Intermezzo

"Intermezzo" is what I call "my band" (really just me, some friends who can sing -- because I sure can't -- and some MIDI equipment). It is my vehicle for demonstrating my material.

My material is probably best described as yacht rock.

I am pleased to announce that I've created a DIstroKid account! You can view my HyperFollow here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/intermezzo1/intermezzo

Also, through my DistroKid account, my music is now also available on the following (among others):

iTunes/Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/intermezzo/1582282477

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/24Smq4apfS2XM9zVS6qRZB

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09D9CTHFH

At one point or another, the following people have been involved with Intermezzo:

Ray Kim: keyboards, clarinet, saxophone

Jerry Russell: vocals

Bob Blanchard (1961-1995): vocals, keyboards

Jim O'Brien: vocals, guitars

Eddie Kilgallon: keyboards, MIDI drums, now a member of the country group Ricochet

The origins of the group go back to when Jerry Russell answered an ad I placed looking for a singer to help me with demos. We hit it off immediately, and have been friends ever since.

The band began life under the name "BlanK imeJry," which was derived from the group members' names. After Bob died, we largely broke up, but I continued on in hopes that I could someday have our music released.

I decided to change the name after deciding that "BlanK imeJry" didn't reflect the group's style. I felt that the name (with it's intentional misspelling and miscapitalization) looked too much like an "alternative" group name, which we definitely are not. I wanted something more elegant, and came up with "Intermezzo."

The group has been dormant for several years (alas, life happens). I've only recently been getting back into this again. I'm hoping to have some new material up here soon.

For more information, check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Intermezzo.MusicByRayKim

We have never played live; we have been strictly a studio group. Individually, Jerry has been involved with a variety of things (including hosting kareoke), and Ray plays with a variety of local music groups, including a local cover band called Scarlett Fever (https://www.scarlettfeverband518.com/).

I grew up as a classically-trained pianist. Most of my training involved playing works by Chopin, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Joplin.

My personal influences and my songwriting influences are two completely different animals. I like to listen to progressive rock, classical, and jazz. My favorite artists include Kansas, Boston, and Supertramp.

My songwriting influences lean more toward pop, soft rock, and adult contemporary. People who listen to our material have said that we resemble artists such as Toto, Air Supply, Journey, Christopher Cross, Chris DeBurgh, Peter Cetera, and Kenny Loggins.

My production influence is Tom Scholz from Boston, who recorded all his instruments in his basement and had friends like Brad Delp (RIP) to help him out. I pretty much do the same thing (although I have done some studio work before).

My setup consists of an HP Pavilion x360 running Windows 10 Home, ACID Music Studio 10.0, and Passport MasterTracksPro 6.8.4. My MIDI interface is a Roland UM-ONE. Most of the sounds you hear come out of a Kawai G-Mega general MIDI box. And my controller is a thirty-plus-year-old Kurzweil Ensemble Grande piano!

I don't have much in the way of audio equipment, but I recently started using the DolbyOn app on my iPhone. Check it out at https://www.dolby.com/apps/dolby-on/ -- I recommend it highly!

Any clarinet and sax sounds you hear are NOT MIDI-generated; I actually do play the clarinet and saxophone!

Also, most (not all) guitar sounds are real; I prefer the sound of an actual guitar. However, I don't play the guitar, so I need to get my friends to help me out with that.