My musical journey began when I was 9 years old. It was 1986, and Poison had just debuted with Look What the Cat Dragged In. That was really the first time I fell in love with any music. Shortly after, I got into pretty much all of the mainstream ’80s glam metal bands, but Poison was always, and to this day is, my favorite glam band. I didn’t get into heavier stuff until I heard Metallica in 1992.
“Wherever I May Roam” off the Black Album struck a particular interest in me with that eerie Egyptian-like sound, which I later learned was the infamous harmonic minor scale. After listening to that tune a million times over, I decided to look into the rest of the album and eventually purchased the Black Album after buying all the singles.
Over the next year, I collected the other four Metallica albums: Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and …And Justice for All. Believe it or not, the older stuff had to grow on me. The first time I heard those albums, I didn’t care for them. Soon, I would love them to the extent that Metallica became my favorite band.
Around October of 1993, I decided that I couldn’t just listen to Metallica all day long and not react to it in some way. I couldn’t sit still listening to them because they charged me up so much. I started beating on my chair, my bed, my dresser, or whatever I could find to make a cool percussion sound.
I originally wanted to play drums because I was so infatuated with Lars Ulrich’s unique style of playing. My parents would not let drums happen because a kit would have driven them crazy to have to listen to in the house. So my next choice was guitar!
I had an old guitar in my closet, since I was about seven, that I never learned to play. I begged my parents for it, though I only tried it maybe once or twice. It was too hard to get the notes to sound without my fingers hurting, so I gave up.
In late August 1993, two days after high school started for me, I broke my foot jumping into a house foundation because I felt I was invincible that day. I found out the hard way that I was really being stupid! I had to wear a cast on my leg for the next six weeks and couldn’t really do anything.
Being unable to go anywhere or do anything, I decided to pick up that old guitar and start learning to play. The first song I learned was “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” I worked my ass off trying to learn it by ear. An old friend helped me out a lot by showing me how to read tabs and by showing me power chords and the palm-muting technique. That was enough help to get me going.
I practiced 10 to 16 hours a day for the first couple of years; I played nothing but Metallica. I had all their songs learned and memorized in a year and a half.
I had also gotten heavily into Queensryche by this time. So much, in fact, that Metallica and Queensryche were now my two favorite bands.
In 1996, Metallica came out with Load. I had waited years for that album! I was so excited about it, and I felt they could do no wrong. As it turns out, Load sucked so badly I actually wanted to cry!
I went to a release party at a local record store, and I remember the store was packed with eager Metallica fans. Not a single one had a trace of excitement as the new album was being played. We all bought the album anyway because we had waited so long for it.
Shortly after the release of Load, Queensryche released Hear in the Now Frontier. To me, this album was probably worse than Load. My two favorite bands had completely gone sour and, in my opinion, had sold out one hundred percent to the current times.
Around this time, I bought a compilation album called Twisted Metal. Through this wonderful compilation, I discovered King Diamond, W.A.S.P., Metal Church, and Yngwie Malmsteen. I especially loved Yngwie and King!
With the first check I ever wrote, I decided to go purchase everything King had ever done. It was a $127 check, if I remember correctly. The Graveyard had just come out at that time.
I also bought everything Yngwie had released and eventually collected all the Metal Church albums too. But with W.A.S.P., the only song I was ever crazy about was The Headless Children.
Now that I felt Metallica and Queensryche both completely sucked and had sold out, King Diamond naturally took over as my favorite. Yngwie was right after King. I also got into Mercyful Fate very heavily.
I started listening to more classical music, mostly Bach. Both Yngwie and King combine classical music and metal to create neo-classical metal, the most powerful style in history!
After a few years of teaching myself to play mostly the same stuff, I went out and signed up for lessons at The Music Center in Kenosha, Wisconsin. My guitar teacher was Terry Peterson, one of the most talented guitar players I have ever heard!
My first lesson with him was the very same day I went to sign up. He taught me endlessly about technique, theory, applied theory, etc. It wasn’t until I started taking lessons from Terry that I got into any lead playing at all.
