Wake Thy Neighbor Biographies



Paul C. Murphey	Stephen C. Hartman
Garland D. Hagman	James S. McGuire


At Avalanche Recording Studios, 1988	Paul C. Murphey began playing classical piano as a young lad, and as a teenager performed and won performance competitions including a gold medal at the Colorado State High School Piano solo festival for playing Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor at the age of 17 (1978). At that time, Paul had a diverse, mostly classical repertoire, and strongly considered studying music in university. Despite the fact that Paul decided to pursue his passion for natural history in university instead, music remained an important part of his life, and he began to branch out musically, playing and performing other styles including rock, jazz, and various world music genres. In 1983, Paul met Boulder drummer Garland Hagman, and together they formed Great Exüma. After playing with various guitarists and bassists, bassist Steve Hartman joined the group. Inspired by various bands, especially the keyboard, bass and drums three piece power rock ensemble U.K., Great Exüma decided to go "guitarless" and remained as such for their first two albums. Guitar player and long time friend of the band Jim McGuire eventually joined Great Exüma in 1988. Working hard, the band developed a fan base in the Denver-Boulder area, playing numerous engagements and recording three albums with award winning songs (Circus Maximus, Handy Pocket Item, and Dare to Dream).

Paul's keyboard rig in the North Boulder researsal studio, 1989	In late 1989, the four members of Great Exuma teamed up with Derral Gleason of the Illustrious IIllustrated Men (I-Men for short), and applied their intricate but powerful rock style to a new repertiore of mostly original songs. Playing numerous concerts including shows at the South by Southwest Music Showcase in Austin TX, the I-Men worked a wide variety of music venues around the west. In 1992, Paul made the decision to attend graduate school, later earning Masters and Doctoral degrees in Geological Sciences with an emphasis in Vertebrate Paleontology (his current primary profession). During the 1990's, Paul's musical endeavors were not silenced by his academic pursuits. He composed and performed original music for a number of industrial films for Martin Marietta and Lockheed Martin, recorded a series of original latin, celtic and world music compositions with guitarist Jim McGuire, and performed as the keyboardist/percussionist with the popular 10-piece Latin American percussion ensemble "Kandombe. "

"I won't say that it would be too easily forgotten" - Paul's blank look here illustrates his reponse to this statement made by a very confused man, and which frankly confused the piss out of Paul too.	In 1998, Paul began recording yet another album with long time musical collaborators Jim McGuire and Steve Hartman. Naming their latest group Shape Shifter, they produced an album titled Small Shiny Objects that was released in 2003, and continues to receive airplay on progressive music/world music radio stations. In 2002, Paul, along with wife Rosanne and Steve Hartman, produced the first CD in the Voices of Nature series, called Audio Imaging Australia (Volume I). Having relocated to San Diego County, California from Colorado in 2003, Paul continues to be active in a varety of musical projects working out of the Oceanside location of Wake Thy Neighbor Studios. In addition to haing edited sounds for natural history museum exhibits and assisting brother Lance with the sound track for his award winning documentary film Nobody, Paul is currently working on two new Voices of Nature CD's and planning to record another Shape Shifter album with his long time musical cohorts Jim McGuire and Steve Hartman.


Steve recording bass tracks for Dare to Dream, 1988	Creativity is a full time job for Stephen C. Hartman. A musician, graphic designer, illustrator and animator. His illustrations have appeared in “Time,” “Popular Science” and the “Sunday London Times,” among others. His animation has been seen on NBC, CNN and “Discovery Channel,” as well as at SIGGRAPH, an annual international computer graphics conference. He has received awards as a musician and songwriter and performed at the South by Southwest festival in 1990 and 1991 held in Austin, Texas. As a member of Professional Photographers of America, he has earned two Kodak Gallery awards and eight Fuji Masterpiece awards in the between 2000 and 2004. In 2002 and 2004 he was been honored as Rocky Mountain Professional Photographers Association “Photographer of the Year.” In 2006 and 2008 Stephen was presented with the prestigious Telly award for his work in corporate television. A graduate of Colorado State University, Stephen C. Hartman lives and works in Littleton, Colorado.
Steve recording bass tracks for Handy Pocket Item, 1987	Musician's Statement After many years of struggling with the demons of wanting to have things the way that I heard them in my head, I've discovered that it is foolish to pursue such inane goals. Even if it is Solo work, the observer effect applies, and simply by attempting to capture my ideas into reality, my thoughts are forced to change and lead me down different paths than I intended. Therefore I have chosen to work in a contrapuntal way from most musicians. I choose to find people who can contribute to my various musical streams of consciousness and who have their own streams to which I can contribute. What we create together is a combination of what we intended while being only related to what any one individual conceived. This approach requires a great deal of discipline to overcome the habits of leading creative pursuits by directing the efforts of others. It requires sensitivity and openness from every contributor to achieve something actual while avoiding becoming too conceptual. It also requires much more time than traditional approaches to recording music. By taking this approach, I have been able to immensely broaden my musical horizons because I have played with many more people, making music spontaneously and recording the results. As ideas flow outward, are heard and interpreted and then fed back, the observer effect becomes a boon rather than a hindrance to getting positive results. A contributor need not be a virtuoso performer, merely a sensitive interpreter and tasteful adjunct to the proceedings. find out where Steve is playing next at www.lostcanyonband.com
I had to maim a mime for this cool sweater	Artist’s Statement In the 21st century people can no longer believe what they see. Technology has finally freed the imagination from the limitations of technology. An artist’s vision is no longer encumbered by the restrictions of their tools. This thought fuels the apparent contradictions in my work. I have come to believe that there is no difference between “realism” and “abstraction.” Some of the most bizarre and beautiful abstract patterns can be found in the natural universe, while nothing is more concrete and real than an abstract painting. If the abstract can be made concrete, then we can take miniscule objects and treat them as monumental. Rigid things can be made flexible. Apathy converted to love simply by imagining a different point of view. Some might call this magic or alchemy. As every magician knows, magic is only an illusion. To the magician, it is the thorough understanding and application of technique and technology inspired by imagination that brings the illusion to fruition. The same is true for the artist. See more of Steve's art at www.thevisiongrove.com keyword nm8r




