Paul Stranahan - Jazz & Fusion Music

Paul Stranahan:

Paul Stranahan is a drummer, composer, band leader, marimba player and teacher.

He leads two different groups: The Paul Stranahan Trio (PST) and Paul Stranahan’s Insomnia (PSI). The instrumentation is usually guitar, bass and drums and sometimes saxophone. Both groups strive for a creative, interactive style but in different ways. Paul is also involved with the avant-metal band Red Side Visible. Please check out www.myspace.com/redsidevisible to find out more.

The Trio plays original compositions, jazz standards, and some jazz-rock-fusion. The band has two CDs. One is called “Climbing Somewhere” which features eleven songs all written by Paul. Some songs are more in the straight ahead jazz vein and some others are more on the fusion side. The other CD is called “Solar” and has seven jazz standards and two originals by Paul.

The Paul Stranahan’s Insomnia (PSI) is an offshoot of the Trio and is dedicated to adventuresome, all original compositions. It will mix everything from free form avant-garde to progressive rock to jazz-fusion and whatever else it wants to on any given night. PSI has a NEW CD out, which features Jeremy Bleich on bass and Chris Bober on guitar on most of the songs. Mike Barna and Jeff Charmek play guitar on an additional two songs. The latter have also teamed up with Paul in the band Broadview Collective and released a self titled CD in 2005. Check out some live performances of the band by clicking HERE. To email Paul... paulstranahan@hotmail.com.

PSI - Paul Stranahan's Insomnia - From left to right: Jeremey Poparad, Paul Stranahan, Christopher Herald and Alan Gleghorn

Red Side Visible - From left to right: Tim Mirth, Paul Stranahan, Christopher Herald, Jeremey Poparad, and Tim McDonald

Paul was interviewed by WCLV 104.9 FM's John Simna on Sun. May 18^th. The interview in it's entirety can be found by selecting this LINK. The best way to listen to this is with the Flock web browser.

Artists Who Have Performed in the Trio:

Jeremey Poparad - GuitarIst for PSI www.myspace.com/poparadmusic
Jeremey is an Akron area guitarist and bassist who performs regularly with jazz, rock, and fusion groups. Jeremey began playing the guitar while in high school, and soon developed an interest in jazz. After high school, he pursued this interest by entering the jazz program at the University of Akron. While at UA, Jeremey studied jazz with local greats Bob Fraser, Jack Schantz, Rock Wehrmann, Bobby Selvaggio, Rich Shanklin, and Dean Newton. Jeremey graduated in the spring of 2006 with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Jazz Studies and Music Composition. He is now working on his Masters Degree in Music. He has recently finished a CD of all his own original compositions featuring himself on guitar, Paul Stranahan on drums, and Bryan Thomas on bass.

Christopher Herald-Saxophonist for PSI
Christopher is currently finishing his BM in Saxophone Performance from the University of Akron. Having been trained in both classical and jazz idioms, as well as being an accomplished woodwind doubler on flute and clarinet, Herald calls jazz improvisation his specialty. He has been awarded several distinctions, including an “Outstanding Soloist Award” at the Elmhurst Jazz Festival in Chicago and winner of the Hank Marr Competition in Columbus, Ohio. Herald has performed across the United States, as well as internationally in Austria and Peru, wherein the latter he was a soloist with the Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra.

Alan Gleghorn- Electric Bassist for PSI
Alan has worked as a sideman with several groups from Cleveland to Sandusky to Todelo playing mostly straight-ahead jazz on upright and electric bass. He has performed with Bob Fraser, Bob Ferrazza, Paul Samuels, Tony Pulizzi, Gene Parker, Bob Szmik, Mark Gridley, Ki Allen and many others. He attended Bowling Green University and studied bass with Jeff Halsey and Chris Berger.

Tim Mirth - Guitarist for PSI www.myspace.com/mirthfulmusic
Tim first started fiddling with guitar about 15 years ago. It didn’t take long for the instrument to take, and days filled with 8 hour practice sessions soon followed. Tim started by playing heavier music, but soon began drawing from Classical and Jazz influences. He has studied jazz and classical with some of the great local musicians such Steve Aron, Jack Schantz, Bob Fraser, Gustavo Plumlee, Jim Marron, and Dean Newton, as well as famous Stick player Steve Adelson in NYC, and Erie guitarist Frank Singer. Tim can be found playing with Paul in various projects such as PSI, Red Side Visible, and Paul Stranahan’s Trio. He is often found playing with the progressive band Ceterum ( and is involved with other projects; Werty, Frank Slade, The Whole World Naked, as well as his own performances (solo, group, or otherwise). Tim was featured on the groundbreaking guitar album “Village of the Unfretted” which included over 40 fretless guitarists from around the globe.
Tim’s explorations into outside sounds and 12 tone inspirations, along with his determination to push the limit of his creativity in each performance result in fiery and innovative displays of improvisation.

