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Instrumental Rock Addict Eyes Studio Career
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California based guitarist Adam Ross recently submitted a six song demo CD-R featuring blistering, neoclassical influenced, original material and two cover tunes--"You Really Got Me", a wah-wah soaked shredfest that covers ground the Kinks and Van Halen didn't consider, and "Suzie Q", another wah workout over a heavy rhythm bed. Ross' originals reflect his study with Joe Stump, with their take-no-prisoners approach, and interestingly, represent the first time Ross has recorded himself. The lead guitar absoutely screams on all six cuts, however the rhythm guitar and drum parts stand to benefit greatly from the additional production experience he will certainly gain if he keeps recording (we'd love to hear James Murphy produce Ross to fatten up those rhythm tracks). No doubt here--Ross is an excellent guitarist with a great ear for what makes an interesting instrumental composition. If nothing else, the solo sections from "In Your Dreams" and "Blastoff" should make anyone stand up, shut up and take notice. Ross was originally profiled in the December-January, 1999 edition of The Undiscovered.
Only nineteen years old, Adam has been playing guitar for seven years. Satriani's "Surfing With The Alien" was the major reason for his addiction to instrumental rock, and he began to practice constantly while listening to Yngwie Malmsteen, Vinnie Moore, Steve Vai and Jason Becker. Adam has taught summers at the National Guitar Workshop alongside guitarists such as Terry Syrek. He also was awarded a scholarship to study at the Berklee College of Music, where he studied with Joe Stump, and traveled to Pennsylvania some weekends to study with Greg Howe. Adam is currently enrolled at the University of Southern California, in the studio guitar program, studying with Steve Trovato.
Ross has recently joined a rock group in L.A. He would like to see his instrumental compositions used for video games and plans to record a solo album within a year or two. Ross eventually hopes to be a studio guitarist in L.A.
Contact Information
Adam Ross
109 East Charlotte Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45215
United States
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Dedicated To Great Progressive Instrumental Music
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The Seven is an eclectic, ever-changing, genre-jumping sonic collage that is the personal musical vision of Kevin A. Smith. Dedicated to the creation of great progressive instrumental music, Smith submitted a three song CD-R of his work containing excerpts from his upcoming CD entitled Meaning Of Is... The three tracks draw on influences such as jazz-fusion, hyper-technical prog rock, classical and new age, with Smith manning all the instruments. His guitar work sounds like the way a young Eric Johnson might play if he had one foot planted in progressive rock and the other planted in the blues. The third track, "Roll Over", features some nice trade offs on the guitar with Smith presumably playing all parts. The music really holds your attention--Smith seems to have everything going for him to advance further in the progressive rock arena. The Seven were originally profiled in the December-January, 1999 edition of The Undiscovered.
The Seven manifests itself primarily as recordings of Kevin's compositions through the years. He has recorded three albums ("Sounds"-1990, "Signs"-1993 and "Sphere Of Influence"-1996) and has built up a small but loyal base of fans. The concept arose when Kevin found himself writing primarily instrumental music and he had trouble finding musicians with the depth or ability to play the intricate works. He built a small recording studio and began experimenting. Kevin quickly discovered that being the sole creative force allowed him to develop a heightened sense of the interaction between the instruments and their relationships, both rhythmic and harmonic. He believes he has tapped into an interesting creative well working this way, and he is willing to live with the limitations in order to reach his listeners.
Smith's future plans include the scoring of a documentary for UNC-TV that will be aired nationally on PBS, beginning pre-production on a fresh set of instrumental tunes, and putting together a live set of some of The Seven's greatest hits with local musicians for performance at various festivals.
Contact Information
Kevin A. Smith
The Seven
3016 S. Bruins Ln.
Florence, SC 29505
United States
Web site:
www.flosc.net/sixplus1
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