The latest new on our Alex - he talks about the upcoming record:
Hi folks-I know, it's been much too long! Hope everyone's having a good '08 so far (still hard to believe). So finally, here it is- a rundown of the last four months or so and a quick look at what's to come.
Last October AST had some of our best shows ever, supporting Rodrigo Y Gabriela for several East Coast shows, including the legendary Roseland in New York City. It was a lot of fun to play with the trio, then sit in w/Rod and Gab for their set, and meet so many new fans. Schedule permitting, there will be more shows with Rod Y Gab in the near future.
Immediately after, I took off for the annual East Coast Trans-Siberian Orchestra Winter Tour. With over a million tix sold (between East and West tours) we had a blast performing and connecting with the crowds. A big highlight was New Years Eve in Cleveland, with 40,000 balloons and two tons of confetti, plus special guest Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake And Palmer.
Another highlight, not just of this tour, but of our careers (I'm sure I speak for all of us), was being joined onstage by none other than the great Roger Daltrey of The Who - our surprise guest for the New York area shows (Nassau Coliseum and Meadowlands). We played 'Behind Blue Eyes,' 'Pinball Wizard' and 'See Me Feel Me.' It was an amazing feeling to play these classic songs with him right there singing with us. Earlier, I had the honor of working with him one on one, showing him his guitar parts for the final song, TSO's Christmas Eve/Sarejevo 2/24. He wouldn't hear of shortcuts and simplified parts and really wanted to nail it, true professional that he is, so we were working for a good half hour or so. Later, when someone asked me what it was like to give a guitar lesson to Roger Daltrey, I replied, 'He's a pretty good student. Who knows, he could even have a future in music.' After the TSO tour wrapped up, I had a few days off in NYC before heading out West.
First stop- the SF Bay Area, where I completed my tracks for the upcoming Testament CD 'The Formation Of Damnation.' The album comes out April 29th on Nuclear Blast
Records, and I'm really excited about it.
By the way, I'm getting a lot of questions about the new record and my take on how its all coming together, so I'm going to try to answer some of the frequently asked ones here:
Q. How does this album compare with past Testament albums?
A. I honestly think this is the best one. Not to put down the past albums, but I think this one is strongest in terms of production, songs and playing. I feel I'm playing much better and so is everyone else. It's got the best qualities of both the more recent albums and the earlier albums. It doesn't feel like a reunion anymore, it now feels like a new, current project.
Q. Was it hard to get back into that style of playing after being away from it for so long? Is it difficult to go back and forth from your jazz improv to rock/metal playing?
A. I've gotten used to it. To me, jazz is a delicate process which requires a heightened awareness and sensitivity. Metal is about intensity, energy and aggression, kind of the opposite of delicate sensitivity! But, I see no reason not to do both. Sure, I needed to step away and be purely involved in jazz for many years to develop those skills. But the metal playing came back very quickly and feels better than it ever has. It's very much yin and yang. I have elements of both in my personality and see no reason not to do both musically.
Q. How involved were you in the writing process?
A. There are a couple songs in which I'm the main writer/contributor. One is 'Dangers Of The Faithless, based on these parts I had in 5/4 time. I wasn't sure it would fit the band, but it sounded good and really different. Chuck came up with a cool vocal part over it, which wasn't easy. The other song is called F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real) which I brought in as a finished song. It examines fear from a psychological perspective and I've heard people say the riffs are very 'classic Testament.' But for the most part, I just let Chuck and Eric do their thing with the writing. I'd been gone a long time and they've really developed their own process since then. The last album, 'The Gathering,' has great writing. I respect that and didn't want to get in the way too much. But I'm really happy with the way it turned out.
Q. What was it like working with Paul Bostaph and how does he compare to the other drummers of Testament?
A. We've had some great drummers in the last couple years since I've been back (I can count five!) and it's been great working with them all. But now that Paul's worked in, it really feels like he's the guy. He's such a pleasure to work with. He's got a great sound, solid grooves and great technique. I think the fans will be happy. I know we are.
Moving forward, immediately upon leaving the Bay Area after finishing the Testament tracks, I headed straight to the NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show. This is the enormous musical instrument convention for music retailers and manufacturers held annually in Anaheim, California. This year it was an honor to perform for Yamaha Acoustic guitars. Although Yamaha makes everything from snowmobiles to pianos, of which I'm the proud owner of one, (a piano, that is), they have a long history making great acoustics for players at all levels. Also, on my NAMM itinerary was a demo of the Korg Pandora, which I'm a big fan of. It's a portable effects processor, headphone amp, transcription tool and jamming kit all in one and it's become pretty invaluable on the road. It was fun to demo it and great to hang and reconnect with the many great artists and manufacturers who are down at NAMM. There is some other really cool gear news, which I can't announce right now, but soon!
