About Me
To begin with, my name is Henry Paul Corvinus. I go by my nick name Hank.
All the music that you hear on my site is played by me. I play first, second and, third guitars and also, a drum machine. It was the only way possible for me to be able to put something onto myspace for you all to hear.
For general information, I was born in Corpus Christy Texas. I have lived in many parts of the world because I was a military brat but, Northern California is were I did most of my growing up therefore, it is home to me.
On July 22ed, 2006, I did a gig with some good friends. We play together every summer. The thing is that these three friends that I play with are very, very accomplished. I will have some photos of them as soon as possible on my site. ( photos are now in place )First musician is Mike Sult. Mike is a music instructor at Foothill college in Los Altos, California. Mike plays guitar and any instrument that he decides to play at the time. I have knowen Mike Sult for Thirty Years. Mike graduated from San Jose State Univ. with a masters Degree in music (Classical Guitar.) Mike plays rock, jazz, blues, latin, what ever he decides upon him self to do. Mike and I have played many gigs together and I am sure we will play many more but, no matter what the situation may be, Mike will always be my teacher. No matter how well I might play, there is always so much to learn. You can never think for one second that you need not to learn anymore for if you do, you will not just stop improving, you will go backwards. Second musician is Duane Day. Duane is the bass player. Duane Also graduated from San Jose State Univ. with a B.S. degree in music. Duane also is a monster player. Duane plays freted and fretless basses and can play and read anything in front of his face. Duane also sings and plays piano. Mike sult and Duane Day have knowen each other and played music together for at least 30 years.
Third musician is the drummer who is earth shaking good. His name is Wally Schnalle.
When I say earth shaking good, I mean that he is supersonic good. Wally is the best drummer I have ever played with. Wally is also a Grad from San Jose state Univ. Wally has his own web site and is a full time private teacher. He also has many of his own C.Ds. out there along with his own band intitled Wally Schnalle group.
The forth musician is me, Hank Corvinus. I am not a college grad but, I have served some time in college. One simester here and one simester there. Maybe before I am dead, I will also have my music degree. So, that is the last band that I have played with. The Hank, Mike, Wally and Duane band.
It wood be so nice if I could some how record a C.D. with these guys.
In the past I have had the oppertunity to open for some of the great musicians. I had a rock, jazz fusion trio. On drums was Sal Crisafulli. At the time Sal was twenty one years old. He had just returned from the Berkely College of Music in Boston. On bass was a twenty year old Chris Snider.
Are band was called Fact or Friction. There was a club in San Jose Ca. called the Cabaret. Greg Stone was in charge of lining up all these gigs and did a great job with pulling so many monster musicians from back east into the Cabaret. My band opened up for Steve Smith, drummer for Journey and the creator of Vital Information. Vital Information is a high powered Jazz fusion band. These guys were super good. There was also Tom Coster the pianist and player of all other keyboards for Vital information. Tom Coster is also a Monster Musician. Tom played on many Carlos Santana Albums before forming Vital Information with Steve Smith. Next was the opening slot for Guitarist Al DiMola. That was a very special night for me. Then there was Jazz Guitar Player John Scofield. John was the coolist of them all. He even gave me a guitar lessen after the gig. And, they played super good. Allen Holdsworth was on the next list of openers but something went wrong. There were also many local shows that we did were we would headline.
I spent a simester at G.I.T.( Musicians Institute ) in Los Angeles California.
This was for the soul reason to be able to study under Scott Henderson.
The first time I heard Scott play was when the Nomad C.D. was out. That was just plain and simplely the best jazz cross over guitar player I had heard in a long time and, Gary Willis the bassist and writer is just as good. In my opinion, Trible Tech. is one of the very best of the best players of jazz fusion in the world.
After seening Trible Tech, play in San Fransico Twice, I decided to figure out a way to attend Musician's Institute. It was very hard but I managed.
I was able to stay for only one simester. Scott's classroom was called the little room. All of us students would cram are selves into the little room so that we could sit down with Scott and let him kick are ass. He is a very cool dude.
