The Guitar Channel

Brett Garsed "Dark Matter" Review at Guitar.com

Guitar.com has a great review up of Brett Garsed's new album Dark Matter.

Guitar.com Review: New Brett Garsed CD - Dark Matter

Brett Garsed's "Dark Matter" Reviewed at GuitarInstructor.com

GuitarInstructor.com has a good review up of Brett Garsed's new album Dark Matter.

Guitar Instructor Review: Guitar Virtuoso Brett Garsed Explores Dark Matter on New Album

Brett Garsed to appear on Randy Allar's Fusion Show Today

Brett Garsed will appear on The Fusion Show with host Randy Allar today on WCSB 89.3 FM in Cleveland OH. The show airs from 1pm - 3pm EDT, and can be heard online at http://www.wcsb.org/listen/. Brett will be calling in at 2pm EDT to discuss his new album Dark Matter, and to play some of the tracks.

UPDATE: An mp3 of the interview is now available via the zip file link below.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/19656957/Brett_Interview_7-1-2011.mp3.zip

New Brett Garsed Album "Dark Matter" to be released soon

Great news! Guitarist Brett Garsed's latest album Dark Matter will be released in a couple of weeks. The disc features Ric Fierabracci and Craig Newman on bass, Gerry Pantazis and Virgil Donati on drums, and Phil Turcio on keyboards. Tracklisting is below. See Garsed's official website for sound clips and more info. I'll post further updates as details become available.

Brett Garsed - Dark Matter

1. Dark Matter
2. Android
3. If Only
4. Avoid the Void
5. James Bong (license to chill)
6. Closure
7. Poison Dwarf
8. Be Here Now
9. Enigma

Favorite Albums of 2010

Looking back over this past year, I really believe 2010 has been the most incredible year in music I've ever experienced. It's certainly been the best year I've seen since I started The Guitar Channel in 2004. On one hand, I've never witnessed as much amazing live music as I have this year. There were the great Winter NAMM gigs (such as OHM w/ Mike Kenneally, Alex Machacek w/ Ric Fierabracci, the Bombastic Meatbats, and more), awesome Chicago gigs by Mike Stern, Allan Holdsworth, and others, and of course the festivals - starting with the incredible Baked Potato 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival in May, the legend-packed Crossroads Guitar Festival in June, and the capper: the amazing New Universe Music Festival last month.

Then of course, there were the great albums of 2010. And there were a lot of them. Here are my favorite albums that were released this year, in no particular order.

Alex Machacek featuring Marco Minnemann - 24 Tales (Review)

A remarkable disc featuring music Machacek composed over a 52-minute Minnemann drum solo.

Michael Landau, Robben Ford, Jimmy Haslip, Gary Novak - Renegade Creation (Review)

Awesome blues rock super group that brings together guitar legends Landau and Ford. Killer playing; amazing guitar tones.

Ray Riendeau - Atmospheres

This one came out of nowhere and really grabbed me. Great collection of fusion tunes with a killer guest list that includes Alex Machacek, Jeff Kollman, Greg Koch, Nat Janoff, and many others.

Lenny White - Anomaly

Fantastic old-school jazz rock album from the legendary drummer. Includes guests Jimmy Herring and David Gilmore.

Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking (Review)

Tasty, melodic instrumental rock disc with killer playing and writing. Includes guests Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano.

Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith - More Meat

Awesome throwback fusion with great grooves. Features Jeff Kollman on guitar.

Charlie Hunter - Public Domain

This may seem like an out-of-left-field choice, but I can't get enough of this album. Features Hunter playing solo versions of old public domain classics chosen by his grandfather.

