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“BOING, We’ll Do It Live! The Aristocrats At Alvas Showroom” Release Date Set For DECEMBER 10!

PRESS RELEASE

ROCK/FUSION POWER TRIO THE ARISTOCRATS

TO RELEASE FIRST LIVE CD/DVD

BOING, WE’LL DO IT LIVE! ON DECEMBER 10

Guitarist Guthrie Govan, bassist Bryan Beller, and drummer Marco Minnemann are captured live at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro, CA

 

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 8, 2012) – The rock/fusion power trio The Aristocrats – featuring Guthrie Govan on guitar, Bryan Beller on bass, and Marco Minnemann on drums – will release BOING, We’ll Do It Live! The Aristocrats At Alvas Showroom on December 10, 2012. The release will be in two formats: A standard-edition, 14-track, 2CD album, and a Deluxe EditionDVD + 2CD package featuring two additional bonus tracks, bonus audio from soundcheck, additional candid show footage, and bonus interviews with each band member. The 6-camera video was shot in high definition, and the 5.1 surround audio mix was done by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. A 2-channel stereo mix is also available.

 

Formed practically by demand after a single raucously received set at the Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA in January of 2011, the trio tracked their debut album The Aristocrats [BOING!] just four months later, and released it that September to universal acclaim. But the core energy of the band from the start was their preternatural live chemistry, which became even more explosive during a year’s worth of worldwide touring.

 

“We’re all definitely proud of the studio album,” says bassist Beller, “but we were just getting to know each other when we cut it. Now that we’ve traveled the world together, we really get each other musically and personally. Honestly, we spend a lot of time making each other laugh to the point of tears. I think that really comes through live, the sense that we’re friends walking a high wire together musically, but also that, sometimes, we just choose to be extremely silly. Somehow it all works.”

 

BOING, We’ll Do It Live! was captured over two nights in June of 2012 at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro,CA, and features the entire Aristocrats repertoire, plus select material from the trio’s individual back catalogs, and a brand new, previously unreleased song, “Dance Of The Aristocrats.”

 

TRACK LISTING

 

DISC ONE

1. Bad Asteroid

2. Greasy Wheel

3. Boing!…I’m In The Back

4. Flatlands

5. I Want A Parrot

6. Blues Fuckers/Drum Solo

7. Waves

 

DISC TWO

1. Get It Like That

2. Furtive Jack

3. Train Trax

4. Cave Dweller

5. Mr. Kempinski

6. See You Next Tuesday *

7. Dance Of The Aristocrats

8. A Very Metal Introduction

9. Sweaty Knockers

10. Erotic Cakes *

* on Deluxe Edition only

 

DVD FEATURES

 

* Complete show, including bonus tracks & additional between song footage

* 5.1 surround mix by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree (and 2-channel stereo mix)

* Bonus audio from soundcheck

* Interviews with each band member

Video: The Aristocrats - Live in Frankfurt 10/26/12 Full Show

The Aristocrats' entire 10/26/12 show from Frankfurt Germany. Guthrie Govan - guitar, Bryan Beller - bass, Marco Minnemann - drums.

The Aristocrats Fall 2012 European Tour Dates

The Aristocrats (Guthrie Govan - guitar, Bryan Beller - bass, Marco Minnemann - drums) will be playing the following dates in Europe this fall. See the band's official tour page for more info.

10/9 – Uppsala, Sweden – Uppsala Guitar Festival
10/13 – Assemini – Cagliari (Sardinia), Italy – Golf Club Ercole Cellino
10/14 – Cassibile – Siracusa (Sicily), Italy – Anfiteatro Hotel Fontane Bianche
10/15 – Jesolo (VE), Italy – Scuola di Musica JAM c/o aula magna istituto “I. Calvino”
10/17 – Prato, Italy – Keller Platz
10/19 – Caserta, Italy – Black Cat Club
10/20 – Rome, Italy – Guitar Art Nights Festival (venue TBA)
10/21 – Molvena (VI), Italy – Revolution Studios
10/23 – Nice, France – Forum Nice Nord
10/24 – Legnano (MI), Italy – Land Of Live
10/26 – Frankfurt, Germany – Frankfurt Jazz Festival (Sendesaal des hessischen Rundfunks)
10/27 – Zagreb, Croatia – Zagreb Guitar Show (VIP Club)
10/28 – Zoetermeer, Netherlands – De Boerderij
10/29 – Verviers, Belgium – Spirit Of 66
10/31 – Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg – Kulturfabrik
11/3 – Unna, Germany – Kuhlschiff
11/5 – Hamburg, Germany – Logo
11/7 – Berlin, Germany – Crystal Club
11/9 & 11/10 – Athens, Greece – Athina Live

