Other bands that have lead guitar ...
| On Project Opus since: | April 13, 2006 |
| Last seen: | never |
| Biography: | Music has always been at the heart and soul of award-winning musician Gary Bennett, whose first solo outing, Human Condition, was released February 21, 2006, on Landslide Records. Produced by the notable R.S. Field (Billy Joe Shaver, Allison Moorer, Webb Wilder), the album showcases a strong combination of original songs performed by a superb cast of Nashville luminaries. Gary Bennett co-fronted and was a founding member of the critically acclaimed country music band BR549, who recorded five well-received albums (four with Arista and one with Sony), received three Grammy nominations and was hailed by music industry trade magazine Billboard as having single-handedly revived the soul of country music in Nashville. During Gary's tenure, the band sold over 500,000 albums and toured the world, headlining shows as well as opening for such artists as Bob Dylan, George Jones, Merle Haggard, the Black Crowes and Brian Setzer. BR549 was also voted "Best Country Group" in 1996 by Rolling Stone magazine. Bennett was born October 9, 1964 in Las Vegas, Nevada to country music loving parents. After living in Conroe, Texas for the first 5 years of his life, and a year more in southern California, the family settled in In 1993, he loaded his pickup truck and headed for Nashville. Unfortunately, he arrived at a time when "real country music" had been all but forgotten. After attending many fruitless songwriter nights, Gary began hanging out in the honky-tonks of the historic "Lower Broadway" area of downtown Nashville. "I felt that though it was a destitute scene, it was also The two formed the group, which after various personnel changes, became BR549. Less than six months after arriving in Nashville, they were on their way to becoming the darlings of Music City. BR549 graced After five major album releases and years of constant world wide touring, Gary felt as though the musical freedom BR549 once enjoyed had become stagnant due to the "retro" pin tagged to them. Wanting to make original & more progressive music, Bennett made a decision in to step away from the group and let his head clear. Gary Bennett left BR549 in 2002 and retreated from music for a short while, only to return to writing and performing. "Getting back in touch with real people in the real world gave me the inspiration to start writing again," he says. A series of personal tragedies in 2004 helped reinforce that desire. "I know that music was given to us to smooth the rough, bumpy road of life," he states. "I believe that whether I'm walking down the sidewalk or on a stage, my purpose is to try to help people. Songwriting is what I have been given to achieve that." After considerable wood shedding and a plethora of club gigs in and around Nashville, Gary succeeded in re-defining the music that's true to his heart. He's back and sounding better than ever on Human Condition. This is sincere music being made by one of country music's most distinctive voices. Bennett first became aware of producer R.S. Field after hearing his production work on an R.B. Morris album about 10 years ago. "As I listened to the album," remembers Bennett, "it was obvious that the songs were the focus and the musicians just loved playing them. Right then, I thought that if I ever do a solo album, he's the producer I'd want." Human Condition presents 12 new songs, most of which were written by Bennett, including one co-written with Todd Snider ("Better Than This"). "That song began - as most of mine do - as an instrumental that we used to call 'The Swamp Song' because of its feel," says Bennett. "Several years ago, I happened to catch a Todd Snider performance on TV and liked his rhythmic wording and stream of consciousness approach to writing. Shortly thereafter, we got the chance to write together and I played him this song. 'Better Than This' is about finding out what's over the next hill. When I started to write the lyrics, I was reminded of the little town that I grew up in Washington that was next to a mountain. At night, it revealed the glow of lights in the distance, which was the city of Portland, Oregon. As it turned out, Todd was growing up in Portland at the same time I was in Washington, so he could relate to what I was seeing." Gary's studio band features some of Nashville's finest musicians, including Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart) on guitar, Jimmy Lester (Webb Wilder, Los Straitjackets) on drums and Mark Winchester (Emmylou Harris, Brian Setzer Orchestra) on bass. Special guests include Marty Stuart, who plays mandolin on several tracks as well as rhythm guitar on the song, "Just Wanna Be With You," legendary pedal steel guitar player Lloyd Green, and producer R.S. Field on several instruments. As Gary begins his career as a solo artist, the opportunities - and the challenges - do not escape him. " It feels strange and exciting at the same time," he says. "When I began performing, I thought my musical strengths were as a songwriter and harmony singer. Then, with BR549, I got a chance to step out front and develop as a front man. Now, with the variety of songs I have on this album, I think I've shown maturity in both those areas. I don't agree with the saying 'it's all been done before'. I mean, lyrically, and through music, good songs will always be able to convey new thoughts or fresh opinions to people. Recording this album has been totally liberating." |
