BarryBelanger [guitar]

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My first guitar was a Christmas present when I was 7 years old but I didn't take music seriously until I was about 13-14. Listening to great guitarists like: Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Andy Summers, Alex Lifeson, Lee Ritenour, Carlos Santana, Randy Rhodes, Frank Zappa and many others, I developed a longing for perfection in my playing. Since I was mostly self-taught, I'd sit in my room for hours trying to copy their styles. I knew then that music was going to be a very important part of my life. Without the influence of phenomenal musicians like Chad Gilliam, Rick Harding, Jeff Kissinger, Gary Pecoraro, Wayne Walters, Eddy Drombrowski and Russell Gazzana, I wouldn't be where I am today. These guys were part of my past. We were bands called "The Funk", "Swamp" and "100th Monkey". There was lots of success and lots of disappointments but along the way I discovered the meaning of true artistic freedom. After about 2 years of laying low and jamming with different bands and playing parties I got a call from an old friend by the name of Cliff Denny. He needed someone to fill in for a keyboard player they had lost. From the second I "plugged in" I could just feel the freedom I had to create with these guys. There were no structures, no whining and no glaring looks due to a wrong choral choice. Perfection is for annals. Purity and freedom in music is all succumbing. "Jenga" is pure and free.

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