MP3 Scott Monahan - Songs From Califa

Great, honest songs sung by an artist who's guitar & piano based music hits home with a cool irony.

9 MP3 Songs in this album (35:42) !
Related styles: POP: California Pop, ROCK: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock

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Details:
GOING CALIFORNIA, GETTING TO CALIFA

These days, singer/songwriters come along like cars off of an assembly line. Wait a secondâgiven the state of things in Detroit, that may not be a great analogy. The point being that there is a speed and sameness about a lot of the people trying to create music that leaves the avid music-lover wanting for songs that have a little more substance to them. Things like melodies that seduce the ear, lyrics that actually mean something, and that unmistakable but hard-to-define element known as âcraft.â But it takes a craftsman to infuse a song with that gift.

Thatâs where Scott Monahan comes in.

Scott is cut from a cloth you canât buy anymore. He arrived in California in1980 with $400, a Fender Rhodes, and a dream. The dream propelled him to become a member of the budding music scene along with other kindred souls from bands as diverse as Jackson Browneâs, Fleetwood Mac, and Walter Egan of âMagnet and Steelâ fame.

Those were heady times when being in a band provided introductions to people who would change your life forever. It was during those exciting and promising times that Scottâs experiment in going California took a very literal turn when he met Randy California of Spirit and Jimi Hendrix fame. What began with Scott contributing keyboards, vocals, and guitar work on Randyâs solo project in London resulted in Scott joining Randy in the seminal California band of its time, Spirit.

Scottâs run with that magical band ended with Randy's tragic death in 1997. It was then that Scott was reacquainted with the age-old maxim that every loss brings a gain. So though Scott lost Spirit, the band, he never lost the spirit that burned within him to create music. It was that energy that fueled Scottâs entry into the world of scoring music for film and television.

Placing a song in the feature film The Eye of the Storm connected him with a composer who engaged Scott as a co-contributor on hundreds of projects over the next decade. And though the quality of his work qualified for Emmy recognition, Scott started to feel something was missing.

That âsomethingâ was writing music inspired by his muse, not the needs of a script. And the result is the CD Songs from Califa.

Scott brought in just the right musicians to help realize his vision: Electric guitarist Zeke Zirngiebel and pedal steel guitarist Dave Pearlman. Both players have an impressive resume and the feel these songs called for. He enlisted multiple Emmy-award winning singer/songwriter Janis Liebhart to provide background vocals, while tapping into her deep reservoirs of insight to assist with lyrics and production and mixes. And when he needed a unique sound to finish the track You Got Lazy, Scott snagged Danny Jacob to contribute the funky licks that became his calling card while playing with George Michael and Tower of Power, and Land Richards, whoâs played with just about every top chart maker in recent history, on drums.

Everything else you hear on this CD comes from Scott: keyboards, acoustic guitar, and most of all, his voice. Itâs what makes Songs from Califa what it is--a way to get back to music that means something. âCalifaâ is the street Scott lives on, his home. When you hear this CD, may it provide you with something special, tooâyour own way home.

Michael Raysses