On May 21st at 9:00pm Central European Time, maketv.concert-online.com will be webcasting a live meet & greet/unplugged backstage performance with Steve Lukather. This will be an interactive event where Luke will be chatting with fans online, and taking their requests. Click the link below for a video with more info.
PRESS RELEASE
Brett Garsed & Band
ESP Guitar and Hughes & Kettner Amplifiers Clinic
presented by Davis Wheeler Music
One of Australia’s finest musical exports, guitarist Brett Garsed, is appearing with his band live in Canberra.
Brett made his name in Australia with his work with John Farnham, but
an extended stint in the competitive LA music scene made Brett
respected world-wide for his flawless technique and landmark rock
fusion albums such as Quid Pro Quo (with Chicago-born guitarist TJ
Helmerich), Uncle Moe's Space Ranch (with TJ Helmerich, Gary Willis,
Dennis Chambers and Scott Kinsey), Planet X (with Derek Sherinian) and
his solo album Big Sky.
Brett is an endorser of ESP guitars and Hughes & Kettner
amplifiers and will be putting the gear through its paces in a set with
a first class band that includes Farnham alumni Craig Newman on bass,
Stuart Fraser on guitar and Angus Burchall on drums. A Q&A segment
will also see Brett sharing his immense industry and musical knowledge.
The chance to see and hear musicians of the calibre of Brett Garsed and
his band are few and far between; and this is an awesome chance to hear
Brett’s amazing guitar tone and to witness his world-class technique
up-close.
For more information, contact Brendan Clark at
Davis Wheeler Music on
(02) 6260 5626 or email brendan@daviswheeler.com
http://www.daviswheeler.com
Well spotted by Mark McGuigan: MusicRadar has posted a multipart podcast interview with Paul Gilbert. Gilbert discusses his new album, his hearing loss, and much more.
At long last, an update from Netherlands-based fusion guitarist Richard Hallebeek. Hallebeek will be playing at the Blues & Jazz Festival in Emmen on May 30th at The Brasserie with the One Spirit Quartet (Lale Larsson - keys, Bas Cornelissen - drums, and Frans Vollink - bass). Also, Hallebeek will give a clinic in Rotterdam at Get Rhythm on September 20th. You can sign up by emailing rich@richardhallebeek.com. Kudos to Truth in Shredding for spotting this news.
In other Paul Gilbert news, Guitar Jam Daily has posted part 1 of an interview with Paul for their Jamcast series. Topics of discussion include Paul's early influences. Check it out!
Artist Interview: Paul Gilbert on The Jamcast - Session I
UPDATE: 5/14/08 - Looks like this interview has been taken down. The page is no longer viewable, even after logging in. I'll keep an eye on it...
CDJapan has a listing for a Paul Gilbert Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar instructional DVD, with what appears to be a bonus DVD entitled Shred Annex. It's a region 2 DVD (Japan, Europe, Middle East, and South Africa only) with a release date of 6/25/08. Gilbert's previous instructional DVD for Get Out of My Yard eventually had a US release, so I imagine this one will also.
Paul Gilbert/Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar Guitar Instructional DVD And Shred Annex DVD
Greg Howe has posted a song from his upcoming album Sound Proof on his MySpace page. It's a cool instrumental cover of the funk classic "Tell Me Something Good." The highly anticipated Sound Proof will be released on June 24th.
Following his UK tour with Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert will embark on a 12 date clinic tour of Italy. Here are the dates and locations, along with contact info for the venues:
May 26th - Firenze - Modern Music Institute - info: info@mircodimitrio.it
May 27th - Ellera di Corciano (PG) - STIX DRUM CENTER AND MUSIC SCHOOL-PERUGIA. - info: mmiperugia@gmail.com
May 28th - Mareno di Piave (TV) - Inverness Pub - info: balliananicola@hotmail.com info@williamdotto.com
May 29th - Albignasego (PD) - Sweet Basil - info: info@sweetbasil.it
May 31st - Bedizzole (BS) - 3X - info:misolidio.snc@libero.it
June 1st - Parma - Modern Music Institute - info: mmi.parma@gmail.com
June 2nd - Sansepolcro (AR) - Tedamis - info: info@tedamis.it
June 3rd - La Spezia - Centro Culturale Dialma Ruggiero - info: gianluca.cagnoli@libero.it
June 4th - Montegranaro (AP) - Modern Music Institute - info: mmimontegranaro@libero.it
June 5th - Roccaforzata (TA) - Go West Saloon - info: ciccionigro@libero.it
June 6th - S. Maria a Vico (CE) - Associazione Fa Re Musica - info: info@ciromanna.com
June 8th - Milano - Guitar Day - info: guitarday@hotmail.it
Guitar Jam Daily has posted part 5 of their Jamcast interview with Phil Keaggy. Phil talks about other musicians he'd like to work with, his advice for new artists, and much more.
This little gem just popped up on YouTube. This is Chris Poland's band OHM playing the Hendrix classic "Machine Gun" at one of their early shows in the Tone Merchants Tone Mecca room. OHM has a new album in the works. I'll post more details when they become available.
NEWS FLASH: Bassist Hadrien Feraud has broken a finger on his right hand. As a result, he will not be playing with John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension when their tour starts tomorrow in Monaco. I've read that Dominique DiPiazza will fill in on bass, until Feraud can rejoin the tour in late May.
Jazz.com has a wonderful interview up with John McLaughlin. Conducted by Walter Kolosky (author of Power, Passion and Beauty: The Story of the Legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra), many topics are covered including McLaughlin's new CD Floating Point (look for my review soon), and it's "Making Of" DVD Meeting of the Minds.
