Age: Old enough to know better, young enough not to care. Instruments: Vocals, piano, flute, a little guitar Bands/artists you perform with: Chad Alger, my amazing guitarist! We've toured the country together quite a few times. We usually have a mini-zoo with us, including two dogs, Penny Lane and Juju, and sometimes even two cats, Chuck Norris and Suzuki Meowski. I'm crazy, I know! Day job: Full-time musician Hometown: Belem, Brazil and Chicago Current residence: Ormond Beach Type of music you perform: It's a mix of bossa nova, jazz, pop and folk Repertoire sampler: Most of the songs I play are originals. I'm always writing! It's not unusual for me to write two or three songs a day. Here are some of the original titles: "Demais (Too Much)," "Somewhere," "Haven't Been Around," "Icy," "Carried Away," "So Far," "Modern Day," "Maria Waits," "In Love, Intoxicated." Upcoming area gigs: 6-8 p.m. Oct 15 and 22, Vino 100, 175 S. Nova Road, Ormond Beach. 386-677-9800. Noon-4 p.m. Oct. 18, Dolphin View Restaurant, 107 N. Riverside Drive, New Smyrna Beach. 386-402-8859. 7-10 p.m. Oct. 30, Ormond Wine Co., 1108 Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach. 386-615-1001. 1-5 p.m. Oct. 31, Inlet Harbor, 133 Inlet Harbor Road, Ponce Inlet. 386-767-5590. CDs: "Miles From Nowhere," $15, available at my shows or on iTunes or CDBaby.com. A brand new CD, "Brasilissima," is coming very soon. Web site: monicadasilva.com
Entertainment Writer Rick de Yampert gives you the chatter on local music.
Vital Stats
Age: 21
Instrument: Electric bass
Band: Run Rhino
Day job: Full-time musician and full-time Stetson University student
Hometown: Orlando
Current residence: DeLand
Type of music you perform: Classic rock
Repertoire sampler: "Good Times Bad Times," Led Zeppelin; "Whipping Post," the Allman Brothers; "Detroit Rock City," Kiss; "Working Man," Rush. Run Rhino originals include "Victory Road," "Powerlines," "Traveling Wings"
Upcoming area gigs: Run Rhino, 6 p.m. Sept. 26, Inlet Harbor, 133 Inlet Harbor Road, Ponce Inlet. No cover
I think the spark that set off my interest in music, actually, would be the sound of the electric bass. I always thought it was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard and listening to artists who know how to control and harness that beauty has always inspired me to keep playing.
What was the most unusual or memorable gig you've ever played?
We were playing at Trader Jacks in DeLand during Bike Week hosted by the Dixie Bikers last March, and one of the events scheduled for the evening was a wet T-shirt contest. In between our first two sets, the Dixie Bikers set up a picnic table and a parade of biker breasts marched up onto the table and proceeded to get cold water poured on them. I mean these women were old enough to be my mom. It was definitely the most memorable, if not the most horrifying, gig we've played.
What musician/celebrity/historical person would you most like to have dinner with?
I've always wanted to ask Bruce Lee if he was finished eating that.
What was the last book you read?
"The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World" by A.J. Jacobs.
What CD/tape/music is in your car/home stereo/iPod right now?
My iTunes has been set to the Yellowjackets and Sly and the Family Stone for the last few weeks.
What is your favorite movie?
"The Big Lebowski" -- the Dude abides.
What was the best concert you ever attended?
A Rush concert at the Ford Amphitheatre in Tampa. I remember during the encore they went into "One Little Victory" and Alex Lifeson's guitar stopped working and the band stopped while Alex fumed at his guitar tech and got another guitar. They started the song up again and the planets aligned and the universe knew peace for 5 minutes and 10 seconds.
"If I didn't play music, I would ... ":
Be mistaken.
"I'd sell my soul for ...":
Something greater than or equal to the value of my soul.
Ask 13-year-old Alexander Lynn to name one of his favorite pieces of music these days and he won't name a song by My Morning Jacket, the Black Eyed Peas or the latest "American Idol" sensation. He'll cite "Bacchanal," from the opera "Samson and Delilah" by Camille Saint-Saens.
