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Castillo de Araya

Araya is a town located on Venezuela's Caribbean coast, on the easternmost extremity of the Araya Peninsula.

Araya Fortress[link]

The Araya Fortress is a beige-brown stone masonry fortification. The fortification was built in order to defend Araya and the Araya Peninsula against Caribbean pirates.

El Castillo beach

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Araya (Venezuela)

• Images of Araya fortress

Coordinates: 10°34′N 64°15′W / 10.567°N 64.25°W / 10.567; -64.25

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Tom Araya
Tom Araya live with Slayer
Background information
Birth name	Tomás Enrique Araya Díaz
Also known as	Balong de Cagayan Carajo
Born	(1961-06-06) June 6, 1961 (age 51) Viña del Mar,  Chile
Genres	Thrash metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Bass, vocals
Years active	1981-present
Labels	American, Def Jam, Metal Blade
Associated acts	Slayer
Notable instruments
ESP Tom Araya Bass Guitar Model

Tom Araya (born Tomás Enrique Araya Díaz June 6, 1961 in Viña del Mar, Chile^[1]) is a Chilean American musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer. Araya is ranked fifty-eighth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time.

Araya was employed as a respiratory therapist in the early 1980s and used his earnings to finance Slayer's debut album Show No Mercy. Much of Araya's lyrical content is about serial killers, a subject he finds interesting, first making his lyrical contribution to 1985's Hell Awaits with the track "At Dawn They Sleep".

Early life and career[link]

Araya said that he grew up in "a neighborhood that was pretty gang-oriented."^[2]

Araya's older brother, Cisco, played the guitar. This inspired Araya to pick up the bass at age eight. The two played Beatles and Rolling Stones songs, which he would later cite as an influence on his own music.^[3]

In the early 1980s, Araya's eldest sister suggested he enroll in a program to become certified as a respiratory therapist. Araya's father insisted he either find a job or enroll in the course. Araya enrolled in a two year technical course, learning about air mixture ratios, drawing blood, and how to intubate.^[3]

In 1981, Araya was approached by Kerry King, who asked Araya to join his band, Slayer. Araya accepted, using his earnings as a respiratory therapist to finance the band's 1983 debut album Show No Mercy.^[4] Araya requested time off of work at the hospital that employed him for Slayer's first European tour in 1984 and was denied; "'We need you to come in today.' They’d call me at 5:00 in the morning and wake me, 'Someone’s not coming in, we need you to come in to work.'" After a month of sporadic attendance, his employers threatened termination; Araya replied "Well, I guess I’m fired."^[3]

Araya resides in Buffalo, Texas where he owns a ranch with his wife Sandra and two children, daughter Ariel Asa Araya (b. 11 May 1996) and son Tomas Enrique Araya, Jr. (b. 14 June 1999).^[5] He and his wife run a family farm that includes five cows and a chicken coop. Tom reports that he sings country songs to help keep his "singing chops up."^[6] Araya and his wife enjoy classic horror film remakes; such as The Amityville Horror and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The two allow their children to watch horror films, but make it clear to them that it is just a movie when they ask “Is this real?”^[7]

In 2006, Araya underwent gall bladder surgery, which disrupted The Unholy Alliance tour. Originally set to launch on June 6, the tour was postponed to June 13. Araya was also unable to finish the vocals for a song entitled "Final Six", which was to be included on Slayer's 2006 album Christ Illusion; later released on the special edition of the album.^[8] Araya brought his children on the tour stating "it's kind of cool to expose them at such a young age. My first concert, I was, like, 17."^[5] "We [Slayer] have been fortunate- fortunate enough to have lasted as long as we have because a lot of bands don't last that long."

On January 7, 2010, Slayer announced on its official website that back surgery had been scheduled for Tom Araya and that the planned tour would be canceled through April of that year. The website assured fans that the "Slayer camp working hard to reschedule dates for later this year." Araya is known for his aggressive style of headbanging and began experiencing back problems while the band was on tour in Australia/New Zealand/Japan in October 2009. Araya had an Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. On March 12, 2010, Metal Hammer magazine published an interview with Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo about Tom Araya's recovery in which Lombardo stated that "He’s recovering extremely quickly and really well. He is just moving forward and doing all the treatments and post operation stuff that he has to go through. He’s doing good.”^[9] On May 20, 2010, Slayer confirmed that they would play two songs on TV for Jimmy Kimmel Live!^[10]

