About Me
This is music, not just noise - actually played on a keyboard! Jammin' music. I like to jam, don't you? Well, yes I do!
Oscar was an early adopter in Personal Computers, having worked in the first St. Louis computer store selling the first versions of the Apple II and the Commodore Pet computer (remember THOSE?) Just like many of you, he still spends too much time making his living in the business world!But making music with a computer and synthesizers was a natural! He is, after all, also a self-taught musician and artist! Started playing piano at home at 9, and has played keyboards professionally since 1981, even getting paid now and then! These days, when he's not busy working for a living, he spends lonely days and late nights recording in his high-tech basement music studio, one of his true passions in life (only ONE of them, you know!).
This is the great American midwest, you know? So his best accomplishments (so far!) were to play Genesis' Abacab, extending the keyboard jam to about 20 minutes (ask Bean & Lori if you don't believe it!), with his first rock bands Nickels and Paris at bars and clubs in the midwest back in 1981, where it became a hit and a showcase tune; and recently playing Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb with the awesome Hung Jury! The crowd still goes nuts when they do that song! Man, all they need is the $10M laser light show and some might think Hung Jury WERE Pink Floyd!So listen to these sample tunes - quite a variety including a progressive blues number with pipe organ and synth solos! A bit more serious instrumental jammin', mellow at times but with a harder edge at others!
Why is he like this? Let's ask him...Well, it might be because I am a HUGE progressive rock fan, dating from the first time I heard "Close To The Edge" - yes, I was one of those early hard-core prog junkies! Thanks, Glass Hammer, for writing a song about me (Chronometree) - it was really flattering!!And, oh yes, I am a HUGE Flower Kings fan!Many of my friends here in St. Louis are progressive rock fans from the old school, growing up on Yes, Genesis, ELP, King Crimson and Pink Floyd, but few realize there is still GREAT music being produced today! The Flower Kings are making some of the best of it (along with Glass Hammer, The Tangent, Kaipa, IQ and Icon)! Roine Stolt, the leader of TFK, is perhaps one of the greatest minds in prog rock today - check out his solo album "Wall Street Voodoo" - it's retro and modern at the same time, and has great lyrics relevant to our times! Glass Hammer's latest album "The Inconsolable Secret" is one of the most musically dazzling yet ornately beautiful albums ever produced, in my humble opinion! Check them out!But I also like other new music, too, from Arcade Fire and Rammstein to Pure Reason Revolution and even Grand Master Flash and Eminem! Congrats, Grand Master Flash, for being the first rappers to get into the ROCK Hall of Fame! Check out the message in "The Message".Basically, I like music with a powerful message, or music that really jams, or music that really jams AND has a powerful message!And I LOVE to jam every chance I get! Man, it would be a treat to jam with Madahoochi sometime (the best jam band in St. Louis right now - check them out)! That gurl Shawn can really rock on her VK-8 organ! I'll bring my VK-7 - let's duel! I used to love jammin' with Acousticity, too - anybody remember them? Why, of course you do!!Of course, like many people I owe a lot to several of my friends (mostly money!), in particular my best friends Steve S., bassist extraordinaire; my overly-music-educated drummer friend Billy C. (who produces David Surkamp these days); and Bean the Sound Man (who is responsible for convincing Frank P. of Nickels, the first professional touring band I joined, to hire me!). And my buddies in my recent kick ass rrroooccckkk band Hung Jury (we do some wicked Pink Floyd!), especially Gary B., one of the greatest all around musicians and singers of all time!!And of course, my old friends for life, Bill LaG, Bob S., Mark N. - and my loving wife, MT!In the end I am, after all, simply a human being - nothing more, nothing less.So I hope you like my stuff! I'm going to add new songs every so often, so come back! Occassionaly I may feature songs with real bass and/or drums from my above mentioned friends! I hope you enjoy them. If you do, tell others! And if you don't, well... It's free!!And, just so you know, I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4!!
