Ameri-Floyd's Story
In February of 2014 eight musicians played an hour and fifteen minute showcase to an invitation only crowd that marked the beginning of something truly special. It was the culmination of one year of work that could only be described as meticulous. A journey of details that coalesced into something whole. A sonically ambitious concept-leave no stone unturned, leave no melody unrecognized and explore every possible resource to "get it right." The result was near-perfect, album quality renditions of some of the most original, ambitious and cinematic music ever recorded by Pink Floyd.
Towards the end of 2014 the bands lineup began to evolve. Ultimately the truly strongest components of three area Floyd tribute bands, Us Not Them, Time and Project Floyd had come together and formed a band that incorporated the passion, skill and pedigree to take this band into a whole other stratosphere. Ameri-Floyd was born. The bands current line up could only be described as an embarrassment of riches.
In September of 2014 the band began the process of fine tuning the performance and embarked on the screen film projections to add the visual component that set Pink Floyd apart. At the very beginning of 2015 that show was unveiled and captured for posterity. The journey continues. The renovation never ends. The music is the score of a film. A film where we all play our role. The goal is the same. To floor our audience and stimulate all of their senses to help them get in touch with the emotional content of the music that drives us as a band to bring it to them. This is cinema. This is Pink Floyd.
The Ensemble Cast
David Aguirre-Guitars,Vocals, Keys.
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Dave has been involved in both the New York and Los Angeles music scenes professionally since the nineties and was the lead guitarist and vocalist for Time. Having begun his Pink Floyd fascination with Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, Dave cites the first time he heard Animals as one of the most moving experiences of his life and his favorite of their albums. An obvious disciple of David Gilmour's guitar approach he credits Roger Waters' lyrics, sense of melody and emotional depth as his primary draw to the music. "Channeling Waters' spirit through the guitar-work might explain why my style has been described as a bit more fiery then Gilmour's." A consummate perfectionist, Dave strives to leave no stone unturned in exploring the sounds that make Pink Floyd the icon they are. Whether it's choosing the period-correct fuzz pedal for the solos in Dogs, the rotating speaker effect on the vocal in Pigs (Three Different Ones) and Echoes or the ring modulator effect on the girls vocals in Time it all speaks to Dave's infinite energy and unyielding drive to "getting it right."
To capture "the tone" Dave's rig is comprised of a 1963 Strat, 1965 Custom Tele, 1955 Fender Steel, Fernandes FR65S (think 24 fret Lewis but with sustainer and Floyd rose), two 1997 Fender/Roland Strat plus guitars, Takamine & Ibanez acoustics, Rocktron switching system, Roland Space Echo, TC Electronic G-Force, Alesis Quadraverb, Rockman analog echoes, Rivera S120 and TBR 1SL amps, Fender amps (1958 5F6A Bassman & 1965 Super Reverb), Line 6 Helix, Yamaha RA 100 rotating speaker unit, Motion Sound R3-147 rotating speaker unit, Celestion speakers, pedals by MXR, Digitech, Dunlop, Line 6, Fulltone, Electro-Harmonix, Boss, Ibanez and most recently Vick Audio's classic reproductions of the Big Muff and Power boost. MOOG theramin, AP&M Stevens slides, Pickups by Dimarzio and Lace Sensor. Vocal processing with TC Helicon. Roland GR 55 guitar synth and Korg, Arturia keyboards. Roland VK88 organ. Shure in ear monitoring. His rig can be viewed here.
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Matt Ganulin-Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Matt Ganulin began studying drums at the early age of 10. He has studied formally with some of the leaders in drum education. These greats include Frank Bellucci, Dom Famularo, Billy Messinetti, and others. As his career progressed, he has gained experience playing with many original projects including a band called Smokeshop, an original blues/rock project that produced a CD, gained radio play, and was invited to play numerous blues festivals throughout the east coast. From there he gained recognition within the NY cover band circuit, and has been playing locally ever since. In total, Matt has been playing and studying percussion for more than 30 years. He teaches drums and percussion to the local community. Matt has always had an affinity for the music of Pink Floyd due to the simple yet complex nature of their work and was Time's drummer. He feels their music is incredibly intricate and requires a very special feel and touch to truly capture the essence of what Pink Floyd embodies. Matt is very excited to be a part of this project which is filled with incredibly talented musicians coming from all different backgrounds and genres of music.
Matt currently plays Mapex drums, paiste cymbals, and Roland electronics.
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Rick Chiarello-Keyboards
Keyboardist Rick Chiarello was born and raised in Queens, NY. The youngest of 3 siblings, Rick was exposed to the music of several iconic rock bands such as The Doors, Led Zeppelin and of course Pink Floyd at an early age. Despite the years of piano lessons, Rick was unmotivated to do anything musically until he discovered for himself the genre of Prog. Once he obtained a Casio CZ synthesizer, Rick spent much of his teen years learning and programming sounds to emulate the music of bands such as Rush and Yes. Rick would eventually play keyboards for several local pop cover bands that performed in clubs and colleges throughout the tri-state area. After years of playing within the cover band circuit, Rick then joined several local hard rock/metal acts. Rick is now the keyboardist for the psychedelic/prog-rock band Of Earth (www.ofearthmusic.com). Rick is excited to become a member of Ameri-Floyd and looks forward to performing the music of Pink Floyd live with the current talented line-up.
Rick is a former hardware synth aficionado who has recently discovered the world of software synths. His main rig now consists of various midi controllers and a Macbook Pro running Mainstage with additional plugins.
