"Guitar Haus" Press Release

Dan McAvinchey has been very busy working on his disc, and on a very impressive website, www.guitar9.com. The site promotes unsigned guitarists and gives advice on the different aspects of music. Also, there are interviews with the different artists represented.

Now back to GUITAR HAUS. The disc sleeve displays many different guitars, which should mean there are many different styles. Not really. The difference in the music is does not go from metal to acoustic, but all melodic blues/rock/fusion. The disc opens with "Noise In The Attic", which follows an aggressive rhythm and clean electric leads. "Late Night Snack" is slower paced, which give way to a haunting melody. McAvinchey handles the duties of keyboards and bass as well as guitar. Although the drums are courtesy of MIDI, the programming comes from Elton John drummer Nigel Olsson and Dixie Dregs' drummer Rod Morgenstein. Good choices!

"Sudden Storm" begins on the slower side, and picks up like a front rolling in. As the storm passes, the composition closes in melodic drizzle.

"Morning Sun" shines with perhaps the most technique on the disc. In "Wah Kingdom" McAvinchey uses a variety of effects to alter the sound of the guitar. The most prominent effect is you guessed it -- the Wah pedal. Add a bossa nova beat with a Spanish guitar and you have "Casa Diamante". The distorted guitar and searing lead give way to one of the only keyboard solos on the disc. After ten tracks, the listener enters the extra innings of the bonus track area. If the release is only out on CD, then how can there be bonus tracks? McAvinchey said the bonus tracks are merely tracks that were not written for GUITAR HAUS, but were previously written.

"Millennium" is a piano piece that also features the acoustic guitar. This is the slowest composition, yet performed extremely well. It is no surprise because the disc seems to strike all the right chords. "Voyager" again combines solid writing with distorted guitar. Keyboards are added to fill in any gaps in the guitar. Finally, "Carolina" uses piano and guitar to begin what sounds like a Western instrumental. Then the distinct distorted guitar solos. The two different guitar sounds trade leads to complete this well written and well performed.

For a debut disc, McAvinchey has come forward with a rremendous disc. The only complaint is that the tracks average just less that four minutes. When you are getting into the song, it ends. Instrumental music allows the artists the opportunity to enter into longer compositions, especially when the chances of radio play are slim. The Guitar Nine website is also a great way to check out over 60 other instrumental guitar releases. Check it out!

Dan was hesitant about sending this CD to Metal Rules! because he was afraid I didn't review non-Metal discs. I review anything I feel like, it just so happens that Metal rules! Dan's solo album is full of great instrumental tracks ranging from Metal to slow jams, Rock jams, Progressive jams and pretty much any kind of jams you can spread on a cracker...uh I mean play on the geetar! One thing is certain after 20 some odd years of playing this man knows the way around a guitar. Dan plays all styles on here as well as intricate techniques. You also get to enjoy his prowess on the electric, acoustic and slide guitars. If you want to steal some good ideas and get some new influences for your playing then this is a good place to start. Almost an hour of primo guitar work is what you receive for your paltry dollars.

Guitarist Dan McAvinchey is up there with all the masters. He's taken his musical cues from the likes of Carlos Santana, Alan Parsons, Gary Moore and Jeff Beck and combined them all to come up with his own style. This thirteen-track instrumental CD is enjoyable from start to finish. The song "Noise In The Attic" is an excellent '70s-'80s-'90s-inspired hard rock/metal arrangement with cool distortion, sound FX and superb slide technique. "Through The Windows" is a blues arrangement with hard rock overtones and Middle Eastern-inspired passages that give it a rather moody, dark sound. Crisp, clean picking, good bending technique, and all the different passages flow together. "Cellar Dwellers" is reminiscent of the big power prog-metal sound. I like the heavy deep, dark distortion in the rhythm guitar track, a nice contrast to the melodic picking that creates a strangely yearning, longing mood. Dig the chaotic parts as well. "Sudden Storm" has a weird techno-sounding intro, followed by a "calm before the storm" passage of B.B. King-like blues riffage. Then comes the heavy metal onslaught full of chaotic but melodic, heavy, fast picking. "Morning Sun" is balladlike with cool bending and sliding techniques, different subtle distortions creating variation in sound. "Wah Kingdom" has wah laced into the rhythm as well as the leads. Cool bluesy song. "Casa Diamante"is a very catchy Latin-inspired ! arrangement employing hard rock/metal picking techniques. Of the three bonus trax, "Millennium (unreleased demo)" sounds like something '70s-'80s Fleetwood Mac might have come up with, but with pianos and violins added. "Voyager (unreleased demo)" is a thoughtful, yearning blues number and "Carolina (unreleased demo)" is kind of semi-classical, with piano, acoustic guitar, violins and xylophone sounds. Then comes a little Latin-influenced country/folky part and a hard rock/metal part with good sustaining. Yes, all of that in one song. One album. Dan McAvinchey is a very versatile, talented guitar-player. I don't know what his career plans are, but any band would be lucky to acquire him. This album is a great find!

Playing (years): 19

Style: Instrumental hard rock

Gear (guitar, amp, effects, recording): Carvin Guitars and Basses, Digitech GSP- Alesis 2101, Quadraverb, Studio Vision 8-Track digital recording, Alesis Studio One Monitors, Yamaha ProMix 01 Mixing Board.

Endorsements: Zildjian Cymbals.

Current & upcoming projects: Instrumental hard rock “Guitar Haus," current CD. Working on new CD to be released in early 1998 called "Guitarassic Park."

Favorite guitarist: Carlos Santana.

