Terry Lawless is a keyboardist. He is also fluent in all the reeds and double reeds, majoring in bassoon performance while attending Coe College and the University of Iowa. He has worked strictly in the music business for over 35 years, touring with many major acts as a player / programmer. He most recently performed on the U2 "360°" tour. Artists, producers and studios have utilized his talents as a sound designer for almost 3 decades. Terry now operates a vintage keyboard overdub studio in Santa Maria, CA, where he and writing partner, David Rackley, record and produce their CDs. His roots run deep in jazz, rock and pop as well as classical, still performing on saxophone, flute and keyboards on the Central Coast of California.
Lawless has kept his finger on the musical pulse, touring with international acts for some 30+ years. His impressive resume includes U2, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Boston, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, the Doobie Brothers, Paula Abdul, Don Henley, and scores more. From a music All-American in high school to a member of the Iowa Rock & Roll Music Association Hall Of Fame to a Grammy Award nominee, Terry Lawless has crafted his taste, his musicality and his chops his entire life.
Terry has been making sojourns to Dublin, London, Nice, Morocco and elsewhere around the world to record keyboards with his Irish associates. You can hear his work on the 2009 release, "No line On The Horizon". He has been the keyboardist on other U2 recordings. Most notable are the two new songs recorded on the current greatest hits CD, "U218 Singles" ("The Saints Are Coming" with GreenDay and "Window In The Skies", both recorded at Abbey Road). Terry played on 2 of U2's 3 songs nominated for awards at the 2008 Grammies and 4 of the 5 songs nominated at the 2010 Grammies. Check out his hefty discography.
David Rackley
David Rackley earned his Master
of Arts degree in Theory/Composition from San Francisco State
University, where he studied composition and with Luigi Zaninnelli,
Roger Nixon, Peter Sacco, Carl Sitton and Pulitzer Prize winning
composer Wayne Peterson. He is currently Music Director for Grace Baptist Church,
Santa Maria, CA, and a member of the music faculties at Cuesta College,
Allan Hancock College, and Chapman University. He is a professional trumpet, cornet and
fluegelhorn performer with a strong background in both jazz and
classical styles.
A published composer, Rackley has scored video and film productions for the Jones Entertainment Group, Library of Congress, UCLA, Allan Hancock College, Cal Poly State University, and the Department of Defense. He has composed production music for CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, The Learning Channel, A&E, and the Discovery Channel. Some of his production music credits include "Days of Our Lives," "America's Most Wanted," "Cheers," "Nurses," "Picket Fences," "L.A. Law," "All My Children," "General Hospital," "Home Improvement," "Quantum Leap," and "Seinfeld."
