Soulful vocalist influenced by life experiences and classic rock of the 70's and 80's.

11 MP3 Songs
ROCK: 70's Rock, ROCK: 80's Rock



Details:
I was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. I grew up in a middle class family. My dad worked for the US Postal Service in Boston, and Mom was a housewife. I had a pretty average childhood, I did well in school. Looking back I wish I took advantage of the arts programs that the school offered.

I have always been into music, and began writing some of the songs on this disc when I was a teenager. Following Dreams was started way back when I was 18, and I just completed the song this year, after finding the original cassette recording My first memories of hearing recorded music would be visiting my grandmother. She would play Engelbert Humperdink and Elvis music. I grew fond of vocalists that had a strong presence. I remember hearing Gambler by Kenny Rogers, and I believe that started my love of country music. It was different, with songs that told stories of everyday life. My favorite country singer was, and still is, Ronnie Milsap. His strong vocal approach reached audiences beyond country music.

As I mentioned earlier, the first recordings I heard were those of Elvis and Engelbert. While at home or in the car, my mom had the radio tuned to music such as Glen Miller, and the big band sound. My dad was into instrumentals and classical music. He didnât care much for rock. But an interesting event took place one night. My dad was searching for something for us to watch on television back in 1974. He came across the airing of California Jam. The show was already in progress and at a point where a young David Coverdale was getting ready to sing Mistreated. My dad took notice of Ritchie Blackmore, or else Iâm sure he would have changed the channel. When David started to sing the first lines of âMistreatedâ, much to my surprise, my dad exclaimed âthat guy can singâ. From my perspective, I was blown away. I had never heard this approach before. I hadnât heard anything like blues music, but I was immediately impressed. Unfortunately, it would be many years before I would hear anything from David. But I would never forget that performance.

Moving along, I was still enjoying country music and getting into stuff from Alabama. Now we are in the early 1980âs and a movie would change the direction of my musical journey. It was Rocky III, and the song was âEye of The Tigerâ by a Chicago band called Survivor. At this point I was buying my own records and went out and bought the cassette of Eye of The Tiger. Every song was alive with guitar playing like I never heard before. I started to listen to rock stations and hearing bands like The Who, Styx, Boston, Journey, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Lynn Turner and my favorite Bad Company. Paul Rodgers would soon become one of my most favorite vocalists. About a week after buying Eye of The Tiger, I went back to the same store and found a cassette of a band called Whitesnake. It was called Snakebite. When I got to the counter the clerk said I had great taste in music, saying he wished there was more stuff available from David Coverdale. I remember rushing home thinking could this be the same Coverdale I heard way back in 1974? Indeed it was, and what a great find considering most people consider Slide It In to be their first CD.

It wasnât until I graduated that I started writing. I would sit down with a cheap recorder and just sing what ever came into mind. Sometimes I would end up with great material, sometimes not. My early writing was based on influences by one of the most underrated bands, in my opinion, Night Ranger. Thereâs just something about a band with two lead guitarists. The same with Whitesnake, their double leads with Tommy Aldridge on drums, produced an awesome sound. Then there was David Coverdale. He personified what I thought a frontman for a band should be. In the next few years I would amass a huge collection of any and all things Whitesnake or Deep Purple related. Content and delivery are very important in a song, and I strive to write songs based around that principal. I enjoy listening to songs that have something to say and a singer that knows how to say it. Hopefully this comes across in my performance.

In 1992 I got married to my wife, of now 15 years. I started writing again. I wrote Bless This Day and performed it originally for my wife at our wedding. I really got in touch with my musical side after September 11th,2001. The very next day I had to sit down and express what I was feeling. Iâve always been attracted to songs that tell a story. I felt especially close to the events as two of those airplanes originated from Boston. Soon after I wrote âAmerica Keep The Light Shiningâ, I would continue to write songs. Some were based on my experiences, some just based on observing my surroundings.

In 2005, I went into a recording studio with my lyrics and melodies, and much to my delight, I started the process of turning my melodies and lyrics into musical pieces. Iâve been very fortunate to work with some of the most incredible musicians, each of which are in pretty incredible local bands. I donât have a band at the moment, but if I was to set one up tomorrow, I would want every one of them in my band. They set the bar very high. I hope those of you who check out my music feel the same way. They bought a lot of passion to their performance, and provided me with a lot of inspiration. The high point was getting to record with my nephew, Jared Pietrella. A few years earlier, he came to me with a guitar track he had written. I listen to it a few times and one night was inspired enough to get up at 4 am to write lyrics to what would become FireStorm This whole CD has been a great journey for me, connecting with my emotions and making incredible friendships.

In closing and with thoughts of the future, I have no definite plans. However, I would jump at the chance to perform live. I think recording is just a part of the journey. To make the music come alive, you need to set it in front of an audience. Currently I am entertaining at rehab and nursing facilities, where I enjoy performing 2 types of shows. One based around a variety of different musicians, and the other is a tribute to Elvis.

One thing that is definite; I do have material for another CD., and continue to write new material and have taken to learning to play bass guitar. I look forward to this new journey and where it may lead.

Thank you so much for your support

Shakkar