As I was growing up, the music I was exposed to was of American and English. English meaning Rolling Stones, Animals, Yardbirds, and the Beatles. American as in Soul, R&B, Rock and Roll and what little jazz I was ever allowed to hear. R&B and Soul were really good for me. At that time I was around eleven years old and I was playing Guitar. This is how I started to learn my Major and Minor keys and most important, hearing the blue notes. Now days, there are so many young kids that play very well but, they do not have a blue note in their body and, they do not care.
Soul and R&B, covers harmony, chord changes, vocals, dynamics and much more. Any how, this is the music I grew up with as a child. In my teen years I had alot of good musicians to listen to. Has you might well already know, Jimi Hendrix was the big for me. But there were others. Carlos Santana. When I was fifteen years old, there was this band playing around at high school dances that everybody was going nuts over. It was Santana. That guy knew and still knows what he is doing at every step and every aspect of the way. I think that Carlos Santana was ahead of his time.
In the hippie days, it seemed like it was the decade for minor seven jam sections and , why not? Play a groove of any kind, mix it with a minor seven chord, get some good musicians and you have a jam that could last for hours and hours. Some guys did nice stuff with it, some guys stunk. At that time, things in music and life in general were at a point of Renaissance. Allthough others would think different, in music it was the case. Yes, you did have alot of people high on acid and musicians that might have started out with talent but fried there brains to the point of thinking nonsence but, there was still many great players and blends of styles that came out of the sixties. In 1969, Miles Davis, in my opinion, invented Jazz Fusion. Thank you miles Davis. Another guitar player that was around in my teen years that I loved and still do is Robbin Ford. Robbin Ford is from nothern California. In my opinion, the sad thing is that he is still unknown to many people today. That really gets on my nerves. In my opinion, Robbin was the answer and blessing for blues guitar players of all styles. You go back to 1972 and listen to Robbin Ford play the Gibson Creek shuffle,( major 1,4,5 progression with 1,6,2,5 turn arounds in B flat ) and you will hear and see what I mean. Robbin soon went into the jazz fusion seen. There is two more that I would like to talk about. There was this band that was called Focus. They were from Holland. The guitar player was Jan Akkerman ( please forgive my spelling.) Jan was one of my teen year guitar heroes. Jon played a guitar straight into a amp with no master volumes because they were not invented yet, turn the amp up to ten and sounded great. He had nice chops and a nice choice of were he would aplie his skill. The last guitar player that I wish to talk about at this time is Frank Zappa. In the sixties, my teen years, every body thought that Zappa was high. As the early seventies came into play, it became a known fact that Zappa was clean. Frank Zappa was beyond smart and his guitar playing alone was ass kicking good. I would listen to all of his work just to be able to hear his guitar playing. Overnight Sensation is one of my most loved Frank Zappa Ablums. By 1972, I started moving into a jazz and jazz fusion direction.
From this point on, I will begin with one Guitar player at a time. I will start from 1964. I will take this task from one guitar player at a time. As I do this, I will not try to bore you as the reader. I think that I have alot to offer so I must take my time with this Bio continuation. I look foward to your viewing. I/09/07, Hank. Again, please forgive my spelling. In the 1964, I was in the sixth grade at the age of eleven years old. I did start playing the guitar at the age of ten years old. My First teacher was Alexander Spence. Skip later went on to form the Moby Grape out of San Francisco. At that time, I was always a big fan of the Rolling Stones. It must have been the blues and boogie that the stones were so good at playing at that time ( and still do very much so.) You have to understand the circumstances in those days. Yes, Blues and R/B were hear but for a white kid, it was not that easy to hear unless you went out of your way to find it. But, make no mistake. I was not raised in a white middle class neighbourhood. Mater of fact, it was raised in a hard neighbourhood, to say the least. But, the Stones gave me that big excuse to go for the sound of my life. At the age of eleven, my Mother took me to see the Rolling Stones at the San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California, USA. The opening act was The birds. I need to go to sleep now but, I promess to continue shortly. 12/March/2007. All my love, Hank.
