Guitarist Teddy Clemente immigrated to the United States from his native Philippines in 1981 when he was twenty years old. Introduced to the sounds of classic rock when he was still a young boy he began writing music in the early 80's but soon decided to put his music career on the backburner. The San Francisco based musician eventually rekindled his passion for creating music at the start of the new millennium and has been at it ever since.
For his latest indie release entitled Illusions he's brought along some Bay Area veterans to help him out, notably multi-instrumentalist's Robert Berry and Thom Duell, who also handles the lead vocals, as well as Sammy Hagar drummer David Lauser. The record which in Clemente's own words "is all about life, our children, our government and our world" does pack a socially conscious message as the lyrics of "Illusion", "Life" ,"Children and their Future" and "Prisoner of War" are all politically tinged and serve as a wakeup call to the powers that be that things need to change before it's too late.
Illusions is a supercharged, classic rock affair that puts Clemente's superior skills as a player directly in the spotlight. The guy sure knows how to rock as he fires off a full arsenal of meaty riffs and scorching solos overtop the funky programming and Lauser's powerhouse drumming on "Rock All Night" and "O For Satisfaction". Clemente's real secret weapon on this record though turns out to be Duell who sings the hell out of these songs with an alarming amount of passion and conviction. His voice definitely comes pretty damned close to Geoff Tate especially on the epic eight minute "Voice Out" and "Come Fly Away". The disc concludes with the tender, yet scorching instrumental "In My Mind" in which Clemente plays a nice acoustic melody and then proceeds to let rip a gut wrenching solo for the ages overtop of it.
He might be flying under the radar as an indie artist, but after one listen to what this brother is throwing down on Illusions, I have to say that if the stars manage to align themselves in the right way, Teddy Clemente certainly has what it takes to get his music and his message out on a much larger scale.
Track Listing
1) Illusion
2) Life
3) Children and their Future
4) Voice Out
5) Come Fly Away
6) The Other Side
7) Rock All Night
8) Prisoner of War
9) O for Satisfaction
10) In My Mind (instrumental)
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