|
|
Artist Bio
|
Fernando Ramirez is a multi-instrumentalist living in San Antonio, TX. Like one of his idols Tom Scholz, he writes, performs, produces, and mixes his musical releases.
In 2003, he released his debut CD RAMIFICATION. This release was an eclectic collection of songs that harkened back to such influences such as Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Queen, Def Leppard, Mutt Lange, David Foster, and Boston. The release had vocals songs, instrumentals, ballads.. and even a hidden “guitar solo” track. Overall, musically, RAMIFICATION had what some described as an “80's feel.” This was natural, since Fernando's adolescent years were spent immersed in the melodic rock of the 80s through the golden age of MTV.... when it played videos. Listeners to Fernando's music were always impressed with the release, and felt that the level of musicality and the songwriting was a key part that made the release notable. The release was successfully sold through CD Baby, Amazon, and various online music distributors. Fernando noticed that many of his sales through CD Baby came from overseas customers... some as far away as Japan. “That didn't really surprise me, because I'd always heard that Japan has always been a place where melodic rock has been continuously appreciated.”
Recorded from 2003 to 2008, and just released, his latest effort WILDERNESS is a much needed shot in the arm for the melodic rock genre. “People that got to hear my new songs were telling me that they thought it sounded a lot more modern than my last release,” says Fernando. “ I honestly didn't try to do anything too different, except for the fact that I didn't rely so much on effects like reverb, chorus, and highly processed drums. A lot of the music went down “dry”, but it still has the layered vocals, multi-tracked guitars, and an overall upbeat attitude that much melodic rock has.”
“Another difference, probably, is that my musical abilities have only gotten better over the years,” he adds. The more you do something, the more you can see improvements. I've played guitar for 23 years, and I'm at the point where I can visualize a song in my head, and I have the ability and equipment to go into the studio and create it the way it was envisioned.”
Fans of well-produced music should enjoy WILDERNESS for what it is... a collection of high energy rock songs that tries to elevate you. “I enjoy listening to it when I'm driving... especially at night, or on headphones before I crash,” he says. “I do this with my favorites, and always enjoy hearing the performance details. I tried to accomplish this with my release, so that people can enjoy it the same way.”
WILDERNESS will be available through online retailer CD Baby, Itunes, and many other online music retailers. Despite repeatedly describing himself as “like the Beatles, in that I don't tour,” Fernando plans to put together a band to play his original music on regional dates in Texas by the end of 2008. “Or possibly sooner, if I get invited to play somewhere,” he quickly adds.
Track by track from Fernando Ramirez
Ramification Entertainment artist Fernando Ramirez has put together a track by track overview of his new release WILDERNESS.
001. WHAT IT TAKES - Many of the tracks from WILDERNESS are about artistic perserverance. This track kicks off that theme in a big way. This song was first put together about 2 years ago, and I kept working on it until I was happy. I am pretty proud of the breakdown in the middle, where you hear a prominent guitar with lots of delay, and then you hear vocal bits talking about the courage of what it takes to make important statements, or to accomplish something artistically noteworthy. I'm hoping that it encourages people, such as musicians, to take steps to achieve their dreams, and to do what they can to make them happen.
002. SCREAMIN' OVERDRIVE - This track is about overcoming adversity. Screaming overdrive is what I believe you have to do to accomplish something when it seems like the whole world is against you. Sometimes you just have to push on, and remove barriers, and it often takes superhuman strength to do it. This song celebrates that. Admittedly, there is a lot of autobiographical material in this song, but it's things that I think everyone can relate to. It's an upbeat track with cool riffs. I used an Epiphone Les Paul Custom on it, and the guitar added a lot of crucial warmness to the track.
003. WILDERNESS - This track is the title track. It starts off acoustically, then moves into electricity just as the solo kicks in. It's format is not unlike the format that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant established with Stairway To Heaven, where the song starts slow, then kicks in at the end. I'm not saying my song is as powerful as that of Led Zeppelin, but I think the song speaks for itself. The song is basically a series of conversations. I firmly believe we all live in the wilderness, and it's up to us to find a way out of it onto the road we were destined to take.
004. ANNIHILATE IT - The style of this song can almost be described as an early NWOBHM track. It has hard riffs, and my singing is more intense. My vocalizing on this track reminded me of the way I used to sing along with Metallica's Black Album when it came out. This song is about rallying against the forces of darkness, whatever they might be. However, instead of promoting violence with violence, the song is basically a pacifist manifesto. It does not condone terrorism, but encourages peace through revoking the essence of evil.
005. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE - This track, thematically, goes back to the theme of artistic perseverance. It is about that road you have to take to create something. There comes a time and place where you have to draw a line, and discard the chains that are holding you back. You have to declare your independence. I played this track for a friend of mine, and he remarked that he could relate to it in that almost seemed like it was talking about events that he had just gone through in his life. It was easy for him to understand it, and to rally behind it. That made me satisfied that the song was able to do what I wanted it to do. This track was the last one I wrote for WILDERNESS. It is a high energy rock and roll track. It was completed in January 2008.
006. OPEN ROAD - This track is a rock n' roll road song... a good one to listen to on a highway somewhere. I kept it simple... it is just drums, bass, and guitar. I tried to simplify my recording process with this one, and I'm pretty happy with it. This was originally an instrumental track that I created back in 2001. I don't recall if I ever cut any solos on it all the way through, ala Joe Satriani, but I do know it was revised many times over the last four years. It came together 2 years ago, and overall, I ended up recording probably 20 versions of it. This is the last version that I recorded late last year. If I ever come out with a box set, I could fill it up with different versions of this one!
007. DON'T WAKE ME UP - This track is a techno track that I did with my brother Edward Ramirez. It is our first professional collaboration. On every release, I try to put in one song that is a creative experiment. My last release had a song called SPANISH QUEEN. For this latest release, it's DON'T WAKE ME UP. Thematically, the song's lyrics were all derived from dreams I've had. Everything I sing about I've dreamed visually in some way... from the tornadoes, to the airplanes... it's all there in my mind. Since my brother has always done techno music, I wanted us to collaborate on a song where the guitars were an important part of the track. I was pretty happy with the way this one came out.
008. GLORIFY - This is a ballad with acoustic guitars and soft leads. The song is autobiographical... it is something that actually happened to me. Actually, the way I wrote it, it can be taken one of two ways, and I will let the listener decide what it is about. It is a nice breather for the overall collection.
009. STAR - This rocking song goes back to the theme of artistic perseverance. It is about someone who is trying to motivate another person to get off their butt and DO something artistic. Lots of people should be able to relate to it, lyrically. The solo was triple tracked, ala Randy Rhoads.
010. GOODBYE - A few years ago, I attended a funeral for a friend of my wife's family. It was a 23 year old girl who mysteriously died in her sleep. Anyway, at the ceremony in the chapel, her family played the crowd three songs in their entirety that were important to this girl during her life. They were her favorite songs. I remember being mesmerized by the songs when I heard them, and being really affected by the thought that this was the music she loved. It made the songs so powerful. So much so, that when I hear the songs on the radio nowadays, I still remember them from that ceremony. I was moved to write my own song of that nature: a song that my family could play at my own funeral, that would sum up the things I would want to say to them on that day. And instead of what you might expect... a slow, somber song... I did an uplifting song that ends with guitar solos that exhilarate the joy of living. If somebody else ever decided they liked my song enough to want it played at their funeral, I would be humbled and proud.
|
|
