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Martin Gerschwitz | |
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Martin Gerschwitz with Iron Butterfly in Prague on 7 October 2010 | |
Background information | |
Born | Solingen, Germany | 25 June 1952
Genres | Hard rock, progressive rock, heavy metal, arena rock, blues rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Keyboards, piano, vocals, violin |
Years active | 1972–present |
Website | martingerschwitz.com |
Martin Gerschwitz (born 25 June 1952) is a German violinist, [1] keyboardist, singer and composer.
He was born and raised in Solingen, Germany. He began playing piano at the age of five, at the age of twelve he devoted himself exclusively to classical music, [2] in 1969 he founded his first band, the Avengers.
In 1972 he got his first big success: He won the "battle of the bands" in Solingen, where he met Dieter Rubach (amongst other members of the popular heavy metal band Accept), but turned down to play with them as he got the opportunity to play with German entertainer Howard Carpendale, from 1974 to 1977.
In 1978 he founded BREAK POINT a band playing rock and roll in the USAF Europe Club Circuit playing in sold out clubs mainly in Germany. The band went into the studio in 1981 and came out with BREAK POINT – First Serving. With original hits composed by Martin and Band members, sales exceeded 5,000 units selling at shows. The CD and album is still available today on iTunes and on Martin's website www.martingerschwitz.com. Martin left the band in 1985.
In 1985, he moved to the United States. From 1987 to 1989 he was the keyboard player for Lita Ford (who amongst others also supported Bon Jovi around that time, where a concert at Wembley Stadium was shot); in 1989 and 1990, he played with Meat Loaf's Neverland Express. In 1991, he played with Vanilla Fudge on the album "Back On Stage", and in 1991 and 1992, he was a permanent member of "The Doughboys/PFR." In 1991 he also played with Kingdom Come. From 1993 to 1998 he played in the Walter Trout Band, where he met drummer Bernie Pershey. [3]
In 1999, he was asked to be the keyboardist for Eric Burdon & the New Animals, after Neal Morse (Spock's Beard) left the band. In late 2001, their drummer Aynsley Dunbar was replaced by his old friend Bernie Pershey. Gerschwitz stayed with Burdon and his new Animals until late 2005 and played on four albums with them.
Since 2005 he has played with the psychedelic rock band Iron Butterfly, both as a singer and keyboardist. [4]
In the 2000s, he formed "Martin Gerschwitz & Friends", including Dieter Rubach on bass, Jan Mengeling on lead guitar and his childhood friend Martin Schwebel on drums. They also recorded a live DVD at the SAE, Frankfurt, in 2004. He continues to play worldwide tours with Iron Butterfly and solo.
Martin has worked and shared the stage with Scorpions, Cinderella, Eddie Van Halen, Loverboy, Tim Bogert, Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), John Entwistle (The Who), Steve Stevens, Britny Fox, U.D.O., Melanie Safka, Robben Ford, Andy Susemihl, Artimus Pyle (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and many more.
The Animals are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The Animals are known for their deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon and for their gritty, bluesy sound, exemplified by their signature song and transatlantic number-one hit single "The House of the Rising Sun" as well as by hits such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "Don't Bring Me Down", "I'm Crying", "See See Rider" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". They balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm-and-blues-oriented album material and were part of the British Invasion of the US.
War is an American funk/rock/soul/Latin band from Long Beach, California, known for several hit songs . Formed in 1969, War is a musical crossover band that fuses elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, psychedelia, and reggae. According to music writer Colin Larkin, their "potent fusion of funk, R&B, rock and Latin styles produced a progressive soul sound", while Martin C. Strong calls them "one of the fiercest progressive soul combos of the '70s". Their album The World Is a Ghetto was Billboard's best-selling album of 1973. The band transcended racial and cultural barriers with a multi-ethnic line-up. War was subject to many line-up changes over the course of its existence, leaving member Leroy "Lonnie" Jordan as the only original member in the current line-up; four other members created a new group called the Lowrider Band.
