Ed Archer - Guitar

Born in the suburbs of Seattle before it became well-known, Ed Archer's musical journey started before he realized it.  As Ed recounts; "My parents noticed me picking out melodies on the family piano when I was very young...apparently I'd hear a song on the radio, then reach up to the keyboard as I stood below, and pick out the tune. Encouraged by their son's musical nature, Ed started music lessons from a young age, from classical stringed instruments, to piano, and on from there; "I remember being about 12 and really getting into the local rock radio station...I'd heard it when I was younger, but I suppose getting into the teenage years is what really put me over the edge with taking up guitar",  "...started my first band in Junior High School, we were horrible!!  But we didn't care, we were having fun and trying to play the music we loved and heard on the radio.The journey continued with live gigs at age 15, eventually doing the typical 'Battle Of The Bands' events with musicians and bands that would later become Queensryche, Alice In Chains and other notably creative Seattle based bands.  "It was really a great time, all these different guys in different bands in the Seattle area with such a focus on rock music and eventually metal! Early musical influences included Led Zeppelin, Peter Frampton, Alice Cooper, Yes, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, The Rolling Stones... to name a few.  "I listened to all kinds of rock oriented music...from the lighter side down to the heaviest stuff at the time", "I suppose my classical music background coupled with a typical teenage interest in rock music was the perfect blend for what would become Fifth Angel music years later. Over the years Ed's musical journey has changed and shifted, becoming nearly dormant as he focused on more typical activities.  But eventually as fate would have it, his creative side reawakened as new music ideas began to flow; "Music is such a perfect form of expression, there are no boundaries to it, especially these days with the heavier genre of music.  It's all storytelling, whether it be fiction, non-fiction, fantasy fiction, whatever...with it all set to a soundscape that hopefully moves the listener in some way.