Noted guitarist, composer (and Guitar World columnist) Adrian Galysh has announced Venusian Sunrise: 20th Anniversary Edition, a re-recording of his 1998 debut album, Venusian Sunrise.
“Venusian Sunrise was recorded in my parents' basement on a single Alesis 8-track ADAT recorder," Galysh said. "While the performances were the best I could do with limited resources at the age of 22—it lacks the richer guitar tones, huge advances in recording technology, and realistic orchestral sounds of today, but most importantly, it lacks real drums!”
“The new version of Venusian Sunrise will be performed and recorded the way I wished could have done back then," Galysh adds, "but with the tools and know how that didn’t exist at the time."
You can find out more about Venusian Sunrise: 20th Anniversary Edition through Galysh's PledgeMusic campaign for the album, which you can check out here.
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Below you will find all reviews and press for my newest album, "Tone Poet". Keep checking this blog entry as more press and reviews will be added as they come.
"Tone Poet is definitely one of those albums where the sum is greater than the parts and the way the album flows across styles so effortlessly is one of its main strengths. The recording too is excellent – the punchiness of the drums really adds a lot to the dramatic impact here that Galysh has strived for." - ProgMetalZone.com
*An interview with Bob Baker for his podcast, "Artist Empowerment Radio". Bob is the author of the excellent book, "Guerrilla Music Marketing for Musicians", which I highly recommend!
"Every once and a while a musician comes along and releases an album that truly deserves attention and accolades. In 2013, that musician is guitarist Adrian Galysh and the album is Tone Poet... Tone Poet rocks, is creatively excellent and sonically superb. Buy this one and play it loud and often." - ClassicRockRevisited.com
"You don’t even have to be a “guitar guy” to get into this one, you just have to have an appreciation for rock music that’s on the creative side." - HardRockHaven.net
"In the daily muddle of music submissions, every once and a while, there comes an album that's bright and refreshing, even unexpected. Such is the case with guitarist and composer Adrian Galysh's fourth album, Tone Poet." - DangerDog.com
9/10! "This is something different and wonderful, and it should be savored". - Power Play Magazine (April 2014)
"It's remarkably understated for a solo album by a virtuoso guitar player and is full of really nice melodic moments and can be rewarding to repeated listens. If you have wide musical horizons and enjoy tasteful musicianship then 'Tone Poet' is definitely worth a listen." - MetalTalk.net
"If you seek music that is different, moving, and mind expanding; your search is over, 'Tone Poet' is sure to satisfy and it's a keeper. The musicianship on this recording is truly world class." - Tony Cruz Sison
"Hailed by critics and fellow musician alike, Los Angeles guitarist Adrian Galysh, showcases his guitar talents with anthem-like instrumentals, that put the focus squarely on catchy, memorable melodies. "I suppose its because I grew up listening to the hard rock bands of the 70s and 80s, like Van Halen, Scorpions, and Deep Purple," Galysh testifies, "I always enjoyed big riffs, catchy choruses, and interesting musical hooks". - The Dedicated Rocker Society
"Classic Rock Revisited caught up with rock guitarist Adrian Galysh’s new album titled Tone Poet, which features vocalist Mark Boals and Styx drummer Todd Sucherman. The album is a rich, well crafted, brilliantly composed work of art. In the interview below, Adrian takes time to share how the album came to be, his creative process, how he approaches guitar solos and his future plans.Enjoy this interview with a guy that may be under the radar, for now, but with Tone Poet, will be growing in both reputation and popularity."