On June 3, 2011, Araya received the keys to the city of his birth, Viña del Mar, Chile.^[11]

Religion[link]

Unlike his Slayer bandmates who profess to being atheists, Araya is Catholic.^[12] In an interview, Araya expressed his belief that "...Christ came and taught us about love, about doing unto others. That was his preach: Accept each other for who we are. Live peacefully, and love one another." When asked if he believed in God, he replied "I believe in a supreme being, yeah. But He's an all-loving God."^[13] Araya explained that he has a "really strong belief system," and Slayer's words and images will "never interfere with what I believe and how I feel.... People are not in good shape to where they have to question their own belief system because of a book or a story somebody wrote, or a Slayer song."^[14]

Araya commented about the misconception of the band labeled as Satan worshippers, "Yeah, yeah I think that’s one of the biggest misconceptions towards the band, but next to that just the fact that we’re normal." If guitarist King writes a good song, Araya puts his beliefs aside, "I'm not one that's going to go, 'This sucks because it's contrary to my beliefs.' To me it's more like "This is really good stuff. You're going to piss people off with this.'"^[14]

Lyrics[link]

Araya’s interest in serial killers serves as inspiration for many of his lyrics, including the songs titled "213" about Jeffrey Dahmer and "Dead Skin Mask" about Ed Gein.^[15][16] "I’m trying to see where these guys are coming from so maybe I’ll understand. It’s always kind of intrigued me…"^[3]

Araya wrote the lyrics for the Grammy winning song "Eyes of the Insane" from Slayer’s 2006 album Christ Illusion'" The lyrics were inspired by an article in the Texas Monthly about the casualties of war and the experiences of soldiers coping with physical and psychological trauma. Araya states "At points in their tour of Iraq, they need help and the military tends to ignore that, they kind of brush it under the mat and hopes it goes away. They try to make everything seem hunky dory and fine and dandy, when in actuality there is a lot of stuff going on that people can’t handle. There’s a lot of soldiers coming home with mental anguish. And the sad part is, we heard about post-traumatic stress after Vietnam and the first Gulf War and the military seems to want to wipe the slate clean with every new war."^[17]

Family[link]

Araya has a brother, Johnny Araya, who plays bass in the melodic death metal band Thine Eyes Bleed.

Equipment[link]

Araya endorses Ampeg amplifiers^[18] and ESP-guitars which are currently marketing Tom Araya signature basses.^[19] He was one of the first bass players to have a signature ESP bass series.

• ESP - Tom Araya signature bass
• B.C. Rich basses
• EMG pickups
• Bartolini pickups
• D'Addario strings
• D'Andrea Picks and straps (he used his fingers before South of Heaven)
• Ampeg SVT-2PRO heads
• Ampeg SVT-4PRO heads
• Ampeg SVT-810E 8x10 cabinets

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tom Araya at the Internet Movie Database
• Tom Araya discography at MusicBrainz
• Interview (spanish)
• TomArayaScream.com

Orhan Gencebay (born August 4, 1944 in Samsun, Turkey as Orhan Kencebay) is a Turkish musician, bağlama virtuoso, composer, singer, arranger, music producer, music director, and actor.

Early life and musical background[link]

Gencebay was born in the coastal town of Samsun on August 4, 1944, to Crimean Tatar and Balkan Turkish parents.^{[citation needed]} He started learning music at the age of six, taking violin and mandolin lessons from Emin Tarakçı who was an old Classical Musician from the Ukraine Conservatoire. At the age of seven, he started playing the bağlama (a traditional Turkish instrument), and continued taking traditional Turkish folk music lessons. At ten, he created his first composition. At thirteen, he started playing the tambur, an instrument often used in Turkish classical music to improve himself in the theoretical and practical details of Turkish classical music.

During his high school years, he performed in Classical and Traditional Turkish Folk Music groups playing the tambur and baglama, taught music lessons in his own music courses, and took part in organizing community music centers in Istanbul and Samsun.

When he was sixteen, he became interested in jazz and rock music, and started playing tenor saxophone in wind orchestras. He enrolled in the Turkish conservatory in Istanbul, and studied there for four years. During his military service, he played saxophone in the military brass band.

