think of this Blog to be primarily about Music with a few noteworthy non-musical topics along the way. Other topics I would love to talk about include health and specifically some great earthly findings I've come across that have steered me away from drugs (the pharmaceutical kind) as well as discussions on travel and anything else that continually shapes me as a person. I find that my experiences may differ from anyone else but we are all equally transformed by the world around us.
Ok! So this is my first ever blog and I have accumulated nearly twenty-two years of music experience to share with the world, so taking the first step is difficult! I think it's important to state that I did own a guitar at age nine and recall taking a lesson or two at the time. Thereafter, it was me performing air riffs and pentatonic scales for the then new Van Halen songs on a tennis racket until about the age of eleven. Though I'm not proud of my first "instrument", what's important here is that the desire to incorporate music in my life stems from early on and has never ever subsided!
At age 15, I finally began my first real journey into the world of musicians. I started guitar lessons with a 72 year old instructor who was brilliant in his own right and equally punishing when I failed to perform Malagena to his rather intimidating standards (Has anyone ever had the privilege of playing such spanish pieces?) Nonetheless, I learned from a remarkable instructor and did so on a classical guitar, which I now am convinced has shaped my musical techniques and abilities. Six Months later, I decided it was time to go solo and began relying on my very untrained ears to learn.
A mere nine hours after my first attempt, I was playing the intro-chords to Angel by Aerosmith (where are the snake skin boots and tight leather pants when you need 'em?) Ok, so my ears weren't ready but I was persistent and continued eagerly working at understanding my new found passion. I was the definition of obsessed and for years to come, everything outside the realm of music would take a back seat.
Most memorable live gig was in Greece in 1990 when me and my band, which included a drummer (don't mind the snareless snare), three guitars (nobody owned a bass guitar nor did they want to. I presume it just wasn't as cool to play bass) and vocals. That was it! To make matters more interesting we ran two guitars out of a 30W Marshall amp, in an 8,000 sq. ft. performance room at our university which was alarmingly effective. As great and exciting as the three-night performances were, it was our unorthodox method of getting our gear to the university that really stands out as the highlight of this experience. It was pouring and we could not, for whatever reason, find a decent vehicle to get us to the site for setup and testing. Thankfully, our neighbor, Vangelli, was kind enough to extend his services and that of his 1960's VW beetle to get us where we needed to go. Eight trips later, we were there!
I can go on but as an intro to some rather noteworthy moments and a glimpse into my world, I'd like to leave it here and hope to share insight into writing music and lyrics, experimenting with various sounds and equipment, musical influences, and much more that will hopefully play even a small role in your pursuit for uniqueness and inspiration to continue moving forward. I hope you'll provide me feedback and thoughts that I'm certain will help me become an even better musician.
In advance, thank you, thank you, thank you.