Kip Reed - Bass
Kip Reed has toured extensively in Europe and Asia w/ Tania Maria from 1990 to 1994, Donna Summer and many other jazz and Brazilian Artists. He has performed and/or recorded w/Charlie Rouse, James Moody, Mulgrew Miller, Joe Lavono, Jack McDuff, Steve Slagel, Vic Juris, Jamey Haddad, Babel Gilberto, Joyce, Leni Andrade, Ivan Lins. He has performed on a number of jingles, soundtracks and pop and R&B records for the Japanese, European and South American market. He has taught at Manhattan's Drummer's Collective for several years and generally workrd around New York playing gigs for 14 years until he has relocated to Cleveland recently.

Jeremy Bleich - Bass
Jeremy Bleich's (www.jeremybleich.com) approach to the bass has earned him a reputation as an innovator. His work with "birth" and his group "dhikr" have established him as one of the most creative players outside of New York City. He resides in Cleveland, Ohio where he is involved with presenting new music, as well as composing and teaching. He holds a degree in music composition from Cleveland State University. Jeremy is also an in demand side-man. He’s recorded for MCA Records with nashville singer/songwriter Jason White as well as playing on several independent releases. He performs oud and bass with the Santa Fe based group SAMA.

Jeremy has performed and/or recorded with Coung Vu (Pat Metheny Group), Jeff Coffen (Bela Fleck), Matt Murphy (Simon Shaheen), Chris Jonas, Rick Alias (Ragamuffins), Carmen Castaldi (Joe Lovano), Rich Stein (Lauren Hill) and Jason White.

Jeremy's exploration of arabic and middle eastern improvisation has led to serious study and practice of the oud. His approach to this instrument straddles the tradtional and modern in a similar way as his bassplaying. He has played the oud in collaboration w/ Mustafa Stephan Dill (SAMA trio), Andrew Stoltz (laptop musician/composer), and Rahim Alhaj (Iraqi oudist).

“Jeremy Bleich’s free-jazz shredding and spooky low-string grooves give weight to this fearless bass/drums/sax trio’s stream of consciousness explorations.” -Bass Player
on birth: "awesome and magnificent". - Wire (U.K.)

Dan Bruce - Guitar
Daniel Bruce was the 2000 recipient of the Bowling Green State University Special Achievement Award, as well as numerous Music Talent Awards throughout his four years at the university. He was nominated to the 2000 Ohio All-State Intercollegiate Big Band, Convention Center. In August Mr. Bruce graduated with a Bachelor of Music Performance in jazz and classical guitar, and moved to the Cleveland area where he has been performing and teaching locally. He has performed at the Palace Theatre in a number of productions, including Jason Robert Brown's musical, "Parade". Mr. Bruce has also played in a number of local jazz venues such as the High and Dry and Club Isabella's.

Chris Bober - Guitar
Chris Bober is a multi-talented guitarist/composer who originally hails from Detroit, MI. Chris was the recipient of the 2000 "Aquinas College Jazz Soloist Award". Chris has a Music Performance degree from Bowling Green State University where he studied with jazz guitarist Chris Buzzelli and classical guitarist Dan Lippel. Chris has also studied with the late, great jazz bassist Ray Brown, NYC guitarist Randy Johnston (of the Joey Defrancesco Trio), and the great composer/arranger/pianist Russell Schmidt. This varied education has given him a chance to explore the many different styles of jazz, including modern and traditional forms. Chris has also performed Verdi's "Falstaff" with the Bowling Green Opera as well as numerous solo classical recitals in Detroit, Bowling Green, Toledo, and Cleveland.

