Angelo Espino, Bassist - Anger As Art.

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ANGELO ESPINO'S BIO:
Born July 10 1964 in Torrance California, it did not take long for Frank and Ginger to figure out music would be a part of their son’s future. At a young age, music had always interested him. “He used to love listening to music”, says his mother Ginger “He used to beg us constantly to play our Wilson Picket, or Janis Joplin or Monkeys albums”. His dad saw that Angelo had music in his soul so he shuffled him through music lessons ranging from piano to drums to accordion, yes the accordion. At a very young age, the stage was being set and the journey was about to begin.
As the years passed his taste in music began to change. Bands like Sweet, Rush, Styx, and UFO piqued his interest. His first real guitar, an old Gibson hollow body, replaced the tennis racket’s and air guitars he used to play. Guitar lessons ensued but did not last long. “I wanted to learn how to play songs I liked, not the songs you learn when you first start taking lessons”, so he began teaching himself. The switch to bass guitar followed shortly thereafter. He would play along to his favorite albums for hours. Angelo always liked heavy, obscure music then one day in 1978, his best friend Ray Jandra introduced him to what he called “The heaviest fucking band in the world”, Judas Priest.
From that day on heavy extreme music became his calling. Bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Angel Witch, and Venom just to name a few were bands he was listening too. “While everyone else was listening to “Main Stream” music I was drifting in a different direction”.
In 1981, while in high school this longhaired guy doing David Lee Roth splits off the lunch tables caught his attention. He, along with his brother would end up being the first band Angelo would jam. They would call themselves Sacrifice. Every Friday and Saturday night all their friends in the neighborhood would gather to watch them play their original brand of metal.
Fast forward to 1985, while out of a band and looking to move forward, an add in The Recycler caught his attention, it read; “Metal band into Anthtax, Metallica, and Judas Priest, seeks bassist”. That band would be Metal Blade Recording artists Predator. After a short stint and his first studio experience the band began to fall apart. After his departure from Predator, it was on to what he called “the heaviest unknown band ever”, L.S.N (Loud Senseless Noise). L.S.N was the brain trust of guitarist / songwriter Greg Ceklovich. L.S.N. played in around the Los Angeles area for about a year drawing the elitist of hardcore metal fans. L.S.N had the potential of being on the same level as Anthrax or Slayer or Exodus but due to poor decision making the band was never able to reach that level. L.S.N disband in late 1987. “I was sorry to see that band fall apart”. From there, it was onto Dissenter. Dissenter was a darker brand of metal combining a mixture of The Cure meets Metallica. Dissenter played several shows in and around the L.A. area opening for bands such as Savotage, and Circus of Power as well as headlining a few of their own. Dissenter had started to gain a faithful following. During his stay in the band, Mike Gonzales, bassist from Dark Angel called and asked if he was available to go on the road for a month and a half as a tech for their Leave Scars Tour with Overkill and Wolfsbane. That would prove to be advantageous for Angelo and Dissenter as they had just got out of the studio recording their Wings of a Demon demo. “I gave a copy of that demo to everyone I met. While backstage at a show in Cleveland with Dark Angel, Angelo gave a copy of the demo to a D.J. who worked at a local college radio station. “After the show we were sitting on the tour bus listening to the radio when Ron Reinhart shouted, “Holy shit, that’s you”. That was the first time I heard anything I ever recorded on the radio”.
When Angelo got back from touring, more shows and songwriting ensued. The songwriting, however, was becoming more Cure-ish and less Metallica-ish. After several months of songwriting and direction differences Angelo received the “we need to talk speech” at rehearsal one night. It was goodbye Dissenter, hello Uncle Slam.
Uncle Slam, featuring Amry Smith the original Suicidal Tendencies drummer, was a breath of fresh air for Angelo. Although Uncle Slam was branded “Punk” they were truly a hardcore speed metal band. Angelo felt right at home. Shortly after joining the group, they were in the studio recording a demo to submit to Caroline records for their sophomore release, Will Work for Food. After recording the demo, which included their version of Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused”, it was time to start gigging. His first show with the band was at the small Hollywood club, The Coconut Teaser. The crowd of about 200 of the hardest of the hardcore punk/metal fans included Rocky George, Mike Muir, and Robert Trujillo of Suicidal Tendencies. “My fucking stomach was in my throat,” says a nervous Angelo with eyes wide open. “I mean they were ten feet in front of us. The show went incredably well and I was overjoyed”. About a month before entering the studio to record Will Work for Food, Angelo received a phone call from long time friend and fellow musician Brian Corbin. Brian Corbin was the guitarist / songwriter of the Heavy Metal group Reverend featuring ex-Metal Church vocalist, David Wayne. Reverend was preparing for their third studio release, Play God on Charisma / Virgin Records, when their bass player left the band. This put Angelo in a tough position. “ I wanted to stay with Uncle Slam because I believed in their music and what they were all about. On the other hand this would be my chance to record with a major label act”. After consulting with the band and receiving their blessing, Angelo was off to Reverend to start a new chapter in his music journey.
