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| The ART ROCKERS are a uniquely eclectic group of artists and musicians. Their musical repertoire includes their own original alternative rock and idiosyncratic interpretations of contemporary and vintage rock, often with a touch of psychedelia. Making art and playing music have a lot in common. Since the inception of rock music, numerous musicians and bands have emerged from the "art school" tradition. The Beatles, Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Pete Townsend, Brian Ferry, Ronnie Wood, Patti Smith, and Eric Clapton are all prime examples of art-school rockers. The Art Rockers band was formed in 2011 by a group of artists/musicians at a California university and have since evolved into a prolific band as they actively continue to write and perform new original songs. The band is truly a combination of art meets music, hence the name Art Rockers. |
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Abigail
Barrett’s adventure began in Colorado. Having
two very musical parents, she was influenced and inspired
by their talent at a very young age. She was exposed to many
amazing people, places, and events that showed her the power
of performance, which would
become her guiding light in her years to come. She quickly became involved
in local plays, piano lessons, her local church choir, and
joined a professional traveling choir. At the age of 11, Abigail and her family moved to
Fayetteville, AR. There she remained active in the local church
choir, participated in school plays, and became a member in
the elite Show Choirs during her Junior High and High School
years. Shortly after graduating High School, Abigail
attended the Bonnaroo music festival and experienced the “Wave That Flag” tour,
“The Dead” (the remaining members of the “Grateful
Dead”) and she began following the band. This journey led
her to California, where she
became active in three different bands including working with the legendary, Freddy
"Boom Boom" Cannon. Abigail
holds a B.A. degree in Performing Arts-Music from California State University Channel Islands, and an Associates degree and Certificate in Music
from Ventura College. Laughter and kindness have never been more evident in
one soul. She's the epitome of ambitious, with good looks to boot. Her charm
can be experienced through her voice as she paints
image on a canvas made of silence. Generous and angelic in nature, Abigail inspires,
reveals, and perpetuates the power of music with her gift.
Find yourself in her passion, beauty and grace, from her voice
to your ears, through the absolute power of music. |
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Kevin
Volkan has been playing guitar since the early 1970s.
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, Kevin was heavily
influenced by local groups such as Creedence Clearwater Revival,
The Grateful Dead, Santana, Steppenwolf, and Tower of Power.
Later influences included Jimi Hendrix, Mahavishnu John McLaughlin,
and Frank Zappa. A four year stay in the Chicagoland area
started Kevin on a lifelong love of Blues music of all forms.
In addition to playing the guitar he also is a singer/song
writer, who loves playing and collecting Celtic and early
American folk songs. A veteran of numerous bands, Kevin founded the 1990s grunge/jam
group Ham on Rye in Santa Cruz, CA. and the Southern California rock/folk jam band Friend Of Shrimp
with noted bassist Kent Baxter. Kevin and Kent went on to
form another more Celtic inspired electric folk group Spring
Heel Jack. Kevin also played with the Sexto Senso Banda Azul
(Sixth Sense Blues Band) and he also performs solo, playing
Celtic and early American folk music on acoustic guitar. Shortly
after the original formation of the Art Rockers, Kevin joined the band as leard guitarist. His years of experience
on guitar have led to his extraordinary musical chops.
His amazing lead solos have been instrumental helping defining the Art Rockers' sound and puting the
band on the map as a serious and respected group of
rockers! An avid collector of guitars, Kevin has a
collection that one can only envy. There is no question that
Kevin Volkan is one red-hot lead guitarist! |
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Jack Reilly, the founder of the Art Rockers, experienced his first exposure to live
music as an adolescent in his own home. His mother would wake him up and get him out of bed...
"Jackie - get your drums" she would say. He was summoned to join his parents' late-night parties, which usually
ended up being mini concerts. Jack's father, who was the leader
of the 1940's New York swing band Varsity Club Orchestra, would play his vintage Selmer alto
saxophone, while Jack's mother would accompany on the organ, and
little Jackie on his drums. As a teenager, Jack established his
own musical endeavors as the drummer with the Night Riders band,
playing favorite rock songs of the 1960s era. An avid surfer, Jack's creative nature
further developed when he began painting surfboards. His obsession
with painting led to art school in Paris. Ultimately
he received his M.F.A. in Art from Florida State University. Jack moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s to begin his art career. During the mid 1980s he composed original music for
his "Paintings with Sound" exhibition. This innovative fusion of painting and music
led to a feature article in Los Angeles Magazine, and to
his music being played on KCRW Los Angeles radio
station. In the 1990s Jack composed musical scores for his series of
award winning, experimental videos, which were exhibited in museums
and screened in international film festivals. In addition to his current work as an artist, Jack continues to actively write
songs, play rhythm guitar, harmonica, and sing with the Art Rockers. |
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Aldo Figueroa is the Art Rockers' popular, bad-ass bass guitarist. Prior
to his evolution into a rocker, Aldo's musical backgorund
began years ago in a Los Angeles local church band. His previous
bass work and transition into rock music has revealed his
precise yet soulful manner of making music. As it turns out,
Aldo later discovered that his extended family
of relatives happen to be a very talented group of musicians.
It appears that Aldo has also inherited his ancestors' talent and affinity
for music, as he has evolved into an essential member of the
Art Rockers band. In addition to being a rockin' bassist, Aldo is an artist
extraodinare! When
he is not making music, he can be found creating digital art,
designing video games, and doing chalk street murals around
southern California. Aldo is a multi-talented artist/musician
and an art professor, teaching digital media art courses at
California State University Channel Islands. |
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During
a family car ride from Los Angeles to San Diego, 11-year-old A.J. Matalon pounded out drumbeats on his legs to the songs on the radio.
When his parents later noticed that his legs were all bruised
up after the three-hour ride, they thought it would be a good
idea to enroll him in drum classes. A.J. found his musical voice
in drumming, and as a teenager, he went on to play in the drum
line with the award winning Notre Dame High School marching
band and has been an prolific drummer ever since. At age 22, eleven years after the ride that led A.J. to becoming
a drummer, he joined the Art Rockers as the band's percussionist.
A.J.'s formal musical training and previous experience in a
precision drum line has afforded him with extraordianry percussive
skills and a sense of precisiont timing. In addition to exercising
his talent as a committed rock drummer, A.J. is pursuing his B.A.
degree at California State University Channel islands. |
| © Art Rockers 2012-2015 |
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