AZ, here we come! Pub Rock Live 7/11 & Stray Cat Bar 7/13. Let's do this!!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
2013 Sturgis Tour Update
2013 Sturgis Tour Update
AZ, here we come! Pub Rock Live 7/11 & Stray Cat Bar 7/13. Let's do this!!
AZ, here we come! Pub Rock Live 7/11 & Stray Cat Bar 7/13. Let's do this!!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Fantazzmo Timeline
Fantazzmo Timeline
In 2007, puchased a computer, right after Thanksgiving. In December, I purchaed ProTools.
In 2008, I came up with the concept for Fantazzmo. It began in 2007 with El Checo, then El Fantazzmo and finally became Fantazzmo. I wanted a Marquee name, I loved the way Van Halen sounded, I also like the letter Z a lot. I was thinking Fandango, which was ZZ Top's third album, but I did not want people to confuse the band with a movie listing service of the same name. From those ideas, came Fantazzmo. Once I came up with that name, I was beyond satisfied. I was so happy that I came up with something so original, then I performed a google search of the name and it seems there is a candy manufacturer using the same name. I thought, oh well, at least they are not music or entertainment oriented...the name is Mine!
On May 5, 2009, I reunited with Kinski & Rodax, my old bandmates from Anima, (1994-1999),which later became Idle, then Monte Negro and now Gallo. A few weeks later, Kinski introduced me to Tone, who produced the first 3 Monte Negro records. Then in a month later, I was in the studio with Tone recording the first 8 tracks for "Enter the Fantazz." In December 2009, we were back in the studio recording the last 4 songs to complete the full length album: "Souls On Ice," "I Want Somethng," "What You Doin To Me," and "Always Somthing."
We finished mixing and mastering in June 2010. Then came three photo sessions; the first with Kinski, where the cover for the album was shot in the alleys of the Larchmont District in Los Angeles; a photoshoot with my friend, Pat Rogers in Anaheim, CA; then a photo shoot by Kinski with Brazilian model, Nathalia Santoro.
In August 2010, two videos were shotat Stagg St. Studios in Van Nuys, CA. Which was also where both drum sessions were done for "Enter the Fantazz." We shot videos for "Superman," and "I Know You're Mine" with Kinski directing the videos.
In August 2010, I also started to put together a live band. I first met bassist Allen Mehlhaff. In early 2009, before I reconnected with my Anima bandmates, I tried to find a drummer, my original thoughts were to put the beand together first, then go into the studio to cut an album. Over a two day period, I auditioned eight drummers and became very frustrated when that effort resulted in zero.
So back to August 2010, I put an ad on the internet for a bassist, and Allen Mehlhaff appeared. Fortunately, when we were setting up drummer auditions, he recommended Matt Lesser, who was by far the best drummer I had heard in a really long time. At the same session, only one guitarist qualified to audition and that was when Steve crane came aboard as well. This cast of characters became the Fantazzmo lineup through April 2012.
In Oct. 2010, with very little promotion, we quietly released, "Fantazzmo I: Enter the Fantazz" on my birthday, October 14, 2010. As you can tell by the name of the CD, I am a big Bruce Lee fan.
The band started rehearsals in September 2010. In Mid November, a few of the guys left the state for the holidays.
In December 2010, the video for "Superman" was released. It has a good number of views to date. A guy that does work for Pixar helped with some of the graphics as side income. He thought I was on a major label because of the quality of the recording and went all out in his efforts; then, When he showed us the bill...we almost died. He had worked on a Kanye West video prioer to "Superman." We told him we are independent artists with absolutely no backing and fortunately he realized that some money was better than no money.
In January 2011, Tone and I teamed up to do an album of "Remixes," which I have been releasing one by one on Youtube and Soundcloud, but have not officially released for physical or digital sale.
Fantazzmo played its first show at Crazy Girls in Hollywood, CA on February 22, 2011. It was the perfect setting for us with songs like "Superman" and "Souls On Ice." My mistake was not capturing the show on audio or video; a problem that is still not fully rectified. We performed 24 more shows in 2011.
In January 2012, I was trying to plan Fantazzmo's next move. The 25 shows in 2011 were nice, but I needed to take it up a notch and turn Fantazzmo into a National touring Act. I was tring to figure out how we could perform in front of as many people as possible. We had played the first Annual "Taft Bike Fest," in Taft, CA, and had a great time. I thought, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is the biggest Motorcycle Rally in the USA and phoned and emailed every venue in Sturgis, SD; Peter Gold, owner of One Eyed Jack's Saloon was the only person that responded. Pete and I then proceeded to plan what became the Sturgis tour 2012. Fantazzmo played 81 sets of music during an 18 straight day period. We were fucking workhorses! Fantazzmo had an alternate lineup which consisted of four very dedicated, and disciplined professional musicians. Myself, Harley Duggan on bass, Cyamak Ashtiani on vocals and guitar, Ricardo Ramirez on drums and Slava working the board and as Tour Manager. These guys were a blessing, they are all amazing musicians and people, but Cyamak Ashtiani really is a phenomenal talent who not only is an AMAZING guitarist, but also a GREAT vocalist as well.
