The Country Music Project

Colorado native Ariel Yamada joined The Country Music Project in January 2013 after a life’s journey that took him to Alaska for over 10 years before deciding to return to home.

Ariel began playing professionally when he was 19 years old after picking up his first instrument at age 7. During his time in Alaska, he raised a son and daughter and played around the state in a variety of bands. His decision to move back to Colorado took over a year to become a reality.

“When I started making plans to move back to Colorado

 during the summer of 2011, I started researching bands,” says Ariel. “After a few months, I found TCMP, saw what they were doing and knew I wanted to be part of this band when I moved back to Colorado.” So Ariel kept in contact with the band (and Michael) through Facebook and once he was back home, landed an audition with the band in January.

Initially, the multi-instrumentalist auditioned for TCMP behind the drum kit but instead found his spot with the band on bass guitar, his primary instrument.

“While I play six instruments, the bass is what I love,” says Ariel. “As I have progressed through music, my influences have included Vail Johnson, who played with Kenny G, Pink Floyd’s Guy Pratt, Mike Porcaro of Toto and, believe it or not, Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees.

Ariel is excited to be part of TCMP and is looking forward to helping the group continue on its successful path. In addition to bass guitar and drums, Ariel also plays the flute, sax, guitar and piano. Ariel has written instrumental music throughout the years in a wide variety of genres, he says being part of TCMP has him excited about writing lyrics and music and thinks that will be his next challenge while performing with TCMP.