| Albums: | Human Condition |
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| On Project Opus since: | March 28, 2008 |
| Last seen: | 16 weeks 1 day ago |
| Biography: | Unforgiven are presently performing in pubs and clubs as a cover band, But since August 2007 we have been writing and recording our own material. As of March 2008 none of these songs have been integrated into our set list. We are a 5 peice rock band from Derry (Northern Ireland). We first formed after a group of local musicians collaborated together to put on a Bon Scott Memorial Night. This was in and around 1989. The original line up was Squanky - Vocals/Bass This line up was short lived. We played a support slot to Straight Jacket Memories upstairs in Masons Bar, Derry. That night local singer KOKE guested on 3 of our songs. Next was a 40 minute set at The Jammers MCC annual rally after which we broke up. We kept in contact and then Yorkie went to America to work. On his return to Ireland we got together for his birthday and decided some 14 years later to reform. The new line up consisted of : Damien White - Vocals At the time of writing this 5 years down the line, this remains the longest standing line up. The next change was our frontman. Damien left to dedicate himself to his family. James - Vocals Now with the Addition of Sean (Our Ex Roadie) on Bass. We feel this is our strongest line up to date and it just feels natural that we have now started to write and record our own material. We are still a five piece band, all a little older and wiser and enjoying our music more than ever. We Are James - Vocals |
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| On Project Opus since: | June 17, 2008 |
| Last seen: | never |
| Biography: | AFTER RECEIVING 2005'S "RAP ARTIST OF THE YEAR" TITLE BY THE ATLANTA UNDERGROUND AWARDS, STARR FOUND HERSELF IN A WEB OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY CAUSE HER TO SERVE TIME IN THE COUNTY JAIL. THIS WOULD BE THE WAKE UP CALL THAT CHANGED HER OUTLOOK ON LIFE. SHE BEGAN RECORDING WITH ANTONIO "FOREVER" MOBLÉY, CREATING A CATALOGUE THAT WOULD TURN ANY SERIOUS MUSIC PUBLISHER'S HEAD. THE MAXI-SINGLE, 151, WITH 3 BONUS TRACKS IS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD ON MYSPACE'S SNOCAP STORE JUNE 4TH AND IN STORES JULY 1, 2008 THROUGH HER COMPANY, BROADZ WAY ENTERTAINMENT. STARR VOCALS ARE A PITCH HIGHER THAN HER NORMAL LAID-BACK TONE ON 151, GIVING THE SONG A NEW SIDE TO HER PORTFOLIO. THIS RE-INTRODUCTION TO THE INDUSTRY, FOLLOWING THE UNDERGROUND SUCCESS, "DA KANDI LADI," IS MUCH ANTICIPATED AND HAS SUMMER-TIME CLASSIC WRITTEN ALL OVER IT. WHEN ASKED ABOUT HOW THE SONG CAME TO LIFE, STARR REPLIED, " WE CAME UP WITH THE CATCHY CONCEPT OF 151 DUE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S MOOD- MOST PEOPLE WANT TO BRIEFLY ESCAPE... EITHER AT THE CLUB, A RIDE IN THE CAR, OR A SOCIAL SETTING WITH FRIENDS." |
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| On Project Opus since: | July 12, 2006 |
| Last seen: | never |
| Biography: | Tim and Dave , close childhood friends, grew up in Victoria and then moved to Vancouver to pursue music. To make ends meet we began to work in the film industry as lighting technicians. I also picked up some minor acting roles.We got to work with the likes of Robin Williams, Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, and even my favorites Ringo Starr and Jack Nicholson. During this time I gained the experience of lighting rock videos (one of which went to number one on Much Music). Anyway, because of this we were able to buy recording gear and teach ourselves the art of recording music. In the process of recording we were robbed of most of our recording equipment. We worked to replace the gear and eventually produced this C D, Never Leave it Too Late, by Mojo Filter. Can you dig it? We now have written over 100 songs. a lot of our new material is even more centered on the vocals and harmonies. We are currently producing a video for Sunset Blvd. We started this while in Los Angeles, shooting scenes along Sunset Boulevard. Completing the principal photography in Vancouver on 35 mm film. We are now collecting our nickels to develop the film and edit the video. Thanks for listening, Tim Heller (Vocals and Guitar) |
| Albums: | Never Leave it Too Late |
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| On Project Opus since: | December 16, 2007 |
| Last seen: | never |
