Doug Mikula
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New Jersey instrumental Fretburner
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Doug Mikula kicks off his demo CD-R with the techno/dance rhythms and shredded grooves of "Bombs Away" (which was written for his friends into techno music), and serves notice that whatever the background or rhythm section, he's going to dish out mega-heavy, fluidly-played and blazingly fast solos - matching speed with precision. His second track, "Two Face" takes a neo-classical approach, and similarly slams the listener's face to the floor with ripping leads. "As The Tide Breaks" is a high-energy number, more lyrical than the first two, while maintaining an aggressive style and delivering several hot-wired solos. "Lynette" closes out the demo, and is a showcase for his highly developed, two-handed tapping style, in which he manages to interject some classic Spanish pieces into the arrangement. This is a good start in the instrumental arena, and he probably only needs to decide where to place his focus musically in order to further his development.
Doug started playing guitar in 1997 after his other musical ventures on piano, bass, and drums. He currently plays guitar for the band Drive and also performs with Course of Evolution, DWI, and Jody Joseph and the Average Joes. Over the past few years, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and other instrumental guitarists have hugely influenced Doug. These great guitarists have inspired him to start an instrumental project of his own. The Doug Mikula band presents a unique and diverse brand of instrumental rock with styles ranging from hard rock to neoclassical metal to techno and more. In 2003 and 2004, he attended Berklee summer guitar sessions and won scholarships both times, but has no plans to attend Berklee full-time. This year, he took a year off college to write, play and record music.
Mikula would love to play and write music 24/7;until then, he'll continue to teach guitar and gig with his many musical projects.
Contact Information
Doug Mikula
6 Williamsburg Drive
Tinton Falls, NJ 07753
United States
E-mail:
Doug Mikula
Web site:
www.dougmikula.com
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Tankred Best
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Exemplary German Instrumentalist
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From The Deep (Part I & II) is the 2004 demo CD-R from guitarist Tankred Best, an instrumental offering which straddles both hard rock and heavy metal styles. Best handles everything on the demo from guitars, bass and drum programming, to production, arrangement and engineering duties. This is his third solo demo CD, following 2002's "Overload" and 2003's "Reptile". Fans of incendiary fretwork, scorching solos, over-the-top riffs and an in-your-face sound will get with the program right away on From The Deep (Part I & II). Best jams a lot of music into the twenty-two instrumentals, which include a wailing cover of Michael Schenker's "Into The Arena". Everything from neo-classical metal to European-influenced hard rock can be heard on his CD-R; here's a busy musician hoping to make big noise in the instrumental music market.
Tankred was born in Germany in 1980, and took his first guitar lessons at the age of thirteen. After several years he started to play in some local bands, actually playing drums in a thrash metal band called Witchburner from 1996 to 1998. Tankred recorded two CDs with Witchburner, and toured Europe, but later quit the band and rediscovered guitar. In 1999, he moved to Egypt, where he took lessons and played sessions at the Cairo Jazz club. In 2000, Tankred returned to Germany and since then has been playing for his entirely self-produced and recorded solo projects. He has also formed a new band called Dangerous Force.
Best counts among his strongest influences players such as Michael Schenker, Joe Satriani, Marty Friedman and Steve Vai, but also listens to other musicians in a wide variety of genres.
Contact Information
Tankred Best
P.O. Box 1903
36037 FULDA
Germany
E-mail:
Tankred Best
Web site:
www.tankredbest.de.vu
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