When I was a kid, I was told I am tone deaf. For years, I didn't care, until I went to my first live concert. It was a Russian band called DDT, who played at Georgetown University. I then went to the Third Eye Blind and Our Lady Peace concert, and that's what changed my life. Not because they are the greatest bands in the world, but because the sound of live, crunchy guitars generated energy I've never experienced before.
I spent the next six years studying bass guitar and music theory and messed around with the guitar myself. I played in rock bands with music ranging from classic rock to modern (at that time) heavy metal. Eventually a friend introduced me to Victor Wooten and some other great musicians, so I spent the next few years listening to jazz and classical music, every once in a while listening to Dave Matthews Band, one of my most favorite bands.
Recently, I've decided to launch a few music projects of my own. Some are further along than others. Here they are:
Boston Theory - A plain old rock band playing 90s music. I released the first album in 2019, called "101". The second album is called "Great Beginnings" and it came out in September of 2021.
Darc Matr - An experimental sonic experience, combining heavy metal, jazz, classical, and electronic music. The first album came out in September of 2021. My original idea was to imagine what alien music would sound like. But then I realized that music is a human term. Aliens may have a different way to communicate. They may use a combination of sounds, smell, colors, signs, telepathy and everything else we can't imagine, so the concept of music wouldn't entirely fit the alien world. I started recording the album with this in mind and realized that it's so off, that humans won't listen to it as is. So I toned it down 100X, at least for now. Maybe some day I'll release the sounds of another planet. For now let's imagine that aliens learned how to play earth music but challenged some common concepts, like time signatures and what vocals should sound like. The end product is a unique sonic experience.
Zontikoff - A rock album I recorded in Russian. I've heard a few people tell me that my voice sucks or sounds off when I sing in English but sounds more pleasant when I switch to Russian. So this was my attempt to do so. I released my first album on Thanksgiving in 2022. I called this album Abstract Love. The general idea is that humans use the word love to describe a lot of things. While some people use the word love romantically, others love to do drugs, drink alcohol, kill, or stress. Every song on this album is about love. I actually recorded many more songs than I put on this album, but I saved them for the next one, which I hope to finish by the end of 2023.
Fab Newton - Comedy hip-hop with experimental sounds. A few songs have been recorded but the album probably won't come out till 2024.