Keep in mind that these songs are all basement demos!
Patrick Masalko
The first thing you might notice about Masalko's music is its incredible diversity. The next thing you'll notice is that, despite the diversity, a singularity for personality informs all his music. These are the marks of musical artistry. His "lyrical songs" – tunes featuring vocals – tend toward folk, pop and rock flavors while his instrumental compositions embrace cinematic flavors and jam structures.
Ultimate Human Expression
But whatever the style, Masalko believes on thing to be universal about music – its place at the pinnacle of man's communication. "Music is the ultimate human expression to me." He asserts that beauty is found in all music, no matter the style or mood. "Even the most depressing songs are the most beautiful to me. Music conveys emotions like confusion, happiness, sadness, anger and complacency." According to Masalko, there is no greater experience than feeling music's emotions coursing throughout the mind and body. And there are fans that could say the same thing about Masalko's music.
Perfect
One reason, says Masalko, that music is the ultimate form of human communication is because, in his eyes, it is the perfect form. "Music is the perfect form of communication, even though it can be interpreted in so many ways. Music doesn't lie or try to conceal its true meaning; it's one of the purest things in the world." And because of his respect for inherent honesty, Masalko strives to be an honest songwriter, offering music straight from the heart.
The Artist At Work
Masalko plays over 150 shows per year and has performed at the Planet of the Arts event at the Canton Civic Center in Canton, Ohio and at The Champlain Valley Expo in Vermont during the summer of 2004. One of his projects was the opening act for Blues Traveler at The Hall of Fame Ribs Burn-off at the Stark County Fairgrounds in 2006 and has taken the stage for Rocking on the River at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, also in 2006 and 2007. He is scheduled to perform at Rocking on the River again on June 25th, 2010 at 5:30 PM. He has also performed at Lock 3 Live! in Akron, Ohio, in July of 2007 and June of 2009 with Blood Sweat & Beers and is scheduled to reappear on July 1st, 2010. In August of 2008 he opened for Vertigo with his 6-piece dance band, Tragic Magic on the Lock 3 Live! stage. He has also performed at The John S. Knight Center to help ring in 2007 and 2009 as part of Akron's First Night program. He regularly hosts an open-mic night in his hometown and offers free live recordings to the artists that help support local music. Lately, Masalko has been writing much in the way of solo acoustic music. "This Time" by Masalko was released by 272 Records on Acoustika; Vol. 6 in October of 2007. He currently is a member of Blood Sweat and Beers, The Overtones and TriggTrogg. In TriggTrogg, he is the bassist and backing vocalist, though the band does play a few of his compositions where he sings and plays lead guitar. Also, he is currently a music instructor (specializing in guitar/bass) at R&H Music in downtown Massillon, Ohio, Sunday - Saturday weekly.
Previous Groups
Previous groups that Masalko has been a vocalist/guitarist in include Tragic Magic, Hooked on Tonics, American Grease, The Musical Ride, Orange-OK, Kickin' Kountry, Southern Heart, The Gnomes, and Chemical Wonders. He has been a member of the backing band that accompanies the Blues Brothers tribute, The Soul Men, based in Cleveland, Ohio at Clay's Park during the Rockin' Resort Festival in July of 2008 and at The Cleveland Yacht Club on Labor Day, 2008. He also was a closing acoustic performer for Asia and Kansas at Clay's Park during the Rockin' Resort Festival in July of 2009 and opened the festival in 2009 with The Overtones. He is scheduled to reappear in July of 2010.
