Tom Yoder
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Vibrant Acoustic Excursions
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For a powerful journey into the world of acoustic solo guitar, look no further than South Carolina based Tom Yoder's CD entitled Eat This It's Safe. Featuring eleven instrumental compositions, the music on the recording is unpredictable, vibrant and dynamically colorful, while delivered within a lush melodic framework. No words are necessary; the emotional and lyrical content can be found emanating from one of the two Taylor acoustics that Yoder used on the project. Highlights include "Mashu Mashu" (which was recently selected as a finalist in the New Age catagory by the Independent Music Awards), "94 Letters" and "Jennah", the last piece closing the CD on a winsome and soul-stirring note. Serious guitar music that can touch a broad audience -- many players strive for it, but few attain such a lofty goal. We believe Yoder may have done it with Eat This It's Safe.
Tom was inspired to play guitar after hearing Mick Ralphs on "All The Young Dudes" by Mott the Hoople. He attended and graduated from GIT in Hollywood in 1983, and later settled in Myrtle Beach, where he has become the premier guitar instructor in South Carolina. Tom is an instructor at Coastal Carolina University. For years, electric guitar was Tom's main focus, as he learned the licks of Eddie Van Halen and Greg Howe. Then he discovered acoustic legends Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges ("6 and 12 String Guitar" and "Aerial Boundaries" being especially influential), and gradually began to write acoustically based solo guitar pieces.
Yoder's goal is to get a recording contract, perform live and do playing/education seminars. Whether he gets heard or not, Yoder will continue to write, and leave behind many pieces after he is gone.
Contact Information
Tom Yoder
6314-E Wedgewood Street
Myrtle Beach, SC 29572
United States
E-mail:
Tom Yoder
Web site:
www.tomyoder.net
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Ironia
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Real New Jersey Hard Rock
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Offering challenging yet accessible music which is approximately equal parts hard rock and progressive, New Jersey's Ironia has released their debut CD, A Granite Scale. Guitarist/producer Nick Delonas propels the group, which walks the musical tightrope, keeping the driving music on edge at all times, without losing the audience in the process. Delonas rarely, if ever, plays a stock or expected guitar solo -- all his six-string excursions are creatively crushing or frenetically fuzzed out. In fact, the bulk of his guitar work can be commended for straying into alternative streams of sonic texture (check out "Rhino Racing" for an instrumental example of this). This kind of attention to vision -- where music is purposefully designed to set itself apart from the usual radio fodder -- is refreshing and should be encouraged and supported wherever possible. If a hard rock, progressive mix is up your alley, check out A Granite Scale.
Founding guitarist Nick Delonas (who studied composition at the Berklee College of Music) had difficulty initially finding musicians who wanted to push the hard rock envelope without breaking it. Maverick drummer Jim Rilko was his first recruit, and talented singer Paul Zartler was the next to join. It took two more years, but finally studio bassist Art Hengst and keyboardist/producer Chris Midkiff signed on as well. The veteran players immediately infused the group with additional creativity. Since recording their debut, two songs from the CD broke the top five on the Rock and Alternative charts at SoundClick.com. Audio files of their music have been downloaded from their web site over 20,000 times over the past year.
Ironia plans to work hard to distribute their debut CD and spread the news about the band's direction and musical goals.
Contact Information
Ironia C/O Nick Delonas
P.O. Box 167
Ironia, NJ 07845
United States
E-mail:
Ironia
Web site:
www.ironia.net
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