Paul Masvidal
Encyclopedia
Paul Albert Masvidal is the guitarist, singer and a founding member of the progressive
band Cynic
and previously led the alternative rock
band Æon Spoke
. Born in Puerto Rico, Masvidal grew up in Miami, Florida and currently resides in Los Angeles
. Masvidal is the son of Cuban-American civic and business leader Raul Masvidal
.
, and Eastern philosophy; he became an initiate to Kriya Yoga
in his late teens and has been a Buddhist practitioner since 2000. Masvidal met drummer Sean Reinert
in 1984 at Gulliver Academy and immediately started jamming with him, forming the pre-Cynic Crypha and Seaweed.
tour in 1990, leading in 1991 to Masvidal and fellow Cynic member Reinert being recruited by Death to record the "groundbreaking" Human. In addition, in 1991 Masvidal helped Chicago band Master to record their album On the Seventh Day God Created... Master
. Masvidal handled all guitars duties on this album. After finishing their world tour with Death, both Masvidal and Reinert returned to Cynic in 1992.
1993 saw the release of Focus on the Roadrunner
label, the only album Cynic recorded until 2008. Roadrunner released a reissue of Focus in 2005 as a special collector's edition due to high demand. Masvidal also recorded the Cynic spin-off Portal, but by 2007 Cynic returned to touring, featuring Masvidal and Reinert.
Based in Los Angeles, Masvidal studied at Musicians Institute
and also formed the ethereal alternative band Æon Spoke
with Reinert, described as 'progressive ethereal rock' and had a full-length release in 2007 on SPV Records. In 2004, the band received airplay in the UK for the single Silence, including BBC Radio 2
and XFM
, leading to numerous UK gigs and radio appearances. The following year, the track Emmanuel appeared in the film What the Bleep Do We Know!?
and the band returned to Europe. Their tracks have also appeared on the Warner Brothers television series Smallville
, One Tree Hill
and the motion picture Cry Wolf
.
Masvidal also writes and performs music for television and motion pictures, credits include main title (composer credit) on an Emmy nominated NBC teen series show Operation Junkyard
, short films The Yellow Umbrella, A Bride In Black, assistant to Ben Vaughn
and session musician for Carsey Warner network sitcoms That '70s Show
and 3rd Rock From The Sun
. Masvidal has library songs regularly performed on network and cable television and has also collaborated with 80s pop singer Terri Nunn
. Music writer Jeff Wagner, in Mean Deviation, stated that "any viewer of Third Rock from the Sun, That 70s Show, The Price is Right, Queer as Folk, and any number of random television programs has probably stumbled across Cynic's core members without even knowing it."
Masvidal finished recording a new Cynic album titled Traced in Air
, which was released on November 17, 2008 in Europe and November 25, 2008 in the USA to critical acclaim. Since the release of Traced in Air, Masvidal has toured with Cynic as part of several large tour packages, playing with such popular metal acts as Opeth
, Dream Theater
, Mastodon
, Meshuggah
, Between the Buried and Me
, and The Faceless
. At the Hove Festival
, Masvidal and Cynic shared the stage with more mainstream acts such as The Killers, Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse
, Slayer
and Queens of the Stone Age
. In 2010, Cynic released an EP entitled Re-traced, featuring re-interpretations of several Traced in Air tracks. Cynic released an album titled Carbon-Based Anatomy worldwide on November 11, 2011, receiving positive reviews.
Masvidal appeared on the Devin Townsend
project album Deconstruction
as a guest vocalist on the song "Sumeria", alongside Joe Duplantier
of Gojira
.
Ben Ratliff of the New York Times referred to Masvidal's "philosophic lyrics", stating that he is "a musician who can expand his own sense of calm into an aggressive, extravagant art".
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
band Cynic
Cynic (band)
Cynic is an American progressive rock band, incorporating experimental music, alternative, metal and jazz fusion elements, founded in Miami, Florida and currently based in Los Angeles, California. Their first album, Focus, released on September 14, 1993, is widely regarded as a landmark release of...
and previously led the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Æon Spoke
Æon Spoke
Æon Spoke is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles. It was created by members of Cynic and former members of Death, Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert, when they relocated from Miami to Los Angeles....
