The Guitar Channel

Alex Machacek Live Dates

Alex Machacek has several live dates coming up with various projects. See below for details. In other news, Machacek is currently working on his new album with his band FAT (Fabulous Austrian Trio), and recently contributed a guest solo to Jason Sadites upcoming project with Tony Levin and Macro Minnemann.

Hadrien Feraud's Muzafuckas
Alex Machacek - Guitar, Hadrien Feraud - Bass, Scott Kinsey - Keys, Ron Bruner Jr. - Drums
June 14th  The Baked Potato - Studio City, CA

Out Trio
Alex Machacek - Guitar, Terry Bozzio - Drums, Doug Lunn - Bass
July 8th, 9th and 10th  The Iridium - New York, NY
July 12th  Regattabar - Cambridge, MA

FAT
Alex Machacek - Guitar, Raphael Preuschl - Bass, Herbert Pirker - Drums
August 5th  Syrnau - Zwettl Austria

Jazz Seminar
August 6th - August 12th  Jazz Seminar - Schoenbach - Austria

U-Z Project
Eddie Jobson - Keyboards and Violin, Alex Machacek - Guitar, Marco Minnemann - Drums, Marc Bonilla - Bass and Vocals
August 19th  Cultuurpodium Boerderij - Zoetermeer Netherlands
August 21st  Zappanale Festival - Bad Doberan Germany
September 5th  Colos-Saal - Ascheffenburg, Germany   This show has been cancelled

US Dates Added to UK Reunion Tour

In addition to the previously announced Japan dates (April 15 & 16), legendary prog band UK will be playing the following US dates on their reunion tour:

April 8th - Regent Theatre: Arlington, MA

April 11th - Highline Ballroom: New York, NY

April 23rd - Regency Ballroom: San Francisco, CA

For this tour, the band will include original members Eddie Jobson on violin and keys, and John Wetton on bass and vocals, plus Alex Machacek on guitar, and Marco Minnemann on drums. I'll post more info as it becomes available.

UK Reunion Tour with Alex Machacek

NEWS FLASH: Legendary prog band UK will be reuniting for some live dates this coming April. Joining original members Eddie Jobson (violin, keys) and John Wetton (bass, vocals) will be Alex Machacek on guitar, and Marco Minnemann on drums. So far, two dates have been announced for Japan - April 15th and 16th at Club Citta in Kawasaki City. I'll post more info as it becomes available. (Thanks to Anil Prasad for this news!)

UPDATE: An additional date has added due to popular demand - April 18th @ Club Citta.

All About Jazz Reviews Ultimate Zero Live

John Kelman has a review up of the Ultimate Zero Tour - Live album at All About Jazz. The 2-disc set features songs recorded during the prog-rock super group's 2009 tours. The various lineups on the disc include bandleader Eddie Jobson - violin and keys, John Wetton - bass, vocals and acoustic guitar, Greg Howe - guitar, Tony Levin - Chapman Stick, Trey Gunn - touch guitar, Ric Fierabracci - bass, and Marco Minnemann & Simon Phillips - drums.

All About Jazz Review: Ultimate Zero - Live

 

U-Z Project Best of 2009 release postponed?

In other Greg Howe news, it appears the U-Z Project Best of 2009 album release has been postponed. The disc features a compilation of 2009 performances from Eddie Jobson's Ultimate Zero Project (which Greg Howe was a member of). The release date had been pushed back several times, now at least one online retailer, CD Japan, is listing the album as postponed, and is apparently issuing refunds to customers who pre-ordered. Hopefully this album will see the light of day eventually. I'll post more details as they become available.

UPDATE: The word on Eddie Jobson's messageboard is the album has been delayed to Japan only, and more details are forthcoming..

Greg Howe to perform in Russia with Marco Minnemann and Bryan Beller

On September 24th & 25th, Greg Howe will be performing at the Primorye Regional Philharmonic Hall in Vladivostok, Russia with drummer Marco Minnemann and Bassist Bryan Beller. The setlist will consist of a few of each player's tunes.

Minnemann has played with both Howe (in Eddie Jobson's U-Z Project) and Beller (in KMB with Mike Keneally), but all three players have never performed together as far as I know. These should be some cool gigs!