What prompted me to start taking lessons in the first place was a local guitarist who played for me. I was advertising for a band, and at the time all I played was rhythm: absolutely no lead whatsoever!
I believed that to play the kind of lead that I liked, you just had to be born with that kind of talent, and I certainly was not born with that!
One guy who responded to my ad wanted me to come over and see him play and, if I liked it, possibly form a band. I went over, and he played me the most amazing lead guitar I had ever heard.
This wasn’t Yngwie, Andy LaRoque, or early Kirk Hammett: this was just an ordinary guy standing two feet in front of me, alternate picking, sweep picking, and improvising the most amazing lead work.
Most of his stuff was based around harmonic minor, melodic minor, and fully diminished ideas; this was definitely the style that appealed to me more than anything.
I went home that night and realized that it was possible for me to learn to play like that. No longer would I place limitations on my playing ability. Music lessons, here we come!
In 1996, I wrote enough songs to make my first demonstration cassette, about 45 minutes worth of music. The material is as good as it is due to Terry’s teaching.
You can find out more about my demo “Eyes of Fire” at http://www.eyesoffire.net. It’s my only recording as of now, but soon there will be much more. Stay posted at my website at http://www.eyesoffire.net.
After a couple of years of lessons with Terry, I took on a second teacher, Rex Carroll. Rex used to play in a well-known Christian metal band called Whitecross.
Rex was the Eddie Van Halen of Christian guitar players. He was probably even better than Eddie: very technical, precise, an amazing improviser, songwriter, etc.
Rex wasn’t as well-versed in theory as Terry, but he had the ability to teach me practice techniques and soulfulness. Both players are equally good, but each has his own qualities. I am very lucky to have had them teach me.
After about nine months of lessons with Rex, he had to embark on a European tour with his band and had to take a break from teaching. Upon his return, I decided not to continue my study with him, simply because I didn’t want to pay for two teachers again.
I continued to take lessons from Terry for another year or so, but in August/September of 1998, I cancelled my studies with Terry for personal reasons.
Since then, I have taken no lessons. I have enough books, notebooks, and tapes of my lessons to last more than a lifetime.
Now, for the first time ever, I am in a band. I started my search to join or form a band in 1994/95.
In January of 2002, A Touch of Evil invited me to join after I jammed with them at their practices for a few weeks. Doug, an A Touch of Evil guitarist, found an ad that I had placed in the classifieds at milwaukeerocks.com and contacted me via e-mail from there.
From the first time I heard these guys play, I knew this band was definitely different from any other band you ever see or hear, especially on the local level.
Doug, Mike, Jeremy, and Megan are great musicians with some very innovative ideas and songwriting abilities. I am proud to be a member of this “rising force,” which will sweep through Milwaukee like a bat out of hell and eventually conquer the world.
My Vision:
There are a lot of bands I enjoy listening to from all generations, including a lot from today. However, as far as mainstream goes, the only generation I ever fell in love with is the 1980s. The 80s by far had the most technically advanced and modern musicians ever to this day, whether you want to believe it or not! Now remember, I’m speaking STRICTLY mainstream! Going into the very early 90s, mainstream rock and metal got far too intricate, complicated, advanced, modern, etc. Mainstream peaked; the feeble mainstream industry couldn’t handle the best of the best.
Examples are King Diamond, Yngwie Malmsteen, Great Kat, Savatage, Manowar, etc., etc., etc., but the bands that did make it commercially with popularity were the best that mainstream could ever do. Never was mainstream more advanced and modernized in a timeless fashion than that of the 1980s.
When that scene did peak in the very early 90s, naturally mainstream couldn’t handle it any longer, and the idea of mastering your instrument to put no limitations on your self-expression and moving forward in time completely blew up and fell back to rock bottom, and alterna-grunge was born in mainstream music.
Hence, we stepped backward in a musical timeline to about the year 0004??? In mainstream music, since the fall of glam metal and the rise of alterna-grunge, the masses have been time-warped and completely and most utterly deceived into thinking that they ARE in the now and not stuck in time simply because the mainstream is now “different” than it was before.
