The Guitar Channel

Videos: Allan Holdsworth - Live in Texas 11/15/11

Three videos of Allan Holdsworth in Houston Tx on November 15, 2011. With Jimmy Johnson on bass, and Ronald Bruner Jr. on drums.

Video: Wayne Krantz New Album 2012 - Behind The Songs

Wayne Krantz talks about his new album coming in April 2012 from Abstract Logix.

The Aristocrats (Guthrie Govan, Bryan Beller, Marco Minnemann) to Headline Wesest 7 Benefit Concert at the Roxy on March 4

PRESS RELEASE

BOSTON (November 22, 2011) – Rock/fusion supergroup The Aristocrats, comprised of guitarist Guthrie Govan (Asia/GPS, Dizzee Rascal, The Young Punx), bassist Bryan Beller (Steve Vai, Dethklok, Mike Keneally), and Marco Minnemann (Adrian Belew, Steven Wilson, UKZ, Necrophagist) will headline an all-star lineup for WesFest 7: A Concert to Benefit the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship at Berklee College Of Music at The Roxy in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 4, 2012. The event is sponsored by Gallien-Krueger Amplification, Mike Lull Custom Basses, D’Addario Strings, and DW Drums.

“The Aristocrats are an especially appropriate headliner for WesFest 7,” said Peter Gordon, director of the Berklee Center in Los Angeles. “not just because they recently played The Berklee Performance Center in Boston and connected with the student body there, but because Bryan Beller – a longstanding part of the WesFest organization and close friend of Wes – is a member of the band. Plus, Guthrie and Marco are unbelievable players, and many of tomorrow’s great musicians are studying their playing styles right now.”

The scholarship fund honors Wes Wehmiller (1971-2005), a Berklee graduate (’92) and highly accomplished bassist, athlete and photographer who died of thyroid cancer in January 2005. Established by his family and friends, the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship is awarded annually to a continuing student at Berklee who best exemplifies the excellence and grace Wehmiller showed as a bassist and as a human being. The WesFest concert series is the centerpiece of an annual fundraising drive for the scholarship fund, and that fund is projected this year to top $100,000 in total monies raised since its inception in 2006.

Formed unexpectedly after a wildly enthusiastic response to a single performance at The Anaheim Bass Bash during the Winter NAMM show in January 2011, WesFest 7′s headliner The Aristocrats were cleverly dubbed instrumental rock/fusion’s “rowdy new democracy” by Guitar Player Magazine in a recent cover story on guitarist Guthrie Govan. Their self-titled debut album – featuring three compositions from each band member – contains a uniquely explosive band chemistry, translating each individual’s well-known virtuosity into an aggressive, melodic, and sometimes even cheeky group dynamic in which anything goes. The resulting record became a melting pot of their respective influences, ranging from ’70s fusion (Return To Forever) to prog (King Crimson, UK) to instrumental rock (Vai, Satriani) to groove metal (Rage Against The Machine) to just plain absurdity (Frank Zappa). The Aristocrats garnered rave reviews worldwide (“…deserves to be in your record collection between [Jeff Beck’s] Blow by Blow, [Mahavishu Orchestra’s] Birds of Fire, and [Steve Vai’s] Passion & Warfare” – Guitar Extreme [FR]), and became one of the hottest and most lauded fusion releases of 2011. The internationally-minded Aristocrats are hitting Los Angeles just before launching a tour of the U.K., Western Europe, and the Middle East in March of 2012. Find out more at www.the-aristocrats-band.com.

The event will feature four additional acts: The Casualties Of Jazz, a jazz organ trio that exclusively plays Black Sabbath material, featuring keyboardist Matt Rohde (Jane’s Addiction, Christina Aguilera, Roger Daltrey, Kelly Clarkson), bassist Chris Golden (Carly Simon, Mick Fleetwood, Engelbert Humperdinck), and drummer Jimmy Paxson (Alanis Morrissette, Rod Stewart, Steve Vai, Ronnie Montrose); the WesFest All-Stars, featuring the music of previous WesFest performers Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Joe Satriani), Joe Brooks, Jackie Daum, and Colin Keenan; and Danny Mo and the Exciters, featuring Wehmiller’s Berklee bass professor and close friend Danny Morris, as well as 2011 Wehmiller Scholarship award winner Hayley Jane Batt and legendary drummer John “JR” Robinson.

From 1997 through 2001, Wehmiller toured worldwide with the multi-platinum pop band Duran Duran, and appeared on many TV shows with them as well, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Today Show, VH-1’s Storytellers, and Hard Rock Live. He performed with Missing Persons and several other L.A. based bands, and his work appears on numerous recordings produced in the L.A. area and in Vancouver. He gained endorsement deals with SWR bass amplification systems and La Bella Strings.

WesFest 7 advance tickets are available through March 2 for $35 per pair of tickets or $20 per single ticket.

All tickets are $30 each at the door. Ticket orders and donations will be accepted via check or credit card.

