Damon Fibraio: Latest News

So, some interesting news coming down the pike, and I am sorry if some of this is old, but I don't remember half of what I put up here sometimes, so consider this arepeat with more info.

Firstly, on the site update front, I had a request to sing Faithfully, as if the version from 2003 that is up here isn't painful enough, so I took the version I did with John Pine, singer extraordinaire from Visions, and replaced his vocals with mine. Don't worry, John, your track is still here. It is the first song in the flash player and in the new section for when you want to make the dogs in your neighborhood beg for mercy. I moved John's version into the Covers section along with the version I did in 2003. You tell me what sounds better, but I think that request is one I should have ignored myself. I am no STeve Perry, but hopefully the person who requested it will learn never to do that again, or maybe somebody here thinks it is good.

ON the band news front...

Visions is having bass player turn over issues. Not sure where that project is going, and will try to keep you posted as things happen. We'll probably play ashow by the end of the year assuming we get a replacement and nobody else quits.

Days bEfore Tomorrow however has some shows coming up. Check the site or just read below. We're playing Concert For a Cause 8, which is abenefit this year to go towards our troops. I believe the date on that is April 22, 2010 in Pennsylvania. Roughly a week after that on April 30, 2010 we have been asked to play the after party on the first night of the Right of Spring Festival, which is a premier prog rock festival on the east coast. This is held in gEttysburg, PA. And on May 21, 2010 at the starland ballroom in sayerville, NJ, we are opening for legendary southern rock band, the Outlaws. Tickets are on sale at the DBT web site, so if you live locally, go buy them and hook us all up.

ON another cool note, I have been asked to audition for a wedding band. This is all still preliminary, but it would be a cool paying gig. Will keep you all informed on how that goes.

There is a blog up here, and the first entry is notes on the recording of my latest original, From Your Angel, which is streamable on the site and in the flash player as well. I promise, one day, all my crappy ballads will be for sale on a CD nobody will buy, but I need to stop writing sappy ballads and move on to something more rocking and maybe angry, who knows, I suppose it depends on who will break my heart this year. Or maybe one day, Rich will give e some lyrics for something. Who knows? But, go read the blog and sign the guestbook or soemthing so I know people actually come here once in a while. Justify my $20 a month, OK?

See you soon.

OK, so there's some changes to the site. There are now ways to share these pages with people on facebook or other social networking sites. So, help mepromote things by using the share buttons, OK? I could really use the help.

Secondly, Check out The days Before Tomorrow Web Site for info on upcoming shows and ways to purchase tickets to see us on May 21 at the sTarland Ballroom in Sayerville, NJ, opening up for the Outlaws, a Southern Rock band. This should be an interesting show.

Also, Visions, the cover band may have its first gig, opening up for somebody at Cooks CAfe in Naugatuck, CT. Details as they happen.

Thanks all.

IN the music section is a new stuff link now which will have some of the latest stuff I've worked on. This is also going to play in the flash player at the bottom of the page, so when I put up new things, you'll always get them first and can easily find them on the music section. As time goes by, I will funnel older stuff out into appropriate sections.

Word on the street is that Days Before Tomorrow has some shows. I will confirm dates shortly, but we're playing Concert for a Cause in PA in April and opening for the Outlaws at the starland ballroom in May. Stay tuned for the details as I get them.

Yes, folks, I have been busy the last couple of weeks. Aside from working on new material for Days Before Tomorrow, working on covers for Visions, I have recorded two covers and one original that I am putting up on the site for you all. Check them out and let me know what you think.

Also, DBT is still being whored out on Class X Radio, a station out of Ohio and we need you to go there and request Wrong for us, OK? So, do it.

Sign the guestbook and let me know you've been here, OK? I begin to wonder if anybody even comes to this site anymore.

Yes, it's true. We've been played on a radio station in Ohio. Check out Class X radio and request Wrong by days before Tomorrow.

Also, uploaded a remix of What About Me, as I keep working on tightening it up. You're probably listening to it in the flash player now. Hope to upload a new original tune as well soon.

OK, so at the same time I did What about Me, I had John Pine, singer from Visions, over and he decided to do a track on Faithfully, a song I was doing for fun and was originally going to have rich put vocals to. I will probably still do aversion with Rich on it if he ever gets the words and we get the time, but I put John's version up for you all to enjoy.

Happy 2010. To mark a new decade, I actually uploaded a song. Hopefully it will be the first track you hear on the player now. This is a cover version of an old 80s song by a one hit wonder band called Moving Pictures. It's a very personal song to me. I hope you all enjoy it.

IN other news...

