A Soulful ‘Tribute’ to One’s Musical Influences

http://www.antonnews.com/westburytimes/news/1454-a-soulful-tribute-to-ones-musical-influences-.html[7/22/2009 3:01:32 PM]

For complete local news, subscribe to

The Westbury Times

AntonNews.com

The Westbury Times

NEWS

SPORTS

COLUMNS

MULTIMEDIA

OPINION

OBITUARIES

LOCAL LINKS

CALENDAR

ARCHIVE

Login/Register

Remember me

Forgot login?

Register

Gary Alt

A Soulful ‘Tribute’ to One’s MusicalInfluences

Friday, 10 July 2009 00:00

Gary Alt Releases New CD

Gary Alt has a lifelong love for music and credits an array of artists for hisown success as a musician, composer and songwriter. The Westburynative recently set out to pay homage to those artists in a 2-disc CDfittingly titled Tribute.

Alt released Tribute, which consists of only original songs he himselfwrote, in December 2008 and the compilation recognizes the works of 31artists, including, but not limited to, Eric Clapton, Steely Dan, The Beatles,Stevie Wonder, Carole King, The Temptations, The Allman Brothers, PaulSimon, Chuck Berry, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Frank Zappa andElvis Costello.

For Alt, Tribute is a composite of all the greatmusic that has moved and inspired him over theyears. “It’s simply a reflection of the diverseinfluences in my musical upbringing. I decided todo a collection of songs to pay tribute to thoseinfluences, which have made my life so musicallyrich and fulfilling. I can think of no better way tohonor these great artists who have given me somuch over the years,” said Alt, adding, “Tributerepresents many of my most profound influencescombined and interpreted in my own unique way… Pretty much everything is on there except myclassical influences, [which] would not fit with an album of such variedmusical styles.”

According to Alt, Tribute is geared to all ages and anyone who enjoysmusic from 2009 back to 1962. “Being that it’s a double CD with 31 songsthat run for a total of about two and half hours, there’s lots to go around,”he said. “If you love the blues, as I do, there’s plenty there to enjoy. If youlove Steely Dan, you’ll find something for you as well. If you love theAllman Brothers, you won’t be disappointed. If you’re in the mood forelectrified Latin a la Santana, there’s a track that features that, too. And soon.”

When compiling an album, Alt said he tries to find a common theme tomake everything fit together. “The theme of this particular CD is that it’s atribute to my most profound musical influences, which are not confined toany one genre,” he said.

Alt, whose own personal favorite tribute albums include Two Rooms (atribute to Elton John and Bernie Taupin) and Stone Free (a tribute to JimiHendrix), told The Westbury Times that some of his earliest memories

Featured Advertisers

Anton Community Newspapers • 132 East 2nd Street • Mineola, NY 11501 • Phone: 516-747-8282 • FAX: 516-742-5867

THE BOULEVARD HEALTHY LIVING CLASSIFIEDS SUBSCRIBE ADVERTISE CONTACT US NEWSSTANDS

A Soulful ‘Tribute’ to One’s Musical Influences

http://www.antonnews.com/westburytimes/news/1454-a-soulful-tribute-to-ones-musical-influences-.html[7/22/2009 3:01:32 PM]

growing up in Westbury pertain to music. As a child of the ’60s, Alt grewup listening to The Beatles, Motown and anything else he could get hishands on, depending greatly on his family’s transistor radio and recordcollections.

“I remember devouring my parents’ rather sparse record collection, myfavorites being Van Cliburn’s My Favorite Chopin and Tchaikosvky’sNutcracker Ballet,” Alt said. “I was listening to Eric Clapton and Cream,which then led me to the likes of Hendrix and Santana as well as what wethen called heavy metal … Not too long after that, around the time Istarted taking piano lessons, I discovered jazz-rock fusion in the bandsthat came out of some of Miles Davis’ ensembles. That led me to expandmy horizons to other jazz artists like Buddy Rich, Joe Pass and OscarPeterson.”

Alt said he loves the blues, jazz, classical, rock, pop, Indian, Irish, Spanishas well as works of Stevie Wonder, Carole King and Burt Bacharach,among others. “I suppose if I had to name my absolute favorites theywould be The Beatles, Eric Clapton – excluding most of the 20 years or sofrom about 1974-1993 – Chopin, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Charles Ives,Miles Davis, John McLaughlin and I’m just getting started. It’s a long list,”said Alt, who said choosing a favorite album of all time is also difficult. SgtPepper, Abbey Road, Meet the Beatles, October Project’s Falling Farther Inand John Mayall’s The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton all top the list ofalbums he could not live without.

