The classic 70's tune from Bobby Caldwell. All guitars instead of horns.

What You Won't Do For Love

Reflect

10 years ago, we were at the end of a long rehearsal with just 1 room mic and captured this performance.

Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding

From my 2008 album, O.D. Rivero Band. Available on iTunes.

O.D. Rivero Band

Inside This Sorrow

Lament For David

This piece is something I call “musical tapas”. As much as I love Progressive Rock, it is often laden with self-indulgent jams that meander about. Nothing wrong with that of course. I, however, prefer to be more succinct. If a musical idea can be conveyed in a couple of minutes, why not? My favorite Prog band Rush can say more in two minutes than most artists can in an entire album. Writing short pieces also forces me to distill and to cut to the core of what I want to say. I’ve done it before on songs like “Inside This Sorrow” from my 2008 self-titled album.  This is also the first piece I wrote specifically for the bass guitar. I had just come off covering “La Villa Strangiato” and I wanted to make sure people know that while I’m no Geddy Lee, I can lay down some bass. The title of the piece both conveys the frenetic pace, as well as a small shout out to my favorite band.

Johnny Kashmir

Don't Rush Me

The Way You Make Me Stay

My take on a favorite instrumental from the great Prog band, Rush. I routinely cite Alex Lifeson as one of my major guitar influences. It really bothered me that Lifeson was such an underrated guitarist in the pantheon of the greats. Perhaps this is because his early work was reminiscent of Jimmy Page, who was a great influence on Lifeson. Perhaps it is because a large portion of the accolades and praise were heaped on Neil Peart and Geddy Lee. No doubt, their praise is well deserved. But I never considered Lifeson to be a shredder. Rather, I considered him to be much like Page, in his ability to craft memorable riffs and a wide palette of guitar tones. The intricate work by Lee and Peart was sustained by Lifeson’s chordal foundation. Alex Lifeson taught me how to use effects in a tasteful and hopefully seamless manner. I spent many hours as a teenager learning both the content and the tones of Lifeson’s incredible body of work with Rush. Rush in general, made me a better musician. And Alex Lifeson made me a better guitarist. La Villa Strangiato is a musical testament to the power and beauty of Rush’s combination of precision, solid riffs, and whimsical genius. I can think of no better Rush piece to cover. As I have maintained, no one should cover Rush. Geddy Lee’s vocals and the band’s incredible musicianship should be a daunting task for any musician. And honestly, many just aren’t up for it. So believe me, I wouldn’t cover this song unless I thought I could add something that both honors the original and adds my own distinctive touch. I hope you agree. 


Licensed for digital streaming

La Villa Strangiato

As a songwriter, one of the things I learned early on was that if you want to know whether a song holds up, strip away all the bells and whistles and play it on an acoustic. You'll know right away whether the song works, or not. I feel that this song holds up well on its own, so I made this nearly unplugged version to compliment the full band version of the tune.

Just A Fool's Hope Unplugged

I always knew I wanted to be a musician. There was never any doubt in my mind. I either wanted to be a rock star or a film composer. Never quite achieved either to my satisfaction, but to this day, I create little soundtrack projects for myself. This one is part of the Braveheart suite by the great, late composer, James Horner. 

How I Did It
All instruments are sampled from IK's Miroslav Philharmonik, and played by me via my Godin Nylon String Grand Concert guitar with the built-in synth interface. There are also some classical guitar melodies I play.

For The Love Of A Princess

I make music. I make photographs. I write about what I care about. And I try to walk the talk. The rest will attend to itself.

O.D. Rivero

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks