Sal Scoca is a man on a mission. After forming his new band Sweet Cyanide, with fellow Crashbox bassist Angelo Fariello and guitarist Joe Salvatore and drummer Mike Bambace of Moment Theory, Scoca is looking to bring back hard rock to the East Coast scene, something that many fans of the genre will welcome with open arms. With a new album (Sweet Cyanide) out and a fall tour planned, Sweet Cyanide is hitting the airwaves and concert scene in full force. With their unique meld of classic and modern rock styles, featuring high flying guitar solos and an array of vocal harmonies, Scoca and company are looking to bring hard rock back to a scene that has seemingly been overwhelmed with singer-songwriter duos and American Idol impersonators since the turn of the new millennium. Featuring classic rock inspired guitar hooks, fuzz-laced lead lines and vocal harmony a la Queen, Aerosmith and E.L.O, Sweet Cyanide is forging a name for themselves as one of the bands to watch on the East Coast rock scene... Continue reading "Interview: Guitarist Sal Scoca"

Next Page is the latest release by Israeli-born and New York-based jazz guitarist Yotam Silberstein. The album is a mixture of classic Blue Note-inspired organ trio grooves, Latin and Brazilian rhythms and contemporary jazz harmony that combine to produce an album that is both entertaining and intellectually stimulating. Accompanying Silberstein on the record's ten tracks are the highly accomplished rhythm section of Sam Yahel on organ and Willie Jones, III on drums. To round out the ensemble, tenor saxophonist Chris Cheek is featured on half of the tracks on the album, adding an extra timbre to the groups classic organ trio sound. The tunes that Silberstein has chosen for Next Page are a mixture of original compositions and arrangements of jazz and Brazilian standards, including a captivating version of the lesser known Jobim classic "Ligia." Silberstein's writing style is a collage that brings together elements of '60s era organ trio recordings, especially those of George Benson and Kenny Burrell, with a modern Kurt Rosenwinkel-inspired touch flowing through his melody lines and harmonic choices. Silberstein's writing on tunes such as the opening track "Borsht," a 5/4 swinger that brings to mind the sounds of a young George Benson playing alongside Lonnie Smith, and the more modern inspired tune "Jalastra," which floats in and out of the realm of a Rosenwinkel chart, pay homage to these great players while remaining truly original works... Continue reading "CD Review: "Next Page" by Yotam Silberstein"

Matthew Schroeder is one of the busiest guitarists and guitar pedagogues in the Midwest. As head of the guitar department at the Wisconsin Conservatory, Schroeder spends his days running one of the most storied and revered guitar departments in the country before stepping out on stage as one of the region's most in demand rock and fingerstyle guitarists at night. While many fans know him for his work in The Barbeez, one of Milwaukee's most popular rock bands, Schroeder has also developed a highly-respected concert career as a fingerstyle guitarist. After receiving a performance degree in American fingerstyle guitar from the University of Wisconson-Milwaukee/Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Pierre Bensusan, Benjamin Verdery, Pat Donohue, Billy McLaughlin and Alex DeGrassi, among others, Schroeder has returned to lead one of the most successful community music school guitar programs in the nation. Though the Conservatory is no longer a degree-granting institution, it still maintains the high level faculty and course offerings that it did during its prime as one of the Midwest's leading college music conservatories... Continue reading "Matthew Schroeder Interview"

Countless guitarists have laid in bed late at night and dreamed of being David Gilmour, of soloing onstage next to Roger Waters or Syd Barrett, of laying down the opening riff to "Money" in front of a sold out crowd at Wembley Stadium. While these experiences may be out of reach for the average guitarist, the good people at Alfred Music Publishing have put out a play-along book and CD package that allows any guitarist the chance to spend some time in David Gilmour's shoes, at least in the comfort of the practice room. Pink Floyd: The Ultimate Guitar Play-Along is a compilation of some of the band's greatest hits, arranged to allow any guitarist to play and sing in place of Gilmore, Barrett or Waters alongside a killer rhythm section. Though playing along with a CD can't replace jamming with a live band, the package provides a new and fun way for guitarists to learn to play these nine Pink Floyd classics... Continue reading "Review: 'Pink Floyd: The Ultimate Guitar Play-Along'"

Audiolife is an online manufacturing and distribution company designed to help independent artists promote and sell their music and related merchandise on an unlimited number of websites around the world. The company, which also offers warehousing and fulfillment, provides bands and musicians with the ability to set up a virtual storefront where they can easily upload their music or create products to be sold in the store. The process is quick and easy to set up and the backend rewards can be quite substantial, both financially and professionally. With a global distribution system and the ability to quickly and easily manufacture new products, Audiolife.com is taking the grunt work out of the promotional marketing side of the music business and allowing bands to focus their time on more important things like recording a new single or being on the road... Continue reading "Website Review: Audiolife.com"

The Jazz Guitar Experience: Your Practical Guide to the Landmark Styles of Jazz is an informative and entertaining method book that takes the reader on a historical walk through the history of the jazz guitar from the 1920's to the 1980's. Presented by the National Guitar Workshop, and published by Alfred, the book is written by the highly respected guitar pedagogue Tom Dempsey. Dempsey, who teaches at the NGW each summer, breaks down many of the most significant harmonic and melodic developments in jazz over this time period and explains, in an easy to understand manner, how they can be applied to the guitar. He covers such topics as approach notes, swing feel, Freddie Green style chords and rhythm, shell voicings, quartal harmony and clustered voicings. Each musical concept is fully explained in the well written text that accompanies each musical example and the abundance and clarity of these examples provides a treasure trove of information for any jazz guitarist... Continue reading "Book Review: The Jazz Guitar Experience, Your Practical Guide to the Landmark Styles of Jazz"

Rarely does an artist or ensemble come along that defies expectations and creates a genre unto itself. Guitarists Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic recently united to form a guitar duo that does just that - tears down the walls of "genre-fication" and produces music that contains familiar influences but is beyond categorization. The music on their debut CD, Guitar Duo, is often described as "world music," but the sounds that emanate from the hands of these two virtuosic six-stringers cannot be so easily boxed. Yes, their music borrows elements from Eastern European folk music, which is a big influence in Ivanovic's playing and heritage, but never enough to be categorized as such. Their writing and performance style bridges the gap between world, jazz, blues, rock, folk and fingerstyle with enough individual personality interjected to make these labels moot.... Continue reading "Interview with Guitarists Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic, the AKGI Duo"

The Fifth Row is an eloquently conceived and masterfully presented homage to the American Rocky Mountain Northwest by classical guitarist Stuart Weber. The album features 11 pieces that were each recorded in a different historically significant theater including the Ellen Eccles theater in Logan, Utah, the Sheridan Opera House in Telluride, Colorado, and the Ellen Theater in Bozeman, Montana. Apart from the historical significance of the recording, Weber's performance on the album is superb. His interpretations are creative yet respectful, his compositions provide new and exciting works for the instrument and his execution of these pieces is flawless. The idea for the album came to Weber after he had lost interest in releasing a new studio recording. Having performed in many of these iconic theaters in the past, Weber realized that each of these concert halls has a distinct architectural character that has helped save the building from demolition and its own unique sound that he felt should be captured on this recording... Continue reading "CD Review: "The Fifth Row" by Classical Guitarist Stuart Weber"