Fresh out of high school, Damien started a life long dedication to music in 2006 studying music production between Sony ACID & Fruity Loops. Inspired by German Techno, and the sounds of many artists from Metropolis Records, he debuted as a DJ in late 2010 and quickly found himself a residency at Club Orpheus with the local goth & industrial scene under the alias "GH057" (Ghost) In 2011, Damien partnered up with a local promotional crew known as "Baltimore City Ravers", and began a philanthropist pursuit to help the Baltimore Music Community, as well as participate in local activism such as Occupy Baltimore. In 2012, Damien's debut EP "Xenoaeon" was signed to Rude Bass Records, and released through iTunes, Amazon Music & Beatport. In late 2012, Damien put to rest the "GH057" alias and took up a new production name "SINESPAWN", to which he performed and released free music under until the end of 2015. The progress of SINESPAWN came to an abrupt halt, as Damien focused on his personal life while keeping his foot in with the local music scene, and started playing keyboards / keytar for the folk metal band "Teshaleh". In 2018, Damien emerged finally from hiatus as KNARD HOCKS and announcing work on a brand new album, as well as being mentored by one of the music industry's leading talents, ill.Gates. Damien continues his philanthropist ideals by sponsoring local shows to give rise to a new era of music enthusiasm within the Baltimore scene. KNARD HOCKS is a veteran with over a decade of experience, growth, and dedication to music as an art & culture, who never ceases to chisel at the stuff of legends.
Sound is universal, and music is it's language. It is one of the few art forms that is shared across the entire world, and has implications other than entertainment. Music heals, music brings back memories, music communicates.
Sharing my music to the world, and playing around the world. I want to continue to work on music for the rest of my life, and help others learn & work on music.
I'd start by helping other people achieve their goals, and give them the ability to learn and build themselves.
"The Rite of Spring" by Igor Stravinsky "Night on Bald Mountain" by Modest Mussorgsky
Pendulum Dream Theater Rishloo 30 Second to Mars Rush Pink Floyd
Internal cravings to break silence.
Be yourself. Be as beautiful as you are grotesque. Be as evil as you are good. Be erratic, be logical. Be everything of the in between, that is who you are - because that's what ultimately speaks in this universe.
Speechless. Happy. Taken.
Like many things on the internet, false informed. There's a lot of bad information out there and there's a lot of good information out there. When people don't know what to do, their enthusiasm dies. When people think they'll never make it, they give up. When people feel like they are getting somewhere, they'll give things a try. Music is alive as it ever was. That's why new artists suddenly emerge at viral levels. It can be done. It's not the musician. It's the strategy of accomplishing the goal.
Interested so far, I'm looking forward to seeing how it works.
There's so much more one needs to do as a musician other than write music. Sometimes I feel music only is 10% of it all. The rest is knowing how to operate it as a business.
Yes. I go to local events, I share events I find interesting, I sometimes assist and sponsor local events with local promoters.
Strong composition, originality, relevency, a quality mix, translatable mastering. If you can knock at least 3 of these out, you're 100 steps ahead of tens of thousands of other musicians.
Teshaleh Rishloo