Jason Gearhart
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Following In The Footsteps Of Vai/Satch
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Yet another California guitarist, Jason Gearhart, submitted his four-song demo CD, chock full of metal, hard rock and shredded riffs. A bedroom recorded effort, Gearhart just used a guitar, bass, a Line 6 POD and Cakewalk's Home Studio 2004 software to complete the project, getting impressive results with a bare-bones gear list. He even wrote and recorded his crunchy, balls-out, metal jam "Driven" in one day. Gearhart favors a lot of harmonized lines, speed picking, two hand tapping and sledgehammer riffage, so it appears to break into the metal/hard rock market, he just needs to pair up with a Lars Ulrich-style drummer and write and record until his fingers fall off. Easier said than done perhaps, but Gearhart has a solid technical foundation, and an ear for the brutally melodic, so he's one step ahead of the intense lead guitar competition found on the U.S. west coast.
Jason started playing guitar in his freshman year of high school, and it wasn't long before he got a spot in a local metal band as rhythm guitarist. After that group went nowhere, he started taking lessons from a shred-head that turned him on to Yngwie Malmsteen and Al DiMeola. Jason later took a lot of music classes at a local community college, including theory, electronic music, and classical guitar. He was in a band called Urban Assault Vehicle from 1998-2000, when in 2004 he finally started building his own home project studio in order to compose and record his own material. Jason has recently competed in several Guitarmageddon competitions at his local Guitar Center, placing third in the 2004 event.
Currently, Gearhart is trying to get his cover band, Classic Rage, off the ground, as well as network with other musicians for future projects. His ultimate goal is to have a solo career like his heroes Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.
Contact Information
Jason Gearhart
P.O. Box 611685
San Jose, CA 95161
United States
E-mail:
Jason Gearhart
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Adam McDonald
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Cookin' Up Rock Blues & Country
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Canadian guitarist and guitar instructor Adam McDonald submitted his three song instrumental demo CD-R, recorded with a custom Strat, a Roland GR33 guitar synth and a Yamaha DG80 amp. Designed to showcase his current interest in writing more guitar oriented instrumental songs, the demo kicks off with "Rice Fever" a metal/shred ripper that displays Asian influences, deft single-string excursions, killer vibrato and a furious solo. The second piece, "Matter Of Time" kinds of blends a blues thing with a modern rock, funk and fusion sense, and allows him to demonstrate his 'keyboard' skills using the guitar synth, as he trades off solos with himself on overdriven guitar. Finally, McDonald winds up with a cover of Steve Vai's "Eugene's Trick Bag" from the movie "Crossroads", this time arranged in a polka style, and entitled, appropriately enough, "Eugene's Polka". A fun piece and a good way to close out the demo.
Adam began playing the guitar by ear at age eight, later getting an electric guitar and taking lessons at age fourteen. Listening to the Shrapnel artists such as Paul Gilbert and Vinnie Moore, as well as Danny Gatton, inspired him to practice harder and develop his skills. Adam started teaching guitar at age sixteen, and currently has a roster of 70 students he instructs on a weekly basis. He has also engineered, produced and performed on various local artists' CDs, as well as composed radio jingles. Adam has been in several bands, delving into folk, country and rock styles. He has been a finalist in a radio based song competition and VH1's Song Of The Year contest. While living in Asia, Wilkey sent out demos and was contacted by Polygram Records (Taiwan), who expressed interest in his material.
In addition to his teaching schedule, McDonald currently finds time to perform in a classic rock band, playing covers and originals.
Contact Information
Adam McDonald
9221 112A Ave.
Grande Prairie, AB T8V 3L8
Canada
E-mail:
Adam McDonald
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