Yep, that early 20th-century classical composer dude.
It was only two years ago that Alexander ... ahem, politely rebuffed the cello played by his friend Caleb Reedy.
"Caleb said, 'You gotta try this, man!'" Alexander recalls today. "I said, 'Not over my dead body!'"
But then Alexander's mother forced him to tag along when his younger sister, Michelle, decided to take up violin under the tutelage of the Flagler Youth Orchestra's strings program.
"I came out of that and said, 'Mom, can I please learn cello?'" Alexander says in their rural Flagler County home. "That was so much fun!"
And so last spring, when the youth orchestra performed the final of its three annual concerts, Alexander was playing his cello on "Bacchanal" as well a work by Bach. (It was Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" that was the outre item on the program.)
Alexander and 9-year-old Michelle, the children of Greg and Laura Lynn, are both entering their third year with the strings program. They will be joined by between 250 and 300 students as the Flagler Youth Orchestra and the strings program celebrate their fifth season since becoming a free program under the Flagler County School District.
An orientation session for new students will be at 5 p.m. Sept. 9 in the cafeteria of Indian Trails Middle School in Palm Coast.
Jonathan May, a cellist and Winter Park resident, is the music director of the Flagler Youth Orchestra (one of three such groups he heads in Central Florida).
"The pieces that work typically are the standard (classical) repertoire." says May, who's worked 30 years with young musicians. "The piece from 'Samson and Delilah' is this fantastic, colorful orchestration. It was a real stretch. I told the kids, 'If, three weeks before the concert, we're not ready for this, we have to realistic. I don't want to put you guys out there if it's not going to sound good.'
"They just buckled down. They worked and worked. It was a really good performance, by any standard. I was proud of them. I was in tears by the time it was over. I knew how far they had come in such a short time."
Likewise the strings program.
The roots of the program go back to 2003, when it was a fee-based youth outreach program of the Flagler Symphonic Society. But the program faced funding shortages in 2005.
Age: 24. Instruments: Lead vocals, guitar, mandolin. Band: Whiskey Basin. Day job: I also work for bowlingball.com. Hometown: Orange City. Current residence: Orange City.
Type of music you perform: Country, Southern rock, bluegrass. Repertoire sampler: Originals -- "Blame It on Boston," "Wasting My Breath," "Plans We Made," "Invisible to You," "Scarlet Sunrise." Covers -- "Devil Went Down to Georgia," "Folsom Prison Blues," "In Color." Upcoming area gigs: "Athens Rocks Woodstock" with Whiskey Basin, Dish and other bands and artists, 1-11 p.m. Aug. 15, Athens Theatre, 124. N. Florida Ave., DeLand. $20 advance, $25 day of show. 386-736-7456. 9 p.m. Aug. 28-29, Rockin' Ranch, 801 S. Nova Road, Ormond Beach. 386-673-0904. CDs: "Seven Sundays." $10. You can purchase them at whiskeybasin.com and also at shows.
Age: 19. Instruments: Bass and back-up vocals. Band: Amsden. Day job: Full-time musician. Hometown: Ormond Beach. Current residence: Daytona Beach. Type of music you perform: Surf alternative rock, grunge, reggae. Repertoire sampler: All originals written by Tad Jennings: "Tease Me," "Inside Out," "In the Sand," "You Got It Girl," "Other Side," "Muse." Covers include "Drive" by Incubus, "Simple Man" by Shine Down. We perform all originals at our shows. Upcoming area gigs: We have an awesome show, "The Dueling Stages" coming up with Yellow Card and the UpRise on Dec. 27 at the Full Moon Saloon, 700 Main St., Daytona Beach. Time TBA. (Check our MySpace for time.) CD/video: We just finished working on our first music video for "Tease Me"! It will be released soon. We are in the studio working on our first EP, plus performing all over Florida. We stay pretty busy. We are going on tour this spring/summer.
We have a demo available for $3. If you're lucky we sometimes give them out for free at our shows...lol. You can buy them at our shows or through our MySpace.
