I had always been a fan of the Grunge scene in the early 90’s bands, like Soundgarden and Alice in Chains were a definite breath of fresh air. I was living in L.A. at the time and music was a very welcomed departure from the stagnated hair band genre that was so played out on the Sunset Strip. I can never forget the surreal imagery of Slash and Lemmy sitting in a booth at the Rainbow Bar & Grill gaming out to Pac Man or driving past Garzarri’s nightclub and seeing a bunch of guys with “Cousin Itt” long hair, dressed in motorcycle jackets lined up around the block. Cousin Itt from The Addams Family if you’d like know and it was all very strange for a kid who grew up on the Upper East Side of New York City.
Despite the comic relief of the surrounding area, the wind blew in these fantastic sounds of Seattle bands less concerned with their image and more concerned with their music. I always liked the rougher lower sounding vocals accompanied with raw guitar. So, when I released the album Vegas Blue: Brian Tarquin Project, I wanted to incorporate a song that captured those heavy tones. I composed and recorded the song “Demonic” with the help of Trey Gunn from King Crimson on bass and Reggie Pryor on drums. I performed all of the guitars and layered a wah guitar line with vocals. The album is in remembrance of the shooting victims at the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Hotel on October 1st, 2017. I am very pleased with the outcome that evokes pure raw energy, combatting the evil of that terrible day.
You can learn more about Trey Gunn here
About the Curator: Brian Tarquin
Multi Emmy Award winning Brian Tarquin is an established top rate composer/guitarist. He has won 3 Emmy's for “Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series” and has been nominated for an Emmy 6 times. In 2019 Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” Three years in a row (2016-2019) Tarquin received “Best Album of the Year” nominations from the Independent Music Awards for his releases: Guitars for Wounded Warriors, Orlando in Heaven, and Guitars for Veterans. On which, Tarquin shows his guitar prowess alongside such world-class shredders as: Steve Morse, Larry Coryell, Billy Sheehan, Bumblefoot (Guns N’ Roses), Reb Beach (Whitesnake), Chuck Loeb (FourPlay) to name a few. In 2006 SESAC honored him with the Network Television Performance Award. Tarquin has graced the Top Billboard Charts with such commercial releases as: This is Acid Jazz, Vol. 2, Sweet Emotions, and Bossa Brava: Caliente on Instinct Records, followed by several solo jazz albums, which charted Top 10 at Smooth Jazz Radio R&R and Gavin charts. Brian has appeared on 38 releases, selling over 140,000 records in his career.