The Curse, the Cross & the Lion is an adventurous, cinematic piece comprising six thematic mvmts, translating a story of good vs. evil into music full of character motifs and conflict. From the martial 1st mvmt, hero-celebrating 2nd mvmt, brooding yet elegant 3rd mvmt of Broken Down the Walls, to the Western jangle of Don’t Give It Up, CCL is a musical adventure full of surprises. The 4th mvmt conjures up Star Wars romances and Scheherazade. The 5th mvmt calls, “fight on,” rests in an idyll, and then the army marches off. Mvmt 6 is a quiet look at the war-damaged countryside and a farewell to lost comrades. The self-trained composer, a 3-album punk and pop musician, became disenchanted with that world and spent 5 years, between gigs, composing CCL. The story line: Rainbow Danger, commander of the Armies of the East, crosses the Aegean Sea joining forces with Neon Tangerine, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Coloma Aurelius, to rescue Shadow Chic from the evil grip of Zean-Arelius III, son of Cornelius Utimatus, brother of Francois Ultimatus, grandson of Orthorio Maximus Ultimatus III. Will vengeance escape the fate of the royal legion of Hanzwa? Each mvmt contains evocative melodies, pulsing rhythms and rich orchestration.