After NAMM, I took a few days off (very much needed). Then I headed to Bishops University, a liberal arts college with a very good jazz program, located in Sherbrook, Canada. I was invited to teach, conduct a master class and perform at the college. Matt from AST joined me and we had a couple great local bassists, subbing for Nathan, who is in South America touring as part of the Lincoln Center Jazz Ambassadors program (we're very proud of our bro!) Nate gets back soon and we will hit the road next month, working our way to Texas and back, and performing for the annual South By Southwest Festival.
There are many more shows on the horizon, both for AST and Testament, we're just listing the ones that are confirmed. With so much activity going on, it's a bit of a whirlwind, but I'm having such a great time. It's really an honor to be able to do music in diverse projects for so many different people.
Alright, folks, I think that's it for now. A few other really exciting things are in the works that I can't announce at this time. Stay tuned ; ) and, please continue to check out the AST and Testament myspace pages as new information will be updated there as well. Thanks for listening and for your support!
Alex
UPCOMING SHOWS:
ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO
Mar 6 2008
Teaneck, New Jersey
Mexicali Blues
Mar 8 2008
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dr . Watson's
Mar 9 2008
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Club Cafe
Mar 10 2008
Charleston, WV, West Virginia
Empty Glass
Mar 11 2008
Atlanta, Georgia
Apache Cafe
Mar 13 2008
New Orleans, Louisiana
Igor's Check Point Charlie
Mar 15 2008 Austin, Texas
SXSW FESTIVAL
The Ale House
Mar 16 2008
Cabo's
San Antonio, TX
Mar 17 2008
Dallas, Texas
Poor David's Pub
Mar 18 2008
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
VZD's
Mar 20 2008
Chicago, Illinois
Martyrs
Mar 21 2008
Wilbert's
Cleveland, Ohio
Mar 22 2008
Jamestown, New York >
Mojo's
Mar 23 2008
Albany, New York
Red Square
TESTAMENT
03/29/08
San Francisco, CA
The Independent
03/30/08 San
Francisco, CA > >
The Independent
04/05/08
Sayerville, NJ
Starland Ballroom
04/06/08
New York, NY
BB Kings
04/07/08
New York, NY > >
Sirius Satellite Radio
04/9/08
Santa Ana, CA
The Coach House
ALEX
04/10/08
Hollywood, Ca.
Solo Masterclass
Musician's Institute/GIT
04/10/08
Santa Ana, CA
The Coach House
04/11/08
Las Vegas, NV
The Canyon Club
04/12/08
Hollywood, CA
The Key Club
Hi folks-I know, it's been much too long! Hope everyone's having a good '08 so far (still hard to believe). So finally, here it is- a rundown of the last four months or so and a quick look at what's to come.
Last October AST had some of our best shows ever, supporting Rodrigo Y Gabriela for several East Coast shows, including the legendary Roseland in New York City. It was a lot of fun to play with the trio, then sit in w/Rod and Gab for their set, and meet so many new fans. Schedule permitting, there will be more shows with Rod Y Gab in the near future.
Immediately after, I took off for the annual East Coast Trans-Siberian Orchestra Winter Tour. With over a million tix sold (between East and West tours) we had a blast performing and connecting with the crowds. A big highlight was New Years Eve in Cleveland, with 40,000 balloons and two tons of confetti, plus special guest Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake And Palmer.
Another highlight, not just of this tour, but of our careers (I'm sure I speak for all of us), was being joined onstage by none other than the great Roger Daltrey of The Who - our surprise guest for the New York area shows (Nassau Coliseum and Meadowlands). We played 'Behind Blue Eyes,' 'Pinball Wizard' and 'See Me Feel Me.' It was an amazing feeling to play these classic songs with him right there singing with us. Earlier, I had the honor of working with him one on one, showing him his guitar parts for the final song, TSO's Christmas Eve/Sarejevo 2/24. He wouldn't hear of shortcuts and simplified parts and really wanted to nail it, true professional that he is, so we were working for a good half hour or so. Later, when someone asked me what it was like to give a guitar lesson to Roger Daltrey, I replied, 'He's a pretty good student. Who knows, he could even have a future in music.' After the TSO tour wrapped up, I had a few days off in NYC before heading out West.
First stop- the SF Bay Area, where I completed my tracks for the upcoming Testament CD 'The Formation Of Damnation.' The album comes out April 29th on Nuclear Blast
Records, and I'm really excited about it.
By the way, I'm getting a lot of questions about the new record and my take on how its all coming together, so I'm going to try to answer some of the frequently asked ones here:
Q. How does this album compare with past Testament albums?
A. I honestly think this is the best one. Not to put down the past albums, but I think this one is strongest in terms of production, songs and playing. I feel I'm playing much better and so is everyone else. It's got the best qualities of both the more recent albums and the earlier albums. It doesn't feel like a reunion anymore, it now feels like a new, current project.
Q. Was it hard to get back into that style of playing after being away from it for so long? Is it difficult to go back and forth from your jazz improv to rock/metal playing?
