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Prior artistic
experiences that have informed my vision have to begin with the Dangerous
Grapes, a band that was put together in the winter of 1983, at the
University of Vermont. Its members were myself on guitar, Mike Gordon
on bass, John Fishman on drums, and Richard Van Buren on guitar. The
band dissolved upon my leaving UVM in the summer of 1984.
In the fall of 1985, I began
to study Theatre Arts, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. During
my 4 years at UNLV, my acting, directing, and playwriting chops were
developed, and continue to serve me in virtually every aspect of life and
music. Beginning in 1988, I began putting on solo performances in the
Little Theatre and the Black Box Theatre, on the UNLV campus. These
led to local coffee house performances, which led to a series of bands, all
of which consciously avoided playing in any “lounges” or other pits of
despair, playing instead in other strange and twisted venues littered in and
around Las Vegas. After nine years in the desert glare, with a head
full of learning, I plotted my escape, and in 1994, made the move to Lyons,
Colorado.
Joshua 3 had its inception in
1996, in Boulder, Colorado. Some players who contributed their talents
in the early years were such friends as Edwin Hurwitz, Dave Watts, Clay
Bielman, Jimmy Yozel, and Paul Valentine, to name a few. But the
players who have remained since the beginning, and who are now its core
members, are bassist Kurt Reber, and drummer Andy Sweetser. The
interplay between all of us is constant, and energizing. For me as a
soloist, the fundamental bridge between the music and myself is this rhythm
section. With Andy, every note I play, he answers, and with every
answer, I comment, and he furthers, etc., etc. The highly melodic
feedback I get from his playing is rare indeed, and endlessly exciting in an
improvisational setting. In Kurt’s bass playing, I believe I have a
perfect foil, where solos intertwine effortlessly, and where a common
vocabulary, developed over 12 years of performing together, creates a
dialogue that continues to thrive, expand, and mutate in a wonderful and
inspiring manner.
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