Gotcha, Paul! Rock on!

mud

wow...i hadn't really thought deeply about those days in a long time...(waxing sentimental...sigh). Odd how life runs in stages. First Tube>Ride me high>Shakedown Street>Arlene>Red Hot Mama...then everyone heads to the back of the van and comes back with a runny nose...

"things I used to do...I don't do no more"

All,
So I am not sure if I have ever posted on this portion, and instead of going thru it all (as interesting as it is) I figured I will just post..

Here goes:

I am a 32 years young guy who now lives in Monument, Colorado, elevation 7290 feet. It is a place of great beauty for sure with a view to Pikes Peak right out my back door. Nestled between Denver and Colorado Springs, it is a great life and a needed new beginning....

GO BACK IN TIME: I grew up on the East Coast and really had roots in Cleveland, Ohio as a kid. I started playing guitar when I was 9 and immediately it took off. I started a fun band called "The Others" in Cleveland that was a mixture of Primus meets God Knows what.... It was experimental to say the least. We had a good time, I started playing clubs at 15 with it and things took off. SLowly after that some of the members went to college and I had to find another thing to do. Then it came about "A Lesser Squid." A funk/rock band that had a pretty cool following in the Cleveland scene. We were able to open for some National acts, two MAJOR ones were "The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, and TOOL when they were on there Opiate tour. A Lesser Squid was a very interesting band to say the least. Horn section, etc, but now that I hear it I laugh... Totally 90's type reverb'd out.
(http://www.myspace.com/alessersquid) Just me on guitar and then the rest of the band. It was fun to say the least, but god what were we thinking. The 90's I guess.

As far as musical background goes, I took classical guitar at the Cleveland Institute of Music when I was in High School. I went there 2 times a week to learn from the masters. Can I play it today???? NOPE! ;-) But it was cool to do. I was in a pretty advanced theory class and almost have perfect pitch, but not really. I am pretty decent though with dictation and hearing things.

After Cleveland, I broke away from the band thing and focused on school. Moved to Georgia and went to The University of Georgia for 3 years before I went into the Air Force. That was the best move I could have ever made. Did my time with that and ended up in D.C. afterwards as a Defense Contractor. While in the Air Force I worked Special Ops. in the Intel field and then worked as a mission planner for a F-16 squadron. Lets just say I have lots of time in the desert, and NOT Pheonix.

I was in D.C. for 7 years. I bought my 002 when it first came out and then the studio/music scene took off again for me. I built TBR Studio (now MONUMENT SOUND) and had a local home based studio for bands and their budgets. Figured whatever I made would be "fun money" and wanted to focus on bands and their material. Some good, some bad, ya get what you can. Well, I got married, got divorced (she liked her personal trainer better, take a listen to Tom Rothman's "Dirty Deed's" on my player and you will understand) and then moved out to Denver. I setup a MIX room there and made a major upgrade to a HD3 accel/API DSM setup. Totally rocks and things just got better. I have had a few great mentors to aid in my developement (Jeff Juliano, Scott Spelbring and a few others) who have really helped me taylor my sound. So now I am in Monument, CO, mixing and setting up to track once again. I have a great house on a half acre with a 1000 sq foot basement, 3 tracking rooms, a control room and an amp room. Lots of space to grow and good times ahead. Right now I am mixing and landed a London gig for a Grammy nominated artist. I am mixing a tune that will hopefully (cross your fingers) be used for a upcoming movie with Tom Cruise and Ben Stiler called :Hardy Men." Needless to say I am fired up.

I still play guitar, dabble in the drums and can play bass too. Love it all and try to just go with the flow and enjoy life. I work a day job that pays the bills as a Contractor for a large company. I enjoy life.

So that is my story...

Best, and thanks for all your support over the past few years here.

Doc

Wow Doc! It really sounds like you have found a balanced life, creative and grounded at the same time.
Most of the time I hear of friends that after the age of 20 or so, start focusing on the other sides of life and the music becomes a hobby at most.
Love to hear of someone that was able to do what he loves.

___
http://www.theheroesfanclub.com/

It is a nice escape from the real world job that is certain! ;-)

Thanks for reading.