FEATURED MUSICIANS
Rich Smith, born April 10th, 1970, grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts, listening to and loving a variety of styles in music and started piano lessons at 5. He has studied with
Livingston Taylor, Bob Winter, Dennis Montgomery, III, Jon Aldrich, Pat Pattison, Paul Monte, John Mauceri, Jack Perricone, Henry Gaffney, Stephany Tiernan, Ernie Houle,and many others. All of his teachers were complimentary to his
natural giftedness, self-teaching, diligence, and very hard work.
Rich served four honorable years in the U.S. Air Force, which included one and a half years as keyboardist in the worldwide entertainment
group: "Tops in Blue." After the Air Force, he enrolled for two and a half years at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts for a Songwriting Diploma. In July, 1996, he moved to Los Angeles. Since then he has
been performing regularly in and around L.A.
Rich mostly performs his own music which he composes impromptu. Often, people come to him and ask what piece he was playing because it sounds so well-composed and
richly practiced. It's simply hard to believe that the music is created completely on the spur-of-the-moment. "I couldn't just walk past it, "said one spectator, Dina Smith of Santa Monica." It's too dramatic,
intelligent, incredible."
A Hollywood producer recognized Rich's talents in late '97 and arranged for him to meet John Mauceri, conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, early in 1998, whom Rich desired
as a mentor. Their meeting was filmed for the show "American Prodigies," which still has not aired. During the summer of '98, Maestro Mauceri and the manager of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Steve Linder, invited Rich to
be an assistant. From Rich's experiences during that summer at the Hollywood Bowl, Rich grew tremendously. Rich is now working on his new CD, "Simply Rich." He is also working on music for the film "Beyond
Beauty," by Shane Walker.
Alias Means
-- The words put into his mouth The world is full of musicians with good intentions and no mettle -- the crooked shirkers looking for a way out and the hormonally-imbalanced looking for a way back in -- misguided flash. Hollow and sad. A musician worthy of the tradition is a rare bird indeed. But that, my friends, is what you have here -- undiluted integrity, perhaps the last of a dying species. Ladies and gentleman... Alias Means.
Like the greats of a nearly bygone era, Alias doesn't fluff up his music to endear it instantly to the ear. Casual listeners might mistake his straightforward sound and unvarished voice as simple. But as
Woody Guthrie said, "You only need two chords to make a song -- use three and you're showing off." I caution you, don't be so quick to conclude that a simple sound makes a simple song. These songs stand the test of
repeated listenings: I oughtta know -- I commute three hours a day.
I first picked up his trail in the green pastures of the East Bay. He never talked much, but if you watched him for awhile you could figure
out all you needed to know (see the orphan scars of an LA child and the deceptively slow eyes of a high plains coyote). Nothing made him happier than tying firecrackers to the doorhandles of my van to wake me up in the morning.
He's kind of cruel that way, but for some people you take the bad with the good. In those days there were frisbees and footballs and boomerangs and pipes. And every once in awhile, between indoor archery showdowns or Sega
basketball bouts, Alias'd pick up the strat and play. Lately, the days haven't been so generous, and he clings to the guitar 24/7 like it's a liferaft.
He might be on the brink of madness, but we benefit by it
since his playing has never been better (I don't mean to sound callous -- maybe I got the firecracker wake-up one too many mornings). So enjoy. And if talent and perseverance count for anything, you'll be hearing a lot more from
this guy. Fear not -- we'll all be well-served. -- Theodore Goode, M.D.
Randy Losoya - Randy has been writing songs for ten years, although, he's been "into" music ever since he can remember, which is quite a feat at the ripe ol' age of 25. Though he writes a wide range of musical flavors, his favorite writing style is Country, of course, having been born and raised in Texas, it seems only proper. Randy cites Country songwriters, Dean Dillon and Stephen Allen Davis as musical influences, but not stopping there, other influences are everything from the Beatles to Van Halen to Dream Theater to Dave Grusin. After having left the Air Force, Randy now has a "real job" at a chemical plant outside of Alvin, Texas, where he lives with his wife, Krissi, and their two kids... err... Bonnie and Clyde -- both Beagles, explaining Randy's choice of artwork. But when Randy isn't with the wife and kids, he is pursing his musical career. sonci@aol.com
Clint Gilbert - a really groovy country western musician from Fredonia, Kansas. And a Merle Haggard fan to boot! Check out his single "Right By My Side" circulating across the Kansas airwaves. clintamy@terraworld.net
Joe Veal and the Cuttlettes - a cool, jammin' Los Angeles band.
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