Me?...........Well I have to be honest. My REAL name isn't "Karl Withakay". Well the first name is legit at least. Every time someone would ask me my name, I would reply, "Karl. Karl Withakay". Well one evening I was attending an open mic jam night at an upstate, NY pub. The man hosting was named "Will Hoppey". (Check out his myspace page, he's nutts! http://www.myspace.com/willhoppey) When It came time for me to perform, Will leaned down to me and asked, "What's yer name man?". I replied, (as usual) "Karl. Karl Withakay". Will then introduced me to the crowd as "Karl Withakay" and after that night, every Thursday evening when I would attend that open mic night at that pub, everyone called me "Karl Withakay". That's how my stage name came about.........Now about me. I'm a forty year old man. I was born and raised 37 miles East of Bingampton, NY in Hancock, NY. I'm a guitarist, singer, and songwriter. I've been playing guitar since the age of 12 and performing since the age of 14. I learned from an early age to have an appreciation for all types of music. I grew up listening to artists like Merle Haggard and George Jones from my father, AC-DC and Van Halen from my older brother, and Huey Lewis and the News and Billy Joel from my older sister. Dad plays guitar as well in a Bluegrass band and it was he who first put one in my hands at the age of 12. My influences go across the board. Some of my main influences I would say are (in no particular order) Howard Leese from Heart, Neil Schon from Journey, Buck Dharma from Blue Oyster Cult, Steve Lukeather from Toto, and Alex Lifeson from Rush. I would have to say though that my main influence is my father. Regardless of what type of music I am playing, I can always here HIS style in what I'm playing. My taste in music is just as broad as my influences. I listen to everything from Rob Zombie to Frank Sinatra and even Scottish Folk Music. I've been away from the "band life" for a few years now and currently, I do a one man acoustic performance thang and currently perform in and around Las Vegas mostly 3 to 4 nights a week on average. Doing a one man acoustic thang is different from most of the things I've done but I'm enjoying it a great deal. In late 2005 I relocated to the state of Utah. It's much different here in Utah than in upstate, NY but it's a nice change.Check Out My Official Websitewww.karlwithakay.net Guitar MySpace Layouts - Acoustic Guitar MySpace Layouts Guitar MySpace Layouts
