SAMSON pedroza
~Samson J. Pedroza is the lead-guitarist and founding member of CANOBLISS, a San Diego based alternative/progressive metal band. Samson has been a continual student and performer on the guitar since 1985. He first picked up the guitar at the age of twelve but it wasn't until those angst filled high school years that had him take up arms at the ripe old age of 15. Inspired by a string of shredders in the eighties such as Vai, Satch, Yngwie, Rhoads, Van Halen, Lynch, DeMartini and Jake E. Lee. Samson soon turned to the darker side of music not only venturing back in time to discover bands such as Black Sabbath and Deep Purple but looking forward to the new sound sweeping the heavy music scene. This new sound wasn't grunge but its earlier predecessor of thrash/speedmetal fronted by bands such as Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Testament, Exodus, Anthrax, Metal Church and Pantera. ~After Samson finished high school, he soon enrolled at Musician's Institute (G.I.T.) in Hollywood where he would spend the next 12 months immersed in nothing but scales, groove workshops, chord charts, reading lessons, eartraining, theory and some extracurricular activities including open counciling sessions and bussiness/industry workshops and seminars. Samson had his musical mind thoroughly broadened being exposed to a myriad of player's, styles and techniques. This experience was crucial in setting things in motion. At Musician's Institute, Samson had the resources and teaching staff to prepare him for a life of musical pursuits with confidence and practical skills. ~After playing the LA scene for a couple of years, Samson relocated to the Northwest in the early nineties chasing the music frenzy launched by grunge. After a couple of years playing the Portland scene, it was evident that he belonged back in So. CAl. He soon moved to San Diego and settled in planning to make this paradise like city his new home. He immediatley put together his first San Diego band "The Unknown" and hit the scene in the mid-nineties. This group held together for a couple years and played a few dozen shows. Shortly after disbanding this unit, CANOBLISS was formed in 1998 and soon released their debut CD "Wicked Necessary" in 1999, later a new line-up released "Demon Angel" in 2004, after several line-up's and tours CANOBLISS is still going strong. CANOBLISS is recording their third full length CD and planning a summer 2007 tour. Although, the band remains independent they continue to be active in touring and recording with their strongest and most talented line-up to date. This is it, the search is over! ~Samson returned to school pursuing a deeper understanding of his musical studies in the late nineties which has led him to his current position. He obtained two Associate degrees from San Diego Mesa College; an Assoc. Degree in Arts for Music where he studied jazz and classical guitar along with music technology and composition and also an Assoc. Degree in Science for Multimedia and was a recipient of the Gustavo Romero Music Scholarship. He then continued on to study at UCSD. He is currently finishing his Bachelor of Arts at UCSD where he majors in Music and minors in ICAM (Intradisciplinary Computing and the Arts). His studies include but are not limited to:music humanities/history, jazz history, theory, eartraining, audio acoustics, classical guitar, UCSD Guitar Ensemble, zitar, recording arts, history of art and technology, new media, philosophy and film studies. He will be continuing on with his education next fall pursuing a MFA ( Master of Fine Arts) for graduate school studying Digital Video Cinematography while continuing his classical and jazz guitar studies. ~Throughout his studies and band related projects, Samson continues to write and record his own personal affects. His solo projects are fusion in style combining blues, rock, metal, jazz, classical and flamenco. email: |