"Although Adrian was soloist, but this album Tone Poet, contained half vocalized track. This unfortunately makes him 'half-banned' from the guitar shred instrumental album. But his half of instrumental tracks really paid off the situation and make it great for guitar fans. Check him out as well as this awesome album." - MetalHarem.blogspot.com
"Melodic, yet powerful is how I would sum up the music of Tone Poet from Adrian Galysh. The fluidity of his work on the fret-board is hypnotic and magical. If you love music made for the love of music Tone Poet by Adrian Galysh is a necessity in you music collection." - TheHellionRocks.com
"Galysh has crafted an album with an abundant musical landscape with plenty of multi layered musical pieces featuring choral vocals, orchestral pieces and keyboards alongside his guitar which obviously takes the focal point of all the tracks." - Woody's Melodic Rock and AOR Reviews
"The album begins with a church-like choir, bringing Galysh's two-minute solo on to a higher purpose in "Resurrectis." The band moves like a tight unit through "Brick By Brick" as Galysh combines orchestration with his hard rocking solo. The tempo slows down quickly for the power ballad "When You Fall," which showcases Boals' vocals perfectly." - JP's Music Blog
"A chorus, an orchestra, and Adrian Galysh's guitar opens Tone Poet. His lead lines weave over piano and something seems to be brewing, as if this is an opening overture to a larger experience." - SeaOfTranquility.org
Tone Poet was two years in the making... maybe even longer, but real recording and writing started two years ago. I'd like to take you through each song, share my thoughts on each of them, and give you an idea of what inspired them, how they were written, and what challenges they may have presented. Below is a preview video, giving you samples of each of Tone Poet's 12 tracks.
1. "Resurrectis" - Track 6 ("Luminae") was so much fun to compose and record that I immediately started another classical/choral composition that turned into "Resurrectis". Shorter than "Luminae", I decided this would be the album opener. Something unexpected for some listeners, I'm sure. The last few measures are lush and beautiful and come to an epic crescendo, which sets us up for... 2. "Brick By Brick" - Another track written early on in the project. The riffs, and the arrangement of the demo were intended to be for a vocal song. Believe it or not, as I was writing and recording the rhythm parts for this song, I kept thinking... "what would Reb Beach do?". I like Reb's rhythm playing, and this is my version of some of his heavier style of playing from albums like Pull and IV. The lyrics were my idea, but Mark Boals wrote the majority of them. He'd send me lyrics, I'd send back some re-writes and revisions, then he'd do his final tracking at his home studio, and send me the vocal tracks to dump into my rhythm section tracks. Drums were recorded last, by Charlie Waymire at his studio, Ultimate Rhythm Studios. 3. "When You Fall" - Having a bit of writer's block a couple years ago, I tried to make things interesting by using an open tuning. The open tuning for "When You Fall" is inspired by Devin Townsend, who plays guitars tuned from low to high: C G C G C E. That is what my guitar is tuned to here. Boy, did this work. The song wrote itself in a day or two. Intro, verse, chorus... done. This started out as an instrumental, and somewhere I have "Morning Rain" with lead guitar over the whole track. However, this was a great opportunity to have a vocal ballad, and I asked Mark to include the idea of rain in the lyrics, as the rain and thunder effects were already a part of the arrangement. The unique guitar solo was 16 measures pulled from the original instrumental lead guitar take, and fit really well.The outro features six tracks of Mark's backing vocals, creating a lush background... Again, drums were recorded last by Charlie Waymire.
4. "Flying" - This was the first song written for the album. The main guitar riff, groove, and choral ending was all written as a demo about 4 years ago. At the time I knew this was going to be a vocal track. I refused to record a guitar melody over this, simply because I knew this would be a vocal song, and that vocalist would be Mark Boals. Mark and I worked out the lyrics over a few short days, trading emails, and some demo vocal takes. The most complicated part of the song is the middle guitar solo section. The rhythm of the riff behind the solo is odd, and didn't feel comfortable to play over, as the rhythmic figure comes back in unexpectedly. I ended up combining two solos, that now are heard as these intertwined parts, and it happened to work out well. 5. "Movie In My Mind" - This song was hard to make work. I had 2-3 good parts written, and they seemed to kinda work together, back to back. I wrote the lyrics myself - my first lyrics ever to make it to tape! After Mark tracked his parts, I took liberty to rearrange the song, putting in the piano intro, which is also found in the new middle section break. I rerecorded my rhythm guitar parts, and must have rerecorded the lead guitar parts 6 or 7 times. It wasn't until after the live drum parts were tracked (by Charlie Waymire), and that Philip Bynoe laid down his bass part that it started to really gel. I then tracked what would be the final lead guitar parts you now hear. I think "Movie In My Mind" is a unique song, with interesting production, and a catchy chorus.
