ABOUT ILLUSIONS - DELUSIONS

Whether you’re looking for rock, pop, country, jazz, gospel, or Latin music, you’ll find it here on the Illusions CD and website. From the Fatal Attraction-inspired “Sooner or Later” to the environmentally-charged “The Forest,” Illusions will take you through a greater variety of emotions and styles than you’ve ever experienced on one CD.

Ron Friedman, M.D. , a board-certified plastic surgeon during the week and a musician on the weekends, wrote the music and lyrics for all of the songs. Friedman’s first song, written when he was ten years old, was a winner of a California statewide music contest for youths. At age 13, he made studio recordings of several songs, which were subsequently performed in local nightclubs in southern California. Then he got sidetracked—for about 20 years. He finished college in two years, graduated medical school with honors, completed an accelerated surgical training program, and joined the plastic surgery faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

A few days after the 9/11 tragedy, Friedman channeled his emotions and energy back into music. In just a few hours, he wrote “America,” a poignant tribute to our strength in a time of national crisis. Within a month, he was featured as the live musical guest on the FOX-4 Television Good Day Show in Dallas. He was subsequently invited to play “America” to introduce an important speech by Former New York City Mayor, Rudolph Giuiliani. In 2003, he performed the song live for a crowd of 17,000 in San Antonio. Friedman donated the CD sale proceeds of several thousand dollars to the American Red Cross.

After the success of “America,” Friedman went on a songwriting rampage. The resulting Illusions CD features 17 (of the more-than-40) songs that he has written since 2004. Friedman co-produced the CD with internationally-acclaimed composer and producer, Julius Dobos. Many of the songs are autobiographical:

  
  I wrote “Sooner or Later” about a psychotic woman whom I had the misfortune to date—briefly--many years ago. The lines that best sum up the relationship (from her standpoint): “I just want to be close to you… to keep you safe and sound. But you don’t want to be close to me…so I swear to you, I’m gonna hunt you down.”

“Forever in Your Eyes” is an upbeat love song written for my wife, Jin. Strangely, she seems to like ‘Attitude,’ a song I wrote following an argument, even better: “Instead of giving me gratitude, all you give me is…attitude.”

A few years ago, we had a 115-gallon saltwater aquarium fail catastrophically, forcing us to leave our house for four months. After I finished feeling sorry for myself, I wrote the gospel-inspired “Surrrounded by Your Love.”

Wondering, as many people do, about my purpose in life, I wrote the existential hard rock song, “Why Am I Here?” And “The Forest” is about the environmental destruction that continues despite our best efforts at preservation.

Like his songs, Friedman’s musical influences are quite varied. They include Elton John, Phil Collins, Aerosmith, Rob Thomas, Tim McGraw, Nora Jones, Josh Groban, and Kelly Clarkson.

For your copy of the Illusions CD, please fill out the contact form or call 469-467-0100. For more information about Ron Friedman, please visit plasticsurgerydallas.com.