The response on our Tour was phenomenal. The Candle Club in Wichita, KS and Samuel Brewskies in Park City, KS were the highlights on the way up to Sturgis. Kansas fuckin ROCKS! We had a blast on Tour and met a lot of really kick ass people. We had a blast at Sturgis and recieved a really great response. We cannot wait to get back on the road for the next Tour and head right back to Wichita, Park City and Sturgis.
Here we are now in 2013. What is in store for Fantazzmo? We will be in the studio to record the follow up to our debut Cd and releasing a few videos... and of course we are doing the 2013 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Tour which will cover CA, NM, TX, CO, UT, NV, KS, SD and more....get ready, Fantazzmo is coming to a town near you!
Fantazzmo
www.Fantazzmo rocks.com
In 2007, puchased a computer, right after Thanksgiving. In December, I purchaed ProTools.
In 2008, I came up with the concept for Fantazzmo. It began in 2007 with El Checo, then El Fantazzmo and finally became Fantazzmo. I wanted a Marquee name, I loved the way Van Halen sounded, I also like the letter Z a lot. I was thinking Fandango, which was ZZ Top's third album, but I did not want people to confuse the band with a movie listing service of the same name. From those ideas, came Fantazzmo. Once I came up with that name, I was beyond satisfied. I was so happy that I came up with something so original, then I performed a google search of the name and it seems there is a candy manufacturer using the same name. I thought, oh well, at least they are not music or entertainment oriented...the name is Mine!
On May 5, 2009, I reunited with Kinski & Rodax, my old bandmates from Anima, (1994-1999),which later became Idle, then Monte Negro and now Gallo. A few weeks later, Kinski introduced me to Tone, who produced the first 3 Monte Negro records. Then in a month later, I was in the studio with Tone recording the first 8 tracks for "Enter the Fantazz." In December 2009, we were back in the studio recording the last 4 songs to complete the full length album: "Souls On Ice," "I Want Somethng," "What You Doin To Me," and "Always Somthing."
We finished mixing and mastering in June 2010. Then came three photo sessions; the first with Kinski, where the cover for the album was shot in the alleys of the Larchmont District in Los Angeles; a photoshoot with my friend, Pat Rogers in Anaheim, CA; then a photo shoot by Kinski with Brazilian model, Nathalia Santoro.
In August 2010, two videos were shotat Stagg St. Studios in Van Nuys, CA. Which was also where both drum sessions were done for "Enter the Fantazz." We shot videos for "Superman," and "I Know You're Mine" with Kinski directing the videos.
In August 2010, I also started to put together a live band. I first met bassist Allen Mehlhaff. In early 2009, before I reconnected with my Anima bandmates, I tried to find a drummer, my original thoughts were to put the beand together first, then go into the studio to cut an album. Over a two day period, I auditioned eight drummers and became very frustrated when that effort resulted in zero.
So back to August 2010, I put an ad on the internet for a bassist, and Allen Mehlhaff appeared. Fortunately, when we were setting up drummer auditions, he recommended Matt Lesser, who was by far the best drummer I had heard in a really long time. At the same session, only one guitarist qualified to audition and that was when Steve crane came aboard as well. This cast of characters became the Fantazzmo lineup through April 2012.
In Oct. 2010, with very little promotion, we quietly released, "Fantazzmo I: Enter the Fantazz" on my birthday, October 14, 2010. As you can tell by the name of the CD, I am a big Bruce Lee fan.
The band started rehearsals in September 2010. In Mid November, a few of the guys left the state for the holidays.
In December 2010, the video for "Superman" was released. It has a good number of views to date. A guy that does work for Pixar helped with some of the graphics as side income. He thought I was on a major label because of the quality of the recording and went all out in his efforts; then, When he showed us the bill...we almost died. He had worked on a Kanye West video prioer to "Superman." We told him we are independent artists with absolutely no backing and fortunately he realized that some money was better than no money.
In January 2011, Tone and I teamed up to do an album of "Remixes," which I have been releasing one by one on Youtube and Soundcloud, but have not officially released for physical or digital sale.
