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Gama Major: Playing Outside of the Box
BY Elaina J. Martin
Upon looking at the two men on stage – one in a black sequined jacket and sunglasses, and the other comfortable in a dark tee shirt and sneakers – you know you can’t fit Gama Major in a box. The musical collective featuring Gama Lier Padillo on keyboard and vocals, and Michanleo Carter on the cello doesn’t fit into a single genre.
Padillo started playing piano and taking vocal lessons in 2009 while completing a senior project in high school. Carter started playing cello when he was 7. “I wanted to play bass originally, but I was too small,” Carter recounts. “Eventually I did learn to play the bass and the violin and the viola. In high school I learned percussion and in college - piano. I learned the acoustic and electric guitar when I was getting my master’s degree in film music composition.” The two musicians met at Coffee Scene in Fayetteville while attending open mic nights.
Gama Major is special because of its synergy combining Padillo and Carter’s vast musical background and unmistakable talent. The two blend to form a unique experience. “The most important thing in music,” Padillo states, “is collaboration and sharing ideas. We have a good type of bond and openness to work together.” Carter adds, “We have a sound you don’t really hear in this area and that comes from music from all our influences.”
I tell the guys that their sound reminds me of David Bowie in the film Labyrinth and Padillo laughs and says, “I love David Bowie! He is one of my influences.” Padillo is also inspired by the electronica band Depeche Mode, Lincoln Park, and Sir Elton John’s musicianship and showmanship. Carter says, “My background is classical but I mostly play jazz now so my influences are artists like Ella Fitzgerald, The Rat Pack, and I bow down to Yo-yo Ma.” As I listen to their lyrics when they perform at Art Attack, I can’t help but apply them to the partners of Gama Major. Such lyrics include “taking a ride with my best friend,” and “never let me down,” but perhaps the phrase defining their careers right now is “we’re flying high.”
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