Visions has a new bass player. I'll update the Visions web site soon with that plus a nice cover of Faithfully by John Pine, our singer, and myself here in the studio.

Days Before tomorrow continues to be noticed. Lately we have earned the Rock Realms prog album of the year or soemthing. I bet it's already on the DBT web site. We're back to rehearsing and hopefully soon will have some news on dates for gigs or recording soon.

And I think that's all.

So, the holidays are over, and I removed Father Christmas from the player until next year. But I am leaving the player on anyway. Hoping to put up new material soon as I have tentatively started recording again.

Keeping my fingers crossed for 2010. With Days Before Tomorrow going on and Visions plus any personal work I do in my studio to distract me from other issues, hopefully this site will see a lot of updates over the coming year. consider it a new year's resolution to actually work on my music for once among other things.

I'm going to try to make it a goal to upload stuff every month if not more than that. I have things in the works and hopefully I can finish them quickly to make my point. New toys coming in will alos motivate me as well.

IN 2010, the goals are, to maybe finish my own solo album, if not get rich in gear to record stuff. DBT is going to hopefully record its first full album with me this year. There may be a tour or a record deal, but time will tell there. And Visions should hopefully start gigging soon as well, even though we have already lost a bass player. We're going to be auditioning a new one on Thursday and hopefully he'll like us.

So, that's the quick news. Let me know you check out this site, drop me an email or sign the guestbook.

Attention all fans...

Days Before Tomorrow wants to play B. B. Kings blues club and grill in New York City. I have played this venue three times and absolutely love it. IN fact, that live recording of Queen of the Ryche, the former QueensRyche tribute band I was in, is on this site. This is the show that earned me my nickna.e This is, by far, one of the best clubs I have ever played and I want to go back. And the band has never played there. So, we could use your help.

Go to the following link and cast a vote for Days Before Tomorrow to play at B. B. Kings. Click here to Vote for Days Before Tomorrow to play at B. B. Kings.
NO news may be good news in this regard. STill lots going on behind the scenes. DBT is writing new material. Visions has already lost a bass player due to work scheduling, I guess our problems never end, but we have hopeful auditions coming up after the holidays. I have been saddled with personal issues that have side tracked me as well. However, maybe 2010 will be a banner year for the Kyeboard Guy. I hope you all have a merry Christmas and asuper new year, just in case no more news comes across the desk in the next week.

The L.A. Music Awards was an experience, let me tell you. Waiting to get video and photos from the show. You can always check out the DBT web site to see anything that the guys got. The Sky is Falling video is getting great reception from people. We played really well at the awards show, despite some technical issues with the sound, like Derek's acoustic guitar nearly taking my head off from the volume, and the stage hands unplugging my gear forcing e to reload samples a lot. But, the end result is that the trip was a success, and now we wait for the fallout of it all. It was a lot of fun to play out there and maybe next year, we can do it again, if not sooner or somewhere else. ONly I hope somebody else picks up the tab this time.
With L.A. now a part of history, I can take the week off from dBT and move back to a more normal schedule. I have work to do for visions that I can definitely spend time on. DBT will probably be in a writing mode and working on the other songs from the CD we don't play. Hopefully it won't be quiet for too long.

IN the spirit of the holidays, the flash player at the top of the page is being set up so that I Believe in Father Christmas is the first song played when you click the play button. Maybe I'll get another christmas song up here prior to the end of the year. We'll see.

This is Damon, reporting to you live from a hotel room in Hollywood, California. Last night, Days Before Tomorrow rocked the Whiskey a Gogo, playing a 35 minute set to great reception. I was getting a little concerned prior to the show, as the rented gear was giving me a fit. But, one operating system update later, and loading in all my sounds into the Kurzweil keyboard, and we were set. They actually gave me an 88 key pc3x instead of my 76 key pc3, and I actually loved playing on it. May pick one up for myself anyway.

Anyway, tonight is the big event, the L.A. Music Awards. sadly, it will not be netcast, but hopefully there will be videos circulating within a week or so. IN the meantime, you can check out the finished video for the Sky is Falling at Days Before Tomorrow's official YouTube site.
I'll report back as soon as i can on the L.A. awards. Until then, think happy thoughts.

The latest press release from Days Before tomorrow is on the press page along with the older reviews and such. It mainly promotes the LA Music AWards, the winning of Album of the Year, and briefly mentions the Whiskey show. PUtting it here for posterity, mostly.

We shot a video for one of our songs, The Sky is Falling, last night in New York, as the Yankees were rapping up the world series. We hope to have that video posted on youtube this weekend, and when we do, a link will be posted here, if not embedded directly.

