OMNI BIOGRAPHY

OMNI are a band who make Prog Rock in Andalucia and have three CDs ("El Vals de los Duendes" , "Tras el Puente" y “Solo Fue un Sueño. Their style comes directly from the best influences from the so-called Andalusian Rock bands such as Iman Califato Independiente, CAI, etc..

The name comes from the word OMNI or OMNIA which means “all” in Latin which is precisely what the musicians in OMNI search for in their compositions, in their interpretation and even in their own lives… The idea is to make music which is not limited in any form or fashion.

OMNI came about in 1989 from an idea that MICHAEL STARRY had been working on for some time. Invited to do so, bass player JOSE LUIS ALGABA and rhythm guitarist JUAN RIOS joined the project even though soon after he had to drop out due to personal matters and was replaced by SALVADOR VELEZ, with whom Michael had formerly played in Alquimia, an earlier group, on rhythm guitar and vocals. In 1990 Sax and flute player PEPE TORRES and drummer JOSE MARIA COLON also took part in the project. With this line-up, OMNI went into studio to record with the collaboration of ex-CAI keyboardist and world known pianist CHANO DOMINGUEZ. The recording that came out of these sessions did not see the light until 9 years later when the small Mexican label LUNA NEGRA salvaged it. Unfortunately, by this time the master tapes had disappeared and other means had to be used to save the recorded material which is why the sound of the first OMNI CD “Tras El Puente” is not the greatest, but shows the spirit of the moment.

In 2000, keyboardist ALBERTO MARQUEZ, coming from the groups Onza, Metáfora and Cinema, joins OMNI and they immediately start work on new material. During this same year, MARIO BOCANEGRA, who also came from ALQUIMIA, becomes the temporary drummer in OMNI and preparations are made for the band to play at the 2001 Baja Prog Festival in Mexicali , Baja California .

In 2001, ISMAEL COLON, younger brother of the original OMNI drummer Jose Maria Colon, takes the place of Mario Bocanegra who, after having played with OMNI at Baja Prog in 2001, again drops out. Since then, Ismael has been a permanent member of OMNI.

In 2005, rhythm guitarist Juan Rios returns to OMNI replacing Salvador Velez who had replaced him in 1990. In this same year, JESUS CABRAL(Chuchi) replaces Jose Luis Algaba, who leaves with Salvador , on the bass.

OMNI has basically been through the following stages:

•  The first stage in 1990 in which OMNI recorded a first demo with Chano Domínguez on keyboards.

•  The second stage in 1992 in which a second demo was recorded.

•  The third stage from 1994 to 1999 in which everyone dumped the project, which was starting to be considered to be a sort of “sinking ship”, after seeing that the deals with different labels were falling through and not going anywhere. All the others, except for Jose Maria Colon, went on to pursue another project while Michael Starry and OMNI were put aside and he was left on his own much as you would leave a captain to go under with his ship. During this time he continued working on the OMNI project recording a lot of unreleased material.

•  The fourth stage in 1999 in which Juan Jose Salas and his small progressive label in Querétaro , Mexico salvaged the original 1990 and 1992 recordings and along with some of Michael's solo home recordings and released the CD “Tras el Puente”. The problem at that time was that the master recordings had disappeared as the studio had closed and moved on, The recordings had to be copied from cassettes to digital format and therefore the sound quality of this first CD is not the greatest. After the release of this CD in 2000, OMNI, after six years of inactivity, came together and played at the Baja Prog Festival in 2001.

•  The fifth stage in 2002 in which "El Vals de los Duendes" was recorded with new drummer Ismael Colon and OMNI hastily prepared for and played at Baja Prog 2002.

•  The sixth stage in 2007 in which, with renewed member Juan Rios on Rhythm guitar and new member Jesus Cabral on bass, OMNI came back together and recorded a third CD called “Solo Fue un Sueño” and returned to Baja Prog in 2008.

•  The seventh stage in which OMNI are preparing another CD for release in the not distant future.

All of the members of OMNI are from southern Andalucia in Spain except for Mike who is from Colorado in the United States although he has been in Spain for many years. All the other are from Jerez de la Frontera except for Juan Rios who is from Cadiz . This is the general area where both Iman Califato Independiente and CAI are from and the place that so influenced the music of OMNI.

Omni's music is as varied as the tastes in music of the musicians who form it, but, obviously, the root influences are bands such as Iman Califato Independiente and CAI even though there are signs of Anglo-Saxon influences such as Camel, Pink Floyd and others. In order to categorize Omni's music, it would be necessary to see what reputed critics around the world have to say about it.