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my musical wake-up call came when i was 11
and first heard jimi hendrix and carlos santana.
afterward i started getting into rock bands like
deep purple, led zeppelin, cream, pink floyd and
the beatles (my parents listened to a lot of classic
rock).
my father introduced me to the music of miles
davis, the mahavishnu orchestra and weather
report. later i discovered the sounds of keith
jarrett, hancock, stevie wonder, curtis mayfield,
terje rypdal, and john abercrombie which led me
to even older jazz like early miles, wes
montgomery and coltrane. although i spent a lot
time exploring other musical worlds it's been rock
and independent music that have always
remained constant stars in my musical galaxy.
around 1997 i became very inspired by dj- and
electronic music. i began merging their rhythmic,
loop-like thinking with my own approach to
playing live. i started searching intensely for new
sounds that i could produce on my guitar while
experimenting with every little stomp box that i
could get my hands on. i found that by creating
repitious, atmospheric guitar sounds i was able to
discover new and innovative ways of expressing
what i heard in my head. most of all i was
pleased to find how this approach to music began
to enhance my interactions with other musicians.
netzer, locut and orbit experience are some of
my bands that display the hallmark of this
approach.
around 1999 i started branching out again
stylistically and found myself playing other string
instruments such as sitar, mandolin, resonator
guitar, pedal steel, lap steel and banjo. i also
found other ways of approaching guitar by
experimenting with open tunings, bottleneck
slides and organic noises. as much as i enjoy
exploring my own musical impulses i also love
playing with other musicians. i find that helping
to materialize other peoples ideas and bringing
them into a strong sounding band context is a
process that always seems to open new and
often surprising roads to me.
with „die fantastischen vier“ there's also this
loop-like repetition and very rhythmic playing
that allows me to feel a deep bond with the
incredible musicians in the band. their soul and
funk roots also add a great flavor to their sound .
working with sarah brightman has also been very
interesting for me because i get to play a lot of
acoustic guitar. since we're touring around the
world it's also given me a chance to see sides of
life that i might not otherwise have the
opportunity to experience.
leotokyo is a band that i began out of my passion
for strong, melodic song writing and guitar based
bands with up-front vocals. it really brought me
back to my roots and gave me a sense of coming
full circle because the strength and power of a
rockband with guitar amps is something that
amazes me as much now as it did when i was
growing up. writing, jamming and recording with
this band has been a pleasure and i'm really
looking forward to what we'll do in the future.
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