selft titled by Ozlo

As Ozlo's sisters grew older the youngest sister was teaching him about Def Leppard, Journey and Loverboy. Rock On.

After taking piano lessons from Ms. Legg for several years (thanks Ms. Legg wherever you are!), he was uprooted from his home and school in the suburbs of Northern California to then live out in the country hills of Oregon (pronounced 'Ory-gun', please...NOT 'Oree-gone'...geez.) where he grew up with dogs and cats and ducks and chickens and geese and goats and cows! Pretty fun! Had a tractor to drive, he was so cool driving the tractor. There in Oregon he started to play the trumpet. Ozlo's Grandpa gave him a trumpet that his Grandpa had played in the San Francisco Police Dept. Marching Band. He took trumpet lessons from Mr. Dixon (super cool dude).

As Ozlo entered Jr. High school, he was introduced to a new music teacher by the name of Matt Polacek, Ozlo's first serious mentor. Mr. Polacek showed Ozlo the fun of the valve trombone, then realized the slide trombone was even MORE fun! Mr. Polacek, an amazing trombone player himself, showed Ozlo things like jazz albums you can play along with to practice your improvising, and gave him the opportunity to sing a song with the jazz band his freshman year. "Tuxedo Junction" was wailed from his lungs like a songbird in flight. Anyway...

Through high school Ozlo was able to go to jazz festivals and workshops and even...yes...band camps! With all this great help from Mr. Polacek and the choir teacher Mr. James and Mr. Bullis who helped shape Ozlo's voice by introducing him to Bobby McFerrin and vocal group Take 6.

Music was such a part of his life, Ozlo wanted to major in it at college! My, my, my. Ozlo received a scholarship for trombone at the University of Arizona, where he went for 4 years studying with trombone professor Tom Ervin. Realizing Ozlo was more into singing and songwriting, he left college to pursue the life...of a rockstar.

While in college, Ozlo met Fruitpie, a graduate student who invited Ozlo to audition for the band he was in, Itsy Bitsy Spiders. Ozlo was accepted into the group, and this is where he got his name. Yes, Ozlo. To protect the innocent and screw the guilty (whatever that means) we have referred to Ozlo as Ozlo instead of his birth given name. Everyone in the band had "aliases"; I'm mean come on, Fruitpie?! Yeah, that's a nickname. "Balls" on bass, and Fruitpie are in a band now called The Bunko Squad. Itsy Bitsy Spiders was around playing the Tucson scene from 1992 to 1996, and released one self-titled CD. It rocked.

After the break-up of Itsy Bitsy Spiders, Ozlo started his own group called Ozlo B. w/ The Grooves. Ozlo played mostly jazz standards and some other covers, in funktified manner. The Grooves laid it down from 1996 to 1998.

In 1998 Ozlo was invited out to Houston, Texas to audition for a funk band called Global Village. They were looking for a vocalist, and they found one in Ozlo. Ozlo joined the band and played the Texas scene, released a CD with the band, their second, titled "Sugarwhat?" which can be heard on the jukebox at The Buffet Bar & Crock Pot in Tucson, Arizona (as well as this album too).

Then in Texas Ozlo was itching to go solo and try his luck on his own. So he moved back to Tucson, where he began to be billed just as "Ozlo". Since back in Tucson, Ozlo has been recording his first solo album that will be self-titled. He is also in the process of doing a jazz duo album with partner in crime Matt Mitchell.

Ozlo has played with numerous musicians in Tucson, and his current crew is no laughing matter when it comes too serious groovin'. With Doug "Hurricane" Floyd on guitar, Demetri Enriquez on bass, and Jim Pavett on drums. On the track "Mad Game" our friend Richard Katz lays down his love on the organ, and on "Girls Gone Wild" and "No-tel Motel" the lovely Louria Matlock and Maria Johnson sing back-up vocals with us superbly. This band of renegade funk rocketeers are a superstar line-up that lay it down thick and leave the good-lovin' feelin' residue for hours on end! Always a show to remember.

So that's a little bit of Ozlo for you to digest, and this could be amended or changed or whatever at times (which it just was!), so keep an eye out. Unless one of your eyes can't be removed, unlike Ozlo who has a glass eye just like Sammy Davis Jr. man...just kidding.

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