Complete ordering instructions and procedures can be found online at: http://www.weswehmiller.net/wesfest/wesfest7.

For any questions about ordering tickets or donating to the fundraising drive, please contact Peter Gordon at 818.380.3041 or [email protected]. For additional biographical information on Wes Wehmiller, and more information on the WesFest concert series, as well as new details about WesFest 7 as they become available, please visit the official Wes Wehmiller Tribute Website at www.weswehmiller.net.

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over 60 years, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry “who’s who” of alumni, Berklee is the world’s premier learning lab for the music of today – and tomorrow.

New Wayne Krantz Album Sampler

Soundcloud teaser of Wayne Krantz's upcoming 2012 album for Abstract Logix. The amazing lineup includes Yasushi Miura (Electronica), Vinnie Colaiuta (Drums), Anton Fig (Drums), Keith Carlock (Drums), Charlie Drayton (Drums), Nate Wood (Drums), Jeremy Stacey (drums), Kenny Wolleson (drums) , David Binney (saxophone), Paul Stacey (slide guitar), Tal Wilkenfeld (Bass), Pino Palladino (Bass), John Patitucci (Bass), Owen Biddle (bass), James Genus (Bass), John Beasley (Keys), Henry Hey (Keys), and Gabriela Anders (vocals).

Video: Bryan Beller Rig Rundown for Premier Guitar

Premier Guitar Rig Rundown with Aristocrats bassist Bryan Beller. Filmed at Martyrs' in Chicago on Oct 9th.

Videos: Guthrie Govan Interview for Zagreb Guitar Show

Two-part Guthrie Govan interview for the Zagreb Guitar Show.

Video: Guthrie Govan Rig Rundown for Premier Guitar

Premier Guitar Rig Rundown with Guthrie Govan, recorded prior to The Aristocrats' Oct 9th gig at Martyrs' in Chicago.

See Also:
The Guitar Channel Interview: Guthrie Govan

Chris Poland Live Dates with OHM, OHMphrey, Polcat

Several shows coming up on the west coast with Chris Poland's bands OHM, OHMphrey, and his latest project Polcat (Look for Polcat's debut album in 2012). See dates and locations below. Also, OHM will be calling in to Mark Torres' "Travel Tips for Atzlan" show on KPFK 90.7 FM in Los Angeles on November 26th.

Dec 1st, 2011  OHMphrey  Winston's - San Diego, CA

Dec 2nd, 2011  OHMphrey  Viper Room - Hollywood, CA  Cancelled

Dec 3rd, 2011  OHMphrey  Slim's - San Francisco, CA

Jan 20th, 2012  OHM & Polcat (Double Bill)  Alva's - San Pedro, CA

Jan 22nd, 2012  Polcat  Salvador's Jazz Suite - Los Angeles, CA 

Jan 24th, 2012  OHM & Polcat (Double Bill)  Baked Potato - Studio City, CA


The Lineups

OHM: Chris Poland - Guitar, Robertino "Pag" Pagliari - Bass, David Eagle - Drums

OHMphrey: Chris Poland - Guitar, Robertino "Pag" Pagliari - Bass, Jake Cinninger - Guitar, Joel Cummins - Keys, Kris Myers - Drums
   
Polcat: Chris Poland - Guitar, Frank Catalano - Tenor Saxophone, Sean O'Bryan Smith - Bass, Jim Gifford - Drums

Oz Noy "Twisted Blues Vol. 1" Review at What's That Dude Play?

Another fine review of Oz Noy's new album Twisted Blues Volume 1, this time from the folks at What's That Dude Play? See link below.

What's That Dude Play? - Oz and friends get ‘Twisted’

Steve Morse Band 2012 West Coast Tour Dates

The Steve Morse Band will be playing the following dates on the west coast in January (during NAMM week).

Jan 19, 2012   Agoura Hills, CA The Canyon Club    
Jan 20, 2012   San Juan Capistrano, CA  Coach House    
Jan 22, 2012   Solana Beach, CA  Belly Up
Jan 23, 2012   Orangevale, CA  Boardwalk 
Jan 24, 2012   San Francisco, CA  Slim's

 

Updated G3 2012 Tour Dates - Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Steve Lukather

Here is an updated list of dates for the 2012 G3 tour of Australia and New Zealand featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Steve Lukather.

24 March 2012 Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington, New Zealand

25 March 2012 Logan Campbell Centre, Greenlane Auckland, New Zealand

27 March 2012 Royal Theatre, Canberra, Australia

30 March 2012 Hordern Pavillion, Sydney, Australia

31 March 2012 Palais Theatre, St. Kilda, Victoria, Australia

03 April 2012 Festival Theatre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

05 April 2012 Convention Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

06 April 2012 Byron Bay Bluesfest, Byron Bay, Australia

 

Video: Oz Noy "Twisted Blues Volume 1" Documentary Teaser

A teaser of the full length documentary on Oz Noy's latest album Twisted Blues Volume 1. The album will be released next Tuesday, November 15th.