Eric Mrozek's Music Page
Beware: This is my self-centric page.
Contents
Note: I'm working on getting links to sound files of my playing sprinkled throughout. I personally don't like listening to 5 second sound bytes and I imagine you don't either, so all these files are at least 30 seconds long. In order to keep the file sizes resonable I've compressed them quite a bit. Hopefully you'll find the degradation livable for the purpose at hand. You'll need the free
Real Audio Player
in order to listen to them. I chose this format because for the same perceptual degradation it seems to achieve about 3x the compression as compressed .wav and .aiff formats.
- Trumpet/Cornet - I started in elementary school at the age of 9. I stopped playing while I was in college, but I picked it up again 5 years later. I play well, but I could be much better if I practiced more.
- French Horn/Baritone - I have played these in the past (ca. 1980), but no longer.
- Voice - I began singing in my church's adult choir at an early age. My voice had changed almost overnight when I turned 12 years old, and without any instability. My mother was the organist for the choir and they would practice at the same time as my Confirmation class. After class I would sit next to her at the organ and sing the bass line to myself, revelling in my new voice. After a few weeks, she had me sit with the other basses which began a six year "career". I have only sung occasionally since then. At the present time I consider my voice to be somewhat scratchy and my range limited, but I haven't been willing to spend the time to work these problems out.
- Acoustic/Electric/Bass Guitar - I started in 1976 when my best friend and I were 14 years old and wanted to be Rock stars. This was my first experience with a polyphonic instrument and I had some difficulty. I switched to bass guitar since I was able to hear bass lines easily (with that choral backround). I switched back to guitar in 1980 and improved very quickly, which illustrates how taking things in stages can help get you through difficulties. In my last few years of college (1982-3) I played in several college bands. We performed a few times (talent shows, parties, etc.), but it was just for grins. In the mid-80's I jammed with a keyboard player and drummer in Manhattan Beach, CA. The keyboard player was into complex meters, so we played a lot of originals and things like Five, Five, Five by Dave Brubeck. In the late-80's I mostly played acoustic guitar at my church (First Lutheran in Manhattan Beach, CA) for various bible studies and before church services. I quit playing guitar in 1991 when I started on my Master's degree (while continuing to work), and I've only played occasionally since then.
- Piano - I had a year of lessons in 1989, but dropped it when I got busy with other things. I haven't gotten around to picking it back up.
- Mandolin/Tenor Banjo - In the early 80's I inherited a mandolin from my grandfather. I finally strung it up and took it to the 1993 Summer Solstice Folk Music Festival in Calabasas, California. I learned a few old-time tunes there and taught them to Mark Davis, a good friend of mine who also plays several instruments. He enjoyed it so much that he bought several mandolins and then became heavily involved in Celtic music. In the meantime I had moved to Michigan and become interested in Finnish folk music, which I was slowly learning. I spent the Summer of 1995 in California and Mark convinced me to go to Mick Moloney's mandolin classes at the Summer Solstice festival. This was a real turning point for me. Mick is an incredible Irish mandolin and tenor banjo player, and he also teaches. Although I only spent about 5 hours in his group classes, I learned a great deal and became very motivated to learn Celtic music on these intruments. I spent the rest of the summer learning on mandolin the tunes that he taught us. When I returned to Michigan, I bought a tenor banjo and transferred the songs I knew to it. I improved very quickly and began looking for sessions where I could play with other musicians. Mick performed at the Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan in October, so I asked him for some recommendations and I ended up finding an excellent group to play with. I have learned so much since then that I can say the tenor banjo is the instrument that I am best at. I have also been playing more traditional Finnish music. I plan to learn some traditional Polish music, but I haven't found a good source to learn from yet. Some of my relatives used to play, but most of them live in other states or have passed away.
- Highland Bagpipes -
I hadn't planned to learn this intrument, but I had a vague attraction to bagpipe music and the opportunity presented itself, so I jumped on it. I started chanter lessons with George Killen (of Hartland, Michigan, my hometown) in Jan 1996. He has had a huge positive influence on my playing technique, and I still take lessons from him when I'm in the area.
I spent the Summer of 1997 in California where I met George Hall who was
Pipe Major of the Black Watch Society Pipe Band. He invited me to attend his pipe
band chanter practices, so I learned a bunch of new tunes. He also showed me an approach
to developing my birl that helped tremendously (very similar to the
Peking Piper's
Advice on the Low A Birl).
I began competing in solo events in Spring 2000. Although I never placed that year, I had several lessons from George Killen in August which helped me make the finals in both light music events at Pleasanton (the largest WUSPBA sanctioned comeptition of the year) on Labor Day weekend. I thought this was a great accomplishment and I decided to make my goal for 2001 to be in the top ten of the grade 4 standings at the end of the year. If I accomplish this, I intend to move up to grade 3.