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Andres Jimenez-Bass, Synth Bass and Vocals
Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, Andres moved up to NYC in 2001, where he had the opportunity to expand his wide array of musical interests, by joining projects of diverse tendencies including world-beat, jam-bands, pop rock, progressive, funk, traditional folklore, alternative, metal and was US Not Them's bassist for 8 years. His musical interaction with musicians of all walks of life is something he treasures, as much as his omnivorous interest in all kinds of styles. He is now quick to acknowledge that he pursues the Pink Floyd tribute as a way of paying homage to a band that fueled his artistic drive from the beginning, and to this day, continues to be standard against which he measures contemporary music.
Andres is also behind the furious grooves of Hip-Hop Metal outfit Seven Kings (www.7kings.com), and alternates from mellow to danceable rhythms with Venezuelan singer/songwriter Miguel Oldenburg (www.migueloldenburg.com). Additionally, his Chapman Stick embellishes the thoughtful and heartfelt poetry from Argentinean poet/trumpeter/singer/songwriter Andrea Botti, in a project known as “La Maquinacion”.
His weapons of choice? Roscoe fretted basses (www.roscoeguitars.com), Warwick fretless basses (www.warwickbass.com), the multi-dimensional Chapman Stick (www.stick.com), SWR amplifiers, and several stompboxes and floor units that grace his pedalboard, depending on his mood, his sonic perception, or the project he’s involved with at the moment.
Along with doing music, Andres is a project manager with a general contracting firm. When not doing any of this, he is devoted to performing setups and repair work on musical instruments. He is also an avid reader, a non-prolific writer and an active sports fan.
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Vic Delgado-Sax and Flute
Vic Delgado has been playing sax for over 50 years. His tone is the result of years of honing and caressing every note. Anyone who has heard us play will likely agree that when Vic comes out for Us and Them it will undoubtedly make you "feel" something. His touch is magical and his sense of dynamics something that can't be taught.
He spent a large part of his early career recording and playing jazz and blues and was Time's saxophonist. He now brings that wealth of knowledge and experience to the stage. We are fortunate to have him and he makes the band that much better.
Lea Flaherty-Vocals
Lea grew up in Maine, singing in chorus, church choir and musical theater productions throughout her childhood. She began her classical voice training at 15, and continued throughout her teens, and eventually was accepted to the American Musical and Dramatics Academy at 18, in NYC. Although she ended up singing with bands in bars instead of on stage, she has sung consistently since, both as a member in 7 different bands, as well as a soloist. She has sung everything from classical and standards to rock and alt playing trumpet, guitar and bass over the years, and enjoy writing and performing as much as she can. She also had the pleasure of recording with a few of these bands, and hope to work on her second originals album again in the near future, under the moniker of The Escape Artist.
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"I love singing Pink Floyd for the beautiful harmonies and huge sound, and the people in Amerifloyd are fun and professional! I look forward to more shows with them in the future! Thanks for the support all!
Samia Mounts-Vocals
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Samia has a voice that will thrill you, that can explore raspy depths of raw emotion just before ascending to wailing heights you’ll find hard to believe. She’s flawed, honest, and brave enough to tell the truth. She believes music should have a mission, and hers is to convince as many people as possible to celebrate their authenticity, to realize that pop culture is lying to us about what is good and beautiful, and to promote joy and self-love in as many lives as she can.
Samia Mounts has always been a weirdo. She grew up a constant misfit, never quite fitting in anywhere. She’s American, but she was born in Germany and raised mostly on an army post in Seoul, Korea. “When you’re a military kid, you get used to losing people. I lost my best friend every year,” she says. “You learn how to be self-sufficient.”
Samia's rendetion of Great Gig is nothing short of jaw dropping. She captures all of the horror, vulnerability and peaceful acceptance that helps explain why the song was originally entitle "Religon."
Linn Demilta-Vocals
There are many facets to the extensive musical career of this singer and musician. Music has always been influential and of utmost importance in her life.. Her focuses in college and graduate school were voice, violin, piano, and music education. Linn has experience in studio recording and singing professionally over the past 17 years covering a wide range of repertoire from Rock, Top 40, Dance, Jazz, Brazilian, African, Latin/Caribbean and was one of Time's original vocalists. She has had the opportunity to perform in cities throughout the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean Islands, and South America. Linn continues to work hard and be an active participant in the field of music.
Dave on Linn. "Linn Demilta is a power house. Her voice packs an impressive wallop in such a small package. Whether it s her impassioned offering of comfort during the chorus of Mother or her explosive scats during Brain Damage, Linn's voice adds character to a sound that is dependent on it. Her spirit could only be described as 'joyous' and she is the consummate professional."
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Vicky Modica-Vocals
Vicky Modica is a native New Yorker who is influenced by all things creative! Starting off her experience in music with being a brass player at the age of 9 she consistently yearned to be a brassy belter and in her early teens decided to ditch the trumpet and develop her voice.
With a background in musical theater she began professional training at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NY. Since graduating, Vicky has toured in theater all over the country, worked with MANY workshops of new works in the city and has produced two of her own solo shows. You can hear her on recordings singing backup vocals for Judy Kaye on the Bruce Kimmel compilation Jeepers Creepers, on Michael Stockler and Jon Tolins’ new musical Lathe of Heaven and numerous cast albums with Stage-Stars.
Vicky performed with Us Not Them for several years before gracing Ameri Floyd with her amazing voice.
Mary Roesler-Vocals
Mary's bio is coming soon.
