For pretty much the entire duration of my active pursuit to make music, even when participating in band projects, I have always maintained a solo career, as it were. And, as with the rest of my life in general, it has undergone quite a process of evolution in terms of style. Although initially drenched in raw, straight-forward hard rock, I quickly showed no reservations in exploring a wide variety of musical genres. In short, my solo music has been firmly rooted in an “anything goes” aesthetic; consequently, the music I have made taking this approach has been incredibly personal, as I’ve been completely free to indulge my wildest thoughts and ideas in song form. Of course, when serving as the sole lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and songwriter in a musical project, it was bound to be all about me.
Perhaps even more so than Mode Nouveauxx, my upcoming solo work is quickly positioning itself to mark my most drastic musical evolution to date. During my hiatus of the past several years, my musical tastes have greatly diversified and expanded, and significant new influences upon this work have emerged in the process. Venerable standbys such as David Bowie and Billy Idol continue to cast respective shadows, but the likes of Roxy Music and Japan (and the solo careers of each frontman, Bryan Ferry and David Sylvian, respectively), along with longtime favourites Gary Numan and Kate Bush have given me much to consider when it comes to making music these days. Yes, my insatiable appetite for British artists of the 1970′s and 1980′s once again knows no bounds, but American jazz artists from Miles Davis to Weather Report have also increased their collective influence upon me. No matter what happens, it’s now a given that I’ve come a long way from days of Spike Diamond.
As with Mode Nouveauxx (not to mention the latter era of my initial solo career), my solo material is, out of both desire and necessity, largely electronic based. Because of this, I will have be able to facilitate live performance, as I can execute it alone; ergo, because of this and other details, I conceivably have a better chance of early live performance than Mode Nouveauxx. I won’t be looking for bookings in traditional rock music venues, but this material should lend itself effectively to the stylistic infrastructures of jazz club, art gallery, and other hoity toity environments. Whether or not this flies in Arkansas is anyone’s guess at this point, but I’ll work it out one way or another…
Tags: arkansas, billy idol, bryan ferry, david bowie, david sylvian, gary numan, japan, jazz, kate bush, miles davis, mode nouveauxx, music, rock, roxy music, weather report
