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Welcome to the website of… ….THE HELLION The Midwest’s Premier Judas Priest Tribute |
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Ralph Cybella (Bass)
“As many other bass players might attest, the instrument was not my first choice. I wanted to be a singer or a guitar player because they got all the girls, and in my first band I was the former. Of course we couldn't get a bass player so I decided to take up the challenge and do both. At the time Geddy Lee was my biggest influence so I went out and bought a Rickenbacker 4001 and learned to play on that. Fast forward through the blur of different bands, hairstyles, and equipment to the last decade or so, after playing and listening to many styles of music my tastes drifted to the heavy metal world and pretty much stayed there. Iron Maiden and Judas Priest became huge influences and their respective bass players, Steve Harris and Ian Hill were elevated to role models for my hungry mind. I know so much of both bands material it’s silly. I'm also lucky enough to have the distinction of being the only member of “The Hellion” who has met both his role models. I only met Ian once, but Steve I've seen a number of times and would dare to say that he would recognize me. In having some personal face to face time with those two and the many other bass players I've met you realize they are not much different than you and it can have a profound effect on your own playing. Ian seemed like a real regular guy that you could watch a football game and have a few beers with, while Steve was a lot more of a quiet introspective person. My own musical personality is closer to Harris' in that I'm like a quiet workhorse. I don't like to brag and would rather have people judge me on my performance.” |