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Biography
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From the land they call New Jersey, in a suburb of New York City, one of Neil Rambaldi's first signs of intrigue and affinity for music as a child was when he started looking through the piano bench in the living room wondering how some of the sheet music that he had found actually sounded. Within a year or so, around the age of 7, Neil picked up his first of three long since forgotten instruments -- the violin... followed by the alto-sax... and later on the trumpet some years later, with which Neil gained the "1st trumpet" position in his grammar school's humble little student orchestra. Though, as Neil's interest grew stronger toward the sound of Rock music, his trumpet began to collect dust. From these two events, one of the biggest moments in Neil's life transpired. After nagging his parents for quite a few years to let him go and buy a guitar, Neil finally took a trip to the local music store at the age of 16 and traded in his trumpet toward the value of his first guitar. From here, Neil had a new found passion.
Aside
from
the
good ol'
Rock
&
Roll,
Neil's
musical
appetite
diversified
over
time
toward
other
specific
styles
including
Progressive
Rock,
Progressive
Metal,
and
some
forms
of
Blues,
Jazz
Fusion,
Flamenco,
and
Classical.
Primarily
a
self-taught
guitarist,
Neil's
music
discipline
has
been
honed
greatly
from
his
intense
self-study
of
both
music
theory
and
the
guitar
techniques
found
in
these
styles.
He
jointly
developed
his
understanding
of
music
theory
from
the
classical
standpoint
in
the
School
of
Music
at
William
Paterson
University
where
he
received
his
Bachelor
of
Arts
degree
in
Music
in
1999.
As
part
of
his
studies,
Neil's
degree
program
also
included
a
concentration
in
audio
recording,
which
Neil
maintained
a
parallel
interest
in
throughout.
Never
taking
a
private
guitar
lesson
a
day
in
his
life,
Neil
did
however,
have
the
opportunity
(in
the
midst
of
his
college
years)
to
spend
a
week
in
a
classroom
with
a
handful
of
other
guitarists
in
the
presence
of
the
extraordinary
Fusion
player
Jon
Finn,
where
Neil
attended
the
Summer
Guitar
Sessions
at
Berklee
College
of
Music
in
1997.
It
was
around
this
time
that
Neil's
ear
truly
began
opening
up
to
alternate
playing
styles
more
so
than
in
the
past.
Though
Neil
decidedly
never
became
a
performance
major
for
guitar
in
his
college
studies,
he
maintained
his
self-studies
and
became
part
of
the
Classical
Guitar
Ensemble
in
his
senior
year
at
William
Paterson.
He
also
honed
his
songwriting
craft
producing
some
of
his
first
complete
solo
recordings
during
this
time,
discovering
his
true
passion
for
creating
instrumental
music
using
his
guitar
as
the
"voice"
of
his
songs.
Neil
also
spent
time
during
college
honing
his
musical
creativity
with
peers
among
the
local
scene
in
various
band
projects
ranging
from
Progressive
Rock
to
Funk.
While
constantly
composing
and
developing
his
own
musical
works,
Neil
also
managed
to
continue
with
his
interest
in
music
production,
earning
his
way
up
the
ladder in
the
New
York
area
as a recording engineer.
Eventually,
Neil
landed
a
job
at
Sony
Music
Studios
in
Manhattan
working
alongside
some
of
the
biggest
names
in
the business. By this time, Neil's studio experiences already included
sessions with artists such as Marc Anthony, Harry Connick Jr., Eve, Pat
Metheny, Irene Reid, the late Charles Earland, producer Bob Power (A Tribe Called Quest, Erykah Badu)
and many others.
It
was at Sony that
after
spending
only
a
few
months
Neil
succeeded
greatly
in
production,
but
he
wanted
more...
With
his
incredibly
intense
engineering
schedule,
he
missed
too
much
--
the
joy
of
being
an
artist
himself.
It
was
at
this
time
that
Neil
decided
to
channel
his
energy
into
his
career
as
a
solo
artist
and
session
guitarist
while
still
freelance
engineering, along with starting to work as a producer for other artists,
and
somehow
maintaining
extra
jobs
including
working
at
a
music
store
and
later
becoming
a
studio
manager
at
a
local
music
rehearsal
facility
--
all
to
support
himself.
