Bio
Floyd Lewis
Started playing guitar in 1975 on the island of Grenada in the West Indies. Migrated to the U.S. and settled in Brooklyn New York in 1977. Heavily influenced by the Reggae revolution with Bob Marley and the Wailers, I continued learning and teaching myself the instrument. I started taking lessons from a local musician in High School and the first year of college. Decided to take it a little more seriously and switched majors from Accounting to Music in college. My first year as a music major I was taught Classical guitar techniques in the styles of Mozart, Stravinsky and Beethoven. I eventually leaned more towards Jazz and Modern music in order to explore more freedom musically. That same year I started playing Pop Rock and R & B with a local band I helped get started. We stayed together through all the college years and at some point migrated more towards Heavy/Speed Metal (ala Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson) and Classic Rock Bands (Journey, Toto, Chicago, Rush, Dream Theatre).
I studied Jazz Improvisation at the Mannes College of Music New York City and Jazz Improvisation workshops at the Brooklyn Music Conservatory. I moved to Florida in 1994 and joined a Reggae band and fell in love with Caribbean music all over again. I’ve worked as a freelance musician with numerous Reggae, R & B, Smooth Jazz and Hip Hop Bands through out the Tampa Bay area since moving here. A close friend introduced me to the Steel Drum instrument in a studio session back in 2009 and it quickly became my second love apart from the guitar. Since then, I’ve spent many years being self-taught and perfecting my steel drum techniques. I’ve done several studio sessions helping other musicians create singles and albums both as a guitarist and Steel Drum player (Panist). Now I’ve come full circle to the beginning of my journey into the fusion of all my musical influence.