A. I've gotten used to it. To me, jazz is a delicate process which requires a heightened awareness and sensitivity. Metal is about intensity, energy and aggression, kind of the opposite of delicate sensitivity! But, I see no reason not to do both. Sure, I needed to step away and be purely involved in jazz for many years to develop those skills. But the metal playing came back very quickly and feels better than it ever has. It's very much yin and yang. I have elements of both in my personality and see no reason not to do both musically.
Q. How involved were you in the writing process?
A. There are a couple songs in which I'm the main writer/contributor. One is 'Dangers Of The Faithless, based on these parts I had in 5/4 time. I wasn't sure it would fit the band, but it sounded good and really different. Chuck came up with a cool vocal part over it, which wasn't easy. The other song is called F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real) which I brought in as a finished song. It examines fear from a psychological perspective and I've heard people say the riffs are very 'classic Testament.' But for the most part, I just let Chuck and Eric do their thing with the writing. I'd been gone a long time and they've really developed their own process since then. The last album, 'The Gathering,' has great writing. I respect that and didn't want to get in the way too much. But I'm really happy with the way it turned out.
Q. What was it like working with Paul Bostaph and how does he compare to the other drummers of Testament?
A. We've had some great drummers in the last couple years since I've been back (I can count five!) and it's been great working with them all. But now that Paul's worked in, it really feels like he's the guy. He's such a pleasure to work with. He's got a great sound, solid grooves and great technique. I think the fans will be happy. I know we are.
Moving forward, immediately upon leaving the Bay Area after finishing the Testament tracks, I headed straight to the NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show. This is the enormous musical instrument convention for music retailers and manufacturers held annually in Anaheim, California. This year it was an honor to perform for Yamaha Acoustic guitars. Although Yamaha makes everything from snowmobiles to pianos, of which I'm the proud owner of one, (a piano, that is), they have a long history making great acoustics for players at all levels. Also, on my NAMM itinerary was a demo of the Korg Pandora, which I'm a big fan of. It's a portable effects processor, headphone amp, transcription tool and jamming kit all in one and it's become pretty invaluable on the road. It was fun to demo it and great to hang and reconnect with the many great artists and manufacturers who are down at NAMM. There is some other really cool gear news, which I can't announce right now, but soon!
After NAMM, I took a few days off (very much needed). Then I headed to Bishops University, a liberal arts college with a very good jazz program, located in Sherbrook, Canada. I was invited to teach, conduct a master class and perform at the college. Matt from AST joined me and we had a couple great local bassists, subbing for Nathan, who is in South America touring as part of the Lincoln Center Jazz Ambassadors program (we're very proud of our bro!) Nate gets back soon and we will hit the road next month, working our way to Texas and back, and performing for the annual South By Southwest Festival.
There are many more shows on the horizon, both for AST and Testament, we're just listing the ones that are confirmed. With so much activity going on, it's a bit of a whirlwind, but I'm having such a great time. It's really an honor to be able to do music in diverse projects for so many different people.
Alright, folks, I think that's it for now. A few other really exciting things are in the works that I can't announce at this time. Stay tuned ; ) and, please continue to check out the AST and Testament myspace pages as new information will be updated there as well. Thanks for listening and for your support!
Alex
UPCOMING SHOWS:
ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO
Mar 6 2008
Teaneck, New Jersey
Mexicali Blues
Mar 8 2008
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dr . Watson's
Mar 9 2008
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Club Cafe
Mar 10 2008
Charleston, WV, West Virginia
Empty Glass
Mar 11 2008
Atlanta, Georgia
Apache Cafe
Mar 13 2008
New Orleans, Louisiana
Igor's Check Point Charlie
Mar 15 2008 Austin, Texas
SXSW FESTIVAL
The Ale House
Mar 16 2008
Cabo's
San Antonio, TX
Mar 17 2008
Dallas, Texas
Poor David's Pub
Mar 18 2008
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
VZD's
Mar 20 2008
Chicago, Illinois
Martyrs
Mar 21 2008
Wilbert's
Cleveland, Ohio
Mar 22 2008
Jamestown, New York >
Mojo's
Mar 23 2008
Albany, New York
Red Square
TESTAMENT
03/29/08
San Francisco, CA
The Independent
03/30/08 San
Francisco, CA > >
The Independent
04/05/08
Sayerville, NJ
Starland Ballroom
04/06/08
New York, NY
BB Kings
04/07/08
New York, NY > >
Sirius Satellite Radio
04/9/08
Santa Ana, CA
The Coach House
ALEX
04/10/08
Hollywood, Ca.
Solo Masterclass
Musician's Institute/GIT
04/10/08
Santa Ana, CA
The Coach House
04/11/08
Las Vegas, NV
The Canyon Club
04/12/08
Hollywood, CA
The Key Club
That was a pretty cool update man I cant wait till the 29th.