Towards this goal I began taking lessons from
Aaron Shaw in December 2000.
He has helped me greatly, especially with regard to expression. So far in the 2001 competition season I have placed in at least one event of every competition I've attended. Only once have I placed in both events, so I still need to develop better consistency. Even so, I've done very well and I'm currently (6/30/2001) at the top of the grade 4 standings. I'm looking forward to competing in grade 3 next year.
- Fiddle - After becoming involved in traditional music, I've discovered an attraction to fiddle. Like the trumpet, there is a dynamic expressiveness that just doesn't exist in plucked string instruments. I bought a fiddle in December 1995 and took lessons in the Spring and Summer of 1996. The first year was torture on my ears (bowing and the fretless fingerboard were a new experience), but I struggled through it. I'm very happy with my progress.
- Misty Isle Pipe Band
(Torrance, California) -
I have been a piper in this top-rated Grade 4 band since the Summer of 1999.
We are currently leading the pack for the 2001 competition season.
I am currently at the top of the solo grade 4 standings for the year.
- Celtic Regional Arts Institute of California (CRAIC)
(greater Los Angeles) - I usually can be seen at the monthly gathering of this
cultural group.
- Soittoniekkojen Klubi (Farmington Hills, Michigan) -
I helped form this
"music player's club" with other members of the
Finnish Center Association
in the Fall of 1997. They have sessions the second Saturday of every month (2-5pm)
at the Finnish Cultural Center in Farmington Hills,
Michigan (On Eight Mile Rd, 2 miles east of I-275), and I attend when I'm in the area.
We also rehearse for performances and have several projects underway.
- My first pipeband was the
42nd Highlanders Regimental P&D
(Long Beach, California). I played with them from 1998 to 1999.
I have since joined a competition band which takes most of my attention,
but I still hang out with the 42nd and help them improve their playing skills.
- I was a member of Our Savior Lutheran Brass Choir
(sextet) of Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hartland, Michigan,
from 1993 to 1998. We played almost every Sunday morning.
We occasionally played at Christ Lutheran in Milford,
Historic Trinity Lutheran in Detroit, and at other churches (especially for weddings).
- The Finlandia Stings
is a Finnish-American mandolin group from the the greater Detroit area,
and led by Al Lehikoinen. I played with them in 1997 and 1998.
They are generally active only in the Spring and Summer.
- I played with the Ann Arbor Irish Ensemble which is the name of the
regulars at the music session every Wednesday night (8-11pm) in Ann Arbor at the
Arbor Brewing Company (On Washington, 1/2 a block East of Main) from 1996 to 1998.
We typically had about 4 fiddle players, 2 tenor banjo players, a whistle player,
bass guitar, and some of us traded off onto mandolin, guitar, bodhran, or triangle.
This was the first session that I tried to attend and they were very encouraging.
I improved a lot by playing with them.
- There was an Irish music session Sunday nights in Garden City, Michigan
at Ennis Free (On Middlebelt, 1/4 mile North of Ford Road) which I occasionally attended
in the Fall of 1997. There used to be a lot of musicians from the Detoit chapter of the
Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann
who came, including two Uilleann pipers. This session became defunct in March 1998.
- I also played with the Livingston Acoustic Music Society (LAMS) in 1997
and 1998, which met the third Saturday of
every month (7-11pm) at the Lakewood Church of Christ in Howell, Michigan
(on Latson Rd., 1/4 mile South of M-59). About half the group tended toward Celtic
and Old-Time. The other half tended toward Country and Western.
This group was very open and encouraged beginners to join.
- In 1997 and 1998 I also performed occasionally with two friends
of mine who I first met at LAMS.
We played traditional American and Irish music with an occasional Finnish tune.
- Steve Devereaux - fiddle, accordian, guitar
- Eric Mrozek - fiddle, tenor banjo, mandolin, guitar
- Tom Whitehead - hammered dulcimer, string bucket
- I played 2nd trumpet in the brass choir of the St. Thomas (?) Lutheran Church (SELK) in Siegen,
Germany, 1986-7. The bulk of this quartet/sextet was the Dach Family, who were
incredibly kind to me.
- I played baritone for one year at the Flint campus of the University of Michigan in 1979.
- I played trumpet in the Fenton and Hartland, Michigan, school bands in the 1970s
(now you know how old I am).
- Bagpipes
- Naill DN2 pipes (1999) - I have them set up with an L&M 9" bag,
Henderson Harmonic MKII drone reeds, and a 9" Airstream blowpipe.
- 2 Naill "long" polypenco practice chanters.
- Hardie blackwood practice chanter.