The band has also scheduled the following So Cal dates for early 2013:

1/26/13 – Alva's - San Pedro, CA
1/27/13 – Alva's - San Pedro, CA
1/29/13 – Brick by Brick - San Diego, CA
1/31/13 – SLO Brewing Company - San Luis Obispo, CA
2/1/13 – Biscuits & Blues - San Francisco, CA

 

Videos: The Aristocrats - Live at The Robin 2

Nice series of videos of The Aristocrats, live at The Robin 2 on 3/8/12. Guthrie Govan - guitar, Bryan Beller - bass, Marco Minnemann - drums.

The Aristocrats US Tour Dates plus DVD Shoot

The Aristocrats (Guthrie Govan - guitar, Bryan Beller - bass, Marco Minnemann - drums) have announced the following US tour dates for 2012. The Alva's shows in June will be filmed for a live DVD (!). See The Aristocrats' tour page for more ticketing info.

Fri. 5/18  Nashville, TN - The Rutledge
Sat. 5/19  Louisville, KY - ZaZoo's
Mon. 5/21  Indianapolis, IN - Birdy's
Tues. 5/22  Cleveland, OH - The Tavern (Beachland Ballroom)
Wed. 5/23  Columbus, OH - Rumba Café
Thurs. 5/24  Charleston, WV - The Sound Factory
Fri. 5/25  Charlotte, NC - The Double Door Inn
Sat. 6/2  San Pedro, CA - Alva's Showroom (DVD Shoot)
Sun. 6/3  San Pedro, CA - Alva's Showroom (DVD Shoot)

 

Videos: Mike Keneally sitting in with The Aristocrats

Two clips of Mike Keneally sitting in with the Aristocrats at WesFest 7 last night.

Winter NAMM 2012: Day One

I'm getting ready to tackle day two of the 2012 Winter NAMM show, but before I do, here is some of the coolest stuff I saw on day one. Carvin recently announced their new line of Allan Holdsworth HH Series guitars, and these were easily some of the best instruments I saw all day. These things feel rock solid, yet are surprisingly light due to their chambered, semi-hollow bodies. The set-necks are super smooth, making for easy access to the upper frets. The Carvin rep told me that Holdsworth came down to the factory the day the first prototype was complete, and loved it so much he took it home and used it exclusively on his next string of live dates. FYI - The man himself is scheduled to appear at the Carvin booth on Saturday.

I also found the EVH Wolfgang line to be quite impressive. The Wolfgang Custom model I tried out was built like an absolute tank. In contrast to the Holdsworth Carvins, this thing weighed a metric ton, and had a similar feel to a Yamaha SBG IMO. The guitar has a loud sound that projects when you play it unplugged; a good sign. Definitely a rock-solid axe.

The Orange OPC has been around awhile, but I checked one out yesterday for the first time and was really blown away. This cool piece of gear is essentially a computer and amp rolled into one unit. It's loaded with amp modeling and multi-track recording software, a DVD burner, USB and video outputs, the works. It can be used as regular amp if you like, though all of the sounds are produced through the amp emulation settings, courtesy of the built-in AmpliTube 3 application. Easily one of the hippest home studio solutions I've yet seen.

More pics from NAMM 2012 Day One:

 

The Aristocrats - Updated 2012 Tour Dates

Here is an updated list of 2012 tour dates for The Aristocrats (Guthrie Govan - guitar, Bryan Beller - bass, Marco Minnemann - drums). See the band's official website for more info.