In my opinion, change is a wonderful thing, but only if it’s a progression!!! Unfortunately, history has shown us that for the masses, change is embraced simply for the sake of change and lack of quality, even if the change is a step back instead of a step forward.
I personally do not want to step backward, but instead always forward! If change means regressing by about 2,000 years, I would press to find a better form of change, a MUCH better form!! Most mainstream people seem to have the utmost pride in being up to date in the timeline of pop culture and are blinded to the fact they have been utterly deceived.
A Touch of Evil and Eyes of Fire are the most perfect bands to pick up where mainstream left off in the very early 90s and move forward into the 21st century, intensifying mainstream more so than it ever has been! But most importantly, create a diverse enough mainstream so that there ultimately is no mainstream left to waste away what is left of the masses’ conformative, lethargic brains.
There are many new bands actually that are perfect right alongside us. For example, Hollow, Stratovarius, Death, Control Denied, Nightwish, Rhapsody, Primal Fear, etc., etc., etc…. Listen to these bands, feel their energy, and get into the 21st century! Will the world ever embrace this? Or just continue to be morons?
As for me, I believe music is timeless and should NOT be cheapened, blasphemed, and used to represent a timeline of pop culture and, even worse, pride yourself on being updated with the times while you’re clueless about the deception that has surpassed you, while you’re in total denial as you are reading this, thinking to yourself that I don’t know what I’m writing about.
My Message to all:
Bottom line, I believe in individuality! Listen to whatever brings you joy regardless of where it fits on a timeline of pop culture or how popular it is or what style of music it may be! Stimulate your brain! Think for yourself no matter what anyone else says! This has to happen in the world among the masses if we can ever expect to move on and out of our archaic ways of thinking and join the 21st century!!!
My Vision.
I like to combine both drama and light and deliver the two extremes in a message that’s both powerful and positive. I write all of the compositional parts by myself; today my project still remains a one-man band. However, my greatest dream is to turn this project into a band with musicians who share the musical vision as well as a vision for a live show which will consist of Alice Cooper, W.A.S.P., King Diamond, and Mercyful Fate-like theatrics and masquerading to bring out the music even more. A live show that is not only audio stimulating, but VERY visually stimulating as well, to create a more than complete and overwhelming experience for seeing a live band.
I am from the Kenosha, Wisconsin area, about halfway between Milwaukee, WI and Chicago, IL. If you or someone you may know might be interested in this, please write to me at [email protected]. I also have a flier at http://www.eyesoffire.net/advert.html. You have my permission to send it, print it, distribute it, etc., etc., to however many people and places you want to. The more exposure, the more likely it is for the world to see my vision come to life!
My friend Ylayna Writes from 1999…
“Rising Force with A touch of Evil: The saga of a young Maestro”.
Today the world of Heavy metal begins to tremble anticipating the great invasion of a higher force bound to unleash. Hold on to your swords and raise hail, mighty warriors of rock n’ roll, I’m speaking of no other than the knight of the “Rising Force-with A Touch of Evil”, the only and only guitar maestro Tom Birkenmeyer.
Every fairy tale unfolds with “Once upon a time” and has its ending. This intriquing saga of a young guitarist’s dreams and musical journey will focus and obey rather by the laws of a beautiful beginning who’s fate is eternal.
Once upon my time I came across a 24 year old rising guitar warrior from Kenosha, Wisconsin.Immediately struck by his great talent, skill, and ambition, I knew that I was gazing at the future star predestined to claim his “Rising Force”. Tom’s music cast its powerful spell from the very first note. Highly influenced by guitar gods such as Yngwie Malmsteen, Andy Laroque, and many other great classical virtuosos, his music spilled from the strings in the dazzling cascades combining both drama and light. Tom’s solos simply intoxicating, intricately weaving patterns of striking arpeggios and baroque motifs escaping his keyboards.