Other favorites from 2010:

Kirk Fletcher - My Turn
John McLaughlin - To The One (Review)
John Czajkowski and Marco Minnemann - West ZooOpolis
Steve Lukather - All's Well That Ends Well
Tetsuo Sakurai - Vital World (Review)
Ranjit Barot - Bada Boom
Michael Dolce - Everything Til Now
Jeff Richman - Like That (Interview)

See Also:

Favorite Albums of 2009
Favorite Albums of 2008
Favorite Albums of 2007
Favorite Albums of 2006

Review: Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking

Prashant Aswani’s latest album Sonically Speaking (Exotic Rhythms) features a rich set of melodic instrumental rock fusion songs that not only show his strengths as a guitarist and composer, but as a producer and arranger as well. The album is full of exceptional playing by both Aswani, and the lineup of great musicians he has brought along to support him. Aswani is joined on this release by Rhonda Smith (Jeff Beck, Prince) on bass, and Joey Heredia (Stevie Wonder, Tribal Tech, Steve Lukather) on drums. Abhijit Banerjee also appears on the album playing the Tabla, an Indian percussion instrument. This proves to be a fantastic personnel choice as Banerjee adds a highly distinctive dimension to the album. Guitarists Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano are also onboard turning in some killer guest solos.

Sonically Speaking is Aswani’s first full album of new material since 2000’s Duality (in 2007, Aswani re-released his 1998 debut Revelation as Revelation: Fully Loaded with new artwork and three new tracks). It’s also the first album in his catalog that he’s produced solely on his own. And while the playing and writing on this album are certainly top-notch, Aswani’s production work is equally impressive. He uses a multitude of layered guitar tones on most tracks to give the album a deep rich sound. The guitar parts themselves are arranged with a similar approach - many songs feature multiple clean rhythm tracks mixed together in such a way that you often forget there is no keyboard player on the album. Banerjee’s Tabla work is a major factor in the overall sound of Sonically Speaking as well. His contributions not only aid Aswani’s effort to lend the album some shades of his Indian roots - they also give the entire disc a unique sound that helps to separate it from the pack of often “cookie cutter” sounding instrumental rock guitar albums. Aswani’s highly melodic approach to writing is unique for this genre as well. Though there’s a motherlode of complex playing on Sonically Speaking, nearly all of the main song melodies are simple, hummable, and very catchy. As a result, this disc is full of tunes that stick in your head.

From a guitar geek perspective, Sonically Speaking is a goldmine of killer tones and state-or-the-art playing. Aswani’s lead tone on the disc is buttery smooth - warmly overdriven without a hint of fuzz, while his clean tones range from Strat-like snappy to more glassy, atmospheric sounds. As a guitarist, Aswani comes from the Greg Howe / Brett Garsed school of rock-meets-fusion. He has the touch and feel a rock player, yet has no trouble navigating through changes while dropping in cool intervallic and outside ideas. He also has a highly developed hybrid-picking technique that allows him to execute complex legato runs that are smooth yet punchy.

Sonically Speaking opens with “Stephanie” - a light, airy ballad that features Banerlee’s Tabla as the sole percussion. This tune is a great example of Aswani’s aforementioned production skills; multiple clean guitar tracks are used to give the piece a big, lush sound. Things get heavier with “Drive” which has Aswani sharing the spotlight with Aussie guitarist Brett Garsed on the cool Phrygian-based solo section. Garsed is great as always, peeling off plenty of his signature spidery legato lines. Aswani takes a more aggressive approach in his solo by adding some wild tapped licks and whammy accents. This tune also has one of the best riffs on the album, and features a nice bass break from Rhonda Smith. “Drive” is followed by one of the most interesting tracks on the album - the prog-like “Make It 14.” With its eastern-tinged melody and rapid mood shifts, this is one of the most exotic tunes on the disc. In his solo, Aswani plays some great dynamic phrases over the changes. This song ends with a wah-wah based rhythm part that is one of the coolest grooves on the record.

“11 Miles” is a bluesy power ballad of sorts with a nice odd meter A section. Aswani’s solo on this one is loaded with smooth sixteenth note lines. Other ballads on the disc include “Pardon Me” - which prominently features the Tabla, and includes some of Aswani’s fastest runs, and “Rain” - another song (like “Stephanie”) where all of the percussion is handled by the Tabla. This piece also has some great harmony and acoustic guitar parts. Aswani is definitely at his jazziest on this track, both with his lines and his tone.

The heaviest songs on the album are “5 am” and “Narrow Path.” On “5 am,” the core tune  features hard distorted riffs over a backdrop of Police-esque clean chord stabs. Aswani uncorks a killer solo on this one over a cool “fusiony” chord progression. “Narrow Path” is Aswani’s most “metallic” song on the disc - this tune is dripping with middle eastern vibes in its heavy riffs and melody.

