About melne

My passion for the arts revealed itself early in life. As a child, I focused on the visual arts–drawing and painting, but by the time I could count my age in two digits, I had also become infatuated with music. Influenced by music-centric ’70s Saturday morning cartoons such as “The Archies,” and “The Jackson 5,” and evening shows like the “Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour,” I developed an interest not only in listening to music, but also playing it. For my 10th birthday, I received a nylon string guitar, and my parents enrolled me in summer guitar lessons. Armed with a few chords, I proceeded to write heartfelt songs about cats and dogs, and annoyed the neighbors with impromptu performances.

As luck would have it, I managed to find jobs (and eventually a career) doing something related to my interest in the visual arts—Graphic Design. Over the years I have been fortunate to combine my love of music and skills in graphics to design album covers, websites, sales “one sheets,” and promotional collateral for well-known (and unknown) recording artists.

Concurrently with my career, I have continued to pursue music—writing and recording my own original music and playing in a wide variety of bands. I currently play in Surplus 1980, an experimental art-rock band that will welcome our fourth full-length album, "Illusion of Consistency," which was created over the course of the pandemic using the "exquisite corpse" method. Drum tracks were recorded, and then those files were sent on to band members and guests across the globe for each to add their own creativity as they saw fit. The great thing about this, is that there was no inkling how each track would turn out! The album should be ready by the end of 2023!

In addition to Surplus 1980, I also play in funk/soul/R&B dance band, Airwaves, as well as occasionally subbing for other groups.

In May 2023, I graduated from the California Jazz Conservatory with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies!