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Matt Bocchino & Chris Fox
| Matthew started his musical journey 27 years ago. Fueled at first by bands like Grand Funk, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and then by progressive music, Matthew developed a style and approach inspired by the great progressive rock keyboardists of the time (Emerson, Wakeman, Jobson etc.) In his senior year of high school Matt and Chris won first place in the country for their electronic music composition "The Magic Tadpoles." After graduating high school Matt won two scholarships to the Berklee School of Music in Boston. After attending Berklee, Matt & Chris CO-partnered various bands playing the music of our progressive rock idols (Dixie Dregs, Return to Forever, King Crimson, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Happy the Man, and Brand X-to name a few.) Matt has played in various local bands and ensembles encompassing all styles of music. His 30+ year friendship and musical relationship with Gnats cofounder Chris Fox has enabled them to write progressive instrumental music that is original, fresh, and musically challenging without being gratuitous. Equipment List: Kurzweil K2500 XS, Clavia Nord Lead, Korg Triton Rack, EMU ESI-32,Roland JV-1080,Yamaha TX81Z, Oberheim Matrix 6, Korg Trinity Rack, Yamaha EX5R, EMU Classic Keys, Mackie 3204 Mixer, Beringher Mixer, Crown Amplifiers, Lexicon, Alesis & Beringher effects , JBL & Tannoy speaker systems, Cakewalk Pro Audio, Mark of the Unicorn, Sony VAIO computer systems WHEW!! Favorite Keyboadists: Keith Emerson, Eddie Jobson, Kerry Minear, Jon Lord, Lyle Mays, Kit Watkins, Michel Camillo, Chick Corea, George Duke & Jan Hammer |
| Chris Fox has been a guitar playing fanatic since age ten, Chris has co-led all the various Helmet of Gnats lineups with tender loving care for close to twenty years. In the early eighties Chris attended the Berklee College of Music (83-85), and in the late eighties played with Eddie Jobson (Zappa, UK, Tull, Yes) for a brief period. He also performed with acclaimed NY based alternative rock band "Herija" in the early nineties and was featured in Nov. 93 Guitar Magazines spotlight column in which John Stix stated "Chris sure gives fusion a good name''. Chris resides in Stamford, Ct. with his wife Manny & two year old son Crosby and forty enthusiastic music students per week. Equipment List: John Suhr Stratocaster, Santa Cruz acoustic, CAE 3+ pre-amp, VHT 292 power amp, TC Electronics G-force effects processor, CAE pedal board, mixer & switching system, Fulltone wah-wah, Korg tuner, moogerfooger phaser, Boss BR8 recording studio, etc., etc., blah,blah,blah! Influences: Led Zeppelin, Allman Bros., Black Sabbath, Wishbone Ash, The Good Rats, Allan Holdsworth, Frank Zappa, Steve Morse, Michael Hedges, King Crimson, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Miles Davis, JS Bach, John Coltrane. |
A Helmet of Gnats Website Their website includes performance Calendar, downloadable music, and newest recordings. |
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