Chris is an accomplished rock and funk guitarist as well who has played with the Cleveland based funk ensembl e The Afrodesiatics, the multi-media quartet Infinite Number Of Sounds (original rock), the Neil Chastain Trio (jazz-funk), the Paul Stranahan Trio (jazz-rock fusion), NYC violinist Joe Deninzon (jazz-rock fusion), and is the proud founder of the Chris Callan project. Chris teaches music at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Oh where he currently resides and plays.

Bob Fraser - Guitar
B.S.E.E. degree Case Institute of Technology. Adjunct Faculty:
University of Akron, Cleveland State University. Played on Maureen McGovern's "The Morning After". Performed with the Cleveland Orchestra under Pierrie Boulez and Christoph Von Dohnányi.Theatre orchestra musician for State,Palace, Hanna, Cleveland Playhouse. Performed with Luciano Pavarotti. Jazz performances with Maria Schneider, Pat Pace, Bill Dobbins, Chip Stephens, Howie Smith, Grover Washington, Marion McPartland. Played on numerous radio and TV ads, Kitchen Aid, Mayflower Movers, American Electric Power, General Electric. Published with Jim Kalal by Mel Bay, "Yuletide Gathering".

Ki Allen - Vocalist
An encounter with singer Ki Allen is nothing less than extraordinary. She has the uncanny ability to charm an audience and at the same time perform as a musician's vocalist. Whether musician, jazz or blues enthusiast, Allen will always show you something new about the music you love. Allen constanly challenges herself. Her range is ever expanding and her phrasing poetic. Through performances in live concerts, television, and night clubs, Allen has developed a sophisticated following of devoted fans.

Aidan Plank - Bass
Aidan Plank has studied acoustic bass at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, with Dave Morgan, principal composer for the Jazz Unit, and Kevin Switalski, the assistant principal bassist of the Cleveland Orchestra. He has performed with numerous orchestras in the Ohio area, the Jazz Unit, the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. He has also done a lot of freelance work with a wide variety of musicians.

PSI-Paul Stranahan's Insomnia concert at Cleveland State's Drinko Recital Hall - Sunday, November 11, 2007:

Paul on drums

Jeremey Poparad on guitar

Alan Gleghorn on bass

PSI's mascot

The Full Band

Paul on drums

Sweet cymbals and gongs

Pictures of the Trio from the Musica Gig - February 2007:

Here is the full interview Paul had with OhioOnline:

Who or what got you interested in music?

I came from a musical family and both my parents were in the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus. My Mom really wanted me to play classical piano so I naturally picked drums which was the instrument I thought was as far removed as possible from what she wanted me to play. I remember in 5^th grade music class when the teacher had everyone bring in their favorite record and she would play one song from each student. All the others brought Marry Poppins and Chittie Chittie Bang Bang and I brought in the half hour live version of Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused.” The class was a little shocked, I think. I should have known then I wanted to be a musician. It took me awhile longer to figure that out.

Are you an Ohio native? Do you live in Ohio now? Give background if you went to any schools in Ohio.
I grew up in Hudson, Ohio and graduated from Hudson High. I then went to Denison University in Granville Ohio for a year and a half. I was going to be a German major but I got much more interested in music. I then transferred and graduated with a B.A. in Music from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. I went to Minnesota for a few years and then moved back to Cleveland in 1997. I got married not too long ago and now live in South Euclid.

Were you in any bands previously big in the state before this
that either recorded or were well known from playing out?
When I lived in Columbus the main two bands I played in were the Lost Marbles (It described the band members quite well) and Move. The first one was an original rock and funk band. We played throughout the state. The second one was mostly original fusion music. We did a fair amount of recording which was a good learning experience for what I’m doing now. Since I moved back to Cleveland I performed and recorded with the jazz/rock/fusion band Rare Blend and the experimental group Broadview Collective. More recently I’ve been really focusing on my own music.

What national artists have influenced your song writing?
On the rock side of things I would certainly say Led Zeppelin (as if you couldn’t tell from my 5^th grade story), Frank Zappa, King Crimson and one of my favorites these days is the super complex metal band Meshuggah. On more of the jazz side of things I would say Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Tony Williams, Bill Bruford, John Scofield, and more recently the Claudia Quintet and Tim Berne.

Describe your music.
I think my music reflects of all my influences hopefully all mixed up together in a unique way. I certainly like playing from a jazz perspective which means to me that improvising in the moment and having group interplay is very important. On the other hand, I enjoy a band that is well rehearsed and has worked up some interesting compositions and is obviously not a thrown together group. I hope my music is a cool mix of structured compositions with interesting improvisations.

