I am but a humble a singer/songwriter and visual artist. I have been playing since age 6 - piano, guitar, bass, drums. I am thankful to still travel coast-to-coast every week to make my living performing. I was born and raised in Michigan, moved to South Florida in my early 20s and I now live in Nashville TN.  I have been in over 40 bands and I have released 8 CDs:

• Third Wish - Third Wish 1993
• Mad Glass - Breakable 1994
  
• Wyscan - Third Wish 1995
• Dean Madonia - Deep Sky
• Dean Madonia and Jimmy Maddox - Up A Lazy River
• Dean Madonia - Madness And Desire, One Night In America
• Dean Madonia - The Light Of Reason
• Dean Madonia - Country and Midwestern
• Pretty Little Horses - Evergreen (due out in December)

 I have a lot of videos on YouTube if you want to check me out. Most of them are heavily influenced by progressive rock (think Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, UK, Kansas, Styx, Pink Floyd, Queen, Alan Parsons, Kevin Gilbert…). 

    OK, I recorded one country CD. C'mon - I live in Nashville - with all of these awesome players available, and me already having written hundreds of country songs, I had to do it.   

     I have been fine-tuning my musical education these last 10 years in Nashville - lucky enough to play and record with some of the best players in the country. I am playing and singing better than I ever have. I am writing better songs that I ever have. I have a really great band: Val Lupescuon Guitar, Travis Vance on Bass, Michael Walter on drums, (they are also a great bunch of guys). I have my own recording studio, and my musical and recording chops are finally good enough to realized my creative visions. Life is good!

RE THE GENERE OF HORROR...    

     Let me start the introduction to this crazy plan that I have come up with  by telling you that I am an avid reader and a BIG horror fan: King, Koontz, Straub, Barker, Poe, Lovecraft, Stoker, Shelley... When I was a kid, I read a lot of comics, I loved the illustrations in "Jonah Hex," "Eerie," "Creepy," "Tales of the Unexpected," "Vampirella...." and the stories with supernatural themes. I then started seeking out horror in fine art.  One picture I saw as a kid called, "Hide and Seek," really struck a chord with me, (I never found out who the artist was).  I began to realize that elements of horror were also lurking in classic artwork from Delacroix's , "The Raft Of the Medusa," and "The Nightmare" by  Henry Fuseli to H. R. Geiger's work…    

    I also  love great Horror Movies, "Ghost Story," "The Ring," The Shining," The Exorcist..." and television shows, "Twilight Zone," "Night Gallery," (the first season)…and I have of course, seen Most Frankentsein movies and their various spin-offs…

DOES HORROR BELONG IN MUSIC

    Short answer - of course! I remember one day I heard my first song on the radio with a horror element to it - it was the Rupert Holmes/Bouys song "Timothy." It was about 3 miners, trapped in a cave-in, resorting to cannibalism! That song charted 3 or 4 times by request, but kept getting pulled when the radio stations realized what it was about. Eating people.  A few weeks later, it would be back on the radio... I would like to think that my constant calls to the radio stations in MI helped make that happen     

    After experiencing the awesome song, "Timothy," I was all about finding songs with a supernatural, scientific or terrifying theme. I Loved Charlie Daniels, "The Devil Went Down To Georgia," Helen Reddy's "Angie Baby," lot's of old country songs were about ghost trains and truck drivers; Red Sovine's, "Phantom 309,"  David Allan Coe's "The Ride," When I was in college, my room-mate Dan introduced me toBlue Oyster Cult. That was like heaven. "Don't Fear the Reaper," "Godzilla," "Astronomy," Burning For You," "Veteran of Psychic Wars..."  Now we were talking....  I also admire current writers like the amazing Hugh Prestwood, who give a strong nod to those horror elements with songs like "Ghost In This House," and his as-of-yet-un-cut song, "One Car Parade.," (I'm gonna do that one sometime), and keep the flame alive. I also enjoy some of the newer heavy stuff  - song's like Rob Zombie's "Living Dead Girl,"for instance…

HOW I HAD A VISION AND BECAME A MAN POSSESSED... 

 This project might have planted it's seed when I started thinking that maybe, someday, I might want to release a CD of horror cover songs  - maybe some of the songs mentioned above and some others that I would seek out. After giving it some thought and realizing the disparity of musical genres that incorporated horror and supernatural elements, I felt that it might be a dead-end. At the same time, I happened to be re-reading Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." If you have not read this book, I suggest that you do so sometime. It is a work of genius and judging by the amount of movies made, costumes worn, homage stories written, references in pop culture, the story of Frankenstein is here to stay.

    I have always felt that Mary Shelley's story has never really been done justice in the movies. Trust me - I know, I have seen most of them.  Even the best are pale in comparison to the original story. The monster is usually simplified to move the story along and sympathy for the monster is gained only through very over-done slights against him. The chinese puzzle box narrative is removed (this may be for the best, I have also done this with my concept CD). Victor and the monster are complex characters and I believe that I have captured their spirit in the 20 songs that I have already written and demoed.  I have also been doing preliminary sketches for the graphic novel and that is shaping up nicely as well.

WHERE IS THIS PROJECT HEADED? 

 We are set to begin recording the CD in November 2011. I have already began making preliminary sketches for the novel, and I have already tentatively booked the Darkhorse Theater for the week of October the 29th. I have  discussed the project with various recording engineers and videographers. I want to record the show and mix it in 5.1 surround and I want to have a 5 or 6 camera video shoot of the show and author a DVD. There will be a lot of rehearsals and at least one show on Halloween, 2011. Maybe more depending on the interest that is generated between now and next October. I  I am excited about this project, my friends are excited, the band is excited, and I want you to be excited too!   I am doing this for the love of art and music and the genre of horror. If you help me bring Frankenstein to life I promise that you will not be disappointed. 

Check out my kickstarter video for an idea of what to expect.