1999 • 2001

8th wonder

This band was quite an intense and enlightening portion of my life. The band already existed, but I wasn’t supposed to be in it. One day, fellow Berklee student, Eyal Levi (guitar), invited me to their rehearsal space to check them out and I was blown away…no, I was in love.

Daniel Damico (vocals/keyboards/guitar), Mike Van Dyne (drums), and Daniel Casale (bass). These fellow Berklee students had tapped into a very creative and unique sound and concept. They wanted to take over the world and I believed in them, wholeheartedly.

They were playing what they described as “Alien Dance Music”, but it was more akin to anthemic avant-metal mashed with theatrical hard rock. No one sounded like them. I had never heard music like them. I WANTED IN.

Somehow, and the details are fuzzy, I was requested to partially front the band and play keyboards when needed. I was immensely happy to oblige. It felt like a dream.

These guys were no joke. We rehearsed 5 days a week and with space heaters come summer. We were nuts. We were driven. We played shows around Boston. I thought we were gonna take over the world…

And then, just like that, the band was over. I was heartbroken. But, unbeknownst to me, there was a whole future of musical insanity ahead of me….

1999 • 2001

8th wonder

This band was quite an intense and enlightening portion of my life. The band already existed, but I wasn’t supposed to be in it. One day, fellow Berklee student, Eyal Levi (guitar), invited me to their rehearsal space to check them out and I was blown away…no, I was in love.

Daniel Damico (vocals/keyboards/guitar), Mike Van Dyne (drums), and Daniel Casale (bass). These fellow Berklee students had tapped into a very creative and unique sound and concept. They wanted to take over the world and I believed in them, wholeheartedly.

They were playing what they described as “Alien Dance Music”, but it was more akin to anthemic avant-metal mashed with theatrical hard rock. No one sounded like them. I had never heard music like them. I WANTED IN.

Somehow, and the details are fuzzy, I was requested to partially front the band and play keyboards when needed. I was immensely happy to oblige. It felt like a dream.

These guys were no joke. We rehearsed 5 days a week and with space heaters come summer. We were nuts. We were driven. We played shows around Boston. I thought we were gonna take over the world…

And then, just like that, the band was over. I was heartbroken. But, unbeknownst to me, there was a whole future of musical insanity ahead of me….

1999 • 2003

Berklee

Destiny. I simply can’t help it. I will never NOT play music. I’ve always been drawn to it and it was inevitable that I would go to the world–renowned Berklee College of Music.

What an invaluable experience for me. It was inspiring and humbling all at once. I learned that I was not a great singer, HAHAHA. Fact. I was NOT the bee’s knees. I was NOT the cream of the crop. This was the single most significant lesson I ever learned. It made me work hard as all hell to be able to write the music trapped in my brain and sing songs to the absolute best of my ability.

Realizing I was a piece of a unit when in a band made collaborating with others extremely rewarding. I might have some good ideas, but when I mix them with someone else’s better ideas the end result is the BEST idea. Just WOW.

Being surrounded by the ridiculous amount of talent at that school every day & every class being a subject that I loved so deeply, made my college journey immeasurably special. I am so grateful to have these memories.

These were some of the best years of my life.

2007 • 2017

Schwarzenator

Initially starting out as a joke project, Jonathan Weed (guitar) and I thought it would be fun to write catchy, progressive metal songs in honor of our favorite human, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Who knew the magic and joy that would be to come?

We swiftly incorporated the genius of Shane Gibson (guitar) into the fold on the second song and Schwarzenator was created. The objective was to make the songs listenable, catchy, and fun for non-musicians, but also make them technical and intricate for our fellow nerds.

Once we recruited Eloy Palacios (bass) and drummer extraordinaire, Thomas Lang, we set to conquer the rock scene in Los Angeles. 1-part comedy, 5-parts superhuman musicality, we quickly gained a good rapport with the legendary Viper Room playing regularly on the Sunset Strip to some of the fondest shows of my career. It was insanity. People loved it. We had a blast. The stupider we were…the louder the response.

The departure of Thomas led to the incorporation of drummer, Pete Pace, a fellow Berklee grad. A band full of college peers. It was a dream come true… that is until Shane passed away.

We just could never get the mojo back. It was devastating. We tried. We tried hard. We were terminated. But the memories remain. Our full-length album is available for download and it stands as my greatest artistic triumph.

2013 • 2017

Dinosaur Dick

As Schwarzenator was nerdy, technically proficient, and musically progressive, something inside of me needed to release the primal musical aspects living deep within. I wanted to create something that was the exact opposite of what we were doing in Schwarzenator, where we meticulously pontificated over every note and beat of the music.

The response was the birth & age of Dinosaur Dick.

“Mesozoic Dino Punk Metal primordially developed to inspire the listener to react first before thinking. Hatched in Los Angeles in March 2013 these four Dino-Dicks are here to bring you back to the beginning and tear you down. Roar.”

Aggressive Metallic Punk. We would write the songs quickly. The first thing that comes out….that was the part. Instinctual and poignant. We cut off all the fat. Most of our songs were right around the 1-minute mark. It was very liberating and so much fun.

I felt so lucky to get up there and just run around like a dinosaur and scream my head off. We never talked to the crowd, we only bellowed and cooed like a dinosaur would do. Surprisingly, people actually liked it; even my mother!

2016 • 2017

JP Valentine
& the

cardiac arrest

Starting to get burnt out playing original music in Los Angeles and never being able to make the money needed to make it full-time, I was coerced into the best decision I’ve made as a working musician, play COVERS!

Wow!! People already know these songs so if you perform them well and entertain, you’re bound to be successful. Jeremy Miller (drums), Scott Camarota (bass), and Joe Casey (guitar) rounded out the Cardiac Arrest with me as we entertained the masses at the now-defunct bar, The Craftsman, in Santa Monica.

Thank you Scott for teaching me the way! We focused on uptempo party songs from the 1970s through the 2000s. We played crowd-pleasing numbers that got the crowd dancing and brought the house down.

It was a great learning experience for me that I took with me to the Seattle area to forge ahead on my own!

2018 • PRESENT

The lumberjax

After swearing off from forming any new bands, I was easily persuaded to form this 80s Covers Duo with fellow bearded bro & lead guitar player, Jake Ferderer. While playing solo as JP Valentine, Jake approached me to jam. We jammed. It was great!! BOOM! The very bearded both of us quickly formed what would be called: The Lumberjax.

When Covid struck we holed up in our abodes to perfect our craft. We learned a multitude of songs to be able to rock 3-hour+ sets. When the doors opened at bars as the pandemic came to a close we got out there and got some residencies to continue to play on the regular. We still currently play in the Seattle area to wonderful fanfare.

We aren’t going to be writing our own songs, we play the hits! A mix of comedy and musicianship, we entertain Western Washington, pretending we are Canadians, with our interpretations of 80s covers from AC/DC to Whitney Houston to Bryan Adams to Bon Jovi.

Covers make the money and we come to rock.

Media

VIDEOS

join the Mailing list

8th wonder

8th wonder

Berklee

Schwarzenator

Dinosaur Dick

JP Valentine
& the

cardiac arrest

The lumberjax

Media

VIDEOS

8th wonder

8th wonder

Berklee

Schwarzenator

Dinosaur Dick

JP Valentine & the

cardiac arrest

The lumberjax

JP Valentine
& the