Iron Butterfly is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal music. Although their heyday was the late 1960s, the band has been reincarnated with various members with varying levels of success with no new recordings since 1975. Their second album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968), remains a best-seller, and Iron Butterfly was the first group to receive an In-House platinum album award from Atlantic Records. Their music has found a significant impact on the international rock scenes, influencing numerous acts such as Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Rush, Alice Cooper, Mountain, Uriah Heep, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Slayer, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and Queens of the Stone Age.
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the R&B and rock band the Animals and the funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powerful blues-rock voice. Burdon is also known for his intense stage performances.
John Steel is an English musician who is the long-serving drummer for The Animals. Having served as the band's drummer at its inception in 1963, he is the only original bandmember playing in the current incarnation of The Animals. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
Ryo Okumoto is a Japanese rock keyboardist, best known for his work with American progressive rock band Spock's Beard. He joined the band in 1996 and has been a member ever since. When singer and keyboardist Neal Morse was in the band, Ryo played Hammond organ and Mellotron on the albums. Since Morse's departure, Okumoto has played all of the band's keyboard parts. He resides in Los Angeles.
George Bruno Money is an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He is best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, he was drawn to rock and roll music and became a leading light in the vibrant music scene of Bournemouth and Soho during the 1960s. He took his stage name 'Zoot' from Zoot Sims after seeing him in concert.
Walter Trout is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.
White Lightning was an American psychedelic rock band, active from 1968 through 1971. The band was founded by guitarist Zippy Caplan and bassist Woody Woodrich. The band was very popular in Minnesota, mostly due to Caplan's fame playing with The Litter. The manager of radio station KDWB mistook the single "Of Paupers and Poets" for a song by Cream, giving valuable early airtime to the band. They also would perform a cover of the William Tell Overture.
The discography of the Animals, an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne, contains 20 studio albums, six compilation albums, five EPs and 25 singles. Featuring a gritty, bluesy sound and a deep-voiced frontman in Eric Burdon, they are best known for their rendition of an American folk song "House of the Rising Sun", which is described by many as their signature song. This single had worldwide sales of nearly 5 million and became a Number One hit in both the UK and US in 1964. Overall, the group balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" and "It's My Life" against rhythm and blues–oriented album material. The Animals released separate UK and US albums, a practice common to other British Invasion bands of the time such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
"It's My Life" is a song written by New York City songwriters Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico. The song was originally performed by English R&B band The Animals, who released it as a single in October 1965.
David Eric Rowberry was an English pianist and organist, most known for being a member of the rock and R&B group The Animals in the 1960s.
"Good Times" is a song recorded by Eric Burdon & the Animals and released on the 1967 album Winds of Change, with music and lyrics by Eric Burdon, John Weider, Vic Briggs, Danny McCulloch and Barry Jenkins.
"Inside-Looking Out", often written "Inside Looking Out", is a 1966 single by the Animals, and their first for Decca Records. It was a moderate hit, reaching number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, number 23 in Canada, and number 34 in the United States on the U.S. pop singles chart. It was the group's final single with drummer John Steel, who left shortly after its release. He was replaced by Barry Jenkins, who would go on to play with Eric Burdon and the Animals.
Daniel Joseph "Danny" McCulloch was an English musician best known as the bassist of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Eric Burdon and The Animals.
Eric Burdon was a lead vocalist with The Animals, War, and other bands.
Athens Traffic Live is a live album by Eric Burdon And The Animals, recorded in 2005 in Greece. It includes a bonus DVD.
Dieter Rubach is a German bass player, composer, engineer and producer.
Bernard Pershey is an American drummer and record producer.
Brannen Temple is an American three time Grammy Award winning drummer, who is best known as a drummer for acts such as Eric Burdon, Robben Ford, Lizz Wright, Eric Johnson, and currently Ruthie Foster.