| Over the
years, guitarist have always played and integral role as the "front
person" in music. Whether it's rock, blues, country or jazz the guitar
has always set the mood of a song.
Enter New York's own Rob
Balducci. At the age of 10, Rob got his first taste of music through his
sister, a musician herself, who influenced and taught her brother to
play acoustic guitar. Just three years later, Rob started to get
involved with putting together local garage bands. Being the youngest
member in his first group, Visions (his other friends being 18 and 19),
Rob started playing at clubs in his area; The Fields, Beggar's Opera,
the popular LaMour, and others.
About a year and several
bands later, it was in the latter part of the '80's that Rob answered an
ad in a local newspaper. A band by the name of Project X was looking for
a lead guitarist. Rob auditioned and was instantly made their "front
man."
Happy to be playing, but
tired of just being a local favorite, Rob decided it was time to become
more seriously involved with the recording side of music. With hardly
any money, but rich with integrity, he felt it was time to put his
gifted talent on wax.
He started entering guitar
contests and among the many he won, the most outstanding was his 1990
New York's Best Guitarist award sponsored by Guitar For The
Practicing Musician, D'Addario and Marshall.
Rob's talent and
perseverance finally paid off, giving him the opportunity to work with
such companies as D'Addario, Ibanez, DiMarzio, and Eventide, endorsing
their products.
Rob's style is unique. It's
a combination of hard rock, metal and blues. His indie demo has garnered
praise by critics as well. One writer stating, "Balducci possesses an
emotional feel that is rare in music...it's fascinating how well
Balducci is able to express himself through his music without using a
single word. His talent is well on the way to much broader horizons."
Another critic, commenting
on Rob's live show says, "Definitely one of the better, guitar-oriented
instrumental bands I've seen."
In 1994, Rob decided it was
time to get into the studio. With help of well-known producer/engineer,
Ben Fowler (Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Pat
Metheney and Little Steven), Rob entered New York's Power
Station studio and began working on his debut album, Balance
on Circumstantial Records. The lineup of musicians who felt strong
enough to be part of his first solo effort in itself shows the faith in
Rob's song-writing capability. Keyboardist, Jeff Bova (Meatloaf,
Michael McDonald, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood),
percussionist, Caf'e (David Byrne, Peter Gabriel)
and bassist Dan Miranda and drummer Keith Ciaramello.
Balance, is
ten melodic tracks full of energy and substance. "Waiting For The Son,"
was written for a close relative of Rob, whose life was cut short by
cancer. "The song was written in memory of my brother-in-law." Rob
explains. "I guess it can relate to anyone who has or is suffering from
a life-threatening disease; whatever their plight may be. It's that time
of coming to terms with the disease and preparing to face death. And
when the 'light' finally comes, the waiting is over and you meet with
the son--the son of God."
"The up-tempo track
'Masquerade' is about the different masks people wear in their every day
lives. One for the workplace, another for family and friends, and the
one we wear when we're alone. I feel if we tried more to be our true
selves--who we were meant to be, instead of what we think people want us
as, we'd be a lot happier within ourselves."
"All the
songs on this album have special meaning for me," Rob says. "Recording
and writing was like a catharsis for me. Anyone who listens will
interpret their own meanings to the melodies and hopefully find a time
within their life where the song(s) relates to them."
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