Most underrated players: Marty Friedman, followed by Ulrich Roth and Michael Schenker.

Best musician you've ever seen: Paco DeLucia.

Four words that best describes what you want to get across in your playing: Passion, aggression, soul, spontaneity.

Your hero: Joe Satriani, for recording guitar music as he imagined it in his head.

Ultimate goal: To be finishing off final mixes for my twentieth CD for Guitar Nine Records.

"Guitar Haus" (Guitar Nine GNR19602) contains the spectacular rock guitarist Dan McAvinchey, who lives a modest existence in North Carolina. This guy plays the hell out of his variety of guitars and the music, all originals, varies from bluesy thumpers to sizzling hard rock, superbly recorded. This is an outstanding album for guitar buffs. No vocals, just damned good music.

Caution! The searing hot and scalding guitar licks on this CD could very well burn down your haus! Guitarist, Dan McAvinchey, lays down some mean blues tinged tracks that would leave most guitarists running for the nearest fire extinguisher. If you could imagine Jeff Beck and Carlos Santana hanging out late night after the gig, trading some licks, you will get a good picture of what Dan's playing is all about. He's not a guitarist who's main focus is on stuffing as many notes into each measure as possible, but instead chooses to build melodic well structured tunes and solos. Dan plays all guitars, bass, keyboards, and programmed drum parts on this all-instrumental effort. Dan is also responsible for starting the innovative online guitar magazine and record label "GUITAR NINE RECORDS". The site features all sorts of tips for the independent artist looking to release their own CD. To hear audio clips from "Guitar Haus", and clips from many other hot instrumental CDs as well, point your browser to: http://www.guitar9.com.

Citing early influences like Carlos Santana, Gary Moore and Jeff Beck, North Carolina-based guitarist Dan McAvinchey steps into the spotlight with the release of his first all-instrumental album of spirited guitar rock. Assisted by drummers Rod Morgenstein and Nigel Olsson, McAvinchey follows the path of guitarist Steve Morse and conjures a powerful rock energy that is also uniquely accessible. While many metal-based rock guitarists often amaze with their dazzling lead guitar work and head-banging riffs, McAvinchey takes a similar stance but transcends the genre by injecting his music with a progressive rock energy that wouldn't sound out of place on, say, a new album by Yes or Steve Howe. Certain to be a hit with discerning heavy metal rockers and jazz/rock guitar buffs who like it hard and fast, Guitar Haus establishes McAvinchey as a player well worth investigating.

Če si želite poslušati popolnoma kitaristično in prodorno ploščo instrumentalnega rocka, je album Guitar Haus ameriškega kitarista Dana McAvincreyja pravšnji za vas. Ta nenavadni kitarist je v glasbenem poslu že več kot dvajset let, živi pa v Raleighu v ameriški zvezni državi Severna Karolina. Nedavno je za ameriško neodvisno založbo. Guitar Nine Records (8201 Hambledon Court, Raleigh, NC 27615, USA) izdal album z naslovom Guitar Haus. Na njem je deset instru- mentalnih skladb ter trije dodatni posnetki še neobjavljenih demoposnetkov Millenium, Voyager in Carolina. Njegov kitarski rock je močan in oster, vendar nekoliko tradicionalen, saj je nastajal pod vplivi Santane, Jeffa Becka in Garyja Moora. Vse skladbe so njegovo avtorsko delo, ki pa ne poudarjajo virtuoznosti tehnike, temveč iščejo različna občutja. Od razdelanih kitar v skladbi Through The Windows, do sonično svetle vožnje v Sudden Storm. Najbolj drugačna pa je gotovo latino obarvana skladba Casa Diamante. Dan McAvincrey sicer ni velika kitarska zvezda, v svoji skromnosti to niti noče biti, saj živi za igranje svojih kitar. Pri snemanju albuma sta mu pri več skladbah pomagala še bobnarja Rod Morgenstein in Nigel Olsson, Dan pa je poleg kitar posnel še vse druge inštrumente.

С первых аккордов заглавной "Noise In The Attic" понима- ешь, что у "крутых" мастеров инструментального гитарного рока (я имею в виду в первую очередь таких музыкантов, как Joe Satriani, Stevie Vai и, пожа- луй, Jeff Beck) появился еще Один последователь Дэн Ма- кАвинки. Тем более что мощ- ный драйв этой композиции следующих за ней "Late Nite Snack", "Through The Windows" и "Crowded Rooms" воскресил В моей памяти саундтрэк Дже- фа Бека "Frankie's House" (каквидите, и название его похоже на название работы Маккавин- ки).

Идея записать сольный аль- бом возникла у американца Дэ- на Макавинки во время его де- ловой поездки в Германию. Этим, наверно, и объясняется наименование диска на немецкий манер "Guitar Haus". Он захотел, чтобы его музыкальные таланты стали известны как мо-
жно более широкому кругу людей, засел в студии и "намешал" разных электро - и акустических гитар. В результате этих. экспери ментов и получилась сия "убойная" смесь, слушать которую лучше всего, как можно больше "выкрутив" ручки громкости вашего усилителя. Нельзя сказать, что МакАвинки сделал нечто новое и оригинальное, его гитарные пассажи достаточно тради- ционны. Но "Guitar Haus" неплохо слушается и не походит на упражнения дилетанта. На диске имеются три бонус-трека "Millennium", "Voyager" и "Carolina", демонстрирующие, что Дэну МакАвинки вполне удаются и спокойные, мелодичные композиции.

Не буду советовать обяза- тельно пополнить вашу фонотеку этим альбомом, скорее послушать раз-другой, так, для разнообразия.