13/March/2007 It is sometimes hard for me to remember what might have happened to me last week let alone what might have happened when I was at the age of eleven. In any event, I do remember alot from the night my Mom took me to see the Stones. First of all, we did not have great seats. We sat up in the air and, in the back but, this is all my Mom could afford. I remember Mick Jagger of that night as if it was yesterday. He was wearing a surffer shirt with big white and red stripes and performing like the young Mick Jagger that he was and still is. Brian Jones had the look of a young Prince of Wales. I will never forget how much I loved his white Mandolin shaped Guitar. Brian also played Slide Guitar that night. Then there was Bassest, Bill Wyman. Bill played a electric fretless hollow body bass. He held his bass as if it was an upright bass and, he played all the cool changes. Charlie Watts was a implusesive time machine never loosing a beat! Kieth Richards was my guitar hero in those days. It was a time and event that I will never forget and, telling you all about this event will help me remember more. One thing is for sure. The P.A. systems in those days, SUCKed!!! The only time that I could hear Mick Jagger sing was when they played Little Red Roaster. I realized all of this even at the young age that I was but, it did not matter because, I was at the show of the Rolling Stones. 13/March/2007 I will continue, Hank. To continue, I remember something about Mick Jagger that I will never forget. Again, try to remember that I was at the age of eleven at the most.
Mick Jagger would have up to fore maracas at a time in his hands and he would applie those hand held percusion instruments as if he was from Latin America. The Rolling Stones were GREAT!!! ( And yes, they still are.)
Shortly after this time, the Stone came out with the all time rock song, SATISFACTION. Man!! That song made problems in my life. The reason is that, I had to have that tone that Keith Richards had on his guitar. Well, the good old town music store known as Moyer Brothers had a thing called the Boss Tone. Hey man!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am twelve years at the most and I know how to play this song but, I must have that Boss tone!!!!! So, my Mom understands that I know what I am talking about but my step dad said No. Who and the hell was he to stop me from having a fifteen dollar boss tone?!?! Besides!! I was already in a band with guys that were much older than I was and, I could play all the parts that those guys had no idea of. I all ready had a job so why can't I have the boss tone? I got the boss tone and that was it.
Going back to Alexander Spence ( Skip,) I will continue, I love all of you, Hank. today is Nov. 18th., 2007. The song intitled, Freedom Quest is writen by Hank Corvinus and Don Thomas. This song was recorded in the year of 1987 in a home studio in Los Altos. The band was called Destiny. Musicians Are Hank Corvinus on guitar, Don Thomas on Drums and, Eddie Coreo on Bass. Don and myself are still living in the bay area and Eddie, is living in the state of New York. I will continue shortly.
Dec., 9th, 2007. Don Thomas and myself have have known each other for a very long time. I first hooked up with Don back in 1976. We played together in a 70's soul, Funk band. We had a full scale band. There was Glen Robinson on B,3 organ with bass pedals and all, His brother Vern Robinson on bass, Vernon Davis on guitar and lead vocals, Don Thomas on drums and Myself on Guitar. We had a horn section but I do not remember their names. Don and I played together in this band for about one and a half years. We always seem to meet each at Billy Cobham shows. Don Thomas was one of the only drummers that was able play the Billy Cobham dual bass drum shuffle on Quadrant 4 with the ghost notes. I mean in 1976, Don was playing just like Billy Cobham. There were many times when you thought that he was his brother. Remember, this was in 1976. Don has always been very naturally talented. Don and myself decided to form a fusion power trio. Eddie Coreo who was from New York came along and we took him in. We played together for two years. That Band chould have went some place. We recorded fore songs at a Recording studio in Los Altos California in 1987. One of the songs in on my site. Don and myself worte this song together. It is called Freedom Quest. I want to do another project with Don very soon so I can stop using my Casio and have Don Thomas play with me and kick ass. Don is playing with at least two or three bands. Go to my site and Check him out. I will continue later, Hank Corvinus.
