goatghost
CONTACT

ABOUT

I'm a multi-instrumentalist who plays synthesizer, rhythm guitar, bass, and bass pedals. I've been playing synthesizer and bass since high school, and guitar since 5th grade. I also sing background vocals.

I'm mostly into classic rock, but I also enjoy pop, progressive rock, 80s, new wave, grunge, dance music, and nu metal...mainly, stuff with synthesizers and vocal harmonies.

I'm not really into country, blues, blues rock, jam bands, southern/roots/heartland rock, americana, folk, oldies, fusion, trance, EDM, R&B, modern rap, world music, or most metal (see below).

I'm big into technology and I have prior experience with sequencing, programming synths, and sampling.

Although I don't play music for a living, I went to college for it, so I have a strong music theory background. I majored in vocal performance, but I would never feel comfortable as a front man. But, I'm a pretty solid backup singer, with a decent ear, a voice which blends well with others, and experience with tight harmonies.

Someday, I might be into creating original music (and playing it live for personal enjoyment), but that would definitely be sometime down the road (after I retire...LOL). I have a LOT of influences (as shown, below) and some cool musical ideas. If I eventually go that that route, I would definitely want it to be catchy, interesting, listenable, not-too-technical, not-too-simple, and not experimental or avant-garde. That is to say, I'm not really into extended, atonal, polyrhythmic instrumentals. I like "catchy" music with commercial appeal...not too simple, but not too complex. :-)

Currently, I'm in a "casual" classic rock band with some high-quality, easygoing players. Although we are "casual", we are constantly focused on perfecting our performance. We have played out in the past and it's been a low-stress, highly-rewarding situation (we're all guys with outside commitments). :-)

In any case, I've had a few original, acoustic-guitar-playing and/or piano-playing, Americana/country singer/blues rock/gospel/songwriter-type peeps who have inquired about enlisting my services for their backup band (e.g. acoustic duo, Elvis tribute, new country variety band, etc.).

Unfortunately, since I'm mainly focused on my existing band and I'm not really into "blues rock" or the above-mentioned genres, those are opportunities which I haven't been able to entertain.

I really enjoy networking with other musicians, though, if only to see what cool things people are up to in the Vegas music scene.

Feel free to contact me on Bandmix (with a premium membership) or through You Tube, by simply appending "/goatghost" to the end of the normal URL and leaving a comment on one of my You Tube videos.

Thanks!

P.S. - If you have a Bandmix profile, please consider uploading videos and/or audio files of your work. I really enjoy checking that sort of stuff out. Plus, it allows you to highlight your talents. :-)

Screen name:
goatghost
Member since:
Oct 12 2010
Active within 2 weeks
Level of commitment:
Just for Fun
Years playing music:
30
Gigs played:
10 to 50
Tend to practice:
1 time per week
Most available:
Nights

Influences

I'm into all sorts of music. Here's a sampling of the things I've listened to in the past:

Progressive Rock...Rush, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Zebra
Classic Rock...Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Eagles, Foreigner, Van Halen, AC/DC, The Who, Kiss, Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Styx
Pop 80s Rock...U2, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams, ELO, The Police, Journey, Night Ranger
Nu Metal...Linkin Park, System of a Down, Disturbed, KoRn, Taproot, The Offspring, Incubus, Puddle of Mudd, Three Days Grace
Grunge...Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains
New Wave...The Cars, The Fixx, The Cure, B-52s, Duran Duran, Flock of Seagulls, Human League
Surf...The Ventures, Jan & Dean, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys
Funk...James Brown, Rick James, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Kool & The Gang, The Time, Prince
Pop...Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Bruno Mars, Britney Spears, The Weeknd
Old School Rap...Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC, Beastie Boys, Naughty By Nature, NWA, Snoop Dogg, Will Smith
Punk...Green Day, The Clash
Ska Punk...Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, Sublime, 311, Pepper, Blink 182, The Offspring
Dancehall...Yellowman, Admiral Bailey, Edi Fitzroy
Club..Pitbull, Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Nelly Furtado, Jason Derulo, Timbaland
Reggae...Bob Marley
Latin Jazz...Tito Puente, Marvin Santiago, Oscar D'Leon, Afro Cuban All Stars

I really enjoy progressive rock, 80s synth pop, and current dance music. I love mostly anything with synths and/or samplers. Those subtle beeps, whooshing sounds, high ostinato string pads, and little embellishments fascinate me. Those little things make an "okay" live performance sound polished and "like the record".

That's my goal...MAKING LIVE PERFORMANCES SOUND JUST LIKE THE RECORD.

I'm not into simplifying arrangements of songs or "putting a spin" on songs or "melding genres" (unless I'm creating or collaborating on original material). If I don't have the technical chops to do a song, I'd rather not do it. Subbing a harmonica for a sax solo just seems kind of cheesy.

As for my dislikes...I'm not really into blues rock, blues, country (old or new), folk, jam bands, motown, slow R&B, oldies, gospel, contemporary Christian, "world" music, screamo, djent, death metal, speed metal, thrash metal, black metal, glam metal, goth metal, "Cookie Monster" metal, Metallica, Megadeth, or 80s hair bands (Ratt, Poison, Motley Crue, Winger, Warrant, Dokken, Whitesnake, Guns N' Roses, Skid Row, Cinderella, etc.).

