My Local Heroes

We hear all the time about how musicians are inspired by certain bands, usually a very famous one.  However, sometimes people that you see locally can be just as and sometimes even more inspiring than a person's musical influences.  I am going to talk about my three local heroes and how they inspired me.

1.  Tiago D' Errico

Tiago is a man of many talents, he is a music director, guitarist, singer, bassist, keyboarder, and drummer.  I remember the first time I saw him playing guitar and was blown away by not only his skills, but his musical diversity. When I see him on stage he is very melodic with his guitar leads and usually does a combination of power chords and open chords.  However, off stage I would hear so many different styles ranging from metal to blues to classical.  When I first talked to him I was surprised to learn that one of his favorite bands was actually Sepultura, a heavy metal band from Brazil.  It was because of Tiago that I started my voyage to become more diverse in music myself.  Before I met Tiago I was a thick headed Rock n' Roll purist who only listened to rock and it had to be in the English language. After fantastic conversations with him I learned to venture out more and see what the rest of the world had to offer, even if it wasn't in English.

2. Tessa Ashton

    Tessa Ashton is with out a doubt one of the best singers I have ever heard, in my top 3 easily.  Having been going to church all my life I have heard many singers and none have ever sounded as great or  moved a crowd as well as this women does.  When she sings you can hear the soul, depth, and authenticity in her voice. Along with that she is a great communicator. Sometimes when I hear people talking in between songs I start to think "stop talking and get to the next song", but with Tessa I am able to take in what she says and think about it after she leaves the stage.  What I learned from Tessa was don't  be someone your not, because when do it hurts the music you make and it effectsthe message you are trying to portray. It's because of Tessa that I wanted to start writing lyrics and realized what my message is.

3.  Carolyn Kim

  Like Tessa, Carolyn is a great singer and communicator. When she sings you can get the emotion and realism in her voice.  She also a very positive person and you know that when you talk to her. No matter the situation she is in, she is always able to find light in it.  I remember talking to her once after my grand father passed and even in the midst of my own grieving she encouraged me to try to keep going and to use my lyrical writing as way to let it out through song.  Shortly after that I wrote lyrics for a song called Even Now, a tribute song to my grand father.  What I learned from that was how to take my own life situations and through song communicate it to an audience that feels the same way I do at that moment.  I never would of discovered my ability to do that if it wasn't for Carolyn.  

These three people may not have been the biggest influence on me musically, but where they did influence me was my philosophy.  If it wasn't for these people I might still be the thick headed rocker I was years ago. I wouldn't know my message and I would've ultimately ended up playing for bands that I wouldn't be happy in. It's because of these people that I know what my direction is and that is one of the most important things in music. I hear people all the time say how they enjoy playing with the big time acts of the world and while that is great, for me there is no one I want to play on stage with more then these people.