Last week's gig at Sweeney's was actually great. I could hear everything and with the exception of backing vocal issues, I feel we were really on aroll. We are now firmly on the march to L.A. now with 2 weeks until the award show, we are putting a new set together, well, modifying the old one, moving some songs around, dropping one and adding one for the Whiskey gig and figuring out how to fill 10 minutes of time at the awards. I am told they broadcast the L.a. Music aWards on the net and am still trying to find out how and if I can, it'll be posted right here.

My friend, sTeve, is also using my camcorder to shoot footage of the band for future use, I suppose he wants to make a documentary of the L.a. trip. So, maybe some cool videos of DBT will be up here soon.

I am so focused on everything for L.A. that everything else, including Visions stuff, is on hold. Most of the songs we are learning for Visions are songs I alreayd know. But I can't put anything major into this with half my gear always up at the DBT studio until after we get back, so I'll just work around it as I always do. I see Visions striking out in 2010 some time, and you can always check this site for the latest shows.

Sadly, no studio work is being done due to my general frustration with recoridng gear and its accessibility for us. It's a shame, too, as Rich and I spent a lot of money on that new computer and other hardware is being picky, i.e. my tascam audio interface/control surface and won't cooperate so I may have to spend yet more money to get more gear to fix problems as usual. Maybe in 2010 I'll actually record something of note. That is if DBT is not in full scale writing mode itself. Who knows? We can only wait and see what stems from this journey.

Anyway, more news will be posted here as I get it.

I think I am officially allowed to announce this now.

Days Before Tomorrow has won Record of the Year at the L.A. Music Awards. We were informed last week. This just makes the trip out to California that much sweeter. I am happy to be a part of this project, even though my meager keyboard talents do not grace this recording. It hopefully means more good things to come. I suppose time will tell.

We played at Arlene's Grocery last week. Sadly, the recording is not up to standards to post any songs from, but it was an interesting show nonetheless, even if we were almost on top of each other on the stage. At least I had fun, I can't speak for the rest of the guys.

the official schedule as it stands now is slightly altered. Posting it below...

Sweeney's Original Night... Philadelphia
Thursday, October 22
9:00 PM
Sweeney's Station Saloon
13639 Philmont Avenue
Philadelphia, PA
215-677-3177
www.myspace.com/sweeneysphilly
The Whiskey A Go-Go... Los Angeles
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Whiskey A Go-Go
West Hollywood, CA

Los Angeles Music Awards
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Avalon Theater
Hollywood, CA
You can go to Days Before Tomorrow's web site to purchase tickets to the Whiskey show if you live in the area. I believe you can also attend the L.a. Music awards show as well, but not 100 percent sure. Will post more as I know.

OK, so The New Visions web site is up. And on that site I am relocating the Visions recordings that were here and adding a ton more assuming I can find some. So go check that out. And if you want to see the older Visions web site, maintained by Russ, Click here.

OK. Two shows down with Days Before Tomorrow, that went well with some comical and stressful moments, like the one guitar player's amp not working right before showtime at our second gig, the bass player getting lost at our second gig as well, forcing our set down to 4 songs to 15 people at best, and of course, the first gig being performed on the stage the size of a snowflake with my back pressed up against the wall, but this is how most bands start out, right? So, two more gigs to go. October 14 at Arlene's grocery in NY and October 22 at Sweeney's in Phillie.

For arlene's grocery, if you can't make it to the show, and I encourage you to come if you are in the area, there is another option. Arlene's broadcasts their shows on the net. You will need Apple's QuickTime player, which you can get from Apple's Web site. Once you get that and install it you can Click this link to go to Arlene's broadcast page to listen to us. We go on about 10:00 PM Eastern. Hopefully, the Kurzweil PC3 keyboard will be making its stage debut at this show.

The L.A. Music awards looms ever closer and the night before that show, we'll be playing at the Whisky a gogo. Stay tuned for details.

Meanwhile, Visions had its first band rehearsal and we picked some songs to learn. It will be some months before we get it together enough to gig, but this should at least be a fun and relaxing project. Yeah, right. Knowing me, I'll stress over small things that nobody else will hear but me, but that's how I am. Not much I can do there to fix it.

That's all for now, back to learning how to use my Kurzweil.

OK, first the bad news...

It looks like THD is going the way of most dinosaurs, right into extinction. Mainly due to a lack of desire to keep pummeling out QueensRyche and Dream Theater songs. It's a shame that the band was so limitted, there was a lot of potential to kick serious ass, but some people just didn't want to go there. OH well, no hard feelings anywhere and maybe members of the band will pop up from time to time.

