Rock Solomon [ an artist's journal ]

CD: The Final Push [six years later]

2010-02-09T19:00:00.000-08:00

It has taken me over 2,350 man hours to finish, eaten my entire life savings, and has out lasted all my relationships, but I'm happy to say that my record is finally done. The songs are all original works, performed and engineered in a home studio that was destroyed and rebuilt twice. The project somehow survived 6 hurricanes, two emotional meltdowns, a massive flood and bankruptcy. Now, six years later I've decided that instead of selling it, I will give them out for donations.
First however, I need to raise the money to pay for mastering, the final step in any pro studio recording before going to print.
And I need your help to do it.
If you contribute a donation of 10-20 dollars, I will put your name on a pre-order list for a copy of the finished CD.
Any donation of 50-100 or more, and I will list your name on the CD booklet in the Special Thanks as well.
Thank you to all who have already contributed, & i hope you enjoy the music.
Problems? Question for me? Just email me at Music@RockSolomon.com & we'll figure it out. Thanks Again

www.RockSolomon.com

Professional Biography

2010-01-23T23:46:00.001-08:00

With what the press have dubbed “Alternative World-Pop with a twist of Jazz,” Rock Solomon has cultured a truly unique and powerful style that has gained critical acclaim, and a dedicated ever-growing following around the states and abroad. His new CD, Unlocking the Window, features world-class soloists who have performed or recorded with acts such as: U2, Blondie, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles & Billie Holiday to name a few, including performances in major motion pictures, Broadway and Carnegie Hall.

Seattle born with a passion for travel, Rock Solomon's music has been influenced by every part of the globe. As the son of a living Jazz Legend, he has been trained in over half a dozen instruments since childhood, and has been performing since the ripe age of seven years old. In that time Solomon has performed in nearly every type of venue imaginable --colleges, concert halls & theatres, parades, festivals, coffee shops, clubs, bars, on radio, television and in film.

The Rock Solomon Ensemble is a core trio that features a hand selected group of string, brass and woodwind soloists. Band size varies from three to seven pieces depending on region and venue. Drawing from a vast library of original material, jazz standards and cover songs, Solomon's natural born instincts to read a crowd and tailor a show makes each performance fresh and engaging. Whether performing for two dozen or twenty thousand, The Rock Solomon Ensemble inspires listeners and captivates audiences, regardless of age, venue, or region in the world.

The CD:
Featuring four master-soloists, Rock Solomon’s songwriting has been brilliantly showcased with an array of horns, strings, flutes and percussion instruments that flow together to create his highly distinctive, original, and yet strangely nostalgic sound. Blending Jazz, Alternative, Pop & World styles, the music sounds familiar, yet completely new. His latest album, Unlocking the Window is a testament to his experiences in travel, love, sexuality and the human condition.

LYRICS: "Leap of Faith" by Rock Solomon

2009-12-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

You know what you want
You know you can have it
Cause it's already there
You just have to grab it.

You know what you want
And you won't have to carry
All the Past nightmares,
Won't seem so scary

Leap of faith
It's a risky game
Leap of faith
It's all loss or gain

The choice must be made
And taken through
Never be afraid
Set free what's inside you

Leap of faith
It's a risky game
Leap of faith
It's all loss or gain

Go to a new life
and I will as well
promise me one thing
That you will free yourself from your cell

Leap of faith
It's a risky game
Leap of faith
It's all loss or gain

(Solo)

Set free, what's inside you,
Set free, what's inside you,
Set free, what's inside you,
Set free, what's inside you.

A Candid Bio

2009-03-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

Nine months after a zany jazz sax player from Seattle found himself in bed again with the same tragically enchanting folk singer who mothered his first love child, love child number two was born. Three months after that, the drugs wore off, and she named him Rock Solomon.

For the first part of his life, which is mostly a blur, Rock Solomon traveled around living in old panel vans, trucks and busses from the 1940’s and 50’s with his mother. They often had religious or anti-communist propaganda written on the sides in giant block letters you could read from a hundred feet away. His mothers life was locked in a chaotic spiral since her own childhood, and her answer was to live her life constantly on the run, blaming society for just about everything. As a result, Rock Solomon spent most of his early years living in conditions only slightly better then 3rd world standards. Often without power, pluming, running water, or even a building to live in. Of course, as a kid, he thought this was simply the norm and didn’t see much else until his musician father won custody of him when he was 10. Then Rock Solomon discovered things like TV, public school, power windows, and the strangest thing of all, stability.

A few short years later though, this stability turned into isolation, as his father’s paying gigs were almost entirely in the city. When the commute proved too much, a few days alone gradually turned into a few weeks alone, and then finally Rock Solomon found himself alone for months at a time, barely a teenager, with no supervision, no rules, his own cabin on the beach, and little more then a TV, radio and a half-dozen instruments for company. He learned to grocery shop for himself, clean the house, and get to school each day all on his own. He also found that playing around with the piano, drums, guitar and other instruments was a good way to pass the time.

Eventually, Rock Solomon grew so free thinking, and independent, that when his father would come home to parent, he found Rock impossible to control. He became locally known as the ‘wild child’ who always fought with the rich summer kids. At 16 he bought a beat-up car for 50 bucks and all hell broke loose. The uncontrollable wild-child had been released, to run amuck, now at the wheel of a mostly destroyed ’79 Datson hatchback.