. Born in Puerto Rico, Masvidal grew up in Miami, Florida and currently resides in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Masvidal is the son of Cuban-American civic and business leader Raul Masvidal
Raul Masvidal
Raul Masvidal is a Cuban-American banker and real estate developer. He is one of the three original founders of the Cuban American National Foundation.-Cuban activism:...
.
Early life
Masvidal's early days were spent in the Miami area where he studied classical guitar from an early age with Carlos Molina. Guitar teacher Dave Weissbrot was a major influence and spurred Masvidal's love of jazz, Steinberger guitarsSteinberger
Steinberger refers to a series of distinctive electric guitars and bass guitars, designed and originally manufactured by Ned Steinberger. The word Steinberger can be used to refer to either the instruments themselves or the company that produced them...
, and Eastern philosophy; he became an initiate to Kriya Yoga
Kriya Yoga
Kriya Yoga finds mention in the ancient spiritual texts of Patanjali Yogasutras "Tapah svadhyayeshvara pranidhani kriyayogah" . It was later revived by Yogiraj Sri Shyamacharan Lahiri in the 19th century. Subsequently Paramhansa Yogananda in his Autobiography of a Yogi reported the same for his...
in his late teens and has been a Buddhist practitioner since 2000. Masvidal met drummer Sean Reinert
Sean Reinert
Sean Reinert is the drummer of Cynic and Æon Spoke. He is known for his technical, original and creative drumming technique....
in 1984 at Gulliver Academy and immediately started jamming with him, forming the pre-Cynic Crypha and Seaweed.
Career
Cynic released four demos from 1988 though 1991, with Masvidal developing a reputation in the Florida metal scene for his musicianship. In 1989, when Masvidal was in high school, he toured Mexico as a replacement guitarist for the band Death but declined an invitation to permanently join the band in order to remain committed to Cynic. This had many journalists curious at the time, since Death were emerging as an influential and popular underground act, but Masvidal stuck to his guns and claimed to firmly believe in Cynic. However, Masvidal returned to the Death fold replacing guitarist James Murphy for dates on the international Spiritual HealingSpiritual Healing (album)
Spiritual Healing is the third album by death metal band Death, released in February 1990. This album is currently out of print but will be reissued by Relapse Records in 2011....
tour in 1990, leading in 1991 to Masvidal and fellow Cynic member Reinert being recruited by Death to record the "groundbreaking" Human. In addition, in 1991 Masvidal helped Chicago band Master to record their album On the Seventh Day God Created... Master
On the Seventh Day God Created... Master
On the Seventh Day God Created... Master is the second album by the US death metal band Master. It was released in 1991 on Nuclear Blast Records."America the Pitiful" is a parody on "America the Beautiful".-Track listing:# "What Kind of God" – 3:57...
. Masvidal handled all guitars duties on this album. After finishing their world tour with Death, both Masvidal and Reinert returned to Cynic in 1992.
1993 saw the release of Focus on the Roadrunner
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
label, the only album Cynic recorded until 2008. Roadrunner released a reissue of Focus in 2005 as a special collector's edition due to high demand. Masvidal also recorded the Cynic spin-off Portal, but by 2007 Cynic returned to touring, featuring Masvidal and Reinert.
Based in Los Angeles, Masvidal studied at Musicians Institute
Musicians Institute
Musicians Institute is a privately owned for-profit music vocational school located in Hollywood, California. Although not a regionally accredited school, the school offers a variety of unaccredited Bachelor Degree, Associate Degree and Certificate programs in fields including contemporary music...
and also formed the ethereal alternative band Æon Spoke
Æon Spoke
Æon Spoke is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles. It was created by members of Cynic and former members of Death, Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert, when they relocated from Miami to Los Angeles....
with Reinert, described as 'progressive ethereal rock' and had a full-length release in 2007 on SPV Records. In 2004, the band received airplay in the UK for the single Silence, including BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
and XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
, leading to numerous UK gigs and radio appearances. The following year, the track Emmanuel appeared in the film What the Bleep Do We Know!?
What the Bleep Do We Know!?
What the Bleep Do We Know!? is a 2004 film that combines documentary-style interviews, computer-animated graphics, and a narrative that describes the spiritual connection between quantum physics and consciousness...
and the band returned to Europe. Their tracks have also appeared on the Warner Brothers television series Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
and the motion picture Cry Wolf
Cry Wolf
Cry_Wolf is a 2005 American horror/slasher murder mystery directed by Jeff Wadlow after he won $1,000,000 at the 2002 Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival.-Plot:...
