Starkey1770 + Musician in Alma, MI

SEEKING

ABOUT

My name is David, conservatory trained classical musicain. I'm looking for other dedicated instrumentalists or singers with like ambitions to get together with and jam. I like the standard repetoire. I have seen myself as a composer, in todays vocabulary, I'm not sure, but I think they call composers, producers or even maybe the R&B diehards might call us beatmakers. The latter would take some getting use to. Currently I'm back in Michigan until something draws me away. I am semi-professional at this time in my journy, as my career at this point is not an all consuming endeaver. However, I've never ben opposed to that, and would welcome any financial gain. Having said that, money is nice, even needed but it is not a very motivating factor to me. The pure happiness I get from the playing, singing and creating has been the biggest incentive. It would greatly benefit both I, and another with highly atuned financial savy. I am also interested in pottential recording opportunities, and do have some equiptment for that. I imagine there are some good links out there for a new type of sophisticated music when done live. Perhaps with dedication and a serious approach, we could capitalize on this currently unfulfilled niche. I am open to all possibilities and forms of the art that has made this particular site useful. I can travel quite easily as I have chosen to hold off on the family (spouse/cildren) portion of my life. Which, also makes me quite accesable for a rather laborious practice schedule. I have put in my share of studio hours, done a few band runs, given, what I consider no one person should be allowed,piano lessons(dont get me wrong, the piano has been the way in which I have always best been able to express myself in my prefered art form). But an idividual can only take "prelude on the c note", so many times. Finaly I put my composational expierence to work and came up with "Etude on the C key",hehe... If you see anything on my profile that you feel you could put to use on a symbiotic level, please, contact me and lets create the next evolution in the story of music so that in two centuries from now our sound will have its own box to be checked while filling out a bandmix profile.

Screen name:

Starkey1770

Member since:

Apr 12 2010

Active over 1 month ago

Level of commitment:

Very Committed

Years playing music:

30

Gigs played:

10 to 50

Tend to practice:

More than 3 times per week

Available to gig:

6-7 nights a week

Most available:

Mornings

Influences

I love all of the great masters. Ive been composing from about ten years old. Studied under many teachers. Conservetory trained with Juliard graduate/instructor, former principal flutist with the Detroit Symphony Polly Lloyde. As a youth spent way to much time practicing and composing that I acquired a pretty dumb bias towards most contemporary artist. However there where exceptions, Anita Baker(very classical in nature), James Galway, Kenny G, John Williams, Danny Elfman, and a few others that were not that mainstream. When I turned 17, got a girl, got an old Fire Bird (not exactly in that order) "Creadence Clearwater Revival" was the first CD purchased that went into the player that took me almost two days to install. When hearing them, a sureal fealing came over me and I was instantly drawn into what seemed to be an unexplored foreign land, that was missing something, and it felt real that I should be a part of introducing what ever could have been called that "something" that was missing. Of course I kept this to myself at the time. In recent years Ive learned, that if one speaks of their dreams, goals, aspirations outwardly thise words become reality, even in the most basic sense, spoken words are sound, sound can bounce off mountains, and in my book that makes sound pretty real. So if the spoken word is thought expressed through sound, and sound is real, then it can only be said that our words become real physical objects in their own right after we speak(or sing,pray out loud,chant, or even laugh or cry. Sorry went off on a tagent, so back to my influances. Anything I have ever listened to, that could be called music has influenced my own personal style or taste. These days I've learned to keep my mind and my ears open. I am always adapting, evolving and growing as an artist, to put it mildly, the only music I've ever had a distaste for was anything that didn't offer either emotional appeasement, or could have some sort of cognitive or sophisticated value. I'll leave out any specifics{thats the mild part). I truly do feel that Queen with front man Fredy Mercury did a great job of using classical elements in there music, After all wasn't Fredy trained in classcal piano while growing up over there in Britain? (thats a real question cuz its only a guess on my part based solely on listening to his sometimes very elaborate piano solos. There were so many great groups in those pre MTV days. I think because of Metalicas (another influence of mine) revolutionary appoach to song making, they did not fade away with that dying age, like so many others, in fact it seemed as if they turned the music world upside down. I see a new trend in the last few decades of cookie cutter shallow comercialism, cleverly disguised with ingenuine political correctness that caters to two of our most fundamental human emotions-empathy and guilt. Remember also that music has no life span. Music is and forever will be growing, changing, adding new branches, yet it is always a product of what came directly before it. An example being ragtime having an influence in Boogie Woogie, and B/W in turn greatly influencing early rock, and any one could draw the branch of influence right to them. In my experience music is an entity all in itself that was born unimaginable centuries ago, probably more like unimaginable millenia ago. That encompasses any form of meaningful sound that has ever been made. Meaningful to he/or she that is making that sound is the only reqirement needed for that sound to be music. If one knew the players along the vast length of time it would be possibe to see the evolution first-hand. Modern history only lends insights to the last 20 or so centuries. The laws of harmonics and sound were articulated durring the time of the great Roman scholars and teachers. The only thing they contributed in their day was "Why" certain sounds were pleasing to the ear and why some were found to be dissonent. They surely had fine sounding music, we'll never know though because musical notation wouldn't be invented until about 1500 years after these so called "great teachers". Until the early 12th century music wasnt considered one of the pious arts so not much was known about the artist of that day. Its interesting to note that Vivaldi eventually evolved into our next Americam Idol. The good news is that it is constantly ever changing and will eventually change into something else. It was seeded somewhere long ago inside of me(did I realy just say that?) that I would somehow have a part in that story. If you have also experienced these feelings(and you know who you are). Maybe we should heed our calling. We've been waiting for our time and the time is now. If this is you or your group wanting to take the gifts of our modern musical age and try to do it our way, (not their way ever, I try not to immitate)then give me a shout. Again my name is David, send any emails of interest to my yhoo account the screen name is starkey1770, also you may try calling my cell the # is (989)854-1561, I'll be waiting to hear from you.

Instrument experience:

Flute:

Expert

Piano:

Expert

Rhythm Guitar:

Advanced

Vocalist - Baritone:

Advanced

Vocalist - Bass:

Advanced

Vocalist:

Advanced

Other:

Advanced

Background Singer:

Advanced

Keyboard:

Advanced

Other Percussion:

Advanced

Bass Guitar:

Advanced

Acoustic Guitar:

Advanced

Lead Guitar:

Moderate

Violin:

Intermediate

EQUIPMENT

I dont get into branding or buying in to the music "Franchise" of the recent decades, so I'll be leaving that info out. Classical, Acoustic, Electric guitars, Touch sensitive Keyboard, Flute,Oboe,Clarinet,violin,wooden boroque flute, amps, etc.