In thinking about my musical influences, I can only say what the reviewers and critics have called me. Compositionally, I have been compared to Edgard Varese. Varese was Frank Zappa's hero. Some of what I understand about Varese is that he mixed elements of Disonance, Melody and Rhythm in a concophony of sound. In addition to Varese, some other people have compared my work to that of John Cage. In particular you can detect a little of Cage- like playing on our Visions and Abstractions Cd and on the newly released ..... Odyssey Cd. It has also been said by others that some of my keyboard playing reminds them of the playing of Wendy Carlos and Keith Emerson. This is an extreme compliment to me because I have always loved their playing. As a child growing up, I would often listen to many of the Switch On Bach albums and was in the audience at the FilLmore East the first time Emerson, Lake and Palmer played in America and I was there for many of their other performances. So all of these comparisons are true and highly flatering. Another person who has influenced me both as a compositional master and a keyboard/synthesizer artist/player is Steve Roach. Over the years I have purchased many of his Cds. I think I now have a total of over 50 of his Cds; many of which have been personally signed.
I should also like say and I hope this is not a shock to anyone, but I consider myself to be a conceptual artist first, a composer second and a musician third. I do not really play keyboards/synthesizer using any formal method or technique. My playing is based on feel, sound and mental imagery. This is often called " Free Playing."
About my guitar playing- and as I have stated in a recent guitar magazine interview, my influences are and not in any particular order; Duane Allman, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, John Mclaughlin and Ingwie Malmsteen. This is certainly a great company of influences. I was lucky enough to see some of them before they passed away. As with the keyboard, I enjoy playing with a Free technique; but unlike the keyboard, I have been taking classical guitar lessons for over 6 years now.
Some of the other influences I have include attending a number of concerts yearly and meeting some famous musicians/artists. Recently, I was lucky enough to have seen Les Paul perform at the Iridium in NYC, After the show ended, he was kind enough to sign a couple of my guitars and allow me to have a photo opportunity.
My Final influences include all those people who like the music created by The Exploration Project and have commented to me personally or via e mail at explorationproj@aol.com.
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Myself with Les Paul at the Iridium Club in NYC- 2003
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