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†I don't play or sing
much. Haven't picked up my classical guitar in
years. I am, as they say, only as good as the parts I play. I'm more
into the "composition" than into any particular performance.
My music
is, simply put, a wall of many layers consisting of MIDI, vocals, and
often guitar.
Despite the
overall
dark, cynical, and sometimes smart-alecky tone in the lyrics, it is
spiritual.
Although my ground is in rock, my formal musical education has been
primarily classical---4 years of
classical guitar, several years of music theory, sight-singing, piano,
choir, etc. I
started playing ("rock") guitar when I was in high school, then I began
studying music more formally at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn,
Illinois; then I
transferred to Illinois State University, where I
earned a minor in Music while earning my B.S. in Philosophy (and I do mean B.S.) While I was at ISU, I was
introduced to MIDI and multitrack recording, and my creative passion
began
to charge like it never had before. I was in awe at the
seemingly unlimited compositional
possibilities that came from such electronic devices, and I knew that
my ultimate musical dreams were within reach. In my last year I wound
up nearly a permanent fixture at Cook Hall (a beautiful monstrosity of
a
building---a miniature castle-like
structure, complete with the turrets and strange, cramped, dungeonlike
corridors in the basement---where music was taught and practiced.) I
booked myself every hour that I could in the MIDI studio there, putting
down all of the ideas that I had contemplated throughout the day, as
well
as impromptu ones. I wrote only instrumental music then, thinking I,
with my odd sound,
would get an easier start in the music business as a composer of
soundtrack music than by making it as a "rocker" (I have since grown to
mostly dislike the music business.)
I wrote some techno and rock stuff, and some orchestral stuff. Most of
what
I wrote
at the time was garbage, as I
tended not to develop ideas much; I was always more interested in
working on the next idea. At
that time, I, of course, thought most of it was great---but at the
time, I also was a great moron. I chalk it up as learning
experience.
Anyway, After I got
out of college, I acquired my own meager MIDI setup
and continued to spew out garbage at my friends. I did this for a
while, until I realized that I really needed to get a grip on
my art. This I did---I resolved to concentrate on developing songs more; what's more
(and more important), I decided to focus all my energy on my "ultimate
goal", and I started writing lyrics, and "singing" (I had spent a
couple of years in choir, so I wasn't entirely
unfamiliar with the practice.) I was glad to be centered on the music I
really wanted to write, to be able to simply write whatever I thought
was cool, and to express my deepest beliefs through my art. For a
time, I would not let anyone hear
my music; not until I, in an honest estimation, could feel truly
proud of it. Eventually, a good number of good songs were piled up, and
I decided it was time to select a few of them, polish them up, and
record them as my "debut"
CD--- Godforsaken.
All of
my
songs are essentially about the same thing. I am rather
obsessed about moral
decadence; in "the world", as well as my own moral condition---and the
propaganda of self-centeredness and shamelessness (which are so
corrosive to the spirit of love) vaunted by the entertainment industry,
which further helps to feed our
sin... I'm guilty of lust, anger, self-righteousness,
self-indulgence, self-absorption, irreverence...
Not that I wouldn't be guilty of the same sins
anyway, of course, and
there is a
lot of good coming from the entertainment industry as well---but that
"to hell with God" vibe seems to be present in so much entertainment,
and I think it is nourishing
to evil...
I guess I should say a few
things about my life outside of my music...
A bit of... "philosophy"...
I'll keep it short, to minimize your boredom---
Above all else, I am a spiritual person. This is my center, the thing
that drives my art. It
would be misleading to call my music "Christian", as its spirituality
is more generalized than that---but it would not be misleading to call
me a Christian. Love
is
more important than knowledge.
I believe
the truths of moral values are
primary and truths of material things are secondary---i.e. not only is
the
moral "truth" of the evil of Nazi Germany every bit as true as a
scientific
truth such as "2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom combine to form a
molecule of water"---The moral truth is the more important truth. And, you will
find no scientific evidence
that what the Nazis did was
wrong---you will not find rational
evidence either, by the way---it is a judgment that comes from good
human
"hearts"...
On a
lighter note...
My musical tastes have expanded considerably since high school. At the
time, I was primarily into "classic rock" and some of the heavier bands
of the day (such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest; I didn't care for
either "thrash" or "pop-metal" stuff), but when I started studying
"classical" music
at C.O.D., my mind opened---or I think, more accurately, my
pride fell---and all of a sudden, I found myself actively enjoying lots
of different
kinds of music, from Beethoven to Charles Ives to Duran-Duran to
Slayer. This is not to say I like everything; my tastes are kind of
"hit and
miss": I like Bjork, with her "techno-cute" sound. I like Leo Kottke
(mostly his solo guitar stuff.)
I like Lush. I like King Crimson. I like
Franz Liszt and Igor Stravinsky and Johann Sabastian Bach---and Philip
Glass. I even like the Carpenters, for cryin' out loud. I have
mixed
feelings about Nine Inch Nails; Trent Reznor's music is uncompromising
compositional genius, and its energy, its ferocity, is flooring... at the
same
time, I don't like his lyrics---which tend to annoy
me with their crude blasphemy (intelligent blasphemy I can handle.)
Some of my tried and true
"rock" favorites over the years include Rush,
Peter Gabriel, Suzanne Vega, Black Sabbath, and Emerson, Lake, and
Palmer (quite an eclectic bunch)---though to
be honest, I haven't listened to a lot of music at all in recent
years---I tend to be too
focused on my own music...and when I'm not working on it, I tend not to
listen because
I'm so burned out on music for the time being that the last thing I
would want to do is listen to more
music.
There are other things I like to do, when I can find time (and
inspiration). I occasionally like to write, mostly in the "horror"
genre---I
have written some short stories (some of which may appear on this site
in the future) and I have been working on a book(off and on---mostly
off.) I also like to tinker
around with computer art.
What else?
I am single. Sorry for the cliche, but... "I'm
married to
my music"---Ouch! But it's become kinda true, for the time being.
I used to read quite a bit when I was a kid, and again when I was at
college; but I haven't read many
books in recent years. My favorite work of fiction would be The Stand by Stephen King.
My favorite work of non-fiction would be the Bible, but to some, that is
questionable (or worse!) so I will mention The Abolition of Man by
C.S. Lewis---my favorite writer, incidentally.
I don't watch a lot of movies, but my favorite one (probably) is 1984 (the one with John
Hurt and Richard Burton---I understand other versions have been made of
this
Orwell classic). Some
other favorites of mine would include The Thing (John Carpenter's
1982 remake), the original Hellraiser,
Saving Private Ryan, Apollo 13,
and a little more recently, The
Passion of the Christ.
Jobs? I worked at a gas station with a repair shop for many years. I
then
worked several factory jobs, from metal-punching to manufacturing
rechargeable batteries. I currently solder for a living. (No,
unfortunately, I haven't reached the point where
I can support myself entirely with my music...I was hoping you could help me
with that.) I find I must think of my Philosophy degree as "personal
enrichment".
I can tell you that occasionally, I really enjoy playing video games;
and when that happens, I
can get almost obsessive. Some of my favorites over the years have been
the
Myst series and several games
by a company called Bungie---the
Marathon
trilogy, the Myth
series, and the Halo series. I
can also
tell you that I love to get out on my bike (bicycle, not
motorcycle.) I love relatively long (3-4 hour) rides most weekends
during the warmer weather.
Greg Lycar
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