Garland going cross-eyed in the studio, 1988	In 1975, at the young age of 13, Garland Hagman received his first drum kit as a Christmas present from his mom. It was crude but loud enough to do the job. He then set about teaching himself drumming by jamming to vinyl records while wearing headphones. Over the years that followed Garland developed his technique and accumulated the fortress of acoustic and electronic drums that he now uses. After playing in many different bands while attending Boulder High School, he co-founded Great Exüma with Paul Murphey in 1983.

Looking like a tough guy	Garland played drums and percussion on the three Great Exüma albums, Circus Maximus, Handy Pocket Item, and Dare to Dream. He performed with Exüma thoughout its hey-day until joining the I-Men in 1990. After playing with the I-Men, he joined with various hard rocks bands in the Denver area before moving to southern California in 1994. There, he joined the three piece original power drum, bass/keyboards and electric violin trio "Insight." Garland record on this band's album "Third Testament," released in 1995.

Gar Warming up for a Performance at the South by Southwest Music Showcase in Austin, TX, 1990	Garland Hagman is a natural drumming talent. He has his own high energy playing style that facinates audiences. His tasteful use of the double kick drums along with his original technique style and mastery of many musical styles all contribute to his appeal. "To me," says Garland, "performing original music is the most exciting aspect of playing an instrument. It's important to sound good in the studio, but the delivery of the band's own music and message to a live audience is what it's all about for me. That's why I concentrate so much on my dynamics, stage presence and precision of my drumming technique."


Jim thinking about good mexican food and margaritas, as well as his comfortable footwear, 1988	Jim McGuire's interest in playing music began at age 13 back in "Jersey," where he began learning the basics and went onto purchase his first electric guitar. In 1981, he formed the group "Ravin" with Steve Hartman. Jim developed his talents as a musician, arranger and improvisationalist with that group. The "Ravin" Project led to a video-taped concert and several studio recording projects featuring original compositions from 1983 to 1985. In 1985, Jim enrolled in the Guitar Institute of Technology in Los Angeles. This educational experience was a huge revelation for Jim, literally blowing his mind open with music theory, and it led to an enhanced appreciation for and understanding of many musical styles. In 1986, Jim co-founded the fusion group Open Mind in Denver, playing a variety of venues along the Front Range of Colorado through 1987. In 1988, Jim joined Great Exüma, working again with bassist Steve Hartman formerly of Ravin. Jim contributed his musical talents to the original epic rock sound of the band, and recorded on Exüma's award winning third album, Dare to Dream. In 1990, Jim, along with the other members of Exüma, joined the I-Men, playing at clubs around the rocky mountain region and performing twice at the South by Southwest Music Showcase in Austin Texas. In 1993, Jim collaborated with keyboardist Paul Murphey, composing and recording a series of original world music compositions and branching out into new musical styles. In 1994, Jim began playing with the original group C-Ment Gypsy, once again joining forces with Steve Hartman. This group recorded two albums, and was a staple on the Denver original music scene with airplay on local radio stations. He even got to jam with Ginger Baker, and the C-Ment Gypsy Project continued the long term relationship with engineer/producer Paul Church. In 1998, Jim and Steve joined forces as Shape Shifter once again with Paul Murphey to compose and record the music for the album Small Shiny Objects. This multi-styled world music CD continues to receive airplay, and a follow-up recording is in the planning stages. Jim continued his fascination with composing and learning Celtic music for another year or so after the release of Small Shiny Objects until returning to his first love, the blues. Collaborating with Steve Hartman yet again, along with drummer Frank Morgan, the Tritones were formed, and their first album, the all instrumental offering Thumbs Up, Hands Down, was released. Jim continues to work with an expanded Tritones line-up featuring vocalist Billy Hundley, writing music and lyrics with an unbridled passion.