Michael J. romeo

Name: Michael James Romeo
DOB: March 6, 1968
POB: New York, NY
Instrument: Guitar

I started playing piano when I was about 10 years old. My parents had one at the house and I took lesson for a while, I also played clarinet. Around that time, I got my first Kiss album ( I think it was Alive I ). I remember hearing Ace Frehely doing this 'cool sound' on the guitar ( it was actually a pick-slide ) - I was like " I gotta learn how to do that ! " So I bought a cheap acoustic guitar at a garage sale - and noodled with it for a bit.and soon after, at about 12, I got my first electric guitar ( a no-name brand with a small practice amp.) At this time I was getting into bands like Zeppelin, AC/DC and Black Sabbath. I had taken some basic lessons and could play some songs and riffs, but it wasn't until I heard Ozzy's " Blizzard of Ozz" and " Diary of a Madman" albums, that I became more serious about guitar. Randy Rhoads had an extremely big influence on me. I loved how he incorporated classical influences into his playing. I started to practice alot, I also started taking piano lessons again, as well as some classical guitar lessons.

Along with Ozzy's "Blizzard " and "Diary", there were other albums from the early 1980s that had a big impact on me - early Judas Priest and Iron Maiden albums - Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell" - Rush's " Permanent Waves" and "Moving Pictures" are just a few... I spent many a late night sitting by my tape player, learning and jamming along with these albums.. Not long after, I discovered two other guitarists that would have a really big influence on me - Uli Jon Roth and Al DiMeola. The solo on 'Sails of Charon' ( from Scorpion's "Taken by Force" ) by Uli is still one of my all time favorites - and DiMeola's picking technique was just incredible. Then there was the 'Alcatrazz' album with Yngwie Malmsteen. To me, he had a classical influence similar to Rhoads, the style and vibrato like Uli Roth and the speed and articulation of DiMeola. That first 'Rising Force' album was another big influence on me. Although I was familiar with some classical music ( Bach, Beethoven and Mozart ) due to my piano playing, Rhoads and Malmsteen led me to investigate applying classical music to the guitar in a rock/metal context. These players, along with bands like Rush, Sabbath and Priest, all had a big influence on me from the begining.

Later Development / Main Influences:

I still consider Rhoads, Uli Roth, DiMeola and Yngwie as my main influences, but there are a few others that added alot to the way I approach the guitar and music - players like Paul Gilbert, Alan Holdsworth, Frank Gambale, Marty Friedman and Jason Becker, to name a few. Some other progressive bands that influnced me (besides Rush) were Kansas, ELP and UK. And along with Bach, Beethoven and Mozart - I was also inspired by composers like Rimsky-Korsakov, Wagner, Stravinsky, Holst, and John Williams. I spent alot of time listening to music and studying books on composition and orchestration. ( I still do.) And of course... I still was into the heavy stuff - ( a peek in my CD player revealed some Sabbath, Priest, King Diamond, Pantera, etc ). There was one other major influence - Frank Zappa. Zappa's musicianship was incredible - and he always had an amazing band - those guys could play anything! Zappa was able to incorporate everything from rock, jazz, classical, country, punk, and avant-garde into his music. I was totally blown away when I first heard "Joe's Garage" and genius story-telling of "Thing-Fish". The music was overwheling and the lyrics put a smile on my face...but always made me think twice about what he was 'really' talking about..- Just incredible stuff.

How did you hookup with the band Symphony X:

Throughout high school I was in alot of bands and was always seeking out good players to jam with. In the early 1990s I was in a band called 'Phantom's Opera' - it was cool for a while, but,eventually, things started to fall apart. At the time, I had an small eight-track recorder and some gear at my apartment and I began writing and recording some ideas I had been noodling with - mostly instrumental guitar stuff. This was about 1992. I sent this tape out to some of the Guitar publications, where it received some good reviews and press. Eventually, the tape made its way into some Japanese music publications, and into the hands of Zero Corporation ( a record label in Tokyo).

Anyway...to make a long story short...they contacted me and asked if I had a band similar to the style of music on the demo. I had already been writing some songs with bassist, Tom Miller, ...but, that phone call lead to a more serious idea of putting a band together. A friend of mine told me about Mike Pinnella. I went to the music store where he taught piano and things started to come together. Tom and I had known singer Rod Tyler from a previous band. Rod introduced us to Jason Rullo. It was 1994, and we began recording demos and what is now the first Symphony X CD. and that demo tape became " The Dark Chapter" CD.