This warrior went through the endless hours of practice, recording, composing, never stopping and always believing in his dream along the path. His band was only a one man’s party but Tom’s greatest dream was to create original music with professional musicians who shared in that same ambition, passion, and tastes. being a musician myself I completely shared in Tom’s urge and passion to come through, embracing much of frustration and hopes as we spoke discussing our musical futures.
Fairy tales and dreams do come true and I’m a firm believer in this. However, fairy tales and dreams have a greater chance to come true for those who strive and work hard to achieve their goals, never giving up their hopes. Today i’m honored and proud to write this column for Tom, a rising guitar star who’s now a lead guitarist of a marvelous band “A touch of Evil”. Expressing my excitement and extending my good wishes in my latest conversation with Tom our tongues touched on the subject of “Confidence vs. Ego”. The issue of Ego that strikes so many stars swallowing their talent and true inner goals, as well as the word by crowns name stars by the audience.
The maestro stated some very strong opinions regarding this matter. he believes that every individual should strive to grant something unique to this world while developing and shining with each’s talent. A person that possesses a great skill or a talent and works hard at his dreams endeed has a right to be proud of himself. Some people claim this to be a snobbery, confusing confidence and pride over a great achievement with an ignorant individual who merely likes to bost and show off his talents or the lack of such. Often such statements come from the individuals flooded with jealousy or not lacking any ambition and strength for a higher achievement, becoming a failure and therefore feeling the need of calling others a failure or a snob. As the great maestro Yngwie Malmsteen wrote in one of his ballads ” Only the strong will survive, stand tall and reach for the sky, don’t wait for no one”. Tom’s feels very optimistic and happy about his music and has much to be proud of. I also know that this warrior will achieve much more to be proud of in the future. Hail to you mighty knight of arpeggios!!!”.
My Guitar playing and song writing is influenced by metal gods like Yngwie Malmsteen, Randy Rhoads, Jason Becker, C.C. Deville, John Sykes, Marty Friedman, Dave Mustaine, Kirk Hammett (Pre-load days of course), Rex Carroll, Oz Fox, and Paul Gilbert. My song writing inspirations don’t just stop at the mighty axe men I have just listed. I’m also very much inspired by virtuosos in other styles of music as well, such as blues legend Jeff Healey.
Classical music also plays a great role in my inspiration for writing my more euphoric blend of melodic metal guitar engaged in intricate but passionate dialogues between shredding and slow-moving guitar lines, keyboards, and medieval/baroque-like organ solos. Johann Sebastian Bach is mainly responsible for this, along with scattered pieces by Ludwig Van Beethoven, Pachelbel, Antonio Vivaldi, and Paganini.
I’m also inspired by great singers such as Sebastian Bach (X-Skid Row), Geoff Tate (Pre-Hear in the Now Frontier), Rob Halford, Steven Pearcy, David Wayne, Mike Howe, Michael Sweet, and Blackie Lawless.
My own personal sources of inspiration doesn’t just stop with musicians. I have my favorite musicians of all instruments and many styles of music; however, inspiration comes from everywhere. It can come from a beautiful sunset over the ocean or a violent thunder and lightning storm in the night. Sometimes the way I may feel about someone or something could inspire me to come up with expressive ideas that will enlighten my life.
King Diamond & Andy LaRoque
When talking about my inspirations, what more could be said than King Diamond and Andy LaRoque? King and Andy have inspired me more than ANY other source of inspiration I have ever had before. These two masterminds, in my opinion, have always been the MOST underestimated individuals in the ENTIRE music industry. Pioneers of metal and all music. Genius composers, producers, live entertainers, performers, musicians, etc., etc….
Though Andy isn’t quite the “live” entertainer that King is, he has a certain humble quality about himself that perfectly suits his personality to a T! It’s amazing how he can be so unbelievably talented and yet so humble about it. I have NEVER seen such a humble musician put on such an EXCITING show before. I don’t believe anyone can pull it off quite like Andy can.
A humble “live” performance is usually a boring “live” performance. That is the very magic of the one and only Andy LaRoque. King and Andy are both magical, impressive, humble, eccentric, inspirational, mysterious, and amazingly talented as individuals and as a team!
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