Giving Up Performed by: J+Ricci #Alternative #Pop

 

Biography Written by J+Ricci

I was born in a small farm town in eastern Montana. I am the youngest of 5 children. Music was a requirement in our house. My mother was a piano teacher and I started learning piano and violin when I was 5. As I got older I picked up guitar, bass guitar, trumpet, and trap set. I was named the top bass player in Montana my senior year of high school. I scored at the top for all the instruments at music festivals. I also played in jazz band for 4 years. I joined the Air Force after high school and became a bomb squad technician. 
I went on 4 fairly gruesome combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. My primary job was disarming and rendering safe Improvised Explosive Devices that meant to maim and kill coalition and civilian targets. I trained heavily on Nuclear and Biological weapons. I was also tasked with diffusing conventional ordnance, such as cluster munitions which threaten civilians. 
Disposal by detonation always followed after the device was no longer a threat. I came back from my deployments suffering from PTSD, severe anxiety and depression, as well as physical injuries due to intense combat engagements in the middle east. I was medically retired after 12 years of service due to said conditions. The next years were spent in counseling and inpatient treatment for trauma. Music has always been my safe haven. 
I finally picked up my guitar again started playing. When I heard "fractures" by Illenium, that was my entrance into the edm/electronic world. After listening to that type of music for quite a while, I felt the urge to see if I could make my own. I started creating tunes 1 year ago, and they were not good at all. However, with each song, I started getting better and better, and just a few months ago, evolved into adding vocals to my music. 
I'm currently taking classes on electronic music production and will start the production course at UC Berkeley. I'm also a father of 2 crazy but wonderful children and am married to a very supportive wife. I have a long way to go and alot more to learn.