Out of the ashes of THD comes a true phoenix of sorts. Russ has told me that he wants to raise Visions back from the dead. So, looks like John, Russ and I along with Marcus the guitar player and a bass player will be picking up the clasic/modern rock cover band mantle to go make some cash on weekends. I've been moving in this direction for some time, and since Visions is the only band that lets me sing lead, this is an opportunity for me to have that outlet back. Plus, the extra cash won't hurt.

And now, here is the official Days Before Tomorrow calendar, right on the front page.


Don Hill's NYC
Friday, September 25
9:30 PM
Don Hill's
511 Greenwich St. at Spring St.
New York City
212-219-2850
www.donhills.com ________________________________________
Whiskey Tango Philadelphia
Tuesday, September 29
9:00 PM
Whisky Tango
14000 Bustleton Avenue
Philadelphia, PA
215-671-9234
www.whiskeytangotavern.com ________________________________________
Arlene's Grocery NYC
Wednesday, October 14
10:00 PM
Arlene's Grocery
95 Stanton St
New York City
212-995-1652
www.arlenesgrocery.net ________________________________________
Sweeney's Original Night Philadelphia
Thursday, October 22
9:00 PM
Sweeney's Station Saloon
13639 Philmont Avenue
Philadelphia, PA
215-677-3177
www.myspace.com/sweeneysphilly
Hope to see some of you at a gig soon.

OK, where do we begin...

First of all, everybody go to the Days Before Tomorrow web site and check out the schedule of dates. Basically, we're playing September 25 at Don Hill's in NYC, September 29 at Whiskey Tango in phillie, October 14 at Arlene's Grocery in NYC, which is also going to be broadcast on the internet, October 22 at Sweeney's in Phillie, and some dates in California for NOvember including the LA Music AWards. More info can be retrieved and you can even buy tickets for the Don Hill's show at the Days Before Tomorrow web site linked above, as adding dates to the concert calendar for my site is proving to be not as blind friendly as it used to be.

Also, I am eagerly awaiting my new Kurzweil PC3 as I am now officially a Kurzweil preforming artist. To read about this new wonder of keyboard technology that will be gracing my keyboard rig soon, check out Kurzweil Music Systems' web site.. I am grateful to the Kurzweil people for giving me this opportunity to use their gear and look forward to what I hope will be a wonderful relationship between us. OK, now time to wipe off my nose.

I am hoping that we can get some live recordings of the upcoming DBT gigs. Stay tuned for news as it happens. I am extremely excited about what is on the way and hopefully some of you will check out is in store with the DBT crew.

Naturally, all other projects are on hold, not that much was happening with them anyway while I put my time into Days Before Tomorrow, at least for the next couple of months. After the La Music awards, God only knows what will happen.

I will be posting more details about the Arlene's grocery webcast of Days Before Tomorrow plus other news about the lA music awards as I get them. Please check back often and keep going to the Days Before Tomorrow official home page for the latest news about the band, as time is limitted and I only really update here once a month or when real news happens.

OK, everybody. Lots going on.

First of all, the Uncle Mike's gig is moved to a different location for Days Before Tomorrow. Check the Calendar for the latest news and also for additional gigs. Things are happening fast here, so keep checking the concert calendar for the latest gig info for the band.

Also, I uploaded a new photo which was taken a week or so ago which we are sending to Kurzweil Music Systems for a possible endorsement. Crossing my fingers.

There is so muchy more news to discuss, but nothing is confirmed so before I start rumors, we'll just wait and see. I will only report confirmed stuff from this band here. Don't forget to check the Days Before Tomorrow web page for all the latest info.

This quote comes directly from the L.A. Music Awards web site, about Days Before Tomorrow, the original prog rock band I play keyboards for...

Finally, we are fortunate to have found what just might be the best "Prog Rock" musical group in the world, Days Before Tomorrow. Their music and live performances have received critical acclaim from all over the world. We expect them to deliver one of the most memorable performances in the two decades old history of our event. Check out www.myspace.com/daysbeforetomorrow and take a listen to the magnificent vocal work and musical compositions.

Now, how awesome is that?

Well, it's apparently official. As of today, I was just informed that Days Before Tomorrow has a gig at a place called Uncle Mikes in New York. The date is September 25, 2009. I will post more details as I get them in the concert calendar.