6. "Luminae" - This was the first of the three classical pieces, and was exciting to write and record. Somewhat inspired by the classical work of Uli Jon Roth, this pulls inspiration from composers like Arvo Part and Vangelis. As lush and as complicated as it may sound, a great amount of it was done in just 2-3 days. Later on, before mixing, I returned to this piece to really fine tune all the strings, choir, and guitar. I have not heard of anyone else combining electric guitar with this kind of "epic" style choral composition, and I feel like it is really unique.
7. "La Dolce Vita" - Written around the same time as the classical pieces, this takes those elements of choir and strings and puts it to a beat. My thought process here was to alternate between acoustic guitar and electric guitar. The groove was to have a fusiony drum feel, that Todd Sucherman nailed. For me, the song really came together when I added the 2nd electric guitar part (right speaker) that answers the main electric guitar melody. Listen closely during the "choruses" for the very Italian sounding faux-mandolin guitar parts in the background. The most difficult performance of the recording was the middle acoustic guitar/piano double-time unison part. This alternate picked one-note-per-string arpeggio part with a moving melody was near impossible to play in time, and I even retracked this part (again) after the song was mixed! Todd Sucherman really hit this one out of the park - one of my favorite tracks on the album. 8. "Tone Poet" - An all acoustic effort. My attempt at emulating Ukrainian "Bondura", which is a large multi-string instrument kind of like an autoharp meets a dulcimer. Tons of acoustic guitar tracks, doubling each other - both steel string and nylon (I think 4-5 guitars, some in stereo, some recorded in mono). The challenge here was to be able to perform these multi-tracked guitars in time, as the slightest deviation would make such a mess. The background heard underneath the ascending 16th note guitar part is inspired by Arvo Part's Tintinnabuli composition technique, using simple triads, with a rhythmically simple melody played counter to the three individual notes of the triad, but giving no weight to any particular note... How rock and roll, I know?! Again, Todd Sucherman's drums are outstanding here, and really show off a side of his playing that you don't get to hear when he's on the road with Styx. This song's groove felt much stronger after Philip Bynoe tracked his bass parts. 9. "Epoch" - I debated whether or not to include this composition on Tone Poet. There's no guitar! But I felt that it showed another side to me, and is a breakthrough for me in recording quality orchestral music. I thought about trying to track some guitar, but then thought "nahh...". The biggest challenge of this track was getting the various string parts to sound in time, as they tend to drag a bit with a slow attack. I really like the lead melody violin part, which delivers a very emotional performance. 10. "Echoes of El Greco" - This track started out with the simple 16th note rhythm guitar parts against the double bass drums... just messing with programming double bass drums, really. The big electric guitar part is my take on the not nearly asked enough question, "what if John Sykes were to write an instrumental?"...I wanted it to be "Crying in the Rain" - huge, and then schizophrenically switch to a Latin inspired neo-flamenco guitar solo section. This is a high energy, fun track to listen to, and according to Todd, was very taxing to record! 11. "Ur of the Chaldees" - Another track that got its start from Devin Townsend's open guitar tuning, C G C G C E. The song was written starting with the strummed guitar part, then the acoustic guitar melody. Over the coarse of the rest of the composition, it morphs into a middle eastern, world music inspired musical caravan. Layers, and layers of guitar, strings, choir, violin, percussion, and more percussion. The outro trading electric guitar solos are all the same takes from the original demo, they may not be perfect, technically, but they feel good and have the right energy. Not an easy track to mix. 12. "Spring (The Return)" - There are three parts to this song. The intro/verse, the "prechorus" harmony guitars, and the chorus featuring the arpeggiated guitar melody. But as simple as the arrangement is, boy does that chorus melody pay off. This guitar part was me experimenting with a one-note-per-string arpeggio figure with this moving melody line above. The left hand stretch and the right hand picking was a real challenge. So much so that I probably re-tracked this part a couple times, just to make sure the triplet timing was just right. The outro solo is a single take. The benefit of playing guitar more and more on a regular basis is that I find myself liking the first and second takes, and not laboring to "fix" and "punch in" any trouble spots. Listen closely to hear the background soprano vocal harmonies underneath the 2nd chorus and outro solo.
