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Around 1980 I got involved as part of sixth grade band playing alto sax.
Although I stuck with band through high school, I never really bonded
with the instrument. I was a shy kid and the sax doesn't have a volume
knob or a headphones jack therefore I didn't practice more then
necessary and was never better then to took to get though band. I father and grandmother introduced me to the electric bass around the same time, about 7th grade. I gravitated to the instrument immediately because it looked “Rock & Roll”. My father and others taught me a number of old-school country tunes (Bob Wills types stuff) and encouraged me to play along at family reunions. Over the years I continued to practice with continued encouragement from my father. I got involved in the Jazz Band in high school. Being the only one at school that played an electric bass made me cool to my peers. During this time, I was approached to join a cover band (now days that would be called "Hair Band)" and was tasked with learning hard rock covers from Crue, Def Leppard, and many other favorites of the time, dressing in parachute pants, leopard pattern shirts and bandanas everywhere (you should see the pictures,... oh boy). I've never been the same since. The band wasn’t that good overall but I got some good experience and it helped me get out of my shell. I left the band after a year or so, went to college and ultimately moved onto a career in software development. I remained a bedroom player for many years afterwards. I spent a lot of time learning Joe Satriani tunes and songs from many similar artists. Any song with catch guitar work or tasty bass lines had to be learned. In 2003, I joined a band with my brother (drums) and a friend of his from college, Paul Martinez (guitar). We played together for two years performing throughout the Austin area. Paul was the primary creative drive of the band and gave me a view of the song writing process. I’ve always viewed songwriting as a skill reserved only for the particularly talented, but this time spent in a band observing the production of original music, I gained insight into the process and began to see writing as doable. In 2005, technology caught up to me and allowed me to get my feet wet in home multi-track digital recording. I dove right in and tried my hand at song writing and recording. In the short time following, I produced a handful of instrumental rock numbers. I’ve setup this site to share the results of this home recording venture. Thanks for stopping by, Daren |