The Fly Kingdom: File under World Fusion

Complete the sentence. The Fly Kingdom is...

A one-man band that can also expand to many members since it's all about the combination of styles that include Indian Classical music and extend to add anything else that might add to the mix.

Describe the band's transformation from its previous sound to the current incarnation.

The Fly kingdom started out as a Gothic band that sounded more like Marilyn Manson. But after three CDs the style was no longer something that I could pursue. Some time after my friend Rose Monaco was diagnosed with M.S. and that inspired to make a change and make more positive music. Something that would inspire hope rather than hate. Together with the idea of making positive change and suggestions from co-worked and friend Carlos Avila the sound progressed to what has now been called "If Santana Went To India". Currently the band has taken yet one more change as I have used the wah pedal less and less and instead replaced it with a more symphonic sound. A sound that both the east and west can fully appreciate.

Where would you file your music in a record store?

World Fusion.

If you could write and perform a song with any one artist, who would you choose? Why?

Anoushka Shankar, Ravi Shankar or Niladri Kumar. They are fantastic sitar players and also composers who have gone beyond the stretch of their own style and made a sound of their own. They have also been my influences to pick up the sitar.

What would you be doing if you weren't making music?

I would probably be nothing since I feel music has been my calling since I was kid. Although I did not pick up an instrument (the guitar) till I was in my teens, I have always had an appreciation for music. That appreciation turned into an obsession that has been my drive to overcome whatever obstacles that are put in front of me in order to continue making music.