Career[link]

At 20 and 22, he passed the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) auditions and become a resident bağlama player at the network for several months.

In 1966 he got an excellent grade in National Bağlama Contest with Arif Sağ and Cinucen Tanrikorur, two other contemporary masters of Turkish music.

In the late sixties he collaborated with a wide range of musicians in performances and film music. Between 1966 and 1968 he played bağlama with Arif Sağ in many records with singers such as Muzaffer Akgün, Yıldız Tezcan, Ahmet Sezgin, Şükran Ay, Sabahat Akkiraz, and Nuri Sesigüzel. Gencebay also took part as a music director in many Turkish films such as Ana, Kuyu, Kızılırmak-Karakoyun. He also collaborated with many musicians from different genres, such as Erkin Koray,^[1] Omar Faruk Tekbilek,^[2] Ismet Siral, Burhan Tonguc, Ozer Senay, Vedat Yildirimbora, Neşet Ertaş, Abdullah Nail Baysu. He appeared as a baglama performer and a well-known composer in musical societies, besides releasing several singles in genre of traditional Turkish Folk music. In 1968, he released his first "free-style" single "Sensiz Bahar Gecmiyor/Basa Gelen Cekilirmis", and was rewarded. During the 1970s he released many singles in a new genre that is a fusion of traditional Turkish Folk music, Turkish classical music, Western classical music, jazz, rock, country, progressive, psychedelic, Indian, Arabic, Spanish, and Greek music styles. Even though some musical societies such as TRT named that kind of World fusion music recordings Arabesque music, Orhan Gencebay refused the term arabesque, saying it was inadequate to define his style.^[3][4][5] In 1972, he founded the Kervan Record Company, which became very successful, attracting many other talented musicians such as Erkin Koray, Ajda Pekkan, Muazzez Abaci, Mustafa Sagyasar, Ahmet Ozhan, Kamuran Akkor, Semiha Yanki, Samime Sanay, Nese Karabocek, Bedia Akarturk, Nil Burak, Ziya Taskent, Semiramis Pekkan and Ferdi Ozbegen.

Throughout his career Orhan has performed leading roles in 36 movies, has been a composer almost in 90 movies, composed of about a thousand^[6] works, released almost 35 singles, 15 albums, and dozens of MC's. His albums sold out over 65 million legal copies.^[7][8]

As a composer, film musician, and as a person interested in other musical cultures, Orhan Gencebay is one of the major exponents of Turkish music in the 20th century.

In 2005, Gencebay was featured in the film Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul by German Turkish director Fatih Akın, as well as on the film's soundtrack with the song "Hatasız Kul Olmaz."

References[link]

1. ^ "Erkin Koray". http://complicateddancesteps.blogspot.com/2008/01/erkin-koray.html. Retrieved 2008-05-13. "Erkin Koray met Gencebay in the early seventies." 
2. ^ "Omar Faruk Tekbilek Biography". http://www.omarfaruktekbilek.com/index.php?p=bio. Retrieved 2008-05-13. "Omar Faruk’s skills blossomed in Istanbul playing with some of the leading Turkish musicians including Orhan Gencebay" 
3. ^ Dinççan, M.Vehbi (July 29, 2001). "O Bir Efsane (He is a Legend)" (in Turkish). Akşam. Archived from the original on 2008-06-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20080608071258/http://www.aksam.com.tr/arsiv/aksam/2001/07/29/yazidizi/yazidizi2.html. Retrieved 2008-05-13. "Yaptığım müziğe Arabesk ismini ben koymadım (I am not the one who named my music arabesque)." 
4. ^ Akpınar, Hakan (July 16, 2004). "Orhan Baba Efsanesi (The Legend of "Father" Orhan)" (in Turkish). Tercüman. http://www.tercuman.com.tr/v1/yazaryazi.asp?id=64&yazitar=26.04.2005&yaziid=12239. Retrieved 2008-05-13. "Müziğime arabesk denmesi çok saçma. Bu kavram hem yeterli değil, hem de yanlıştır.(It's foolish calling my music as arabesque. That term is not only inadequate, but also it's completely incorrect)." 
5. ^ Balıkçıoğlu, Tuğba (April 18, 2004). "Mafya babası gibiyim (I am like Godfather)" (in Turkish). Sabah. http://arsiv.sabah.com.tr/2004/04/18/cp/rop101-20040418-102.html. Retrieved 2008-05-13. "Arabesk deyimi beni tanımlamaya yetmez .(Arabesque is not enough to define me)." 
6. ^ Berköz, Elif (December 12, 2005). "Ne Sazımın Yaşlanmaya Niyeti Var Ne de Benim (Neither my baglama nor me have in mind getting old)" (in Turkish). Milliyet. http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2005/12/30/pazar/axpaz01.html. Retrieved 2007-03-27. "1000'in üzerinde beste yapmış (He did over a thousand of composes)." 
7. ^ "Orhan Baba Efsanesi (Legandary Father Orhan)" (in Turkish). Tercüman Gazetesi. April 27, 2005. http://www.tercuman.com.tr/v1/yazaryazi.asp?id=64&yazitar=27.04.2005&yaziid=12241. Retrieved 2009-09-17. "Yasal olarak 60 milyonun üstünde sattı albümlerim, 65-70 milyon arası galiba. (My albums have sold over 60 million legal copies, probably 65-70 million.)" 
8. ^ "65 milyon albüm sattı (He has sold 65 million legal copies)" (in 2009-09-17). Akşam Gazetesi. April 14, 2006. http://arsiv.aksam.com.tr/haber.asp?a=36254,8&tarih=14.04.2006. Retrieved 2009-09-17. "Çıkardığım albümlerin resmi satış rakamı 65 milyon. (My albums have sold 65 million legal copies)." 

