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Arlen Roth's Second Guitarist Goes Solo
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Yeeee Haaaawww! That will be your reaction to the shimmering country-fried Tele licks, alternately hummable and haunting melodies and jaw-dropping lead work found on the appropriately titled Twang! by Connecticut guitarist Matt Rae. Matt smartly enlisted the help of bassist Mark Bridgman, drummer Stuart Stahr, and multi-instrumentalist Paul Opalach (who also produced and arranged the disc) for Twang! Upbeat numbers such as the opener, "Road Rage", "The Cottage", "Remington Ride", and the wicked "Tele Savalas" provide the toe-tappin' and foot-stompin' moments, while the evocative "Floatin'" and the achingly beautiful "Almost Home" are tracks that really make you think, something which is not easy to do with instrumental music, in general. Rae is a guitarist and musician with talent to spare, who is able to wrap up his instrumental vision into a very entertaining package.
Matt has been playing guitar with the Arlen Roth band for the past five years. Twang! is his first solo release, and he has received good reviews from publications and online sources such as Pipeline, 20th Century Guitar, New Gaudy Dancer and Phil Dirt, who has also been playing his songs on WKFJC. Matt credits Roth for his creative input into the making of his CD, as well as for being his mentor, teacher and overall inspiration. He also considers Duke Levine and Kevin Barry to be great musical influences.
We'll leave you with guitarist Roger Z's words on Rae's guitar abilities, "Matt was a stalwart at the open mike that used to take place Wednesday nights at The Next Door Cafe in Stamford, CT. Whenever I got the chance to lead a set, I would always hope to draw Matt as the other guitarist. Simply put, he truly understands the art of accompaniment. He doesn't blow you away with bombast, but rather with taste. His is a classic and timeless art."
Contact Information
Matt Rae
5 Kettle Rd.
Norwalk, CT 06850
United States
E-mail:
Matt Rae
Web site:
www.mattrae.com
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Aggressively Pursuing The Hard Rock Agenda
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Rock Machine is the title of New England area shredder Chris Allen's four song instrumental demo CD-R, and it's also the name of the opening track, a seven-minute, whammy-inflicted, head-splitting, vibrato bar-abusing, bone-cutting slab of snarling hard rock explosiveness. Doing all the instrumentation himself, Allen is able to set up an environment geared towards extended solo juggernauts, designed to exploit his uncanny dexterity, and his willingness to let it all hang out over bombastic grooves. Tracks such as "Fear The Unknown" and "All Systems Go" are riff-heavy stompers with plenty of room for pyrotechnics and hot-wired solos. Allen closes out his demo with "Ultramatik", a track that continues and amplifies the take-no-prisoners approach to the demo. Ultimately, can we expect a full length release (maybe in tandem with one of New England's powerhouse drummers) from this noteworthy guitarist?
Playing guitar since age 13, Chris is always trying to expand his musical ability by studying the styles of artists such as George Lynch, Randy Rhoads, Yngwie Malmsteen, Zakk Wylde and blues and funk players from the '60s to the present Van Halen's "Woman And Children First" was the initial catalyst for him to choose the guitar as his instrument of choice. Initially self-taught, Chris later studied under recording artist and Berklee School of Music teacher Joe Stump. He has gigged with a few local bands, sat through a number of auditions and had his music appear on a smorgasbord of compilation and demo CDs since 2000. His initial demo CD, "Trouble On The Horizon" was recorded and released in 2002, and featured a compilation of old and new original tracks.
Allen plans to self promote his works to gain notoriety among his peers and subsequent fans. With future goals of touring, pro recording, endorsements and major record deals, there's no telling what this determined, aspiring newcomer will bring in the way of pure rock aggression.
Contact Information
Chris Allen
350 Mass Ave. Studio 217
Arlington, MA 02476
United States
E-mail:
Chris Allen
Web site:
www.thechrisallenpowertrip.com
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