CLICK HERE to Shop the Fine Art of EBENLO!



How I Learned To Make Music by EBENLO Painter of Song

Posted by ERIC LOPEZ on

On this page you'll find a brief explanation of how EBENLO learned to make music. Full disclosure: The artist receives a percentage of each sale made through the links on this page.

For starters, the artist grew up Pentacostal, and that means going to church, and singing and worshipping God, a lot!  "We were in church two times on Sunday, the morning and evening, then we went to church again on Wednesday night for youth service.  That was our life, and now, I'm thankful for it, but back then, it seemed like a bit of overkill, but that's what my parents chose in those days, and considering I turned out OK, I don't suppose I can fault them for it."

"I did love to sing and worship with my family.  My Dad and I would sing in church, and sometimes I would harmonize, and spice things up a bit.  I love that I grew up singing.  I love that I learned to worship God.  Now a'days, especially when joking around my siblings and I, we will joke with each other in song.  My sister plays this game, that when she sings a part of a song, then you finish it, you lose the game!  Haha, what a riot that girl can be sometimes. She's the life of the party.  Haha."

 I like the gear from Full Compass. ~Ebenlo

"Later, in my high school days, I borrowed the album "The Unforgettable Fire," by U2, from a friend.  And for me, that was it!  It inspired me to no end!  I couldn't believe what I was hearing, and it made me want to make music, and be a part of those who move people's minds and emotions with music. I soon after became part of a band, we called ourselves "Core", and we played a party or two, and had some fun with it.  Once when we played during an assembly at school, we were forbidden beforehand, to play a Metallica song that we had prepared for the performance: "Enter Sandman".  Well, we did the song anyway, and that was so punk rock, IMHO.  I believe we also played "Plush" by Stone Temple Pilots.  However, "Plush" was first, and then when we started playing "Enter Sandman", the kids just went CRAZY in that auditorium! Everyone who could fit rushed to the front of the stage and it was just pandemonium in there!  While we neared the end of the performance, our guitarist, Jeremiah James (now of Redder Moon, RX Ghost, and Mary Chicken Soup & Rice (LA), based out of Kansas City), he set down his guitar and jumped into the mosh pit that had accumulated near the center of the stage!  It was so much fun, and really, I can hardly believe it ever happened!  And the kicker was, we didn't get in trouble for playing Metallica!  We felt like kings!"

"The other musical thing I did in high school, besides singing in a Christian musical group, called "Son Zone" for a season, was to sing at the Senior Assembly.  I sang two U2 songs:  "One," and "With Or Without You."  The students really liked these songs and some even said I had been lip synching, which was a tremendous compliment, really.  I recall that at the end of "With Or Without You," my girlfriend at the time rushed the stage and came up to give me a huge hug and kiss.  It was an amazing time for me."

Taylor Guitar

This is just like the guitar Ebenlo owns.

I went to the University of Idaho immediately after high school and joined the fraternity Phi Delta Theta.  I was a legacy, and joined my older brother at the school and fraternity.  Not long into my sophmore year, a friend was putting together a fraternity band, and I was the only singer there, so I sort of was automatically in the band.  We had a lot of fun and played a few parties.  I don't even know if we ever named the band, as I recall, we were just called "the house band".  I just asked our guitarist, our band was named "Curious George" then named "Mugwump"!  Haha.

"After this season of college/university, I eventually applied and was accepted into the Air Force.  While I was in the Air Force around the year 2000, I started recording single track recordings of vocal and guitar into my PC computer.  I made an album of easy listening finger-picking music for myself to enjoy, and I actually sold about two of those albums to a close friend. The album was called "Dream Landscapes".  I've since "buried" the album, as I don't have any of it memorized, and don't see myself performing any of the works in the future.  It DOES have some good songs on there, and I've actually released a few songs from it, namely "Sailors And Stargazers", "Good Night", "Would You Be Mine", and "Delicate Stranger".  Check them out, on just about ANY popular music distribution point online."

Be the life of the party with Full Compass pro lighting!

"After my time in the military, I moved to California, and started making songs with multiple tracks after using some peer to peer network to download a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).  I recorded a song called "Facing Skyward" during this time in the early 2000's, it has the highest note I've ever recorded in it, thus far.  I've since sworn off using peer to peer networks, because they seemed to give my PC computers terrible viruses over the years, and I had at least 2 computers die over the years from that sort of activity."

 Shure Super 55 Supercardioid Dynamic Microphone

This is a Shure Super 55 - Be SHURE to get 
the supercardioid version if you get this mic!
You won't be sorry!

"Around the year 2016, I started recording again. I had sworn off making music for a while, because I thought that I needed to choose between music or art to be sucessful, and at the time I chose art.  So I had started creating art as EBENLO, around the year 2012.  I was making musical caricatures and calling myself Painter of Song.  Well, it eventually dawned on me that I could also create music as The Painter of Song and it would work for me.  And the fact was, is I could still do it, I could still sit down at my DAW and make a song.  So I started doing more of that activity, yes, around the year 2016.  So I put together some songs and slowly started putting them out, releasing them, one after another."

 Presonus Studio Live 16

I use a Presonus Studio Live 16

"That basically brings us to the present time.  Now, I do everything, I've honed for myself a lot of skills:  I record a track, produce it, make the art for it, release it, add lyrics to the finished public work, and promote it with producing video and ads.  It's really a lot of fun for me, and very interesing work!  Every day seems different!"

"I will take the liberty of adding a few items to this blog post, things I actually use and enjoy!  Perhaps you might find them useful!  Enjoy, and CHEERS!"

~EBENLO

Check out iZotope software, Logic Pro X,
Macbook Pro M3 - 1TB, and other great gear!

0 comments

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published