External links[link]

• Orhan Gencebay at the Internet Movie Database
• Radikal ve Özgün Gencebay'cılık
• Turkish Progressive Music and Orhan Gencebay
• Orhan Gencebay review
• Official Web Site
• Fan Site

Kerry King
King performing in 2007
Background information
Born	(1964-06-03) June 3, 1964 (age 48) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Thrash metal, speed metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1981–present
Labels	American Recordings, Metal Blade
Associated acts	Slayer, Megadeth, Witchery, Sum 41
Notable instruments
B.C. Rich KKV

Kerry King (born June 3, 1964^[1]) is an American musician, best known as the lead and rhythm guitarist for the American thrash metal band, Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and has been a member ever since. He has made guest appearances with acts including the Beastie Boys, Marilyn Manson, Pantera, Ice-T, Witchery, Sum 41, Megadeth and Metallica. He is known for playing B.C. Rich guitars with Marshall amplifiers.

Biography[link]

King was born in Los Angeles, California. His father was an aircraft parts inspector, and his mother was an employee of a telephone company. When he was a teenager, Kerry started learning guitar at Calvano's music in South Gate Ca. Russ Dismuke was his teacher. Kerry began his career in a Pat Boone cover band. Kerry moved to Phoenix, Arizona as an adult. He divorced once; his current wife is Ayesha King.^[2] In 1981 King was trying out for the position as a guitarist in a band. After the session was over Jeff Hanneman approached him and the two began playing Iron Maiden and Judas Priest songs with the session drummer. Hanneman mentioned "Why don’t we start our OWN band?” [Laughs] I was like, “… Fuck yeah!"^[3] King's trademark appearance, was praised to such a degree by Blender magazine, who included a tour of his body ink.^[4] King's acronym, KFK, was revealed to mean "Kerry Fuckin' King" in the January 2007 Issue of Guitar World.^[5] King currently resides in Corona, California.^[5]

Guest appearances[link]

In addition to appearing on Slayer's albums, he has also made several guest appearances as lead guitarist. While lending production to 1986’s Reign in Blood, Rick Rubin was also helming production of the Beastie Boys debut album Licensed to Ill. Rubin felt the track "No Sleep till Brooklyn" needed a guitar solo, so he offered King several hundred dollars to lay down the part.^[6] King has since commented that his playing ability "certainly wasn’t that of a virtuoso".^[6] "No Sleep till Brooklyn", whose title was a spoof on Motörhead’s 1981 live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith, was originally intended to feature King being knocked offstage by a gorilla in its music video though King refused.^[6] King replied, "If there’s gonna be anyone knocking anyone offstage, it’ll be me knocking the gorilla", which is what subsequently happened.^[6] King has reminisced that he thought the Beastie Boys were cool, although never having heard any of their music at the time.^[6] On Licensed to Ill, King also played the guitar solo on the song "Fight For Your Right (To Party)".^[7]

