Dan (second from the left) photographed with members of our first band- Assailant, me (far left), Jackson Baures and Dave Mehman (far right), circa 1988
John "The King" on his throne at an ENSLAVIOR show, circa 1998
Dan was my guitar mentor, classmate and close friend since the sixth grade. He has been totally dedicated to playing the guitar and his efforts have paid off. Those of us that know Dan have been totally impressed at the level of proficiency he has reached with his playing. What always amazed me is his ability to ad lib a guitar solo to a song he's never heard before and make it sound like something that he has spent hours crafting.
Now that my interest in and passion for music is waning, Dan is still going like gangbusters so it made perfect sense to ask Dan to record guitar solos for some of my new songs. I expected him to record some cool, lightning fast leads and he did not disappoint. The solos in these songs are impressive, extremely tasteful and excellently compliment the compositions. Thank you Dan!
Capo-vision (rock instrumental)
Falling (metal)
John is not only the best drummer I’ve worked with but one of the best musicians I have ever known. He earned the nickname “The King” because of his precise and innovative drumming. As the drummer for ENSLAVIOR, John and I had many opportunities to collaborate and write music and his departure from the band was a very sad event for me and would prove to be the beginning of the end of the band.
Just before John left ENSLAVIOR he began to take an interest in computer synthesizers and sequencing. John must have been bursting with inspiration because shortly after leaving ENSLAVIOR and moving to Tacoma, WA there was an eruption of interesting and impressive compositions that John created. You can click here to listen to some of his compositions.
I asked John to re-work my acoustic song, (Moving) Heaven and Earth, and he accepted the challenge. I sent him the song and he transcribed the three guitar tracks and bass track. He then recorded and sequenced the song using his computer synthesizer. John added drums and other instruments to the composition and re-arranged the song, using cool breaks that I never would have thought of. I also posted some outtakes of John on drums and piano. Excellent work, John!
Heaven and Earth (synth instrumental)
All Hail Hargis (metal excerpt instrumental)
piano outtakes (ad lib instrumental)