Inspiration, Alt said, comes from various sources and to him good music is“any music that moves and inspires me the moment I hear it, no matterwhat it is.” He continued, “sometimes something non-musical inspires me,like the pattern of someone knocking on my door, or the sound of a fewwords. But musically, anything that’s well-written inspires my ownwriting…”

Although he began composing music at the age of 10, Alt said he didn’t getserious about songwriting until the mid-1990s when, during his 30s, hebegan to favor stability over being a touring musician. Since then, he said,“songwriting has become a natural way to express myself since I can do itanywhere and anytime and then record for the masses in my homestudio.”

While he has been writing and performing for more than 30 years, Altprides himself on being mostly self-taught. “I remember around 1972 or sopicking up a copy of Guitar Player magazine at the East Meadow PublicLibrary featuring Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore. He and many othermusicians have all said the same thing – listen, listen, listen to everyrecord you love and think is great and copy from them and make it yourown. That’s what all the greats did and if you do that yourself, you’ll addyour own personal style to the amalgamation of styles you have uniquelyselected to listen to and become something unique yourself,” said Alt.

“[I would] listen to Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn and othersand copy their technique, dissect sheet music and songs of Bacharach,Stevie Wonder, Rodgers & Hart and Steely Dan, and studying the sheetmusic of the great composers like Tchaikovsky and Beethoven,” said Alt.

He added that the only actual “schooling” he obtained was as a student atBowling Green Elementary School and W.T. Clarke High School. “I was adrummer in the school band and orchestra. [Drums] were the firstinstrument I remember playing … Throughout my high school years I hada number of influential and inspiring teachers,” said Alt, crediting EastMeadow School District faculty members David Hamel, Ron Grassi, LouPanzeca and Elizabeth Goode.

In addition to Tribute, which took two years to complete, Alt has released

A Soulful ‘Tribute’ to One’s Musical Influences

http://www.antonnews.com/westburytimes/news/1454-a-soulful-tribute-to-ones-musical-influences-.html[7/22/2009 3:01:32 PM]

three other CDs, including the self-produced Alien’s Heart in 2001; It’sAbout the Kids, a collection of 23 songs of spiritual quality encouragementfor children in 2005; and Open Road in 2006. Currently, Alt is working onan album with friend Jason Arvanites, who sings on many of Tribute’stracks.

“We discovered that since we have so much in common musically, andsince we both to love to write and record, it makes perfect sense to makean album together,” Alt said. “It’s been fun and inspiring, and has actuallycaused me to expand my horizons a bit since we both have different ideasand find ourselves accepting each other’s ideas rather than over-thinkingand tossing them.”

They don’t, however, always agree, which, according to Alt, may notnecessarily be a bad thing. “It tends to make the left-brain policeman bowto the more imaginative right-brain, and some very creative ideas flowmore readily,” he said.

While he enjoys catching a Yankees game or a round of golf as well asreading and studying the Bible, Alt, a financial planner and married fatherof three, said most of his “spare time” is spent composing, recording andplaying music.

“I can be riding in the car, taking a shower or sleeping at 3 a.m. [when]music and/or words come to me so I either write it down, pick up a guitaror sit at the piano and work something out,” Alt said. “It’s not alwayspossible to complete a song at first blush, but if I can commit somethingto some recorded medium, I can work on it later.” Additionally, he playsguitar and a little piano along side his son Derek on drums in the bandThunderhouse.

For more information on Gary Alt, visit www.GaryAlt.com. For moreinformation on Tribute (including sounds clips) or to purchase a copy,visit CDBaby.com.

AntonNews.com Farmingdale Observer Floral Park Dispatch Garden City Life Glen Cove Record Pilot Great Neck Record Hicksville Illustrated News

Levittown Tribune Manhasset Press Massapequan Observer Mineola American New Hyde Park Illustrated News Oyster Bay Enterprise-Pilot

Plainview-Old Bethpage Herald Port Washington News The Roslyn News Syosset-Jericho Tribune Three Village Times The Westbury Times

Anton Community Newspapers Search Subscribe Advertise Contact Us Newsstands Copyright ©1997-2009 Anton Community Newspapers, Inc.