- "Shepherd" pipes (mid 1970s) - Narrow diameter, especially blowpipe. Shepherd says they are not "Shepherds" (ouch!).
- Fiddle
- Brian Bishop - #80 (December 2000).
- Jackson-Gulden - an okay production violin from the late 1800s.
- An unremarkable 4/4 bow.
- Brass
- Benge 65B (1999).
- King Tempo trumpet (1974).
- Olds student model cornet (1971) - This is the first instrument that I ever had.
- Tenor Banjo
- Gibson TB-2 (1927) - Well used, but it sounds wonderful. My main axe.
- Gibson TB-1 (1925?) - Shorter neck. Nice sound after I set it up, but not quite equal to my TB-2.
- I played on a wonderful Vega model X at Elderly Instruments in Lansing, Michigan in April 1997. It was very pretty (the heel and peghead of the neck were carved) and it played extremely well. Have you ever played on an instument that seemed to draw music out of you? Unfortunately I wasn't prepared to buy a new instument on the spur of the moment. Two weeks later I finally decided to buy it, but it was gone!
- Mandolin
- Gibson A4 #39105 (1928?) - with oval sound hole. This instrument has been on long term loan from my friend, Mark Davis.
- Gibson A2 (1928) - with oval sound hole. This instrument was given to me by my friend, Mark Davis. It needs to be refinished and refretted.
- Harmony (mid 1970s) - Cheap, but it plays. I replaced the tuners with Schallers. This was my grandfather's instrument, so I have a sentimental attachment to it.
- Guitars
- Mrozek #1 (1980) - An electric guitar that I built. It has a single-piece body of white maple in a Les Paul shape with a carved arch top. The finish is clear polyurethane. It has a Carvin neck (maple with maple fretboard), chrome Grover tuners, EMG pickups (SH-81 and SH-85), and a Chrome Badass bridge. The coverplates on the back are polished brass.
- Mrozek #2 (1982) - An electric guitar that I built. It had a single-piece body of white maple. The upper half of the body had an Gibson Explorer shape, the lower half a B.C. Rich Bitch shape, and it was finished in a bright red stain and Clear Wood Finish (I decided that polyerethane was too yellow). It had a Carvin neck (maple with ebony fretboard), chrome Schaller tuners, one black Bartolini pickup with laminated blades, and a chrome Fender Strat replacement bridge. Later, I put on a Kahler tremelo and made other modifications. I eventually tore it apart for parts to use in Mrozek #4.
- Mrozek #3 (1983) - An electric guitar that I built for Jan Holtmann (Where are you? Do you still have it?). It has a single-piece body of white maple in a Les Paul shape with a flat top. Finished with Clear Wood Finish. Carvin neck (maple with maple fretboard) with a script "Mrozek" carved into the headstock, chrome Shaller tuners, two cream-colored DiMarzio Super Distortion pickups, chrome Badass bridge. The controls are on black plastic attached to the front.
- Mrozek #4 (1996) - An electric guitar that I started building in 1988 and still haven't finished. It has a single-piece body of black walnut. It's shaped like Mrozek #2, but the corner next to the player's rib cage is more rounded and much smaller (it actually looks really cool). It has a Carvin neck (maple with ebony fretboard) with a script "Mrozek" carved into the headstock, gold Schaller tuners, one black Bartolini pickup with laminated blades, and gold Wonderbar tremelo. All I have left to do is put on the finish and mount the parts. I plan use a clear lacquer. Let me know what you think.
- Takamine 12-string
- Yamaha FG-180G 6-string
- I'd really like to get a very good 6-sting. I'm thinking of a Martin M-series, Taylor, or Larivee. I don't want a dreadnaught style because I think they are too boomy. I prefer a balanced tone with a clear voice.
- Keyboards & Synthesizers
- Kawai console piano with institutional upgrade - This was used for one year at USC before I bought it. It is very nice for a console.
- Kawai K1 synthesizer - Very cool when it was new (polyphonic, digital wavetable, programmable, MIDI, etc.). It's considered underpowered now-a-days.
- Kawai K3 synthesizer - Very simple additive-synthesis synthesizer module. Not very versatile, but sounds rich and lush.
- Roland R8 Drum Machine - Top notch 16-bit/44.1kHz drum samples from 1990. I still love the sound and flexibility of this machine.
- Sequential Circuits Drumtracks - Was state-of-the-art (programmable, MIDI, etc.) when new in 1986. Plays back 8-bit mu-law compressed samples at 24(?) kHz. Anybody want a paperweight?
Top ten? If I were on a desert island, I'd want more than that!
Eric M. Mrozek (mrozek@umich.edu), EECS-Systems, University of Michigan
Last Update: 30 June 2001
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