FOE - Info & Bios

FOE ~ Info & Bios

Shane Lankford - Vocals & Lyrics

Shane Lankford has been rocking the ‘biz’ since 1989, fronting bands along the way such as Azlan, Hero, and About A Day. After a four-year hiatus from the scene, Shane developed the concept for Orphan Project in 2002, and has been blending a unique sound of inspiration and heavy symphonic rock ever since. Orphan Project has opened for veteran progressive rockers Spock’s Beard, and their debut release entitled ‘Orphan Found’ has been showered with praise throughout the entire progressive rock scene.

In 2005, Shane teamed up with guitarist Rob Perez of Visual Cliff. Despite the four-hour distance that separated them (with Shane in Maryland and Rob in Pennsylvania), they forged a special bond that resulted in Lankford’s inspired vocal contributions to three tracks for the 2005 Visual Cliff release ‘Freedom Within’ and five vocal tracks for the 2007 Visual Cliff release titled 'Into The After'.

It was during that time that Shane and Rob discussed fusing their respective sounds together into a full-length album. The result of this collaboration, Fall Of Echoes, and the debut release ‘Red Tree,’ combines Rob’s hallmark edgy progressive rock sound with Shane’s soaring vocal melodies and deep, insightful lyrics.

On a personal note: Shane has an awesome marriage to his wife Wendy and both are proud parents to a newly adopted son, he has two great dogs Wallace and Maxie, and he loves his Baltimore Ravens, as well as everyone at NCPC! He has been inspired musically by great vocalists such as Greg X. Volz, Bono, Steve Perry, Jorn Lande, and Darryl Hall, as well as many others from the ‘70s through the present. He gets all his strength and love of life from his Heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ!

Rob Perez - Rhythm Guitars, Producer, Project & Mastering Engineer

Rob Perez started playing the guitar at the age of nine, and performed in various bands throughout his early years. After two years of college, he moved to New York City to play the circuit, performing regularly in three different bands. Perez played bass in a cover band, and drums in a half cover/half original project. He played guitar in his own original project, opening up for national acts such as Ozzy Osbourne, White Lion, and Living Color. A few years later, he returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA, to finish school and pursue a business career. In 1993, Rob married the love of his life, Kimberly.

He reconnected with some old friends in 1999 to start writing and recording music again. This ultimately led to the formation of Visual Cliff , which has since put out four critically-acclaimed releases.

Fall Of Echoes came about as a result of Rob’s collaboration with Orphan Project vocalist Shane Lankford, who contributed vocals to three tracks on the 2005 Visual Cliff release entitled ‘Freedom Within.' With Visual Cliff being a primarily instrumental project, the debut Fall Of Echoes album ‘Red Tree’ has allowed Perez to focus fully on writing music to showcase the amazing vocal abilities of Lankford. Rob is the main writer for the band. A talented lead guitarist in his own right (check out Visual Cliff ), Rob decided to funnel his attention in Fall Of Echoes toward the role of writer/rhythm guitarist, making way for the lead guitar work of critically-acclaimed guitarist Rick Mals .

Musical Influences:
Alex Lifeson, Jimmy Page, Edward Van Halen, Ty Tabor, Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, Kerry Livgren & Joe Satriani.

All-Time Favorite Bands:
Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Kansas, Rush, ELP, The Who, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Chicago Transit Authority, Cream, Van Halen, Yes, Fates Warning, Queensryche

Recent Favorite Bands:
King's X, Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Spock's Beard, Neal Morse, The Flower Kings, Moke, Ours, OSI, Transatlantic, The Tangent, Indukti, Circus Maximus.

Hobbies:
Biking, Weight Lifting

Favorite Bible verse:
Proverbs 3:5-6

Rick Mals - Lead Guitarist / Drum Composer

Rick Mals began his musical journey when he received his first guitar at age twelve. Two years later, his passion grew strong and his quest for knowledge became a mission, ultimately leading this primarily self-taught musician to Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. After a brief stay, Rick returned to the Pittsburgh, PA, area and resumed his now 20-year career as a well-respected music instructor, teaching both privately and as a faculty-member at Waynesburg College . His instrumental guitar release 'Rhythm Museum' garnered him accolades in every guitar publication back in the mid-90's, and it's recent re-release has shown it to stand the test of time, with continued sales and recognition. Rick's solo trio has opened for renowned national acts such as Steve Vai, the Steve Morse Band, Jeff Healey, and even shared the bill with Steely Dan as a member of Pittsburgh jazz/rock trio electric eel service. He has perfomred in numerous projects over the past 28 years.

When Mals returned from Berklee in 1987, he found two of his close friends recording in the studio with a guitarist name Rob Perez. This project became the very first incarnation of Visual Cliff . Rick was hired to create transcriptions of the music that was recorded, and soon after, Rob relocated to New York City. A few years later, Perez returned home and in 1999 reconnected with Mals to resurrect Visual Cliff. Rick went on to compose all of the drum and bass parts for the group's four acclaimed releases. Fall Of Echoes sees Rick involved in similar capacities as his roles in Visual Cliff, in addition to lead guitar work and occasional co-writing.

Recommended listening:
The Beatles; Wayne Krantz; Stone Temple Pilots; DJ Shadow; mid ‘70’s Jethro Tull; Beethoven (piano sonatas, string quartets); King’s X; Vijay Iyer; Luke Vibert; late 70’s Rush; Frank Zappa; Sufjan Stevens; the symphonies of Eduard Tubin (5,6,7), Robert Simpson (5,9), Malcolm Arnold (any), and Beethoven (4,7); Squarepusher; Jeff Buckley; Mike Keneally; Ben Monder; Steve Coleman and Five Elements; etc…

Recommended Reading:
Proverbs 16:3

Bill Yost - Bass Guitar

Bill Yost has been playing bass in various Christian rock bands since the age of fourteen. His most recent efforts have been performing with Baltimore’s very own Orphan Project, a group that also features Fall Of Echoes vocalist Shane Lankford. Yost has also put his skills as both a vocalist and guitarist to great use for the past two years as a worship leader in Maryland. Stay tuned for info on Bill’s upcoming solo project, featuring his work as a lead vocalist, as well as showcasing his abilities on guitar, bass guitar, and background vocals.

Bill is married and is the father of 6!

Bill’s musical influences include Dokken, Dream Theater, and Thrice. Bass influences include Billy Sheehan and Duff McKeagan. George Lynch, John Petrucci and Lincoln Brewster are among his favorite guitarists.Favorite vocalist?Tony Harnell…

The Bill Yost ‘Quote of the Day’: “It’s my feeling that the Fall Of Echoes ‘Red Tree’ cd will prove to be an awesome project which will stand up well against today’s bland, empty musical offerings…”