.
Masvidal also writes and performs music for television and motion pictures, credits include main title (composer credit) on an Emmy nominated NBC teen series show Operation Junkyard
Operation Junkyard
Operation Junkyard debuted in fall 2002 as part of the Discovery Kids Saturday morning programming schedule. Essentially a spin-off of TLC's popular series Junkyard Wars, OP/JY featured teams of teens that were challenged to build gadgets out of junk in six hours...
, short films The Yellow Umbrella, A Bride In Black, assistant to Ben Vaughn
Ben Vaughn
Ben Vaughn is an American musician, music producer and a longtime Rambler enthusiast.Vaughn grew up in Collingswood, New Jersey, and his interest in music began at age 6 when his uncle gave him a Duane Eddy record. The "Ben Vaughn Combo" released two albums and toured the U.S. from 1983 to 1988...
and session musician for Carsey Warner network sitcoms That '70s Show
That '70s Show
That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
and 3rd Rock From The Sun
3rd Rock from the Sun
3rd Rock from the Sun is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet...
. Masvidal has library songs regularly performed on network and cable television and has also collaborated with 80s pop singer Terri Nunn
Terri Nunn
Terri Kathleen Nunn , is an American singer and actress. She is best known as the lead vocalist of the New Wave band Berlin.-Biography:...
. Music writer Jeff Wagner, in Mean Deviation, stated that "any viewer of Third Rock from the Sun, That 70s Show, The Price is Right, Queer as Folk, and any number of random television programs has probably stumbled across Cynic's core members without even knowing it."
Masvidal finished recording a new Cynic album titled Traced in Air
Traced in Air
Traced in Air is the second full-length album by the progressive metal band Cynic. It is the first album since their 1993 debut Focus.-History:Cynic disbanded during the fall of 1994 while working on a new album...
, which was released on November 17, 2008 in Europe and November 25, 2008 in the USA to critical acclaim. Since the release of Traced in Air, Masvidal has toured with Cynic as part of several large tour packages, playing with such popular metal acts as Opeth
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
, Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
, Mastodon
Mastodon (band)
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor...
, Meshuggah
Meshuggah
Meshuggah is an extreme metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1992...
, Between the Buried and Me
Between the Buried and Me
Between the Buried and Me is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. They have released a total of five studio albums, as well as a cover album, an EP and a live DVD/CD...
, and The Faceless
The Faceless
The Faceless is an American technical death metal band from Encino, California. They released their debut album, Akeldama in November 2006, and a follow-up, Planetary Duality, in November 2008.-History:...
. At the Hove Festival
Hove Festival
The Hove Festival is a music festival held on the island Tromøy outside of Arendal in southern Norway. It was held for the first time from 26–30 June 2007. Since 2007 Hove festival has been the largest music festival in Norway....
, Masvidal and Cynic shared the stage with more mainstream acts such as The Killers, Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think...
, Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
and Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
. In 2010, Cynic released an EP entitled Re-traced, featuring re-interpretations of several Traced in Air tracks. Cynic released an album titled Carbon-Based Anatomy worldwide on November 11, 2011, receiving positive reviews.
Masvidal appeared on the Devin Townsend
Devin Townsend
Devin Garret Townsend is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist....
project album Deconstruction
Deconstruction (The Devin Townsend Project album)
Deconstruction is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the third album in the Devin Townsend Project series...
as a guest vocalist on the song "Sumeria", alongside Joe Duplantier
Joe Duplantier
Joseph Duplantier is a French musician who is the guitarist and vocalist of Gojira and was the bassist for Cavalera Conspiracy.-Music:Joe Duplantier's influences include bands such as Meshuggah, Metallica, Morbid Angel and Sepultura....
of Gojira
Gojira
Gojira is a heavy metal band formed in 1996 in Bayonne, France. The band was known as Godzilla until 2001. Gojira is composed of Joe Duplantier on vocals and guitar, his brother Mario Duplantier on drums, Christian Andreu on guitar and Jean-Michel Labadie on bass...
.
Ben Ratliff of the New York Times referred to Masvidal's "philosophic lyrics", stating that he is "a musician who can expand his own sense of calm into an aggressive, extravagant art".