PA ~You are involved in many artistic projects.  With regards to playing percussion, when did you start and who are you performing with currently?

GO ~I actually started kind of late in life, only about 3 years ago.  John Welton, who was in Waterband at the time, gave me a conga as a thank you for doing some artwork.  I had gotten hooked on drumming after taking part in a Bill Roth lead drum circle back in 1997.  Anyhow, I started practicing everyday and trying to learn from watching people around me, and now here I am. 
As far as what I'm doing right now, life has kind of brought me full circle.  Lately, I've been lucky enough to sit in with the wonderful Burning River Band, of which John Welton is now a part.  I'm also going to be working on writing some new material and revamping some old material with the Danny Longhair Band.  And this summer, I will be working on the score for Tom's and my first film, "These Days."
 
PA~ Who are your musical influences?

GO~ My dad has always been a big one because I've listened to him play my whole life.  He also got me into Bob Dylan and The Beatles at an early age.  The Beatles used a lot of great world percussion on Sgt. Pepper's.  I've also always loved the Rolling Stones for their early use of world percussion.  
Since high school, I've been very into jazz and reggae, and anything that derives itself from those things.  I got really into the Grateful Dead and Phish, stuff like that. 
Since I started playing, I've begun to really explore more traditional forms of Afro-Cuban music and Latin jazz.  I love Santana, of course.  Buena Vista Social Club was great.  Really, I'll listen to anything I can get my hands on.  I'm always trying to explore new facets of music and listen to different things, whether it be actually percussion, or a great guitarist, or a great bass player.  There is a sense of rhythm in all music if we listen to it.  It doesn't have to be any one thing or another; I just try to stay open and let it all come in.  I absorb it, like a sponge.

PA ~ Where could someone catch one of your shows?

GO ~ Right now, check www.burningriverband.com; I'll be playing with them whenever they have me out.  I play with the Danny Longhair Band some, so keep an eye on his site as well.  I'm pretty open to whatever comes my way.  I hope to hook up with Rare Blend and Burning River Band this summer also.

PA ~ Are you planning on recording original works or live shows in the near future for fans?

GO ~ As I said, we're working on writing the original score for These Days, so that's definitely in the works.  I've also recorded tracks with Rare Blend's upcoming CD due out by September.

PA ~ You are also a writer, and Proartist has learned that you are in the process of making of a movie.  What's that all about?

GO ~ We're about to do re-shoots for These Days, then there's the whole scoring process.  I'm also writing a new film called "year of the fish", which we may begin filming in the fall.  These Days is a kind of satire about post-40 relationships.  year of the fish is kind of a romantic comedy of a different variety, and is really just about getting in over your head.  I guess you could compare it to Reality Bites or High Fidelity.  A lot of it is just based on my life, but it's equally a work of total fiction.

PA ~ Do you have a release date or timeline for completion?

GO ~We should have These Days completed by the end of August or early September.  The script for year of the fish should be done this month, and we'll hopefully begin filming in the fall.

PA ~ Who or what inspired you to dabble in film making?

GO ~ Tom and I have always been film nuts.  A couple years ago, he wrote a script.  I stole it over a couple days and looked at it.  We sat down and made some changes and decided to just dive in and make the thing.  It was hard sometimes, and we had no idea what we were doing, but we learned a lot and hopefully people will like it.  At this point we've been working on it for almost two years and we just want to kind of get done with it and onto the next thing really.  We're both really excited about the new script and about being partners in this new project.

PA ~ Any favorite movies in particular that you draw from? 

GO ~ Edward Burns films, anything Jimmy Stewart was ever in, anything Alfonse Cuaron or Eric Schaeffer makes.  I pay a lot of attention to films and usually watch them several times.  So much about them is important to me and I have such a love for films.  It jsut seems really natural to be making them.

PA ~ You also draw/sketch and paint, how long have you been doing that and where can someone view your work?

GO ~ Since i could hold a pencil or crayon really.  When I was a kid, my mom was taking college art classes. I used to draw sketches of nudes from her sketches along with drawing my favorite cartoon and comic book characters.  It's this really nice juxtaposition really.  Growing up, I was really into comic books, and still do some work in that field here and there.  I've done art for local bands here and there too.  It really comes in hady for storyboarding our films to have a background in sequential illustration.  Art is still realyl great and really important to me, despite how I've pushed it to the back of the line lately to work on other things.  But I'm getting back to it slowly and it feels great. I need to get my own website put up for that sort of thing,  I just haven't had the time lately.  But it's coming...

PA ~ What was the best piece of advice you ever heard that motivates you in pursuit of your many projects?

GO ~ There have been a lot of them.  My grandfather always talked about really working hard at whatever you do, so that kind of sticks with me.  In percussion, John Welton has always driven the point home to me that, often, it's what you don't play that matters.  Like Carlos Santana says, you have to respect the space between the notes.  Often I catch other percussionists trying to steal the show.  It's easy to want to show off and be a star, but it's much more important to lay back and respect the music you're playing and be a part of it.  Add to it gracefully.
In art and film, I really think the key is remembering that it's not about capturing reality, It's about capturing how you see the world.  It's not always perfect and beautiful, but it's your perspective and that's really important.

soulshine...it's better than sunshine...it's better than moonshine, baby, damn sure better than rain...well now people don't mind, we all feel this way sometimes...you gotta let your soul shine, let it shine until the break of day...

All jazzed up By LINDA HALL Staff Writer WOOSTER - 7/2005

The rhythm of life pulsed in downtown Wooster Sunday, reverberating from the Gazebo and echoing in the softer thump of conga drums set up in a nearby booth. The Arts and Jazz Fest, presented by Main Street Wooster, Inc., Wayne Center for the Arts and Washington Properties......