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“I think I was a piano player in a past life,” says Robert Condon. “I like to write on the piano because it breaks me out of my guitar habits.” This comes from the Nashville guitarist who just recently released his new CD, Stirred, containing beautiful eclectic instrumentals showcasing sensual acoustic and electric guitar. His guitar habits can’t be that bad when reviewers are saying things like “Awesome guitar work and strong compositions” (Sunset Music), and “The natural world breathes though this music….[The] guitar and piano sing beautifully together” (indie-music.com). Condon first picked up the acoustic guitar when he was eight years old and performing professionally by the time he was in high school. His musical tastes ran from rock artists like Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix to jazz artists Miles Davis and Pat Metheny. To add to the musical mix, he played in Glenn Miller-style big bands and James Brown-style funk bands. Such diverse influences at a young age set the stage for the wide variety of musical projects he would take on as a professional musician. These projects included session work for Englebert Humperdink and the Aircraft music library utilized by major production studios, including CBS, NBC, Disney, and Paramount Studios. While attending Berklee School of Music in Boston, he performed and recorded with numerous groups including Yes Sir No Sir, which went on to win the 1990 Seagram’s Talent Search contest for Best Band in Boston as well as second place in the Phoenix Annual Readers’ Poll. “Seagram’s was a Battle of the Bands, and when it got down to the final night, we heard that the other band was already pre-chosen to win,” Condon remembers. “However, we absolutely rocked that night, and there was no way they could give it to the other band.“ A turning point came shortly after that when he met keyboardist and fellow producer John Marsden. At the suggestion of a mutual friend, they began working together. Although they were opposites in the way they approached writing, arranging, and engineering, they soon found a good balance. “It scares me how we think alike on a lot of things now!” Condon says. Stirred is a result of their collaboration, and Condon is proud of the effort. “The CD is a culmination of the various musical directions we’ve taken over the years. For the first time, we had the opportunity to focus on exactly what we wanted to do.” Although Marsden now lives in Orlando, Condon continues to work with him. (“We do more music now together than we did when we were both living in Boston,” Condon says. “Go figure.”) Condon is currently writing songs for the next CD and is revamping and improving his in-home studio. He is an active pilot and draws inspiration from flying as well as hitting the road on his Harley. “Those activities take just enough concentration to quiet the brain.” Condon explains. “It’s different all the time.” |