About Me
Who is The Generation?Their music is best described as “Straight up Rock & Roll†with special attention paid to melody and groove. To this end The Generation cover songs such as Cream’s, Sunshine of Your Love, The Animals’, We’ve Got to Get out of This Place, and the contemporary rocker I Believe in a Thing Called Love, by The Darkness. But to know and understand The Generation you will have to listen to their original works.Songs such as Take a Look and Paradise are centered upon solid hooks and grooves with lyrics that ponder our place and purpose in the world. Make a Change and No More No More are all about being fed up with the people and institutions that control our collective fates, and the songs Donnie Dope and Nothing 2 Give are cautionary tales warning of the dangers and pitfalls of addiction and materialism.But don’t worry, The Generation have a lighter side too. This is clearly demonstrated by the foot-stomper Dance, which is all about…well dancing, while Rock ‘n’ Roll Salvation is and ode to all things ROCK.A key element of The Generation’s sound is the three guitars of Skip, Matt and Dennis. Yes, you read that right, The Generation have three guitars! As Dennis explains it, “Having three guitar players requires a great deal maturity from each player as it’s all about finding your space to play in any given song. As instrumentalists we each want our moment to shine, and therefore communication and compromise are key to making it work.â€The band’s musical influences are as broad and varied as are the band members themselves.DENNIS GABRIEL – Lead Vocals, Rhythm & Lead Guitar has been playing guitar for nearly 30 years. A short list of his influences include “The Terror Twins†Steve Clark & Phil Collen, Frank Hannon & Tommy Skeoch, Warren DeMartini, Eddie Van Halen, Jim Croce & Maury Muehleisen, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Holly, Neal Schon, “The Hawkins Brothers†Dan & Justin, and Angus & Malcom Young.SKIP MAZEY – Lead Guitar, Backup Vocals is a decorated Vietnam combat veteran who has been playing music for over 40 years. A former studio musician, Skip cites Carlos Santana, Elvin Bishop, Michael Bloomfield, and BB King as his biggest influences.MATT VERWIEL – Rhythm & Lead Guitar, Backup Vocals is the youngest member of the group. Matt has three things on his mind, music, girls, and beer, but not necessarily in that order. Sure, other things enter the mix, like motorcycles, but those three things definitely dominate his frontal lobe the majority of the time. His musical influences range from Motley Crue and Def Leppard to The Eagles and Garth Brooks, so he too is a musician who is broadly influenced.RANDY TAYLOR – Bass Guitar, Backup Vocals has been in and out of bands since his early teens. His musical influences include The Pixies, The Police, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Johnny Cash, Modest Mouse, and Bob Dylan just to name a few. In addition to holding down the band’s bottom end, Randy is the man behind the band’s logo, flyers and posters for gigs, and the band’s MySpace page.RANDY "DALLAS" EWING – Drums, Backup Vocals is a state of the art drummer who’s been bangin’ the skins since he was a boy in the school band. While an excellent pocket drummer, Dallas’ tasty fills and percussive accents take the band’s music to heights unachievable without him. His influences include Phil Collins, Ansley Dunbar, Ginger Baker, Steve Smith, Buddy Rich, Alex Van Halen, Neil Peart, Tommy Thompson, Troy Lucketta, Rick Allen, and John Bonham.Well, there’s the answer to, “Who is The Generation?â€. There’s more to tell, but who would keep reading?Peace….
The Generation