It
is
this character
that
has
brought
Neil
where
he
is
today...
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Living
and
breathing
music
since
the
day
he
first
picked
up
a
guitar,
Neil
Rambaldi
has
since
proven
both
his
undeniable
musicianship
and
the
musical
potency
that
runs
through
his
veins.
Since
1999,
Neil
has
become
known
as
a
renaissance
musician
among
his
peers,
establishing
himself
as
a
mind-bending
guitarist,
solo-artist,
composer,
and
producer.
Perhaps
his
most
triumphant
accomplishment
to
date
has
been
the
release
of
his
now
acclaimed
instrumental
solo
debut
album
Perpetual
Horizon
in
2002,
which
has
catapulted
Neil
as
a
groundbreaking
guitarist
and
solo-artist
in
the
instrumental
Heavy
Rock
Fusion
and
Progressive
Rock
genres.
With
its
epic
flavor
and
a
multitude
of
other
styles,
Perpetual
Horizon
has
caught
the
attention
of
both
fans
and
the
media
in
the
farthest
corners
of
the
globe,
garnering
radio
airplay
in
12
countries
to
date
since
its
independent
release
on
Neil's
own
record
label
Prismism
Music.
The
album
has
also
accumulated
countless
rave
reviews
in
numerous
music
publications
and
major
music
websites
internationally
including
20th
Century
Guitar
Magazine
(USA/Canada),
Guitar
Chef
(Italy),
Metal
Era
(Chile),
and
many
more.
Dubbed "Brilliant" and "Incredible" by some critics, and simply "Stunning" by others, Neil's solo debut Perpetual Horizon has been revered as one of the top independent releases by a solo guitarist in terms of its musical depth, personality, performance, and over-the-top production. Produced and written entirely by Neil, the most frequent response is simply the amazement audiences have after listening to the album and reading the CD liner notes, realizing Neil's multi-instrumental talent, performing every instrument on the album with the exception of Neil's superbly realistic drum programming and a smokin' keyboard appearance on the track Funky Brew by long time friend and virtuoso keyboardist R. Sean Faust. With always a prevalence of melody coupled with virtuosity all in the same soundscape, this eleven-song masterpiece... "...manages to elude the trap so many instrumental albums fall into; namely, they become showcases for virtuosity, and the songs are incidental. The songs on Perpetual Horizon are well-crafted compositions, that hold a listener's interest." as stated by Hal Selzer of East Coast Rocker (NY/NJ/PA, USA). The album was also voted as one of the top-50 CD's of 2003 on the major indi-music website Kweevak.com's "CD of the Year Awards", and has repeatedly topped the sales charts at the online retailer mecca for instrumental guitar music: Guitar Nine Records. In April 2002, for both the week it was released, and the month, the album was the #1 seller in the Hard Rock category and the #2 seller in the Progressive category at the site. On the week of its release it was also the #4 seller overall, and the #7 seller overall for the month. The album also earned the #3 spot for the year of 2002 in the Progressive category, and continues to top the charts today at Guitar Nine.
Neil's guitar prowess has been noticed on several major occasions, even before he released his first solo album. Among being asked to play guitar in many instances by a plethora of artists for work both in the studio and on stage, a moment that really put Neil into the spotlight for the first time was in March of 2001 when he was selected as the featured artist on the mega-music industry website Tonos.com, also landing him his first major interview. That same month, Neil had earlier sent in a contest submission to the Tonos & Ibanez Guitar Challenge, and nailed a top-10 finalist position out of hundreds of young guitarists in North America, of which, guitar legend Steve Vai had hand-picked. After the release of Perpetual Horizon in 2002, Neil earned more major features in the press including a cover feature on East Coast Rocker (NY/NJ/PA, USA) music magazine in January 2003, followed by another cover feature in April 2003 on the quintessential guitar e-zine Guitar Chef in Italy, also giving Neil a feature interview that month alongside some other virtuosos including former Megadeth/Cacophony guitarist Marty Friedman.
