Background

On Friday 1995, 5 P.M, during Fall...

Given the walk-through depicted below, I’m not going to go into any architecture evocation...This place is very special  for me as it played on a special day an important role in my musical evolution....
   
Then, let me tell you the whole story from beginning...

On this special day, I was hanging out on the streets of Riez (small town in Provence - France). For some reasons I can’t remember, I had to get through this walk-through to go to a nearby parking lot . Suddenly, I had a very strange feeling when entering this arcade...Something was telling me that I must learn to play the guitar! This was  a really strong feeling I couldn’t ignore...This happened on Friday 1995, 5 P.M during Fall...
   
Then, a couple of days later I decided to buy a nylon guitar and went to the local music school to get some basic teaching.
   
At that time, I  wasn’t really into any guitar-oriented music. I enjoyed techno music, rap and other style of music that major radio stations aired...When getting to college, things were about to change radically on the musical side...

...and then, a huge shock !!!

The early days means College days...I remember very well that I had a young dude as an acquaintance.This boy was really special as he was ( he’s still ?) a tough guy...He would bring a chainsaw to establish his own authority over all college boys and girls...Very tough, but funny,though...        

He would also wear a blue Denim jacket with his favourite band name written on it.I could see large band names such as Motorhead and the likes written with a black marker..I noticed on this jacket a kind of monster drawn with “Piece of mind” written below it....This was the way I got to know Iron Maiden...   

A couple of months later, my aunt rang me up to  ask what kind of present I’d like to have for my coming birthday (October 13th)...I told her: “I wanna 2 Iron Maiden CD’s. And nothin’ else!”.
   

Then the CD’s I received on the mail from her were : “Live after death” and “Fear of the dark”. Oh my god !!! the two CD covers rips !!! I rushed back home to listen to these CD’s. Playing “Live after death” first on my crappy cd player....   

...and then , a huge shock !!! I could hear the audience screaming as the show was imminent...and the heavy machinery Iron maiden hit the stage to perform “Aces high”. It  was the song that changed it all in my life...I wanna be a guitar player in some would-be famous band for the entire rest of my life !!! Period !!! This was also the time, I discarded all music that commercial  radio stations aired...
   
...Listening to Iron Maiden was just the beginning of a new musical adventure. I was about to widen out my scope of music listening to other “guitar-oriented” bands : Megadeth, Metallica and the like...I wondered frequently whether instrumental music could exist? Questionning myself was the key to another musical direction...     

A single note that changed it all... 

I remember very well the way I  went into instrumenal music...I spent the winter holidays with my brother in Megeve (France, Savoy). We rented a comfortable with a guy  who was really into instrumental music. He let me listen to all CD’s an tapes he had brought in there.
    
I bought “Flying in a blue dream” and “Passion and Warfare” albums to broaden my knowledge of instrumental music....

I listened to “Flying in a blue dream” over and over on a tape player...This was my very experience of instrumenatl music...I couldn’t  imagine all these fast legato phrases, theses modal melodies and harmonies were possible on the guitar !!! This is for sure another level of guitar playing...   

I only knew Steve Vai from his name on various music magazine...He really puzzled me: ”Who is this guy?”The first  track I listened to  wasn’t obviously the first one on the track list. I opted for  the song # 5 called “ The riddle” instead. I hit Play on my CD player...Relaxed myself listening to the guitar melody progressing along the first  notes of the song until a short silence...
    
....And then...a single note that changed it all... This is a very fast slide down the B string on bar 3...(from F# 19th fret to one octave down) Mindblowing !!!  Huge !!!  I was speechless !!! I played the song over and over to fully enjoy this short passage. Some people may be puzzled that only a  single note can impress me this much..

But this was the way I went into instrumental music and discover more about this style of music.

Dream Theater : a  new milestone in my musical evolution...

I bought in a local supermarket “Awake”. This was my very first Dream Theater album. To tell you the truth and nothing but the truth, when I got back home, I put this CD on a shelf in my room and forgot it for a couple of months !!! (Shame on me !!! Fry deep down in hell Julien!!!)
    

One day, I decided to find something to do(I may be getting bored) and found  the “forgotten album” I put on my shelf months ago...At that time, I didn’t remember at all I had bought this album. At first, DT music didn’t impress me much...Maybe their music is too much complex in terms of  song structuration, melodies, drum rhythms,...
    
However, I progressively appreciate their music through countless hours of intense listening. I discovered another dimension that has gained  this band a growing popularity worldwide
    
Later on, I went to the same supermarket where I had a shelf a CD with a strange cover : Liquid Tension Experiement 1&2 (LTE).
Both albums are...huge, over-wrought, but they are the definitive inspiration source for writing instrumental songs. Even though, I don’t play drums, Mike Portnoy style do have a strong impact while I write drums tracks...   

What about now? I’m  into Planet X and anything Planet X. This band goes far beyond borders, cultivating a style of their own: no compromise in harmony, rhythms...This a new source of musical discoveries...   

I’m always on the quest for new bands, for new artist to broaden my knowledge of music...However, I will never forget all these great musicians I’ve discovered so far...