SOUND & VOICE
I have been playing music in the metropolitan area regularly since 1990. Initially,
I wrote music, sang, and played guitar for the band Surreal.
Surreal played hundreds of gigs all over the east coast, created its own record
label (Melting Palette Records) and publishing company, charted on CMJ several
times, and contributed music to film and television productions from 1990 till
1999 or so. Even now, I receive modest royalty checks from ASCAP for snippets
of music used for a TV show here, a short film there. . .
During the past few years, I've collaborated with gifted musicians to form Milquetoast,
Watercats, and Stratosphere.
I've worked with New York free jazz player Daniel Carter in a variety of settings,
locals Bopa King Carre, Tom Karcher, and Nick Gianni, and performed with an
myriad of musicians including Jen Chapin, Chris
Barron from the Spin Doctors and other
dear friends and talented people. During the Surreal years, we opened and played
with a wide a variety of acts, as well, ranging from Ben
Folds Five and Richard Lloyd to Naughty
By Nature and Michelle Ndegeocello. We
toured the NACA college circuit with an excellent and inventive hip hop project
called Dark Theory. Recently, I've been collaborating
with old friends to create Diet Kong, a swank-rock-punk
project focused on songwriting with a wider lens. In addition, for the past
two years I’ve curated a series for innovative singer/songwriters in the
Long Island/New York City area called The Conklin barn Singer/Songwriter Series.
I’ve had a chance to meet and work with some excellent songwriters including
Philip A. Jimenez and Gordo Gringo, Rich Stein, Brian Sendrowitz, Akiva, Greg
Fine, Rorie Kelly, Bess Rogers, Seth Davis, Dave Diamond, Neil Cavanagh, and
many more.
I guess what's important to me about my music now is that it's honest and somehow
in tune with my intentions, which are, ultimately, to learn more about myself
and others through creation and performance and have that be a kind of entertainment
too. I've been playing solo a lot more lately with steady monthly shows in the
Long Island/New York City area where I live, and I'd like to further that path
with more work as a composer and summer tours in the region. I've come to understand
professionalism as the integrity we bring to our performances and the respect
we have for the environments in which we create. I'd love to continue to build
professional relationships with people in the music industry and beyond if the
shoe fits.
Check Alan
Semerdjian.com for the latest news and performance information.
DISCOGRAPHY
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Alan
Semerdjian
'When There Was Something Wrong
With You' |
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Indie. Fall 2005. Alan Semerdjian
vocals/guitar. Produced by Michael Bloom, Philip A. Jimenez, & Brian
Blackburn. |
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Alan
Semerdjian
'Hero City' |
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Live Acoustic & Studio Recordings.
Summer 2003. Alan Semerdjian vocals/ guitars. William
Verdolino & Paul DiBenedetto production/ engineering. |
Funk/ Jam Music. Summer 2002. Alan Semerdjian
vocals/ guitars. Matt Iselin vocals/ rhodes. Tom
Karcher bass. Ian Katz drums. Nick Gianni tenor sax. Paul DiBenedetto production/
engineering.
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Free Jazz/ Folk. Summer 2001. Alan Semerdjian
vocals/ guitars. Daniel Carter winds/ brass. Todd
Capp trap kit. Chris Lovrin standup bass. Dean Midulla production/ engineering.
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Stratosphere
'Live@Knitting
Factory ' |
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Free Jazz/ Space Rock. Summer 2000-01.
Alan Semerdjian electric guitar. Tom Karcher chapman
stick. Ian Katz drums. Daniel Carter winds/ brass. Ben Forstenzer
tenor sax. Mike Bloom electric
guitar. Bopa King Carre percussion. |
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Stratosphere
'Night Before
Storm ' |
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Free Jazz/ Space Rock. Fall 2000.
Alan Semerdjian electric guitar. Tom Karcher chapman
stick. Ian Katz
drums. Joe Silva keyboards. |
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Stratosphere
'Night Driving...' |
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Free Jazz/ Space Rock. Spring 2000.
Alan Semerdjian electric guitar. Tom Karcher chapman stick. Ian Katz
drums. Mike Bloom electric guitar. Dan Sullivan
cello. |
Alternative Rock. Winter 1999. Alan
Semerdjian vocals/ guitar. Tom Sullivan guitars. Dan Sullivan
bass. Ian Katz drums. Paul DiBenedetto production. |
Alternative Rock. Winter 1998. Alan
Semerdjian vocals/ guitar. Tom Sullivan guitars. Dan Sullivan
bass. Ian Katz drums. Paul DiBenedetto production. |
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Surreal
'Drawing Bridges...' |
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out of print
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