Hank Easton

Hank Easton - 11 - 2007 - Hank Easton

The powerfully adventurous instrumental album “11” features Easton on the electric guitar. Nine tracks of high-energy guitar fusion with his smokin' band! Influences coming through on this album include Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Johnson, Larry Carlton, and Joe Satriani, to name a few! This stylistically diverse, technically intricate collection lets Easton showcase his blazing talent. With incredible speed, yet not relying on a whole stack of effects, Easton uses his fingers to produce a stunning variety of tasty licks that rip it up on “Orange Roughy,” “El Niño,” “Coming Home” and many more. Easton’s uniquely electrified but reverent arrangement of Franz Schubert’s 1825 classic “Ave Maria” is another dazzling treat on this disc. The rich and varied tones are produced by his modified Ibanez guitars (Roadstar Series and Artist). Live performances of the “11” tracks with the Hank Easton Group, and his lead guitar work with a Steely Dan tribute band, have garnered him wide critical acclaim and a cult-like following of devoted fans, many of whom are guitarists themselves. Check out live video clips on Hank’s website (www.hankeaston.com) and on You Tube. Listening to “11,” you get to hear Mr. Easton really cut loose. Crank it up! © http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/hankeaston3 www.cdbaby.com

Hank Easton from Mt. Vernon, N.Y. started playing guitar when he was five years old. At the Cleveland Institute of Music he studied classical guitar, french horn, trumpet, and music theory and eventually received a B.S. in music from The Ohio State University. He relocated to San Diego in 1985, where his amazing ability and guitar technique made him a popular session musician, sideman and performer in the Southern California region. He is probably best known as a member of the San Diego based Steely Dan tribute band, The Steely Damned. "11" demonstrates the genius of this guy's guitar playing. He is one of today's guitar greats and deserves more recognition. A stupendous talent. If you like Steely Dan and are not aware of Hank Easton or The Steely Damned, arguably the greatest Steely Dan cover band, then have a look at Hank Easton playing some of the most famous guitar solos from Steely Dan albums @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZs4pK-aBuE Buy Hank's "Snapshots" and/or "Nylon Or Steel" albums. Promote this guy. You can buy his albums through http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/hankeaston2

N.B: If anybody knows where an audio file of The Steely Damned's "Second Arrangement" composed by Walter Becker & Donald Fagen can be found, please inform this blog. There used to be an audio file of the great song on the Steely Damned's website so maybe somebody recorded it.

TRACKS

1 Freeway
2 Orange Roughy
3 Ave Maria
4 Just Before Dawn
5 El Niño
6 Coming Home
7 Red Snapper
8 Funk Me
9 Hysteria

All tracks composed by Hank Easton except "Ave Maria" by Franz Schubert

MUSICIANS

Hank Easton - guitars, bass
Don Anderson, Kevin Hennessy - bass
Chris Jones, Anthony Smith - keyboards
Kamau Kenyatta - keyboards, strings
Gary Taylor - drums, percussion

ABOUT HANK EASTON

A musician who has been labeled “San Diego’s best kept secret,” Hank Easton may not be able to hang on to this moniker much longer. The secret is quickly coming out of the bag. Arguably the best guitarist in the San Diego area, he is rapidly attracting fans worldwide to his unique style of jazz-pop-rock-blues-fusion guitar playing and songwriting. With the release of three new CDs of original music in just the past year, Easton is destined to become a important figure in jazz/rock guitar and composition over the next few years. Easton has spent nearly his entire life with a guitar in his hands. Originally from New York, Easton began playing guitar at age five. He was classically trained at The Cleveland Institute of Music from early childhood until age 17. During those years he also began playing electric guitar, counting among his influences the premier guitarists/artists of the time—Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Steely Dan, Carlton, Benson, Clapton, Howe, Santana, Frampton, and others. Already a seasoned club guitarist after graduating from The Ohio State University in 1985, Easton decided to move to Southern California. He continued developing his own style and gaining new fans. While Hank has sustained his love of classical music and acoustic guitar, he is known mostly for his prowess on the electric guitar. Easton's artistic fluency and versatility as a guitarist immediately established him as an in-demand performer, sideman and studio musician on the Southern California circuit. In addition to his solo guitar work he has a four-piece fusion band, “The Hank Easton Group,” which displays all facets of his guitar work. Easton is currently the featured guitarist in San Diego's most popular award-winning tribute band, "The Steely Damned." Aside from live performances, Easton continues producing in his studio. The first new recordings since “Show Me A Sign” in 1995, Easton recently released three new CDs: “Snapshots,” “Nylon and Steel” and “Eleven.” Currently, he is also writing and recording for television and film. It has been said that “you can’t keep some secrets for long.” Now you are in on it too! © http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/hankeaston3 www.cdbaby.com