As
a hired
guitarist,
Neil
has
worked
on
countless
projects
in
a
multitude
of
styles
while
living
in
the
New
York
area.
Among
his
tour
performances
with
other
artists,
in
2002
Neil
landed
the
gig
doing
some
New
York
area
tour
dates
as
the
guitarist
for
Universal
Records
recording
artist
Lilian
Garcia,
also
making
live
television
appearances both regionally and nationally in the U.S. with
Lilian on the networks
TNN
(nationwide), WWOR/UPN (NY/NJ), and Univision (NY/NJ/CT). Neil also performed with Lilian in a
music video promoting her hit single "Shout", which was broadcasted
at World
Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) live arena events all over the U.S. From
2000
through
2002
Neil
also
performed
as
the
lead
guitarist
and
musical
director
for
the
live
band
of
former
A2
Records
recording
artist
John Taglieri,
which
included
tour
dates
from
New
York
and
New
Jersey
to
the
Boston
area.
Some
of
these
Taglieri
dates
included
opening
slots
for
artists
such
as
Firehouse
and
Randy
Jackson
(lead
vocalist
&
lead
guitarist
from
Zebra).
Among
the
studio
projects
that
Neil
has
done
on
guitar,
he
has
laid
down
some blazing
tracks
for
many
independent
artists
as
well
as
some
commercial
releases
including
the
self-titled E.P.
of
Dreamscape
Music
Group
recording
artist
Tiffany
Nicole
(2003),
Leap
Dog
Music
recording
artist
John
Taglieri's
second
and
third
albums
(Half
and
Half,
2003
/
Now,
2005),
and
Rotunda
Records
recording
artist
The
Infernos'
third
album
aptly
titled
The
3rd
Prophesy
(2005)
in
which
Neil
also
co-wrote
the
track
"Can
You
Feel
It"
with
Kenny
Simmons, former
member
of
the
three-time
Grammy
Award-winning
group
The
Commodores.
In production, Neil has also worked on numerous independent and commercial recordings as both a producer and an engineer. Most notably, he produced the first two albums of the Christian Hard Rock group Rivera Bomma, with the first album Invisible Force earning the band an international distribution deal with Secret Port Records in Greece. The band's second album titled I Am God, in which Neil had the opportunity to produce with renowned engineer Eric Rachel (Symphony X, Skid Row), will be released in 2005.
In
live
support
of
Perpetual
Horizon,
Neil
was
joined
by
virtuosos
R.
Sean
Faust
on
Keyboards,
Chris
Onjian
on Bass Guitar,
and
Edward
Faust
on
Drums
and
Percussion.
This
powerhouse
quartet
rocked
stages
all
over
New
York
City
and
northern
New
Jersey
throughout
2002
and
2003,
creating
a
significant
buzz
among
the
local
scene
that
has
long
been
deprived
of
any
great
all-instrumental
act
outside
the
style
of
jazz.
Among
Neil's
solo
concert
dates
on
this
tour,
he
was
also
selected
to
perform
in
New
York's
annual M.E.A.N.Y.
Fest
sponsored
by
Guitar
World
Magazine
in
September
2003.
Neil
looks
forward
to
touring
abroad
in
support
of
his
future
releases
in
the
coming
years,
including
South
America,
Asia,
and
Europe.
After recently finishing producing Rivera Bomma's second album, Neil Rambaldi is now returning his energy to his solo career in which he is planning on getting back into the studio later in 2005 to begin recording his much anticipated second album. Neil is also beginning a heavy campaign for promoting his solo recordings to be licensed for use in film and television, as well as other forms of media. In between these primary endeavors, Neil is planning on continuing to do session and touring guitar work as the opportunities arise with other artists, as well as build a private guitar instruction schedule to exercise and spread his knowledge.
Through his successes thus far, Neil Rambaldi has maintained a humble and inspired attitude on his path to musical fulfillment. This attitude has opened many doors and is vital for making truly visceral music. The unique voice of his guitar and the unmistakable passion for melody, rhythm and harmony that Neil possesses have delivered his music to many lands, and are instrumental in bringing it to many more...
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