Live U-Z Project album to be released in Japan

NEWS FLASH: Spotted this on Eddie Jobson's site - on June 9th, a live U-Z Project album will be released in Japan. U-Z Project - Best of 2009 will be a 2-disc set costing 3800 yen. Greg Howe was with the group for the majority of their 2009 gigs, so I'm sure he's all over this. I'll post more details as they become available. See below for purchase links and the tracklisting.

Amazon.co.jp

Lionodo.com

Gyokkodo.com

(1) In the Dead of Night(with John Wetton)
(2) Caesar’s Palace Blues(with John Wetton)
(3) Carrying No Cross(with John Wetton)
(4) The Only Thing She Needs(with John Wetton)
(5) Red(with John Wetton)
(6) One More Red Nightmare(with John Wetton)
(7) Starless(with John Wetton)
(8) Indiscipline(with Adrian Belew)
(9) Lark’s Tongues in Aspic Pt.2(with Adrian Belew)
(10) Vital Transformation(with Simon Phillips)

UPDATE: Looks like this will be released in the US and Europe in August.

New lineup for Eddie Jobson's U-Z Project

Eddie Jobson will use the following lineup for the next iteration of his Ultimate Zero Project:

Eddie Jobson - Violin, keyboards
Marc Bonilla - Guitar, vocals
T.J. Helmerich - Guitar, vocals
Billy Sheehan - Bass
Mike Mangini - Drums
Marco Minnemann - Drums

So far, this group has the following shows scheduled for Japan:

June 15  Osaka Big Cat
June 16  Tokyo Oeast
June 17  Tokyo Oeast

I'll post more details as they become available.

Greg Howe to play two shows in Russia

Greg Howe will be playing the following shows in Russia with Eddie Jobson, Ric Fierabracci, and Marco Minnemann. These gigs will come hot-on-the-heels of the U-Z dates that Howe will be playing in Poland in early November. Not sure if these Russian shows are "U-Z" as well.

11/09/09      Perm, Russia      Philharmonic Hall
11/10/09     Moscow, Russia     B1 Club

Greg has also scheduled the following masterclass clinics:

12/05/09      Lexington, SC      Musician Supply
12/11/09     San Francisco, CA     Blue Bear Music School

U-Z Project with Greg Howe and Tony Levin to play in Poland

Greg Howe will be playing the following dates in Poland with Eddie Jobson's U-Z Project.  This incarnation of the band will feature Jobson, Howe, John Wetton, Tony Levin, and Marco Minnemann.

November 3rd     Krakow, Poland    Studio Club
November 4th     Warsaw, Poland   Palladium Club
November 5th     Bydgoszcz, Poland   Philharmonic Hall

UK Reunion Tour Planned With Greg Howe On Guitar

There's some rumblings on the interwebs that Eddie Jobson is planning a reunion tour of Europe with his classic band UK for Feb/March 2010. The announced lineup is as follows:

Eddie Jobson: violin, keyboards
John Wetton: bass / vocals
Greg Howe: guitar
Marco Minnemann: drums

I'll post more details as they become available.

Trey Gunn joins Eddie Jobson's U-Z tour

Touch guitarist Trey Gunn (King Crimson, UKZ) has announced on Twitter that he will be joining Eddie Jobson's U-Z tour (dates and details here) after a last minute call. Gunn went on to list the following three shows from the tour:

Monday August 17, Washington DC - Jammin' Java
Tuesday August 18, New York City - B.B. Kings
Wednesday August 19, Boston - Regent Theatre

It would appear that Gunn is replacing previously-announced Chapman Stick player Michael Bernier for these particular gigs. Not sure about the other dates on the tour. I'll post more details as they become available.

UPDATE 8/15/09 - Greg Howe has posted the following update regarding the U-Z tour. Looks like the Aug 20, 21, and 22 shows have been canceled outright.

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Subject: Scheduling change for next week tour!

Due to a scheduling change, Greg and the rest of the band (Eddie Jobson, Simon Phillips, Marco Minneman, and Trey Gunn) will only be performing the August 17th - 19th gigs.

Please call the clubs to get a refund on your tickets if you haven't already done so.

Note: Greg will not be performing the NY gig on the 18th due to a prior commitment with Berklee College.
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