| Biography: | The term "justmegan" plain and simply began as a stage name that was used to represent an 18 year old girl, Megan Carlson, a singer/songwriter from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. This name has remarkably evolved from a one-woman-band to a tight, rock and blues group, with each member offering an essential, irreplaceable talent. You might ponder, "is that a typo?" No! You have read correctly. "justmegan," all lowercase letters and one word, to boot, is completely deliberate. What started as a clear indication of a young woman establishing herself in the musical world, has grown into a close-knit group of musicians completely using their individual talents to accentuate her original songs. Together, they have created a very unique sound that blends blues, rock, and indie music with influences from various other genres to become quite the musical force. The name was originally intended, "Just Megan." to be certain people would know there was, in fact, just Megan: her guitar, her vocals, and her raw implausible gift for writing deep, melodic songs of well beyond her years. Her paradigms were entirely shifted, as her hopes of having a full band to support her music had finally come to pass. "I love to create independently. But, by no means am I the lime-lighter type. I firmly believe that as an artist, you have to be willing to be a team player and work together and compromise. You can't do it all on your own. When that begins, sadly, it's reflected in your music. They don't say two heads are better than one for nothing!" Carlson chuckles. "Besides, there's no feeling better than other musicians wanting to play TO you! It's easy to go strictly acoustic all the time," she articulates. In June of 2006, the band released their first album as a unit, Blue Avenue, gaining a whole new entourage of fans and radio stations, as well as a well-known author from Alabama, "Quillan." "[The album] is a well "put-together" project [with] excellent music, well written lyrics, and good photo work. I highly recommend it," he raves. In addition to writing and performing inimitable tunes for all types of listeners, the band is extremely passionate towards using music to benefit assorted organizations. In the past, a track off their debut album was featured on a compilation disc to benefit cancer research. Most currently, the band is working with Illumina Records. Their latest endeavor was participating in a "Rockers for Life" campaign to promote drunk driving awareness. As if this now 22 year old front woman for "justmegan" isn't busy enough with creating music, she is a recent college graduate teaching elementary students, in addition to creating digital art for an accomplished author, while continuing to photograph as a side hobby. Her vocals have been compared to those of Pat Benatar, Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, Tracy Chapman, Chrissy Hynde of the Pretenders, Blondie, Joan Jett, Jewel, Ani Difranco, Lisa Marie Presley, and most recently, Aimee Mann. Currently, the band has just released their second album, I Get What I Want, and their music is being played on over 100 FM radio stations, as well as numerous Internet stations, podcasts, and XM/Satellite radio. For more information, or to hear sample tracks, visit www.justmegan.net or check out their myspace site at www.myspace.com/justmeganmusic. We are also currently on TONS of sites so please be sure to check them all out! (listed below) |
| Albums: | Blue Avenue,I Get What I Want |
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| On Project Opus since: | February 3, 2008 |
| Last seen: | never |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: United States of America (Press Release) February 8, 2008 -- MICHAEL STOLLAIRE PREPARES TO RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM, "HOLY AVENGER!" February 8, 2008 (Los Angeles, California, USA) CD Release Date: February 14, 2008. JetSpeed Records. JetSpeed Records, the leading independent source for high quality music audio and audio/visual music programming, is proud to announce the release of the debut full-length album of Michael Stollaire via JetSpeed Records. Recorded in Winter 2007, "HOLY AVENGER" captures the essence of the free-form poetry that Michael Stollaire is famous for, and its transformation into lyrical music that penetrates the listener's heart and soul. Recorded in DTS and Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound, "HOLY AVENGER" features a genre-spanning set list that includes the first single "Little Princess," the powerful ballad "I Can't Let You Go," the undeniable force of "Watch Her Walk," the pounding resonance of "Just Like Yesterday," the experimental hard-core rock of "Quest 4 Power," the face-melting guitar instrumental, "MGO," and others. "Trinity" and "Holy Avenger" are available via iTunes and CDBABY.com here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mstollaire http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=261573972&s=143441 Artist Information, Sample Tracks, and EPKs here: http://www.sonicbids.com/MichaelStollaire http://www.MySpace.com/theankhproject http://blog.myspace.com/theankhproject http://www.michaelstollaire.com Bonus tracks on the CD/DVD will include exclusive interviews with Michael Stollaire, along with live performances and promotional video footage, making this a must-have release for both fans and music enthusiasts alike. Stollaire's "TRINTY" EP was released by JetSpeed earlier in November 2007. See Michael Stollaire and The Ankh Project on tour in 2008! http://www.jetspeedrecords.net/michael_stollaire/index.htm For additional information please visit www.jetspeedrecords.com or contact Joey Little at JetSpeed Records directly. For more information: JetSpeed Records Enterprises (310) 487 - 9395 "Trinity" and "Holy Avenger" are available via CDBABY.com here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mstollaire For further information, including booking, interviews, etc., contact Michael Stollaire's management at: 1.818.31.ANGEL (1.818.312.6435) ### Michael has been singing