“Shades of Gray” is probably Sonically Speaking’s most commercial-sounding track. The song has a great singing melody, and a pair of cool solos from Aswani (first with a clean tone during the main solo section - a nice change of pace - then distorted for the outro). The album closes with “Pure at Heart” which features Rob Caggiano from Anthrax contributing a wicked solo and some melody lines. Caggiano’s wild aggression provides a nice counter to Aswani’s more even-keeled approach. The song - and the album - fittingly ends with the Tabla right out front.

With Sonically Speaking, Aswani has crafted a deep album that subtly harkens back to his Indian roots, while showing off his considerable playing, writing, and producing chops. The album is loaded with great examples of his cutting edge technique, and fine contributions from his well chosen supporting lineup. Highly recommended.


Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking (Exotic Rhythms)

Personnel:

Prashant Aswani - Guitars
Rhonda Smith - Bass
Joey Heredia - Drums
Abhijit Banerjee - Tabla
Brett Garsed - First guitar solo on “Drive”
Rob Caggiano - First guitar solo and first trailer melody on “Pure at Heart”

Tracklisting:

1. Stephanie
2. Drive
3. Make It 14
4. 11 Miles
5. 5 Am
6. Pardon Me
7. Narrow Path
8. Rain
9. Shades of Gray
10. Pure at Heart

 

Rich

List all reviews

 

Prashant Aswani's "Sonically Speaking" to be released November 1st

Guitarist Prashant Aswani has announced that his new album, Sonically Speaking, will be released on November 1st. The album also includes Rhonda Smith on bass, Joey Heredia on drums, Abhijit Banerjee on tabla, and special guest guitarists Brett Garsed, and Rob Caggiano. I'm definitely looking forward to this one - Prashant is a great player, and this disc has a killer lineup. I'll post more details as they become available.

Brett Garsed Interview at Shred Knowledge

Shred Knowledge has a new interview up with Brett Garsed. Garsed mentions he has a new album coming up an a couple of months that will include Virgil Donati and Gerry Pantazis on drums, Ric Fierabracci on bass and Phil Turcio on keys.

Shred Knowledge Interview: Brett Garsed

Brett Garsed Lessons from Guitar Techniques Magazine

Spotted this on Truth In Shredding: Dario Cortese has re-published many of his Guitar Techniques articles on his new website, including this great 3-part Masterclass series with Brett Garsed. Each article includes transcriptions and videos.

Dario Cortese: GT144 - Brett Garsed Masterclass 1

Dario Cortese: GT145 - Brett Garsed Masterclass 2

Dario Cortese: GT146 - Brett Garsed Masterclass 3

Mark Varney Interview at Truth In Shredding

Laurie Monk from Truth In Shredding has conducted a great interview with former Legato Records founder Mark Varney. Back in the late '80s/early '90s, Legato was at the forefront of the shred-fusion guitar movement. They not only released several of Frank Gambale's albums, they were also responsible for the early Brett Garsed/TJ Helmerich albums, the Guitar on the Edge compilation discs, and the now-legendary MVP albums Truth In Shredding (1990 - w/ Allan Holdsworth and Frank Gambale), and Centrifugal Funk (1991 - w/ Shawn Lane, Brett Garsed, and Gambale). This interview is a great read, especially if you were a guitar fanatic back in Legato's heyday (as I was).

Truth In Shredding Interview: Mark Varney

Romania Guitar Festival to feature Greg Howe, Brett Garsed, Richard Hallebeek and others

On April 10th, Bucharest Romania will host Guitar Day II - a day long festival featuring "5 hours of master classes & 3 hours of concert." Guitarists scheduled to appear include Greg Howe, Brett Garsed, Richard Hallebeek, Andy Timmons, Michael Angelo Batio, and William Stravato. To order tickets, visit http://ziuachitarelor.com/contact_si_rezervare

Marco Minnemann, Ric Fierabracci, and Brett Garsed - Regatta de Blanc

A fun clip of Marco Minnemann, Ric Fierabracci, and Brett Garsed jamming on the Police classic "Regatta de Blanc" during rehersals for their Vladivostok International Jazz Festival performances in Russia. Anyone find more clips from these gigs?