When Dom Liberati picked up the bass at age 12, he immediately knew a life of music was what he wanted. He quickly fell in love with the styles of The Police, Sting, U2, Pete Yorn, Switchfoot, and Jimmy Eat World to name a few, and did his best to mimic their talents. Ignited by the passion to be a songwriter and performer, he formed a band with his cousin, BC, who was a very talented drummer and singer at his young age. After having been taken under the wing of BC’s father, national recording artist B.E. Taylor, Dom tried to learn as much as he could from both B.E. and B.E.’s guitarist/producer sidekick, Rick Witkowski, who is renown in the Pittsburgh/Weirton area.
As young as 15 years old, Dom dove with fervor into songwriting and producing, using a stand-alone 16-track recorder he had bought with the money he earned from a summer’s worth of cutting his neighbors’ lawns. Simultaneously, he and BC honed their performance skills through the Ohio Valley success, The Way, for the next five years. Most of their more notable shows were opening for acts such as B.E. Taylor and Donnie Iris at historical venues like the Capitol Music Hall in Wheeling,WV, The Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh, PA, and several other clubs spanning from Pittsburgh to Canton, OH. When Dom wasn’t gigging, he was in the studio doing session bass work for clients in the tri-state area.
In the summer of 2006, Dom and BC decided to call it quits with The Way due to the frequent lineup changes, mainly on guitar, which the two felt created a lack of a solidified musical identity. In an attempt to acquire this identity and create a medium in which to display his rapidly expanding catalogue of songs, Dom made arrangements to record his debut solo record, Humans. “Basically, I needed a format change, but with the same talents as before. I wanted to stay as musically flexible as possible,†says Liberati. Flexibility is ultimately what makes Humans stand out among most projects. Liberati attempted to use as many talented people he knew on the project, including BC and guitar phenom, Chris Price. “Chris, BC, and I make up the staple performers of the album, but so many of my dear friends contributed exactly where each fit, and that made it all the better.†Liberati produced the album mostly himself, with the priceless guidance of Rick Witkowski. “Every single person who contributed in any way to this album made it what it is. I can’t even begin to describe how excited and grateful I am for the responses I’ve recieved.†After two special sold out release parties, one in Wheeling, WV, and one in Canton, OH, Dom went on to perform over 65 dates throughout the year in support of the album.
In the winter of 07' Dom was asked to perform in prestigious B.E. Taylor Christmas Tour. It seems as if the tour brought momentum into the New Year. In early spring of 08', Liberati released a video for the song "Humans" as well as starred in several episodes of the regional hit TV rock-umentary, Random Acts of Music. In addition, “Buried,†an alt. rock favorite of Humans was selected for the 2008 Cannes Festival’s Expose Your Muse compilation CD. Liberati then teamed up with pop rock artist Anthony Rankin for the double-headlined Border’s Books & Music Acoustic Tour in early March, which received such a positive response that Dom and Anthony decided to record a joint acoustic project. The album, entitled Frailty & Desire, features acoustic versions of songs from their latest releases, as well as previously unreleased material. The album is also available in split digital formats as Liberati's The Frailty EP, and Rankin's Desire EP.
In 2009, Dom moved to Los Angeles to tour and record his second full-length record. His standout single on the upcoming album, entitled "Love Holds It Down," has been selected by Activision’s Guitar Hero franchise for release as DLC (downloadable content) into all the new Guitar Hero games. Since having relocated, Liberati has been playing all over the city with guitarist Tony Solis (Don Henley, John Legend) and cousin BC in such world famous venues as the Whisky A Go-Go, Molly Malone’s, and The House of Blues on a weekly basis. He has recently opened for the Pearl Jam/Blind Melon/Vertical Horizon-membered super group Codename Mike, as well as indie rockers Seabird, Leeland, & Lovedrug. Dom is currently in the initial stages of recording his new album, entitled Open Minds & Closed Fists, and plans to release it in early Spring 2010.