Fantazzmo played its first show at Crazy Girls in Hollywood, CA on February 22, 2011. It was the perfect setting for us with songs like "Superman" and "Souls On Ice." My mistake was not capturing the show on audio or video; a problem that is still not fully rectified. We performed 24 more shows in 2011.
In January 2012, I was trying to plan Fantazzmo's next move. The 25 shows in 2011 were nice, but I needed to take it up a notch and turn Fantazzmo into a National touring Act. I was tring to figure out how we could perform in front of as many people as possible. We had played the first Annual "Taft Bike Fest," in Taft, CA, and had a great time. I thought, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is the biggest Motorcycle Rally in the USA and phoned and emailed every venue in Sturgis, SD; Peter Gold, owner of One Eyed Jack's Saloon was the only person that responded. Pete and I then proceeded to plan what became the Sturgis tour 2012. Fantazzmo played 81 sets of music during an 18 straight day period. We were fucking workhorses! Fantazzmo had an alternate lineup which consisted of four very dedicated, and disciplined professional musicians. Myself, Harley Duggan on bass, Cyamak Ashtiani on vocals and guitar, Ricardo Ramirez on drums and Slava working the board and as Tour Manager. These guys were a blessing, they are all amazing musicians and people, but Cyamak Ashtiani really is a phenomenal talent who not only is an AMAZING guitarist, but also a GREAT vocalist as well.
The response on our Tour was phenomenal. The Candle Club in Wichita, KS and Samuel Brewskies in Park City, KS were the highlights on the way up to Sturgis. Kansas fuckin ROCKS! We had a blast on Tour and met a lot of really kick ass people. We had a blast at Sturgis and recieved a really great response. We cannot wait to get back on the road for the next Tour and head right back to Wichita, Park City and Sturgis.
Here we are now in 2013. What is in store for Fantazzmo? We will be in the studio to record the follow up to our debut Cd and releasing a few videos... and of course we are doing the 2013 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Tour which will cover CA, NM, TX, CO, UT, NV, KS, SD and more....get ready, Fantazzmo is coming to a town near you!
Fantazzmo
www.Fantazzmo rocks.com
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally 2013
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally 2013
Why do you like performing at Sturgis?
I love performing at Sturgis because it is a great opportunity to play in front of as many like minded people as possible. We love meeting and partying with people from all over and from all walks of life.
The Midwest Rocks & so we are prepared to go out there and go loco!
What do you like the most about Sturgis?
We love being able to meet and connect with all the great people we meet after Rocking out with them. love the fact that we get a chance to perform a lot....I mean a lot. We Play 5 sets a night during the pre Rally @ One Eyed Jack's Saloon; then we play 4 sets a night during the Rally.
Do you have that hectic schedule every day during the Rally?
In 2012 we did; we played 18 days straight on the last tour & our voices were blown out by Wed, so we were a few days short of finishing the Rally.
Will you attempt the same schedule as last year's tour or?
No, this year we will be taking Monday's off. We are going to play 6 days a week during this Summer's tour.
Why else do you like performing at Sturgis so much?
We like meeting people from all over that love Rock music, motorcycles, scantily clad females and know how to have a great time!
Where can people see you perform at Sturgis?
We will be performing at One Eyed Jack's Saloon just like we did in 2012.
Will there be any differences between the year and last year's performance?
Yes definitely, we will be playing some new tunes along with everyone's favorites, plus a few more original music; and of course a few surprises.
www.FantazzmoRocks.com
Sunday, March 10, 2013
2012 Sturgis Tour Highlight Video
Here are some highlights of our 2012 Sturgis Tour as we prepare for this summer's 2013 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Tour.
http://youtu.be/ixu3CXwzJ_w
Who is Fantazzmo?
Fantazzmo is a high powered high energy Rock Band from Los Angeles, CA.
How would you describe Fantazzmo's sound?
I would describe our sound as a variety of music from energetic party music to introspective and autobiographical bodies of work. We have a lot of variety on the first release, "Fantazzmo I: Enter the Fantazz." I wanted that variety there as an introduction to what the listener can expect in the future. Although we have a lot of variety on the record, when it comes to playing live, you have all that energy flowing and I am much happier playing the heavy stuff.
What are Fantazzmo's songs about?
Sex, love, relationships, also a little role playing and fantasy, but our songs are mainly autobiographical. My goal is to connect with people through music and capture the evolution of my songwriting and progression through this journey of life. Yes we have titles like "Superman" and "She Really Likes It," which are sexually charged, but we also have "I Know You're Mine," "Drown Your Lies," "What You Doin To Me" and which are about relationships I have been in and the feelings and thoughts I had during some difficult moments.