Shortly after joining up with Reverend, the band entered pre production for their third release Play God. Brian Korbin had written close to 30 songs and it was time to narrow it down to ten to fifteen for the album. After a month and a half of rehearsals, Angelo was of with his new band to record his first record. “ It was one of the most incredible yet tedious experiences of my career”. “I mean I had recorded several demos in some nice studios but nothing like this.” It was fun, but it was work”. After almost a month of recording, it was back to rehearsals to prepare for his first tour as a player, not a tech.
After a year and a half and two small tours, Reverend recorded their live release Reverend Live. During that recording, the tension between Dave Wayne and the rest of the band became so thick producer Michael Rosen could feel it. The day they put the finishing touches on the album, Brian, Jason Ian, E.F. Martinez, and Angelo, parted ways with Dave and formed the band Seed.
Seed went on to record several demos, play numerous shows in the Los Angeles area, and show case for several record labels. Angelo would begin to blossom as a songwriter while with Seed. “ I had been playing with Brian for close to 5 years” Angelo recalls. “When you’re in a band with a song writing genius like he is you pick up on things.” Unfortunately for the band, Heavy Metal was on its downward slope. The record labels were only interested in signing “Grunge” bands. Seed not willing to conform and unable to hold it together disband in January of 1994 just days after what would be their final show Just 30 years old and not ready to give in, Angelo made a phone call to his best friend and former drummer Jason Ian in 1995. Jason and Angelo hit it off the day the met at the Reverend audition and formed a bond not only as friends but also as a rhythm section. After a couple of moths of writing songs, the two were ready to complete the lineup. Angelo had his sights on former Dissenter guitarist and ex- band mate Stu Fuji. “Stu was the only person I had in mind when I wrote the oil songs.” “I knew his style of playing so I knew he would be the perfect fit. Dim Minor would join the band soon there after and OiL would come to be. “To me, OiL would be the most fulfilling project to date because I was a major contributor in song writing. ” It felt like such a major accomplishment.” OiL would go on to record the demo “OiL” recorded at Switch studios and produced by Jason’s brother Scott Ian, of Anthrax. The band would go on to shop the demo and play one show before the unexpected departure of Stu. At this point Angelo became so frustrated with the way things were going he decided to scrap the project. After a brief stint in the band Lutian fronted by David Ezrin, son of Bob Ezrin, Angelo decided it was time to hang it up. “I had become so jaded with playing music as well as the business end of it.” It just wasn’t fun anymore.” In 1998, the fire that burned so bright inside him seemed to fade. Angelo decided to hang it up and devote himself to his wife and two children.
In early 2002 and going through a divorce, Angelo tried to ignite that music fire that had once burned so bright. He entertained the idea if getting back in to music but didn’t know where to begin. He placed a few ads in some music publications but nothing ever came of them. It seemed that music just might have passed him by. The idea of a comeback seemed to come and go. A year later in June of 2003, he received an e-mail from an old friend. That old friend was Glenn Rogers informing Angelo that the band he just joined was looking for a bassist. Glenn informed Angelo that the band played “Old School Metal”, the kind of music he had grown up loving. The band turned out to be Hirax, one of the pioneering bands of the L.A. metal scene. Hirax was among bands such as Slayer, Metallica, Armored Saint, and Exodus who were tearing up the early 80’s metal scene. After a five year-, layoff Angelo had his work cut out for him. Each night Angelo would play along with old Hirax albums to get his playing up to speed. After a successful audition, Angelo was back in business. Angelo would spend the next two and a hlaf years recording and touring with Hirax. After several European dates including Sweden Rock and number of music festivals Hirax went into the studio to record "New Age of Terror" Being a part of of the early underground metal scene and then being able to recording with one of the pioneering bands from that era was an honor. Svereal months after the release of the New Age of Terror and several more tour dates, the four members of Hirax had a HUGE falling out with Hirax vocalist Katon W. DePena and left Hirax to persue a new project. That project was a collaboration with original Anthrax vocalist Neil Turbin. "Working with Neil was a lot of fun and a great experience. He has a lot left to contribute to the world of metal". The project unfortunatly never got off the ground because no one could decide what direction it was going in. Shortly after its inception, Glenn left to rejoin Hirax. That left Angelo to contemplate retirement from music for a second time. About two weeks after the demise of the "new project", Glenn called and said Once Dead, formerly christian metal icons Vengeance, was looking for a bassist to fill in on and upcoming Vengeance reunion show in Switzerland. The show was such a success that Once Dead started to get offers from other concert promoters as well as record labels. After a rocky start with a few line up changes, Once Dead features Doug Thiem of Vengeance and Die Happy, Jim Chaffin of The Crucified and Face Down, Devin Sheffer of Face Down, and Glenn Rogers. The Band is currently in the studio beginning work on their debut record "Visions of Hell" to be released on Open Grave Records. And if that weren't enough, Angelo recently reunited with former Hirax drummer Dave Chedrick in OSM Records "Anger As Art". The band has two previous releases and will be working on their third with Angelo for a late 2008 release. "It's been a long and bumpy road" says Angelo, "but I wouldn't change it for the world. Recording, being on stage, this is what it’s all about”. “I was made for this shit” To be continued…………………………….