I'm also not particularly into straight-up rock-and-roll, "roots rock", Southern rock, or Americana, either (Bob Seger, George Thorogood, Grand Funk Railroad, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Foghat, Marshall Tucker Band, Bad Company, Cream, Steppenwolf, Georgia Satellites, Hootie and the Blowfish, Dave Matthews, Nickelback, Jimmy Buffett, etc.).

Getting people up to sing and dance to verses of "ride, Sally, ride", "bye, bye, Miss American Pie", or "taking care of business" is definitely NOT me.

Uhh..I'm also not into any genre with "death" or "core" in it. Wobbly double-drop-A tuning, metal sweeps, blast beats, 64th notes, screaming, grunting, and most music with a lack of discernible melody (or even discernible notes) is just not my thing.

As far as classical music is concerned, I love baroque era (Bach, Vivaldi) and classical era (Mozart, Haydn) music (classical era, classical music...if you're familiar with that), but I'm not into anything after Beethoven. I love jazz standards (e.g. from The Real Book), but I don't like smooth jazz, such as Kenny G (basically, extended instrumentals, consisting of soloing over jazz chords, usually droning on for 10 minutes or longer).

I've listened to a lot of dance and pop music, in the past and in recent times. I can appreciate the production aspects of it...sequencing, sampling, digital effects, mixing, and mastering.

I find it amazing that someone can take (or create) a simple phrase...loop it, chop it, and modify it...sell millions of records...and win a Grammy Award for it. Some of the stuff out there is "crap", but some of it is actually very clever...and very well thought out.

Some producers who I think are awesome are Max Martin, Dr. Luke, Trevor Horn, Mutt Lange, Berry Gordy, Jellybean Benitez, Rick Rubin, Nile Rogers, Quincy Jones, and Sir George Martin.

As far as musical influences, they run the gamut. Here are some artists (mostly classic/progressive rock) who I think are great:

Bass:
Geddy Lee
Chris Squire
John Entwistle
Flea
John Paul Jones

Vocals:
Robert Plant
Steve Perry
Dennis DeYoung
Bruce Dickinson
Brad Delp

Guitar:
Eddie Van Halen
Jimmy Page
Randy Rhoads
Buck Dharma
Brian May

Drums:
Neal Peart
John Bonham
Gavin Harrison
Jeff Porcaro
John JR Robinson

Keyboard:
Keith Emerson
Rick Wakeman
Ray Manzarek
Tony Banks
Jonathan Cain

For reference, my favorite band is Rush.

Instrument experience:

Rhythm Guitar:
Advanced
Bass Guitar:
Advanced
Background Singer:
Advanced
Keyboard:
Intermediate

EQUIPMENT

Roland Fantom X7 synthesizer/sampling workstation
Studiologic Numa Compact 2x synthesizer/controller
Roland JD-Xi synthesizer with built-in vocoder
Keith McMillen 12 Step MIDI foot pedal controller
Fender Floyd Rose HSS Strat
Yamaha Pacifica 303-12 12-String electric guitar
Fender/Warmoth "Frankenstrat" custom double neck 6/12-string
Peavey AT-200 guitar with Autotune and modeling technology
Samson Airline Synth 88 guitar wireless system
Samson Airline Synth 88 wireless mic headset system
Shure PSM300 in-ear monitoring system
TC Helicon Voicelive Touch Vocal Processor (for background vocal harmony capability)
Apple Mac Mini computer with Logic Pro X and Mainstage
TEControl USB Breath Controller (for saxophone simulation)
Alesis Vortex MIDI Keytar

I was heavily into MIDI a while back (sequencing, composing, programming, sampling, re-creating) and had streamlined my gear. I went from using a huge rack full of synths, samplers, and various sound modules to using two keyboards and a set of MIDI bass pedals, which was a lot less equipment to move. I was able to get pretty good results with sounds coming from the Roland Fantom X7, alone.

In the years since, my setup has once again increased in size, allowing me to perform songs consisting of more complex arrangements. The upside is that I can do some new, "cool" songs. The downside is that it's a lot of equipment to lug around and can take up to an hour for me to plug everything in (and make sure it all works properly...LOL).

I embrace all aspects of technology. I have no issues with sequencing, sampling, programming, tweaking, etc. If you're familiar with the following terms, then we're speaking the same language...

Portamento, tessitura, glissando, arpeggios, aftertouch, vocoders, LFO, compression, modulation, crossfading, morphing, notch filters, Q, ADSR, subtractive synthesis, FM synthesis, romplers, time stretching, zero cross points, slicing, normalizing, track merging, groove quantizing, humanizing, parallel 5ths, sforzando, 2nd inversion, pedal tones, passing tones, tritones, melismas, 6-stroke rolls, flamadiddles, pangs, chinas, agogos, triggering, 7/8 time, Cmaj9, legato, walking bass, harmonics, sub bass, TR-808, anacrusis (extra credit...lol).

If you're not familiar with the above terms, it's cool. If you are, it's cool, too. I'm a SUPER-EASYGOING GUY...with definitely no ego issues. I think everyone has something to offer, even those with "average" musical chops (such as me).

If I didn't already have a career, I think I would have made a halfway decent music producer. ;-)

MUSIC