Izzy's story

Well gosh lets see where do I begin. I Grew up in a very musical family, everyone in my family plays an instrument and sings. I Started listening to my older brothers records at about J.R High, The Beatles, Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin. I was immediately hooked!! I have loved rock and roll music ever since. In High School I really got into bands like Van Halen, Aerosmith, and Ozzy (Randy Rhodes what a amazing guitar player !!! ) Back then I focused solely on guitar playing and didn't really appreciate the craft of songwriting until about 7 years ago. And now that Im just a little older and mature ( kinda anyway ) I listen to stuff like Jellyfish, Coldplay, Sheryl Crow, Jack Johnson and my absolute favorite songwriter at the moment is Butch Walker, Man the guy can write hooks !!! I've been pretty much self taught, bought a guitar listened to the song to learn how to play it, got a mixer plugged it in turn the knobs and try to get a decent sound, got some drums and a keyboard then really started to hack it up !! Thank god for midi sequencing and a circle of extremely talented friends to lend a hand!! Listened to my favorite songwriters and try to emulate the way they paint pictures with their words and weave the melody just right to sit on top of the perfect arrangement, and although some of my songs may not be up to par to where I would like them to be or where others think they should be, All that really matters is that I enjoyed writing them. Even the shitty ones you will never hear, but little by little they keep getting a little better. You see songs are kind of like your own kids, sometimes they won't always do what you'd like, and not everyone can understand them like you do, but you love them unconditionally anyway, and if you keep nurturing them and have a little faith you'll see they will turn out just fine. I feel so lucky and fortunate to live in an age where the common man ( or woman ) can have a personal home studio that rivals the BIG dollar studios of 30 years ago, although there's alot to be said about working within the confines of limited resources. Queen's Night at the Opera was recorded on a 8 track recorder!!! Some of the Beatles best stuff on a 4 track recorder!! With all the editing done with glue and a razor blade!! Hard to imagine now isn't it. The things we take for granted I tell ya....