LA-based session musician Chris Buck has brought together some of the biggest names in prog-fusion for his new album Progasaurus (Early Boy Records). A largely vocal album (there is one instrumental), Progasaurus
has elements that will appeal to both old-school and new-school
progressive rock fans. One look at the album's personnel should give
you a clue about what you are in for - Derek Sherinian (Planet X, Billy Idol) plays keyboards, the drumming duties are split between Virgil Donati (Planet X, Devil's Slingshot, CAB) and Brian Tichy (Derek Sherinian, Billy Idol), and Brett Garsed (Uncle Moe's Space Ranch, Dirty Martini, Planet X) plays guitar on every track except "Kanines," which features Allan Holdsworth. Buck wrote the majority of the tracks (there is one cover), handles all bass and vocals, and plays some rhythm guitar.
One would assume a strong Planet X-vibe would be present on Progasaurus, given the musicians Buck has enlisted here. There's certainly some truth to that, but Buck's writing and vocals is the X-factor (so to speak) that keeps the album from being a Planet X clone. As a vocalist, Buck has a definite Brad Delp-meets-Steve Walsh quality. This, coupled with his writing style, adds a certain classic rock/'70s prog flavor to the proceedings. Buck is also a great bass player, but surprisingly he only takes two solos on the album. Songwriting is obviously Buck's main focus on this project, but after hearing his great slap-solo on the album's second track "Imprint," I was hoping his bass work would be more prominently-featured than it ultimately is. That said, this is a prog-rock album after all, and as such there are some pretty complex parts in these songs for every instrument, including the bass.
Stylistically, Progasaurus features lots of heavy doubled riffs, odd time signatures, and crazy solos. In other words, this material is right up Derek Sherinian's alley. His contributions have a huge impact here. The solos he takes on the final two tracks, "Progasaurus," and "Inside/Outside," are particularly impressive. Donati and Tichy turn in great performances as well, especially on the odd time stuff.
Also, this album is further proof that Brett Garsed is one of the top guitarists on the rock/fusion scene today. One of Garsed's great strengths is his chameleon-like ability to fit in perfectly in any musical situation. For example - compare and contrast his subtle slide work on the ballad "La Mere En Douler," with his complex lines on "Imprint," or his bluesy inflections on the straight-up rocker "The Gator." Who else but Garsed could wear all these hats so convincingly? To me, his range as a player is at least as impressive as his signature hybrid-picking technique. Garsed stands out on numerous other songs as well, including "Inside/Outside," the instrumental title track, and the Jimi Hendrix cover "Up From The Skies."
Another player on Progasaurus that is sure to generate some interest is, of course, Allan Holdsworth. "Kanines" is the only track the legendary guitarist appears on, but any output from this icon is a welcome treat, and he does not disappoint here. Holdsworth takes two great solos on this tune - first, in the very interesting main solo section over alternating segments of 7/4 and 5/4, and again at the end over the song's primary 4/4 groove. As always, his tone is gorgeous, his phrases are strong, and his fast runs are baffling.
Buck definitely knows what he's doing when it come to writing this type of material. While any prog fan would enjoy these songs, regardless of who was playing on them, the fact that Progasaurus features such an impressive group of musicians really sweetens the pot.
Chris Buck - Progasaurus (Early Boy Records)
Tracklisting:
1. One Squared
2. Imprint
3. La Mere En Douler
4. Kanines
5. Ende Von Tagen
6. Up From The Skies
7. The Gator
8. Progasaurus
9. Inside/Outside
Here is some official video of the Virgil Donati Band at the Baked Potato last Saturday with Alex Machacek on guitar. This video mainly focuses on Donati's drumming, but there's some great Machacek stuff in here as well. Mitch Forman is on keys, and Rufus Philpot is on bass. Here are Donati's comments on the gig from his website:
It was a great feeling to be back on stage with my band after such a
long time. This music takes exceptionally talented players to pull off,
and I extend gratitude to my collegues who joined me on stage last
night. The video highlights include parts of Thinking Stone, and
Iceland. When I find some more time, I will upload further highlights,
(sometime between now and the next gig). Here is a set list of the
music we played:
Set 1
Desert Girl
Mind Over
The Thinking Of Stones
Iceland
Actual Proof
Donna Lee
Kymera
Set 2
The User
Nothing Personal
Kingdom Of Dreams
Alien Hip Hop
Proto Cosmos
Allan Holdsworth talks about his Carvin HF2 Fatboy guitar. This clip is taken from the free Carvin DVD available at http://www.carvin.com/dvd.
Kudos to Laurie at Truth In Shredding for spotting this one: This summer, Greg Howe will launch a new instructional site called GH Workshops. The site is not live yet, but the URL will be http://www.ghworkshops.com/. Check out the trailer above for more info.
Paul Giibert - Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar
Allan Holdsworth - Live at The Baked Potato 1/18/08
The Jazz Ministry - Live at The Baked Potato 1/17/08
Gustavo Assis-Brasil - Hybrid Picking for Guitar (Book)
John McLaughlin and S. Ganesh Vinayakram - The Gateway to Rhythm DVD
Paul Gilbert: Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar
Gilbert's second all-instrumental album. Great writing, slick production, scary shredding.
Toto: Falling in Between Live DVD
Lots of excellent Steve Lukather footage. Includes interview with all the band members.
Steve Stevens: Memory Crash
Great prog-like instrumentals from the long-time Billy Idol guitarist. Also features "Day Of The Eagle" with dUg Pinnick on vocals.
Dig Trio
Great jazz fusion album featuring hybrid-picker Gustavo Assis-Brasil. Available as an MP3 download.
Alex Machacek, Jeff Sipe, Matthew Garrison: Improvision
Incredible writing and playing. A remarkable album.
Uncle Moe's Space Ranch: Moe's Town
Incredible "new" fusion from guitarists Brett Garsed & T.J. Helmerich. Very fresh and highly original.
