Hello fellow rockers!   This is Tony Mader, guitar player, harmonica player, and (occasional) backup vocalist for the Rugged Soul Project.   

I started playing guitar when I was in high school when we dragged my friend's 4x12 speaker cabinet and 100 watt amp out into the driveway to see if we could simulate an arena rock volume.  Growing up in the Bay Area, I quickly realized I loved live music and the classic venues in SF.   Tom Petty at the Fillmore, Santana at the Warfield, and countless others I blew my minimum wage earnings on.   My enjoyment of live music and jam bands encouraged me to move away from reading music and towards playing by ear and finding the groove.   

Thinking about my musical influences, one of my theories is that people believe that the music that was popular during their high school years represents "the best!" era for music.   For me, that was the mid-90s, and I still find myself reaching for the guitar to play my favorite Pearl Jam, Chili Peppers and Black Crowes licks from that era.  I also really like Southern Rock (along with the food!) and think that I should have been from The South.  In addition to guitar and harmonica, I also play some keys and mandolin and am attracted to anything that makes noise.    

I came into the Rugged Soul Project the same way most good relationships begin: Craigslist.  My last band, Sonic Collective, had just disbanded, and I was eager to take my experience playing 90s Alternative Rock and New Country covers into an environment fostering the creation of original new rock music.  Our RSP fearless band leader Rick was just the ticket, and I look to bring some soulful texture into the  tunes with second guitar parts that often include some slide, harmonica, and occasional whammy bar dive-bombs!    

Thanks for the interest, and here's to Making Music Great Again!

~Tony