When it was time to leave home and enter society, Rock Solomon had no life-skills of any kind. He dropped out of high school, got in trouble with the law, and was on the run shortly after his 18th birthday. After a couple years, he found his life echoing that of his mothers. In a desperate attempt to change his life’s direction, he abandoned everything and fled to Key West to start over. He arrived with no money, no friends, and slept on the beaches at first. In the few short years that he spent there, he managed to change everything about his story. He went to college, studied art, music, photography and acting, as well as getting certified in SCUBA, won several art grants, performed leading roles in plays, performed in bands, won a music contest on MTV, was featured in New York Times, Traveled to Cuba, wrote a play and a movie, built a recording studio, recorded three albums, made several short films and a feature, discovered romance and new friends, and changed the entire course of his life through his passion & determination.

All these elements of his history are in his music. The sounds and lyrics speak of the stories, the conflict, travel, romance, the optimism of his life, and what he sees with the focused, free thinking mind of a harnessed wild child.

I spent my Birthday...

2009-01-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

...recording my first live CD, and I sent it off for printing on Christmas.

They just showed up via UPS, and now I'm sending them out, FREE for this round. If you already sent me your address, then it should be on the way this week.

If you want to sign up for a free copy of this CD, please go to:

SolomonSextet.com

Sign up. Make sure to send me the address you want the CD sent to, Email or Physical or both. Sign up so I can keep you posted when I have free downloads, and free shows, and eventually, I might even put something up for sale!

Thanks!

ABOUT THIS CD:

These are songs from at theatre project I wrote called "The Tragedy of Johnny TrueLove". It is a musical for people who don't like musicals. That's all I'm going to say for now about that...

THE PLAYERS:

I was lucky to have a great violinist, (Brady Thomas) and a great Flute/Sax player (Julee Avallone) to join me at Sippin for the recording. Dan Simpson came in from Private Ear Studio and recorded the whole thing live.

Please sign up at SolomonSextet.com to get access to some free downloads of new songs, free taste-tests and other new stuff...

Anyone Who Knows Me...

2008-12-26T22:38:00.001-08:00

...knows that I have been working on the same Recording Project for about 4 years. They would probably also know that I have had a couple "pre-release" partys for the CD that I gave out early versions at... they may also know that I am out of my mind.

Well, the problem with working on a CD for 4 years, other than the obvious, is that you end up writing more songs between then and now, and they aren't even going to be on it. So, this has happened two fold. Since I started working on my CD project, I have actually written and entirely new CD, and I'm halfway through writing the one after that. so, havn't not finished the first one yet, you can ssee how I'm feeling a little backlogged.

The self induced pressure was starting to get to me a little, so I decided to get the second CD out of the way to free up my mind, but quickly as to not suck up all my time on another 4 year long project. So, I said, "hey, I'll do a live recording and wing it with some friends" and so that's what I did, and now, a month later, I have a recorded, mixed, and soon to be back from the printers live version of most of the songs I've have written since I started the endeless CD of 4 years ago.

And, I'm donating it to curious listeners. I hope you like drama and sadness. If you do, this is your ticket.

For a free copy of the live CD, send me your address. Email, or Physical, depending on how you want it.

Much love, thanks for taking the time to listen to depressing ass music. I think I may have cornered the market... "a Major chord? what's that?"

-[R]

How do you balance a checkbook with a broken heart?

2008-05-25T03:32:00.000-07:00

How do you balance a checkbook with a broken heart? You can’t balance a broken heart. It simply won’t stand on its own. It won’t work on its own. The tightest hug can hold it together for a moment, but when the arms release, the crack push wide open again, and the red gooey sludge pushes its way back out, onto the floor, or walls, or doors, or pictures frames, anything that you touch becomes residue. Anxiety sets in. what if it never fixes? What if…

Hope. That sence of possibility. Not having, not getting, but the anticipation of your desire. Sometimes you wake up on the right side of the bed, and you get a nice, light open loving sunshine feeling. What if you could memorize that feeling, and every morning, remind yourself what it felt like, and think about it until you can feel it again? What if you could trick yourself in to feeling healthy, happy, satisfied, and inspired? What if you just simply made believe that these things were true, everyday? Every single day, you start over thinking about anything that is good, and building from there.

It’s December in the tropics, and I bought a coat, but I’m waiting for a day to need it. It’s a stylish jacket, and I really want to wear it, but it’s still just a little to warm.

Limbo? Isn't that the new dance craze?

2006-10-13T01:46:00.000-07:00

I'm in limbo. I'm sitting at a coffee shop, trying to vent some pissy feelings by writing. The computer deleted all my shit. It pissed me off more. I wrote some new stuff and realized it was just a pointless bitter rant, so I deleted it too. I’m thinking about my attempt at a road trip this summer. The last 4 summers were a failure. I am on the edge of not fucking it up this time. I’m single again. I don’t like being brought down by selfish baggage ridden psycho drama queens. They are better in bed though, so I keep slipping. I recently forced myself to release my conflicting creative ambitions in my life, and focus on music. Playing, recording, writing, studying and getting paid for music is my life ambition now. Cursed/blessed with talent in a zillion art mediums has made me question where to put my focus. A family of bitter musicians made me shy away from music for a long time, but I have recently decided that it doesn’t have to be a perverted art form to make money at it.

I have a blog now. Yay.

-Dr. Rock