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A musician who has been labeled "San Diego's best kept secret," Hank Easton has developed a unique style of jazz-pop-rock-blues-fusion guitar playing and songwriting. It seems a sure bet that Easton is destined to become a important figure in jazz/rock guitar and composition over the next few years. Easton has spent nearly his entire life with a guitar in his hands. Originally from New York, he began playing guitar at age five. He was classically trained at The Cleveland Institute of Music from early childhood until age 17. During those years, he also began playing electric guitar. Already a seasoned club guitarist after graduating from Ohio State University in 1985, Easton decided to move to Southern California. He continued developing his own style and gaining new fans. While Hank has sustained his love of classical music and acoustic guitar, he is known mostly for his prowess on the electric guitar. Easton's artistic fluency and versatility as a guitarist immediately established him as an in-demand performer, sideman and studio musician on the Southern California circuit. In addition to his solo guitar work, he has a four-piece fusion band, The Hank Easton Group, which displays all facets of his guitar work. Easton also plays guitar for the Steely Damned, a local Steely Dan tribute band. While best known for playing jazz and blues, Easton has lately been nursing his inner rocker on the electric guitar. He says his playing is influenced by the likes of Hendrix, Beck, Clapton, Carlos Santana, Steve Howe, and even Peter Frampton. A highlight of Easton’s Steely Damned set is a medley reproducing the guitar solos from several Steely Dan guitarists, including Larry Carlton, Denny Dias, Elliott Randall, Rick Derringer, and Jeff “Skunk” Baxter. Steely aficionados typically marvel at how Easton slips from one guitarist’s signature riff to the next — the jaw-dropping medley frequently earns him standing ovations. The first time I viewed it on YouTube, I gave him one too, standing right there in front of my computer. Easton released three CDs in 2007: Snapshots, Nylon and Steel, and Eleven. His albums feature some of San Diego’s best-known singers, including Tony Davis, Keni Yarbro, Leonard Tucker, and John Toomey. Aside from live performances, Easton continues producing in his studio. INFLUENCES: Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Steely Dan, Larry Carlton, George Benson, Eric Clapton, Steve Howe, Carlos Santana, Peter Frampton, Larry Coryell © 2011 SD READER :: SAN DIEGO READER :: 1703 India Street San Diego, 92101 © www.sandiegoreader.com

ABOUT THE STEELY DAMNED

The Steely Damned is a Steely Dan tribute band (duh) fronted by Rockola's Bob Tedde. Guitarist Hank Easton frequently performs a medley reproducing the guitar solos from several Steely Dan guitarists, including Larry Carlton, Denny Diaz, Elliott Randall, Rick Derringer, and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. The original Steely Dan songs were so meticulously arranged and brilliantly played that it's a thrill to hear Walter Becker and Donald Fagen's musical fussiness copied so faithfully. Tedde doesn't sound exactly like Fagen, but he's got the laconic inflections down. And the hands of guitarist Easton channel original Jeff "Skunk" Baxter's licks so well it's scary -- to say nothing of his rock-solid copy of Jay Graydon's lead on "Peg," 12 bars of the most innovative rock guitar ever recorded. It says something that it takes several dedicated people to imitate the sound of a band that consisted of two guys. But that's the beauty of the Dan -- and the duty of the Damned. © 2011 SD READER :: SAN DIEGO READER :: 1703 India Street San Diego, 92101 © www.sandiegoreader.com