01/21/12     San Pedro, CA USA   Alva's Showroom    
01/22/12     San Pedro, CA USA   Alvas Showroom
01/24/12    Hollywood, CA  Musician's Institute (for students and faculty only)
01/27/12    San Francisco, CA  Biscuits & Blues
01/28/12    Seattle, WA    The Rendezvous
01/29/12    Seattle, WA    The Rendezvous
02/25/12    San Jose, Costa Rica  Pepper
03/02/12    San Diego, CA    Brick By Brick
03/04/12    Hollywood, CA    The Roxy  (WesFest 7)
03/07/12     London, UK     The Peel    
03/08/12     Bilston UK    The Robin 2    
03/09/12     Manchester UK    Night and Day
03/10/12     Newcastle UK    The Cluny
03/11/12     Edinburgh UK    The Voodoo Rooms
03/13/12     Zoetermeer NL    Boerderij 
03/17/12     Madrid, Spain   Sam Ramdall
03/19/12    Barcelona, Spain   Sala Bikini
03/20/12    Bilbao, Spain   Sala BBK
03/22/12    Istanbul, Turkey  Old City / Indigo Pub
03/23/12    Tel-Aviv, Israel  Reading 3

 

Favorite Releases of 2011

While pondering my favorite music releases of 2011, I was struck by two things; the abundance of originality and depth in the "my cup of tea" genre, and Geez Louise were there a lot of live albums this year. There were also some great DVDs, which is why I'm referring to this as a favorite "releases" list instead of an "album" list as I have in the past. So here they are - my favorite releases of 2011 in no particular order:

 

Abstract Logix Live! - The New Universe Music Festival 2010 (CD / DVD) [CD Review]

Amazing live CD and DVD releases chronicling the 2010 New Universe Music Festival. Includes great performances by John McLaughlin, Wayne Krantz, Alex Machacek, Jimmy Herring, and others. I was honored to help contribute to the DVD by conducting the backstage interviews which appear on disc 2.

Brett Garsed - Dark Matter [Review]

Fantastic writing and playing. Shows a stronger prog influence than Garsed’s earlier work. Bassist Ric Fierabracci make a big impact here as well.

Chris Taylor - Nocturnal [Review / Interview]

Taylor’s remarkable debut seamlessly blends modern jazz and electronica influences in one of the year’s most original and engaging releases. The all-star line up includes Ric Fierabracci, Steve Tavaglione, Dave Weckl, and other heavyweights.

Oz Noy - Twisted Blues Volume 1

Noy’s latest showcases his quirky originality and tones in a context that’s more bluesy than his previous work. Love the writing on this one.

The Aristocrats [Guthrie Govan Interview]

Killer heavy fusion album with Guthrie Govan on guitar, Bryan Beller on bass, and Marco Minnemann on drums. A great platform for Govan’s overall talents.

Derek Sherinian - Oceana

Awesome prog-fusion disc that may be Sherinian’s best solo release yet. Has a throwback 70s Jeff Beck vibe at times. Guests include Steve Lukather, Tony MacAlpine, and Joe Bonamassa.

Allen Hinds - Monkeys and Slides

Great writing and lines from one of the west coast’s coolest fusion guitarists. Includes two burning live tracks. Features Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Babko, and Dennis Hamm among others.

Bryan Beller - Wednesday Night Live

Killer live disc featuring a single set recorded at the Baked Potato, plus two additional tracks from other performances. Includes great contributions from Mike Keneally.

Other favorites from 2011:

Gerald Gradwohl Group - ABQ Live and Raw
Jeff Richman & Chatterbox - The Line Up [Interview]
Bryan Baker, Bob van Luijt & Sebastiaan Cornelissen - 011 Amsterdam
John Escreet - The Age We Live In
Johnny Hiland - All Fired Up
CAB - Live on Sunset
Human Element
Gannin Arnold - Five World Class Drummers DVD
Rudder - Live at Rockwell Music Hall NYC DVD (Not one note of guitar on this, but the band and DVD are super cool.)

See Also:

Favorite Albums of 2010
Favorite Albums of 2009
Favorite Albums of 2008
Favorite Albums of 2007
Favorite Albums of 2006

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.

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.

Photos: The Aristocrats at Martyrs' 10/9/11 by Alex Kluft

Alex Kluft has posted a gallery of pics from the 10/9/11 Aristocrats show at Martyrs' in Chicago (Guthrie Govan - guitar, Bryan Beller - bass, Marco Minnemann - drums). Check it out via the link below.

 

Alex Kluft Photography | The Aristocrats at Martyrs'