I recently found what may be the last surviving copy of my first album from 1995. I was 21 years old, going to school full time and had a full time job but managed to borrow enough gear and late night studio time to record the 11 tracks that would become "Eclipse: Voyage". Keep in mind that this was before I had access to digital editing software like Pro Tools or Photoshop and the equipment I was using was out of date even for the time. Still, I learned a lot in the process and in many ways it represents one of the first milestones in my musical journey. I had 500 cassette copies made and somehow managed to sell them all.
The cover is a photograph that I did in my living room by hanging a ship model in front of a 5 foot tall charcoal drawing I made of the moon.
The music was recorded on an 8 track reel to reel with various synthesizers, a primitive sampler, guitar and even a brief attempt at a violin solo (shortly before I gave the instrument up). It was influenced by Pink Floyd, Kitaro, Mike Oldfield and Sting (though all instrumental) but also has a fair amount of early attempts at orchestral writing. All of the solos were done in one take because I didn't have access to Pro Tools and didn't know how to cut tape. This means that some mistakes made it to the final version. Hearing it now I wish I had either thought to enlist some better soloists than myself or at least had access to some digital editing magic. But all things considered it's not too bad for a 21 year old's first attempt to write, perform and produce an album.
After a lot of deliberation I decided to share a few of the tracks here. Keep in mind, they are REALLY OLD and I was VERY YOUNG when I made them. So why share them at all? I don't know, I guess they're part of my musical journey and maybe that might mean something to someone that is just starting out. So be kind and I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the ancient past!