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Instrumentalist Fuses Rock, Blues, Jazz, Funk & Country
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Brazilian guitar player Miguel Mega is circulating his CD-R of original instrumental rock and fusion entitled Intuitive. Influenced by players such as Edward Van Halen, Scott Henderson, Angus Young, Ritchie Blackmore and others, Mega favors straightforward arrangements that offer abundant opportunities for soloing and improvisational moments. The opening track, "Sun Dawn Blues" features a great deal of creative lead work, the sparse instrumentation (Mega handles all the backing tracks himself) opening up plenty of room for speed and sheer intensity. His jazzier moments can be found on songs such as "1112 (Little Thing)", a smooth track featuring double tracked acoustic guitars. Mega should continue to develop along the path he has chosen, and we should expect to hear some superb material coming from him in the future.
Born in Portugal, Miguel began playing the guitar at age 15, and has been trying to really understand what "music" means since then. He recorded on his first album in 1992 with his band Last Joker. After the breakup of Last Joker in 1994, Miguel traveled to Los Angeles to study guitar, recording and the music business. He studied guitar with Joey Tafolla and Jean Mark Belkadi and took production and recording courses at the Music Box Studios in Hollywood. Upon returning to Brazil, Miguel began recording, completing the instrumental album "Miguel Mega" in 1997, then beginning work on the tracks that would make up Intuitive in 1998.
Mega is now working on an album with a band, writing all the material, but allowing space for improvisation by the other band members.
Contact Information
Miguel Mega
R. Azevedo Sodre no. 120/34
Gonzaga - Santos - SP
CEP: 11055-051
Brazil
E-mail:
Miguel Mega
Web site:
www.miguelmega.com.br
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When Irish Shred Is Smiling
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An Irish shredder on a mission, Alan Lennon submitted his 8 song instrumental guitar demo on CD-R, entitled Heaven's Call. The opening track, "Missing You", was written for his best friend who passed away, and is a great example of the dynamics that Lennon uses in his composing. The song rises from melancholy to ripping shred in a heartbeat, and the guitarist uses a variety of tones (ala Marty Friedman) to give each section in the song an appropriate quality. An example of a blazing fretfest would be "Cherry Bomb", loaded with technical playing and a balls-to-the-walls sound. Overall, his compositions have a cinematic presence to them - you can picture them being used in movies or documentaries. Lennon is on the fast track to recording some excellent instrumental work - let's hope he devotes himself to this task.
Alan has been playing guitar for the past seven years and interestingly, his biggest influence is not a guitarist, but the Irish singer Enya. Alan has a strong interest in instrumental music, as he feels it does not hide behind lyrics and because it uses melody and passion to drive the message home. His only dislike is guitar players who play fast just because they can.
Lennon's goal is to reach a very high level of technique on the guitar so he can stop practicing and spend more time composing. He would also like to write film scores eventually.
Contact Information
Alan Lennnon
Ardamine, Donore, Bagenalstown
Co. Carlow
Ireland
E-mail:
Alan Lennon
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