lead vocals, and playing lead guitar/keyboards in rock bands since the tender age of twelve, playing music ranging from 1950s rock and roll to full-bore thrash metal, and everything in-between. He picked up playing the guitar when he was fourteen and has been amazing audiences with his talents ever since. He began writing and recording in the mid-1990s, and has been a non-stop blur until the current day! His songs and style are inspired by artists like Nickelback, Creed, Good Charlotte, Green Day, Evanescence, Maroon 5, Nightwish, Van Halen, Asia, Boston, Def Leppard, Dream Theatre, Edenbridge, ELP, Judas Priest, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Yes, and ZZ Top. Michael was fatally infected with FM radio that was playing constantly throughout his childhood, in the house and in the car, along with a scattering of Beach Boys 45s that he inherited from his Mother. He began playing guitar and writing songs around 14 years of age. Magazines, posters, CDs, cassettes and records were constantly scattered throughout his room, and a dream is born. Picture him sitting alone in a room playing and singing into a cassette recorder. Then, he was involved in a seemingly endless string of bands, where he cut his teeth and his unique style was germinated. Then, he moved to California in the mid-90s, following his heart and career. Over the next 15 years or so, he played and recorded with a chain of club rock bands, as well as many solo performances and recordings. Currently writing a book of poetry, based on existentialism and romantic meanderings, with a working title of “Better Late than Never.” "Trinity" will be pre-released at the first stadium concert of the 2007 "Holy Avenger" tour on August 25th , 2007 at the "Summerfaire '07 World Peace Concert" at The Orange Show Stadium in San Bernardino, California, along with a half dozen Midwest dates in mid August! “Trinity’s” official release will be in November 2007. The full-length CD, "Holy Avenger" will see its official release on Valentine’s Day 2008, where it will be available at iTunes, eMusic, CD Baby and select retail stores around the world, along with every date and venue associated with the world tour to support this ground-breaking release! CONTACT: Michael Stollaire http://www.myspace.com/theankhproject
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| Albums: | Holy Avenger |
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| On Project Opus since: | June 5, 2006 |
| Last seen: | never |
| Biography: | Ryan McMahon grew up in Ladysmith, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, where he began playing in local bars on Vancouver Island at the age of 17, under the moniker “Citizen Strange.” There, he befriended several promoters that allowed him opening support slots for bands coming through town such as Nickelback and Wide Mouth Mason, allowing him the opportunity to hone his craft alongside those already established. In 2003, Ryan moved to Vancouver and began playing with two musicians who would become his best friends, Mike Rogerson (who produces all of Ryan’s material) and Dustin Young, both of whom still play guitars for him to this day. Together they formed the band, “Ryan McMahon & the Dirty Five,” along with drummer Jesse Smith and bassist Thomas Dowding, and the band toured throughout British Columbia and Alberta, but was never really afforded the opportunity to take it further. Wanting change, and a more diversified sound, Ryan, Mike, and Dustin stuck together and headed to Baker Street Studios in North Vancouver, to begin work on what would become Ryan’s first solo album, “Better Days Gone By.” They recruited several friends throughout the music industry, including Hamish Thomson (the Hermit), Jon Frederiksen (the Hermit), Doug Elliott (the Odds), Pat Steward (Bryan Adams, Matthew Good, the Odds), Jesse Smith (Jeff Johnson, the Dirty Five), Thomas Dowding (the Dirty Five), and Craig Northey (the Odds). The result? A 12-song rock n’roll roots album that showcases Ryan’s love for playing rough, honest music, which people of all walks can easily relate to. With themes ranging from infidelities (“Liar”) to the music industry itself (“Song Says So”), “Better Days Gone By” is a well-rounded honest album that will surely communicate well in both the rock and acoustic formats. Rye’s dynamic, genuine personality, combined with his unique emotional style will definitely offer fans of roots rock a true kindred spirit. For a better tomorrow, vote Ryan McMahon. Contact Information: |
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| On Project Opus since: | August 6, 2007 |
| Last seen: | never |
| Biography: | 21 Gun was started in the summer of 2005 by Dan Alm and Adrian Serrato. Dan had already been playing guitar for a year and Adrian had just started playing. Soon after the creation of this band Dan had to move away for a few months. --------------------- ATTENTION: We're looking for a Rhythm Guitarist. Message if interested! |
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| On Project Opus since: | January 25, 2007 |
| Last seen: | never |
| Biography: | Dreaming in Silence |
| Albums: | DREAMING IN SILENCE |
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| On Project Opus since: | January 13, 2006 |
| Last seen: | never |
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