Aiyo started before they knew it... From ever since, Blair, Terrence and Rod have been writing their own music for their own practice and entertainment. These songs have always been a little different from the "norm" in a good way. It's kind of weird because all of this music that each has been playing individually seems to fit together like cogs in a wheel. When put together the music takes on a positive vibration. We love to make music for our own entertainment, however, we get great pleasure from knowing that we may be able to influence people in a good way by spreading a contagious music.

Blair-B

I started listening to music at an early age, and was very moved by music. Through my teen years you couldn't get the headphone off of me and I was seen, and still can be seen walking around with music in my ears. I can't seem to shut it off, regardless of the fact that there may not be any headphones in my ears... My years started with the Bee Gees, Kenny Rogers, J Geils Band, KISS, most of which were some of my parents favorites. I moved on to rap music with the Sugarhill Gang and Run DMC. When I moved to the Northwest I found myself growing very interested in the fast paced punk and spent many days in downtown Seattle, probably skateboarding with a lot of the Grunge bands soon to be famous. I found myself pretty sick one day and was presented a Metallica tape from my meth-head friend and team-mate, which I'll find myself forever grateful for. Metal was my way. I roadied for a band called Rosetta Stone (the Greenville, NC and Rochester NY band), with my good friends from high school. We were metal heads, devotedly, listening to King Diamond, Pantera, Queensryche, Savotage, Sanctuary, etc... Then I got into the Grateful dead, the Doors, Hendrix and the classic rock gang. I was moved and started playing more and more music to enjoy it more than listening. I found the metal thing to be a little easier to play so I did that a lot too. By college I was looking for talent to listen to. I found the Melvins, Al DiMeola, Flamenco, Jazz and Classical to be immensely technical and satisfying. By this point I've listened to a lot of music and felt compelled to start making some of my own. I got together with good work mates from Compaq and jammed weekly at someone's house for 4-5 years, eventually calling ourselves Professional Gentlemen of Leisure. We played live, and this was a first for me. Addicted I was... It became time for me to move on professionally and with my family, so we picked up and moved to mother earth's finest works of art, Colorado Springs. This is where I meant Terrence, a brother from another life and someone that I was meant to meet, and Rod another brother from another mutha.

B's Gear:

Terrence "T"

Music was introduced to me at an early age. I was two years old when my mother met and married John Bayley a music scholar from Guiana. It was then that I was introduced to rich Caribbean and Reggae melodies and it was then that my life would change forever. From that point forward I was always backstage or hanging out with the band members. I can remember being home-schooled out of the back of the van while Dad toured the US. It wasn’t all hard work; once I got my studies done I could run around outdoor festivals with friends and my “Death Before Disco” t-shirt. I got my first instrument in the seventh grade. It was junior high band class and I picked up the trumpet... I played trumpet for about 6 years and actually was first chair in my class. However, trumpet wasn’t where my heart was. I got my first bass at age fifteen and from that point forward, played until my fingers hurt. I like to think that I started playing music to meet and pick up chicks, but actually it was to make Dad proud. He’d come home from a long tour and show me a couple of licks. Then I’d hammer on them for hours-at-a-time. I can’t actually say that I myself am a music scholar as I’m mostly self-taught and cannot read or write music. And I can’t actually say that I ever took the time to learn other musician’s compositions. Ok, maybe “Smoke on the Water,” but I’ve never been in a cover band. It’s always been about creating a unique sound; the music I play comes from the heart. As a young teen I started listening to very progressive bands, Fates Warning, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, you get the idea. But I never gave up my passion for Reggae, Jazz, and ultra Funk. By my early twenties I was in an Alternative/Rock/Funk/Jazz/Reggae band called “New World Now.” We were an instrumental four piece – Guitar, Bass, Drums, and Sax. Those were days I’ll never forget. This was also around the time that I met and married my wife Dee. By my mid twenties I was on tour with Pops. For 3 great years I got to tour the countryside and play soulful reggae bass lines for a living. However, when my son was born I decided to get off the road and raise a family. All things aside, I got into the IT field which eventually led me to Digital/Compaq/HP where I met my bro’s Blair and Rod. It was that unquenchable desire to create original music that brought us to this point and expectantly it was that same music that brought you here.

T's Gear:

Rod "Rod-Solid"

Aiyo has been dream gig that has given me a chance to tie together a lifetime of musical influences. Growing up in a small town in the Midwest, I enjoyed a steady diet of great gospel vocal music and country standards. My high school years were filled with rock bands like Metallica, Rush, KingsX , The Police and AC/DC. During college, I got turned onto some funkier music like Tower of Power, James Brown, and The Meters. I also spent some time studying in Honduras, Central America and fell in love with the music of the Caribbean as well as Central and South America. The more that I listened to salsa, songo, and son music, the more I started to hear how great funk drummers like David Garibaldi of Tower of Power, and Clyde Stubblefield of James Brown shared a connection with the rhythms of Africa that also shaped afro-cuban and Brazilian music. I’ve had a chance to work with some great musicians over the years. I played with a hard rock band called Foundation during college and had a chance to create some fantastic original music that I’m still proud of today. From there I worked with a funk cover band in Indianapolis, Indiana. After a move to Colorado, I worked in an alternative country/rockabilly cover band that kept tunes alive from rockabilly greats like Buck Owens and George Jones and time-tested country standards from Hank Williams (the first) and Dwight Yokum. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of bands like The Mars Volta and Mudvayne. Aiyo has been a dream gig that lets me bring all the different aspects of my musical background together. Blair and Terrence are just as comfortable jumping in on a samba or Latin rhythm as they are a straight ahead “four on the floor” beat. The musicianship in Aiyo, coupled with the positive vibes that Blair and Terrence send out completes the picture.

Solid's Gear: