The 21st century and the Internet Age have changed the meaning of "working musician." Check out Jack White: when he isn't strumming power chords with The White Stripes, he's a classic-rocker with The Raconteurs, and heck, a drummer in The Dead Weather.

Damian Fanelli is a Cranford guitarist whose similar versatility finds him working with no less than three bands... when he's not editing at the Daily Record, freelancing, or managing his blog, of course.

If you've lived in Cranford for a little while, maybe you've seen Damian at Rockn' Joes on Eastman Street doing an interview for the Record. He moved to Cranford in 2004 to rent an apartment, and eventually moved into a house in town.

Damian has been playing since he was 11, and by the time he was 21, he found that music was becoming an occupation. 

"When I was making decent money playing gigs every Friday and Saturday night with a country band, I knew it was destined to be more than a hobby." 

It's one thing to be in three bands, but Damian's three bands are vastly different from one another.  He most recently joined the Brooklyn-based jump-blues, rockabilly, and swing group called The Gas House Gorillas. His expert musicianship landed him a spot when the group was in a pinch.

"They had just gotten back from an incredibly successful Midwest tour in early August, when their longtime guitarist bailed," he said. "I met up with them in Union one night right after that, played some songs and joined the band. Next thing I knew, I was playing four gigs in four different states."

He serves as lead guitarist in The Blue Meanies, a melodic British-invasion style power-pop not too far from The Beatles or The Kinks. In the three-piece surf-rock outfit Mister Neutron, their quick and heavy sound "was all about right hand speed, lightning-fast pull-offs, and whammy bends," he said. 

Even when he isn't shredding in these bands or editing at the Daily Record, he is writing about guitars. His blog, Six Strings Attached, focuses on guitars, gear and great bands.  He also freelances, and is currently working on a feature article for Vintage Guitar magazine that focuses on Dave Gonzalez of The Paladins, noting that "it's awesome when writing and music intersect like that."

You might have heard Damian Fanelli at last year's Centennial Music Festival, you might have seen his name in print in the Daily Record or a guitar magazine, or maybe you just know him from hanging around in Cranford.  If you don't know him yet, though, you probably will. Damian the writer and Damian the musician both like to stay busy.

If you're in the area, you can catch The Gas House Gorllias at Bernie's in Chester on October 16th, The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park on October 23rd, or at Trinity in Keyport on November 14th. They will tour the West Coast in April, with a main event at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend (in Las Vegas).