King at Tuska-Festival

King contributed a lead guitar outro part to Pantera’s song "Goddamn Electric", which appeared on the 2000 album Reinventing the Steel.^[8] King’s rig was set up in Pantera’s bathroom backstage just after Ozzfest in Dallas, as the group still didn't have their own dressing room on top of not appearing on the festival bill.^[8] After King had finished the first take, Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell ran in and yelled "DON’T LET HIM DO IT AGAIN!"^[8] King tried again with the hope he would find a superior rendition, though the first take was used.^[8] King has also made several guest appearances in Marilyn Manson's "Rape Of The World" tour, joining the band to play classic tracks such as "Little Horn", "1996" and "Irresponsible Hate Anthem". Many fans noticed elements of King's own style used on these occasions.^[9] On October 21, 2010, the finale date of the Jägermeister Music Tour, King joined Megadeth on stage, at the Gibson Amphitheater in Hollywood, California to perform "Rattlehead" which was the first time in 26 years that King has shared the stage with Megadeth and Inan with his band.^[10]

Feuds[link]

King has had well-publicized disagreements with several of his contemporaries, including a long-standing feud with Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, who attempted to persuade King to leave the "poseurs," "lame spikes," and "eyeliner" of Slayer behind and focus on Megadeth. In GuitarWorld.com's Dear Guitar Hero, King noted that he "admires him to this day" as a guitarist, though he considered Mustaine a "hypocrite."^[11] In 2009 Slayer and Megadeth co-headlined a small, four show Canadian tour.^[12] In January 2010, Dave Mustaine and Kerry King were in a T.G.I. Friday's in Temecula, California, getting to know each other again.^[13] The feud between King and Mustaine was suggested by a Blabbermouth.net interview to have been dropped after a chance meeting at an airport, as King noted that he "just couldn't remember" what the feud was about anymore.^[14]

There was a feud between King and Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn, who claims that King started "talking shit about us out of nowhere."^[15] King labeled Machine Head as “sell-outs” after the release of their 2001 album Supercharger. King continued to criticize the band stating "They're responsible for rap-metal," "they fooled me into thinking they're metal," "'they have no integrity left."^[15] Flynn has since noted that King has "finally squashed the beef."^[16] When King proposed a tour between the "Big Four" thrash metal bands, King suggested that Machine Head be included instead of Anthrax.^[17] King stated in an interview that Machine Head's The Blackening is "kick-ass."^[18]

In 2006, Slayer's producer Rick Rubin lent production to Metallica's then-untitled Death Magnetic album, instead of Slayer for their album Christ Illusion. King deemed this action a "slap in the fucking face,"^[19] labeling Metallica as a "sinking ship."^[20] During an interview on drummers, King said that Soulfly drummer Joe Nunez did not join Slayer because "his mother wouldn't let him," that Adrian Erlandsson "hits his drums like a fag," and that Raymond Herrera "has no hands".^[21] In 2011 Adrian Erlandsson responded by posting a photo on his Lockerz account of a bent bass drum beater along with the caption, "Up yours, Mr. King, soft hitters don't bend bass drum beaters!"^[22]

Style and influence[link]

Kerry King's first experience with a guitar was when he was a child.^[23] Early albums, such as Hell Awaits and Reign in Blood, featured a "wailing style" and "demented soloing often mimicking the screams of the song's victims."^[24] Steve Huey of Allmusic described his and Jeff Hannemans guitar solos as "wildly chaotic,"^[25] and Thom Jurek, also of Allmusic, described his work on 2006's Christ Illusion as "create an intensely harrowing and angular riff that changes from verse to verse, through the refrain and bridge, and comes back again."^[26]

Equipment[link]

Discography[link]

References[link]

King Tom was the Temne ruler of the land where the Province of Freedom, Sierra Leone was first located.^[1]

He was described by John C. Lettsome as "a very fine fellow, so far as dress goes, for he generally has variegated bright colours; his hat is immenesely large, and the whole flap covered with gold lace, of which he is very proud. His palace is, however equal to a hut."^[2]

Lettsome also stated that he was at one time father-in-law of Henry Smeathman.^[3]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Braidwood, Stephen (1994). Black Poor and White Philanthropists: London's Blacks and the Foundation of the Sierra Leone Settlement 1786 - 1791. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-0-85323-377-0. 

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