Bekka's Frogland Orchestra

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Ariane Cap

STAND-UP AND ELECTRIC BASS

Ariane was born and raised in Austria. She started music education at the age of five and entered the Conservatory as a piano student at six. At first she was very much into Classical Music (Grandpa was a conductor!). The love for Rock, Pop, Funk, and all the other loud stuff came when she went to the States at age eighteen to see a bit of the world. She hung out with the musicians on Harvard Square and soaked up everything with a beat for a very adventurous twelve months. She picked up several different instruments and had a great time sitting in. When she returned to Austria, she joined several local bands as a keyboardist and guitar player, and finally happened to pick up the bass. She immediately fell in love with the bass's rhythmic and melodic function, its supportive role in the band, and its endless groovability components.

At the time she also studied Biology, but as soon as she had her MS under her belt, she knew that watching neural networks in worms was not for her, but that rather the affinity to screaming guitars and the beats would take her to the desired heights. She started studying at the Bass School Munich and then continued her studies at the Academy of Music and Fine Arts in Vienna studying electric and upright bass in the Jazz and Popular Music program.

Two years into these studies she received a full one-year scholarship for the Jazz program of the University of Miami. This year was chock full with practicing, studying arranging, modal composition, improvisation, rhythmic concepts, etc. She moved on to the University of South Florida, where she became a Graduate Teaching Assistant and finished her Graduate Certificate degree in Music. She made arrangements to stay in the US permanently and moved to California with her husband Wolfgang, a bassist and composer from Austria as well.

Musically, Ariane has done pretty much all styles from Rock, Pop, Blues, Austrian commercial music to Top 40, to Big bands, to Jazz, Bebop, Latin, musical etc. Her musical influences are diverse, Sting, Victor Wooten, Peter Gabriel, Toto, Norah Jones, Lawrence Laughing, Chick Corea, the Dixie Chiicks... etc etc.

Her heart always in eclectic styles and the unusual she really enjoyed playing with the "MozARTband" in Vienna, which blends Mozart's music with Funk and Rock and features members of the Viennese Philharmonic and players of Rockstar Falco's band. She also has several of her own bands. More info on Ariane's Bio on her website arianemusic.net.

On her search for improving her musicianship she also walked and walks many paths of spiritual and mental learning, such as NLP, shamanism, and hypnosis. A certified NLP Trainer with her own business (ppimk.com) and a Hypnotherapist, she is dedicated to helping people unfold themselves. The musical and creative focus of her life has helped her to do just that for herself and others, be it through playing music or through her seminars and coaching.

Ariane is also an enthusiastic bass and music teacher. Having fought her way from perfomance-fright to performance-freedom, she knows how to help her students express themselves musically while learning the techniques, traditions, and theory. (arianemusic.net has a teaching tab to click for more info on that.)

Currently, Ariane is immersed with several projects besides her main band, the Celtic Rock band Tempest. Please go to tempestmusic.com for tour dates and more information on Tempest. Ariane also freelances with several jazz groups in the North Bay area and is working on some of her own projects, such as a solo CD as well as a Bass Duo. Visit arianemusic.net for more info.

Ariane enjoys the artistic freedom as well as the eclectic and creative approach Bekka's Frogland Orchestra explores. The intense communication between the musicians, the fusing of several different musical backgrounds, as well as the concept of sound painting offers her a very dear artistic outlet.

(click to enlarge)