DBT is also hard at work writing new material. We have one song mostly finished, with the exception of an intro I am working on, asn a few others in various stages of music assembly. The songs are decidedly longer and more progressive than what is on the DBT CD, which is a good thing. Now, to convince them that we need a keyboard solo.
THD played at Cooks on July 18th. The show was light, but energetic, if not alcoholic. The onstage volume made things hard to hear yet again, but at least I didn't forget my samples. THD is taking a break, as if we really needed one, and the future seems unclear at this point.

John Pine, one of the vocalists from THD and I are throwing around ideas or at least I am assisting him with original work. We are also going to bang out a couple of covers in the studio for fun, once I get the new expansion pack for my drum software installed.

Rich and I are hoping to someday finish these songs we wrote. I am still waiting on lyrics from him.

And that is the latest news. Things are picking up, folks, so definitely keep visiting. Hope everybody is well.

Life has been very busy between NHB, DBT, THD and every other three letter acronym or abbreviation you can find, except STD, thank God. Here's how it shapes up.

Days Before Tomorrow news:

It looks good for me to be signed on as an official band member. We are currently writing new material as we speak, as well as tightening up a few loose ends on the pre-existing material. I have three songs still to learn, but we have shifted a bit to new material. There is hope to play a gig or two this summer before the big L.A. Awards gig, but we'll see.

THD News:

It's a mixed bag here. I have been gburning out on QueensRyche and Dream Theater, but the band seems to want to stay in that direction. So, we play Cooks on July 13 or so, but there is movement towards working on original material here, so I'll swallow the tribute stuff for now. We are throwing a Savatage song into the set for Cooks after I begged for it, so at least it won't be too monotonous.

Between two nights a week for dBT and THD having Thursdays, NHb on Mondays, I am lucky I am awake now to write this. I am hoping my body will eventually get used to the busy schedule. IN the meantime, I have pulled down any work in progress demos as they will be used in either Days Before tomorrow, THD or when I get Rich to pull his head from his ass and start working on our stuff. We are waiting for the next expansion pack from toontrack which will give us drums suited for hard rock and metal and then all should be good to go. Plus the boy needs to give me lyrics. So, the work in progress demos will be shuffled between three projects, pulled apart and reassembled and the like. Hopefully the material will all find a home somewhere. Sorry for those who wanted them, but the site is big enough without half finished stuff here.

I'll keep you posted as I can. It is getting highly busy around here, which is good.

OK, the bad news first...

The Keith Emerson gig was canceled. According to news I have heard, and confirmed by message boards on the net, Keith has issues with his hand and he had to cancel the rest of his tour. So, days Before Tomorrow will not be playing on June 7, at least not with Keith emerson.

The Good News...

I have been added to their web site as a band member. I am not a full band member yet, but I appear on the members bio page. If things keep going well enough, I will be offered full band membership. That's the latest word from Scott, the guitar player. We are playing the L.A. Music Awards in November, and more stuff is in the works.

There is no other news, really. I have been spending my days absorbing the Days Before Tomorrow CD, which is awesome and should be purchased from their web site. I can play 9 songs in some form or another off of the CD, and I have 3 more to go. We practice twice a week and it seems to be a well oiled machine that actually gets things done. Other bands could stand to learn from this one.

Well, as it stands at the moment, the audition for Days Before Tomorrow was a success. I may be wrong, but I think they liked me enough to take me into the band on a trail run and if all goes well, possibly as a permanent member. So, for the next 5 weeks or so, I will be working on learning their CD completely to take to the Starland Ballroom on June 7, opening for the Keith Emerson band, of all bands. This is exciting for me, as Keith Emerson is one of my favorite keyboard players ever, second only to Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater. I am happy that it seems to be a nice fit between the band and myself and look forward to following this adventure and see where it leads me.

Meanwhile, THD has grinded to a halt again due to scheduling issues with the band for practice. Hopefully that band will eventually get back on track again and we can work on material or do whatever it is the band is doing this week.

So, in the meantime, go to the Days Before Tomorrow web site and check them out, they rock the house and now that they have me in the band, well, maybe it will get a little bit better. Their CD is called The Sky is Falling and it is really an awesome CD and I hope I can do their keyboard parts justice. Hopefully, this band will take off, as their seems to be a nice buzz going around about them and we will tour and do all kinds of cool shi.t I wonder if there will even be groupies. Ah, hell with groupies, I need equipment endorsements. More gear, more better.

Yes, it took a few months to sort out logistics, i.e. for the other band to wake up, I suppose, but I am finally getting my audition for Days Before Tomorrow on Wednesday. If this goes through, I can add a few more gigs to the calendar on this site, like Opening for the Keith Emerson band and playing the L.A. Music Awards in November. I'd say that is pretty cool stuff. Will keep you all posted as to how it went.