Race Card
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Zeppelin Meets Jay-Z
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Guitarist/singer Damian Hagger and rapper Tahit Jahi have released Race Card, their self-titled debut CD of intense hip-hop lyrics and subjects mixed with riff-oriented rock and pop hooks. Rounding out the band's rhythm section are bassist Aaron Schwoerer and drummer Jay Warren. Personal tastes will primarily dictate the effectiveness of the combination, with Hagger doing his level best to make sure a cutting, solidly overdriven guitar sound is mixed high, while providing incendiary solos worthy of a hard listen. Hagger uses a guitar arsenal (including a Fender Clapton, Steinberger, and a Fender Beck) to deliver hard tones and aggressive rhythms, when called upon to do so. Check out Race Card for a contemporary take on this musical meld.
Guitarist and vocalist, Damian Hagger, like vocalist Jahi, is also an African-American... OK, not literally, but he spent part of his childhood in South Africa and the rumor is that his first words were spoken in Zulu. After high school in Singapore and South Africa, he was accepted to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Damian graduated cum laude from Berklee in 1998 with a Bachelor of Music in Contemporary Writing/Production and Music Business. He met rapper/vocalist, Tahir Jahi (who was mastering a craft all his own, competing in local battles, performing on occasion, and honing an artistic, standout, and standalone mic style) in 2000 when they both worked at MP3.com.
Race Card is currently playing live shows to promote their new CD, including an upcoming show at the Connexion Music Festival.
Contact Information
Damien Hagger
7826 Laurel Canyon Blvd. #4
North Hollywood, CA 91605
United States
E-mail:
Race Card
Web site:
www.racecardband.com
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Shawn Wilkey
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More About Melody Than Shred
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Submitting a demo CD-R entitled The Ghost Of Hagar is California guitarist Shawn Wilkey, who is a rock instrumentalist in the vein of Michael Schenker and Joe Satriani. Wilkey puts his emphasis on melody and themes in his original compositions, rather than just shredding for shredding's sake. Each track, such as the driving number "The Shipwreck", tells a story, closely related to the titles of the pieces and connected to (or inspired by) an Old or New Testament passage, enhanced with some cool, Schenker-like solos that bring the tunes home. Wilkey has a smooth style well suited to instrumental rock guitar - fans of the melodic rock style would find a lot to like here.
Shawn started playing guitar in bands around San Diego when he was in high school. As he and his band mates progressed, they got more serious about their playing, and Shawn found himself achieving modest success in a local band called Greys Well. The group self-produced a few CDs and even had a CD produced by the legendary Floyd Rose, but the CD was never released. Things went south after that, so Shawn decided to give up the band idea. He later began to play guitar for the praise and worship band at his local church and found it to be a lot more rewarding. Shawn has always loved to listen to instrumental rock guitarists, so decided to begin work on his own instrumental album.
In the future, Wilkey would like to continue to make instrumental CDs.
Contact Information
Shawn Wilkey
9078 Calle Lucia
Lakeside, CA 92040
United States
E-mail:
Shawn Wilkey
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