Artist description Ben Hochberg is a guitarist who has gone abroad into the realm of drums, keyboards, bass, and vocals and returned with a brand new sound and musical approach. Fusing elements of jazz greats like Charlie Hunter, Chick Corea, and Art Blakey, with songwriting and vocals remniscent of Tool, Radiohead, and a touch of Idaho and Mark Kozelek, Ben has made an almost uncharacterizable musical style for himself. His older project "pyramadh" featured metal and electronica set to thumping drum and bass sequences, but the newest demos from the upcoming "Seattle Sessions 2002" reveal a much more groove-rock based heart and soul, stemming from Ben's use of a real bass, and real drums. Right now, *everything is in DEMO quality* so expect some roughness to the mixes, but hopefully better recordings will follow.

Music Style Jazz/Rock/Blues Fusion (?)

Musical Influences Faith No More, Charlie Hunter, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, Flaming Lips, Tool, Simon & Garfunkel,Tom Delgado, Bill Frisell, Mike Mattingly, King's X, Henry Hochberg, Ken Andrews, The Brecker Brothers, Jimmy Herring, Nick Drake, Idaho, Oteil Burbridge, Chick Corea, Kirk Hammett, George Benson, John Petrucci, Art Blakey, Gov't Mule, Buddy Rich, Billy Cobham

Similar Artists Gov't Mule, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Tool, Faith No More, Failure, Black Sabbath, Dredg, Dream Theater, Brecker Brothers, Phish, Flaming Lips, Idaho, Jeff Buckley, Paul Simon, Dave Matthews

Artist History Ben has been writing music since 1994 with his solo project entitled "pyramadh", his style has changed drastically over the past several years. Ben grew up listening to metal groups such as Slayer, Pantera, and Metallica, and idolized Kirk Hammett and Kerry King. However it was his love of Faith No More and Ben's subsequent following of all of Mike Patton's projects like Mr. Bungle and Fantomas that truly kept his mind open musically. Faith No More remains Ben's favorite band to date. From the love of guitar-driven rock, he then stumbled across Joe Satriani and Steve Vai from an article detailing Satriani's mentoring of both Vai and Hammett. This led to an interest in shred, which made him practice heavily and develop precise technique. This led to heavy influence from the progressive rock scene including greats like Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and Spock's Beard. In 1999, He teamed up with friends Jeremy Stribling, James Brasuell, Daniel Brasuell, and Bryan Harlan to form the Bay-Area trip-metal band "Old Core". Back in 1996, original guitar teacher (not to mention musical genius) Mike Mattingly had tried to reach the then 16-year-old Hochberg with jazz greats like Barry Finerty and Wes Montgomery, but his styles remained partial to rock and metal. It wasn't until he met good friend and former band-mate Tom Delgado around 2000 that his love for experimental blues-rock and jazz solidified. Delgado's mastery of all instruments including piano, drums, bass, and vocals inspired Ben to pursue these instruments similarly. Delgado's music as well as his recommendations to listen to Jimmy Herring, Gov't Mule, the ARU, Jazz is Dead, and other legends is what got Ben out of the musical rut he'd found himself in. From this time period grew new ideas and different musical styles, as well as growing proficiency on piano, bass, and drums. Also during this time, fellow musician and friend Troy Martin turned Ben on to down-tempo electronica with both his own works, and suggestions to listen to jhno and Chroma Key which provided further musical outlets, influences from which found their way onto pyramadh's 2001 album "ekphrasis". In 2000, Michael Lewis, friend and saxophone player for the experimental jazz group Happy Apple, met Ben and began fascinating him with singer/songwriter groups like the Red House Painters, Idaho, and Nick Drake, as well as turned him into a fan of jazz like Happy Apple. The elements of jazz present in jam-rock like Phish, as well as interest in jazz-fusion bands like Weather Report, Mr. Bungle, and Charlie Hunter eventually landed Ben in the middle of the jazz genre, finding joy in the likes of Buddy Rich, Chick Corea, George Benson, John Coltrane, Bill Frisell, and The Brecker Brothers. So you tell me what to call this potpourri of inspirations from throughout Ben's musical career!? Today Ben is actively writing his own music, as well as collaborating in a project tentatively called "Rudy Can Fail," with friends Jeremy Price, Chris Green, and Dave Boyd.

Group Members Ben Hochberg : Everything

Instruments Gretsch & Fender Guitars, Pacific Drums, Fender Bass, Yamaha Acoustics, BitHeadz samplers/synths

Albums The Seattle Sessions 2002 (DEMO)

Additional Info All Songs available here are DEMO quality

Location Woodinville, WA - USA

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