Where can Fantazzmo be seen performing live?
We will be back on the road this summer for our 2013 Sturgis Tour which will begin here in Los Angeles, CA then proceed through AZ, NM, TX, CO, KS, SD and a few more states. The final Tour dates should be announced by June 2013.
How would you describe Fantazzmo's debut CD, "Fantazzmo I: Enter the Fantazz."
I would describe the first CD as a beginning point. It is a roller coaster ride of emotions and sounds. You can adjust the track list for a party or some relaxing down time. The sound is pretty basic with not too much production and some of the song topics are straight from the hip. I want Fantazzmo's sound, subject matter and songwriting to progress and show a progression from adolescence to adulthood. The Beatles started off wanting to hold your hand and evolved to Yesterday and Let it Be, then came A Day In The Life and In The End. There was an evolution in their sound & songwriting which reflected where they were and how they were growing as individuals in their lives. I want Fantazzmo's body of work to reflect the same thing.
What can we expect when we see Fantazzmo live?
You can expect a loud, energetic, balls to the wall Rock band. We let it all hang out live and give it our all. You will not hear too many mellow tunes, because when we get up there all I want to do is Kick Ass and play bad ass tunes. Come check us out and be ready to move, scream, jump, dance, sing or whatever you feel like doing as long as you're having a Fantazztic time!
www.FantazzmoRocks.com
Friday, March 8, 2013
Here I am planning out the year for Fantazzmo. It is March now, so let's say I am enacting and following through with the plan. This Saturday 3/9/13, I will get together with Matt Lesser & record drum tracks for 3 songs, thus beginning the demo process for this year's recording sessions.
I have already started booking the 2013 Sturgis Tour and will keep doing so until June. I will also start working on solidifying the lineup.
The plan for 2013 is simple:
RECORD NEW MATERIAL
TOUR
Stay tuned....
Fantazzmo
www.FantazzmoRocks.com
I have already started booking the 2013 Sturgis Tour and will keep doing so until June. I will also start working on solidifying the lineup.
The plan for 2013 is simple:
RECORD NEW MATERIAL
TOUR
Stay tuned....
Fantazzmo
www.FantazzmoRocks.com
Dreams
Dreams
When is it ok to give up on your dreams? Who is the person authorized to give you such a task? Who is a credible source of advice?
Should I give up my dreams and go through life wondering what if? Should I live a life of regret? Should I engulf myself in work that is not satisfying for the rest of my life in the name of stability, family, children, the mortgage and bills?
Yes, I am 40 years old and still dreaming of having the ability to wake up every day and create music without worrying about money for food and shelter. Wait! Let me clarify that, I am 40 years old and working towards my goal of having the financial stability to afford the luxury of creating music all day. That sounds much better. You see, I am not building castles in the sky as a dreamer does, I am putting thought, effort, blood and sweat into my goals. This is a work in progress.
The definition of success is the accomplishment of aim or purpose, in that case I am a success at several tasks along my journey. I wrote several songs, I released a full length cd, I put a band together and have toured the country. My ultimate goal will not be a singular success, nor the final success, but there will be a defining moment where I will be financially at ease and all my artistic goals will be aimed towards creating more satisfying music.
By giving up on your dreams, you are giving up on your purpose in life, I refuse to give up my true purpose.
Never give up on your dreams, your life's purpose.
Fantazzmo
www.FantazzmoRocks.com
When is it ok to give up on your dreams? Who is the person authorized to give you such a task? Who is a credible source of advice?
Should I give up my dreams and go through life wondering what if? Should I live a life of regret? Should I engulf myself in work that is not satisfying for the rest of my life in the name of stability, family, children, the mortgage and bills?
Yes, I am 40 years old and still dreaming of having the ability to wake up every day and create music without worrying about money for food and shelter. Wait! Let me clarify that, I am 40 years old and working towards my goal of having the financial stability to afford the luxury of creating music all day. That sounds much better. You see, I am not building castles in the sky as a dreamer does, I am putting thought, effort, blood and sweat into my goals. This is a work in progress.
The definition of success is the accomplishment of aim or purpose, in that case I am a success at several tasks along my journey. I wrote several songs, I released a full length cd, I put a band together and have toured the country. My ultimate goal will not be a singular success, nor the final success, but there will be a defining moment where I will be financially at ease and all my artistic goals will be aimed towards creating more satisfying music.
By giving up on your dreams, you are giving up on your purpose in life, I refuse to give up my true purpose.
Never give up on your dreams, your life's purpose.
Fantazzmo
www.FantazzmoRocks.com
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