7 Things about Me!

Well folks, I've been tagged by Emily Wright - http://starkravingcello.blogspot.com/ - for 7 things about me, so here goes

1. I started the cello in my junior year of high school when I was 16. I had the privilege of working with the orchestra teacher (a phenomenal cellist named Fred Ostrofsky) every day & I played about 6 hrs. a day once I got into it ... man I miss those days... before that I jumped around on any of the following: keyboard, electric guitar/bass guitar, trumpet, pan flute, ocarina, flute... anything I could get my hands on... I would really love to try out an oboe someday


2. My experiences with guitar still sick with me a lot!! I'm actually something of an anomaly I think... my main musical inspiration is & always has been heavy metal. Metallica's self-titled was my first cd that I bought & from there, add in some Iron Maiden & Pantera, then some of the more progressive bands (Queensryche, Dream Theater & more) and you've got about half of my musical foundation (oh yeah, can't forget Manowar & Nightwish!). To this day, I'm way more enthusiastic about metal & its derivatives than I am about classical & to that end, I'm working on learning metallica songs on cello. One of my larger artistic goals is being in a band & really pushing the heavy metal cello thing (check out Apocalyptica & Break of Reality)... we'll see what comes of that...

3. I really need a planner!! Because... I take on too much all the time & everything gets very chaotic, and while that's often very fun, it doesn't work very well when it comes to professional obligations & school work and grades and stuff...

4. I like to draw & write poetry/song lyrics (though never any songs... I must change this in the future..). I'm also really into anime & think it's a much better medium than live action film.

5. I'm constantly seeking new ideas & ways to push/inspire myself. Right now, musically, that's Cliff Burton & improvising & modes ... also, jamming with friends as much as possible (including a friend who plays a Duduk - an armenian double reeded clarinet type thing that sounds more like a sax. & less like a clarinet) ... you learn so much just from being around others and hearing all the cool shit they do!


6. I like depression (to an extent) ... I mean, it always sucks to go through it, but I feel like it helps me see life so much more clearly ... it reminds me that I'm alive & it really makes me appreciate all the times where I'm happy & inspired & even the times where I'm not... plus I've just always learned so much from it... my first experiences with depression started at the end of middle school & particularly in my first 2 years of high school... I'm lucky I never saw a therapist or any of that crap, they probably would have tried to put me on pills, fuck that! I also like depression b/c it's related to creativity for me (which is cool afterwards when I get these giant bursts of energy & inspiration ... it's also kind of a scary thought...)

7. When I was young, I wanted to be Mark Hamill... well Luke Skywalker more accurately! Star Wars Trilogy is damn awesome... only thing that compares to it (movie-wise) is the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Edit: Whoops! Forgot to tag people... I tage Eric Edberg (http://ericedberg.blogspot.com/), and Terry (http://folkcello.blogspot.com/)

Thanks to Emily for the Tag!