danthebirdman

About me:

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This section is labeled "About Me", and that's what you are going to get. I was almost a philosopher. I was very interested in the subject in when I was younger and it kept my waters rippling steadily but music was a tidle wave. So here I am now-a Composer and Percussionist, engineer, editor, producer, painter, game geek, anime geek, toy geek, model-making geek, and kayaker. (yes, it happens) During and after studying all matters music at Cal Arts and then with Peter Erskine, I spent about 15 years in the music industry. During that time I played and recorded with a whole lot of folks. I made a ot of music that was if nothing else, distinct. Much of it was actually sincere. A lot of it was...questionable, but most of us do the dance of trying to work and balance our inner life and creative drive with the reality of living in the world and surviving in all of the ways we must. That ever-moving line is a bitch. I loved playing jazz and avant garde music with adventurous people. I had a wonderful decade with James Carney, a truly original voice in jazz and a great payer. We discovered a lot together and clocked a lot of shows together. Three albums were yieled from that period (see jamescarney.com for more info.) I also played with the wonderful Larry Karush which was always a great hang and a dance on the edge. I started as a rock drummer and then went nuts for music from India, Africa, and Brazil, as well as the aforementioned jazz and contemporary concert music. However, the rock never left me. I played in more bands than I can remember but some do stick out. In 1998 I played with a little group called The Smashing Pumpkins, an experience that certainly changed me. It was a thrilling nightmare for most of the time. But it was fun to play rck star for a little while. (If you want to see the ugly truth, go to YouTube and type in "Smashing Pumpkins 1998." Good for a laugh. I see those clips now and I feel like I'm watching another life. After that year my career as a studio musician really took off and I found myself doing a lot of movies, commercials, and records. I got to work with some incredible talent-Danny Elfman, John Debney, and some lesser talent that was just a lot of work and bad attitudes all around as well as bad movies. I taught a lot. I loved it. I loved my students and they loved me. I was committed. teaching taught me a lot about Zen and held up many mirrors that led to some keys that unlocked some important doors for me as far as seeing where I needed to go. Backing up just a little, I started composing in 1996. I begun a collection of pieces that I had in mind for a record-MY record. During and after the Smashing tour I finished the material and began recording it with Dan Pinder (my top-shelf-bro) in 1999. We completed mixing in 2000. Last Novemeber it came out on the Zero Genshi label, whom I'm still with. It is called The Soul The Crow Stole and it is available through the itunes music store, msn music, and Hear Music. There was a nice tour with Rufus Wainwright, who was a great player and a gentleman. And then I made the record that made everything up to that point really worthwhile which Noe Venable's The World is Bound By Secret Knots. Magic, sweetness, strong bonds of friendship, and some amazing meals were made and consumed that week. And then we toured twice for around 3 weeks. And that was it. The bright candle that burns fast. (One of the most ironic, and often hideously dissapointing things is that much of the press that followed "Secret Knots" often referred to the "programmed drums" and "loops" of which occupy less than 8% of the record! There are 2 loops I believe, and with the exception of Andy Borger's brilliant playing on "Mid-Summer Nights Dream", it's all me. All of the parts just happened and we knew instantly what to do-it just happened and felt right. I do pride myself to a certain extent on my accute sense of not just time but feel and the subtlety of the spaces in between notes and their relation to time. I'm not sure if me fooling so many people into thinking it was programed/looped speaks to a strength or something less savory, but it is one of a small handful of nearly 60 recordings I've made that I still listen to and regret nothing what so-ever. Few things in my life have been that sincere. Todd's production was brilliant but the whole thing was completely organic, collaborative, and spontaneous, which to me, makes the depths that it swims in all the more deep.) And then back to the drudgery of doing sessions for beasts without ears or spines. So I finished a book that Peter Erskine had asked me to help him write (Drumset Essentials, Vol. One) , did a few more terribly depreessing sessions and gigs and decided that I needed to go elsewhere if I was to keep music in my life. This took some figuring out. But with the support of my old friend and wife Marie as well as the above mentioned Pinder the Great, my man Butch, and my oldest friend Katz I did make it through. I've been an avid gamer since I ws about 8. I just loved video games to death and never stopped playing them. I felt nobody was open anymore in the world of music (or I just couldn't find those people) or I was just burnt out. And then I saw a world where music was still young and Wonka factory was/is the video game industry. So now that's what I primarily do-music and sfx and all things audio for Activision Publishing. Oh, and somewhere in there I became an engineer and editor. I produced and recorded a band called The Cheat, who by the way are great and just got a record deal. You can find them on myspace. I now am working on my 2nd recording called BloodFeather. I'm very excited and I'll be sharing more about this soon.