Artist Mano Reza (bio)
Singer-songwriter Mano was born in D.C. but raised in New York City. Mano's love for music developed early and his mind quickly became a warehouse of melody and song. His formal introduction to music came by way of a beginner’s guitar class in high school. It soon became clear to Mano and his instructor that he had a natural ability to play and a good ear for music. He soon joined the school's "stage band" where he played old standards as well as contemporary songs. Mano often impressed fellow musicians and friends with his uncanny ability to quickly learn and play popular songs of the day. His constant desire to learn and play new music turned him into a musical jukebox of sorts. It was during this time that he began playing music with friends outside of school. Learning and growing as musicians, it was not long before Mano and his friends formed a band. Exchanging ideas and influences, Mano began to fuse his many influences into a distinctive style. Prince, James Brown, Parliment Funkadelic and others were part of a collection that also included The Beatles, Pink Floyd and The Police. Mano's guitar style was greatly influenced by guitar players who were themselves students of the old blues masters. The influence of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, David Gilmour and Eric Clapton can be heard in his playing. Mano's band eventually became Smoov Earth, the creators of alternative funk. Smoov Earth played in many New York clubs, including the legendary CBGB's and the West End Gate. Smoov Earth had a great live sound and always moved the crowd. Mano wrote and co-wrote many songs with the band. He played rhythm and lead guitars with a rotating group of great musicians for over a decade. Now on his own, Mano's personal mission is to be part of a revolution in independent music. He plans to be part of a growing movement among musicians to bring songwriting, musicianship and freedom back to the music industry. He is a strong supporter of the independent creation and distribution of music. Mano is the onwer of ManoReza Music, an independent record label and music publishing company (ManoRezaMusic.com). Mano continues a dying tradition of singer-songwriters. He offers soulful music and thought provoking lyrics along with real musicianship. Mano's sound has been described as Prince meets the Beatles. | |
| Power to the people I am a great supporter of independent music. I am not anti-record company. I think when a record company serves the artist community and cultivates good music and creativity, record companies are a good thing. What is discouraging is when the record companies find themselves motivated by profit and encourage the creation of "product" instead of art. The mass production of clones creating inferior music (because they are rewarded for doing so), combined with the production of disposable music is destroying the soul of the music industry in my opinon. There is hope however. I find that the spirit of real songwriting and the creation of music as a form of art does still exist in many artists. I find a lot of this spirit in the independent music scene. Artists like myself are recording and releasing their own music the way that they want to without being pigeon holed into a musical stereotype. More and more, there are sites that are being created that assist independent artists in the creation, sale and distribution of music without assistance of a major record label. Sites like CdBaby and Garageband.com are making it possible for artists to have great exposure to music lovers without the benefit of a record deal. I have always felt that the people who buy music should decide what they want to hear instead of bean counters at a major record company or radio station who are more interested in profit than art. |  |
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