What national band would you match up with in concert? Have you ever played with them?
We haven’t pursued opening act slots with national acts very much. It is certainly an option we’d like to explore. We would like to do shows with bands and artists such as John Scofield, Allan Holdsworth, King Crimson, Tribal Tech, John Zorn, the Bad Plus, and Claudia Quintet. An advantage of being an opening act is that the people are there to listen to a concert as opposed to being at a place which just happens to have a live band. Often in those situations, the band unfortunately gets relegated to background music.

What Ohio band have you run across that you matched up with? If not, have you heard of any you'd like to split a bill with?
This isn’t something we’ve done very much of. If there’s a band out there that would like to do a show with us then by all means, don’t be shy and please contact us.

Is this the first disc you've had out? If not, what is the
number of releases before this one? The new ones title is what?
This is the first CD with the name PSI-Paul Stranahan’s Insomnia. PSI is an off shoot of the Paul Stranahan Trio. The Trio has a well reviewed CD out called “Climbing Somewhere.” PSI does a few songs of mine from the self titled CD of a band I had called Broadview Collective. PSI also does some songs from the CD called “Passage” by PSI member Jeremey Poparad. I was happy he asked me to play drums on his CD and it came out very well. I’ve also played drums and contributed a few songs to two Cds from the the band Rare Blend. Those Cds are called “Infinity” and “Evolution Theory.”

Where was the new disc cut?
We recorded the CD at Greek Isle Productions which is owned and operated by Michael Papatonis in Strongsville. I contacted Tri C to find out about their recording facilities and they put me in touch with him because he teaches recording there. As it turns out, we went to college together at Capital University but neither of us realized we were in the same area.

How did you enjoy the studio you used? Was it a home studio or outside one? Pros and cons of each if needed.
We had a great experience at his studio. It is at his home but to say it’s a home studio certainly doesn’t do it justice. He has lots of great sounding gear and he knows what sounds good for different styles of music. A lot of studios just know about rock and have no idea about jazz. He always came up with good suggestions too as to what might make the CD sound better.

Favorite Ohio venue to play?
I’d have to say it’s Pete’s Tavern in Cleveland Heights. Pete is very supportive of live music and is open to different styles which is great. Basically if you do a good professional job and the people there like you, then Pete is happy. The food is good too!.

How did the band gets its name?
I would like to give a little background on the name PSI-Paul Stranahan‘s Insomnia. Basically, I was trying to do all the music under the Paul Stranahan Trio name. However, most people who hear any name followed by Trio automatically think straight jazz. We certainly do enjoy that type of music but when we would do the more "out there" progressive stuff, someone who was expecting straight ahead jazz might be turned off. Likewise, when someone who really liked the progressive stuff and then heard us when we were doing background dinner music at a restaurant, they might be pretty bored. So, to make a long story not quite as long, when we play a place where we can do pretty much all original music and don’t have to worry about how loud it is, we’re PSI. I think by having the name Insomnia it certainly implies an edge to it which is good. (Also, I usually write music late at night when I can’t get to sleep.)When we’re playing a place where we’re going to do some jazz standards and hopefully some originals and it’s a place where we have to watch the volume somewhat, then we’re the Paul Stranahan Trio.

Has your disc (either the new one or a previous one) gotten airplay anywhere else in Ohio or the U.S.? If not, how about overseas?
We’ve gotten air play on all the college radio stations in town and even did a live hour long performance on WRUW which is Case’s station. We’ve been played on WCPN and a lot of college stations in Ohio. My trio CD has been played on an internet station based in Germany. Since the PSI CD hasn’t been out very long, I’m hoping to get it out there more.

Long term plans?
I want to keep growing and learning as a musician and composer. I certainly want more performing opportunities for the band. I’d love to do some touring here in the States and in Europe. Sometimes when you’re a band from out of town or from another country people are more interested. That’s kind of too bad because everybody is local somewhere.

Final thoughts on anything we didn't cover?
I certainly want to thank the other musicians in PSI for doing a great job on the music and being so easy to work with. Jeremey Poparad plays guitar and Allan Gleghorn plays bass. We’ve sometimes been able to add Chris Herald on alto saxophone to the group and he brings a fresh new dimension. Tim Mirth has also filled in on guitar and done very well. I hope people can come out and see the band. Check the websites for updated schedules.