Joe Cefalu

Joe Cefalu - Fear Itself - 2008 - Ready Room Records

Joe is originally from NYC and spent his formative years there practicing guitar, playing gigs and hanging around recording studios. Joe moved to California in 1996 and spent 9 years teaching and playing in the San Francisco Bay Area. He met his bride to be in Marin County, CA and soon after the birth of their second son they decided to relocate to the great state of Idaho. Joe and his family now reside in Northeast Boise. A guitar instructor since 1991, Joe has students aged 12 to 60 and over the last 10 years has averaged about 40 private lessons a week. Joe enjoys playing on a variety of studio and live performances. Quite often, Joe is called upon to assist various artists in the studio, sometimes juggling performing, arranging, producing and engineering duties. As a freelance writer, Joe has been tapped by various guitar publications to evaluate and review musical gear. He's also done guitar transcriptions, interviews, instructional columns and album liner notes. Joe has been a featured artist in such publications as Guitar Player, Guitar World and Guitar Magazines. Joe continues to hone his craft as a musician and a guitarist on a daily basis and he feels extremely grateful to be able to earn his living with a guitar in his hands. © http://www.shredacademy.com/content/artists/11/joe-cefalu

"... Joe's soloing runs the gamut from Blues to Metal to Fusion and he clearly possesses a high level of proficiency in all three categories." Mike Varney - Guitar Player Magazine

"...Tasty and versatile. Joe has fire in his playing and the ability to adapt the heat to just what the song demands." John Stix - Guitar Magazine

"Joe is a real gutsy, fiery player. Definitely one of the best up and coming rock guys out there." Neal Schon - Santana, Journey

Great Strat-y tones, nice phrasing, wide-ranging dynamics. That’s what you’ll get from Cefalu’s latest, but you’ll also get some kick-ass burning and solid tunes that should appeal to fans of his main influences, Gilmour and Hendrix. ****/5 "Very Cool" - Matt Blackett, Guitar Player Magazine

This album is fantastic. It features a nice set of instrumental tunes that focus on melody, phrasing and technical playing. If you are a fan of melodic rock/fusion instrumentals that range from Neal Schon to Joe Satriani to Jeff Beck to Steve Lukather, this album is a great choice. I am really impressed by the compositions and the playing....***** - Great Instrumental Rock, January 6, 2010 By & © West Side Soul "Mikey Likes It" (NJ United States) © 1996-2014, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates http://www.amazon.com/productreviews/B001EUKPQO/ref=acr_dpdigitalmusic_text/182-1193432-0743116?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Guitarist Joe Cefalu composed and recorded Fear Itself drawing on the influences of the guitar heroes of his formative years, "The playing styles of guitarists like David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Brian May, Hendrix and Jimmy Page speak to me most loudly", says Joe. "Through the years, as you develop as a musician, different players and the music they make have an impact on your approach. You can't help but be affected by different bands and guitar players and even by different musical "fads" that come in and out of fashion through the years. However, when the smoke clears, for me, it still comes down to those classic guitarists who play from their hearts and whose styles are defined by emotive and soulful playing, rather than sheer technique alone", explains Cefalu. Joe recorded the tunes on Fear Itself as they were composed, without any preconceived concept for the overall collection of songs. As a result, the tunes are varied in style, ranging from riff-driven Rock to Gospel-tinged Blues, from lush arrangements to more sparse, power-trio numbers. There are even some Jazz flavored lines and Fusion compositions on the album. However, there is never a sense of any hodge-podge collision of genres. Instead, the songs are represented in a fluid, cohesive manner thanks to Cefalu's dynamic playing style. "My goal was to write what I was feeling in the moment and to play what I heard in my head and felt in my gut. For example, the motivation for a "keeper" guitar solo was not that it was technically perfect or was difficult to play or that it would leave others players astonished at its speed or complexity. Rather, if there was some cool little expression or quirkiness, some colorful ornamentation to a phrase, I'd keep it and try to stay in that vein. Basically, if it was a visceral, honest expression and held true to the spirit of the tune, it stayed. If it was fast and clean but lacked human feel or spontaneity, it got canned". Fans of melodic, gutsy guitar playing and adventurous, groove-driven music will find plenty to enjoy when they fire up Joe Cefalu's: Fear Itself. © 2002-2014 AbstractLogix http://www.abstractlogix.com/xcart/product.php?productid=23955

Well received by critics and fans, Fear Itself is a collection of highly energetic tunes that showcase Joe's playing and songwriting across a wide range of styles. Delivering stomping Hard Rock, Gospel-tinged ballads, and percolating Fusion grooves, this release offers something for every listener – an extremely diverse sonic experience! © 2014 Joe Cefalu, all rights reserved. http://joecefalu.com/discography

Smithtown, New York born guitarist Joe Cefalu may not be a well known name in the music world but he plays a mean guitar in all styles. He is also a great composer and in-demand session player. The instrumental “Fear Itself” showcases Joe’s abilities very well. This guy can shred with the best, but this is not a shred album and Joe never has to go into overdrive to demonstrate his huge talent. Joe’s main influences when he began playing were Dave Gilmour and Jimi Hendrix. This album incorporates those rock and progressive rock influences, but Joe also plays fusion, funk, and soul. A great album from a great guitarist. Buy Joe’s great “Blink of an Eye” album and check out some of his lessons @ http://www.shredacademy.com/content/artists/11/joe-cefalu Support real music [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 93.2 Mb]

TRACKS

1. Gravesend Blues 2:35
2. Crop Circles 4:20
3. The Big Tall Wish 3:29
4. Blackie Redd 5:02
5. Signor Max 2:07
6. The Fear 5:13
7. Suckerpunch 3:46
8. Grey Sea At Dawn 3:36
9. By Any Other Name 5:56
10. Riddle Me This 3:08

Joe Cefalu - Guitar, Bass Guitar, Synths, Drum Programming & Editing, Mixing, Engineer, Producer, & composer of all tracks

BIO

Guitarist and composer Joe Cefalu has released various albums as a solo artist and has been featured on numerous recordings throughout the years as a session player. His latest instrumental effort, Blink of an Eye, is an exciting collection of guitar driven tunes featuring Joe’s dynamic playing style. Blending Blues, Rock, Prog, and Fusion approaches, “Blink of an Eye” is a must for fans of melodic, adventurous guitar playing. Two previous albums, Fear Itself and The Lazarus Project are also currently available. Publications such as Guitar Player, Vintage Guitar, and Guitarist (UK) magazines have featured Joe in their pages. Originally from NYC, Joe spent his formative years there practicing guitar, playing gigs, and working in recording studios. After spending about a decade in the California Bay Area, Joe relocated with his family to the Mountain West and now resides in East Boise. A guitar instructor for almost 20 years, Joe currently teaches students of all ages and playing levels at his private studio in Downtown Boise. His online instructional videos have been popular and highly rated on sites such as YouTube and Vimeo, and pre-production for instructional DVDs and online lessons are currently in the works. BIO FACTS: Born in: Smithtown, NY: Started playing at age: 14: First guitar: Zim-Gar Steel String Acoustic: First amp: Peavey Bandit: Initially inspired by: Roy Clark (on The Odd Couple): Musical style: Melodic Instrumental Rock: Idiosyncrasy: Print on guitar pick must face thumb!: © 2014 Joe Cefalu, all rights reserved http://joecefalu.com/about-joe-cefalu/