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As most of you know, I have been working at completing my 4th CD/album, "Tone Poet". I have written 11 songs that I feel are very strong, and take my style of guitar-centric music to another level both in composition and production.
The record business has changed drastically since my first CD, Venusian Sunrise, was produced in 1998. Record labels and artists have much smaller budgets, and with the advent of file sharing, some people consider music a free commodity. But, new technologies have emerged allowing artists to get great recordings, as well as new ways of raising capitol and marketing music.
Today, I have started a crowd funding project in an effort to finance the completion of TONE POET (click here to see it). In exchange for goods like MP3s, CDs, autographed items, online guitar lessons, my book, and even a guitar, supporters can fund the completion of this album. These items can be purchased for yourself or as a gift.
While I will be reaching out to my friends and fans via my 1000+ E-newsletter subscribers, my Facebook page, and my 14,000+ twitter followers, Youtube channel, and blog, I need your help.
Not only can you support this by purchasing goods, you can let all of your friends, coworkers, and your friends who are music fans, know about it. Tell them by phone, email, facebook, grocery store checkout line... any and all support is appreciated!
Your early support will help create some buzz, and momentum... which encourages my other friends and fans to contribute (some fans simply wait to see 'trust signals' before committing to support something like this).
Anyone in the world can contribute, and unlike other crowd funding services, Rockethub.com lets me keep the funds that I raise (not all or nothing).
Features and specs: • Adrian Galysh Signature Headstock • Comfort Contoured Mahogany body • Spalted maple top with Satin finish • 22 fret Maple neck 25.5" scale, 15" radius • Rosewood fingerboard • 6105 Frets • Matching Sculpted Headstock • Abalone "M" logo • Seymour Duncan Alnico II neck • Seymour Duncan JB bridge • Floyd Rose tremelo • Gold Hardware • Sperzel locking tuners • Available left handed at no extra charge Available factory direct, and customizable with optional left handed model, piezo pickup, and 13 pin synth access.
My other "main" guitar is a green Brian Moore C-55. It has a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge position and two Hot Rails, with a 7-way super switch as well. Beyond these two work-horses, I have my first electric guitar, a 1987 black Gibson Les Paul Standard, which sounds great for tracking rhythm guitar. I also use a Yamaha APX 9C electric acoustic guitar for recording and the occasional live performance. This guitar is used a lot on the new album, Tone Poet. Also in the "vault" (ok, my studio closet...) are a Epiphone Jeff Baxter electric acoustic, an ESP Eclipse Gold Top, a custom Peavey "Ecoustic" with scalloped fretboard, an white Ibanez Jem 777 (signed by Steve Vai!), a Gretch Electromatic, an Ibanez Artcore hollowbody, and a Brian Moore i9 with MIDI access.
For Strings, I exclusively use SIT Strings' "Power Steel" stainless steel Light Gauge, and Royal Bronze .011's for acoustic guitars. They sound great and last long. Visit www.sitstrings.com for more info.
My live rigs consists of: Marshall JMP 1 Preamp, Alesis Quadraverb, Peavey Classic 50/50 Power Amp, Morley ABY, Bad Horsie, Boss Tremolo, MWR Phase 90, MXR Carbon Copy. Visit www.morleypedals.com for more info.
Leave a comment below and let me know what your guitar rig is!
First, I want to take a moment to thank everone who reads this blog and who has supported me by watching and sharing my videos, attending my shows, purchasing music, and telling their friends about my passion and my work. I truly appreciate it.
I have been hard at work recording my next album, Tone Poet. This album features 12 captivating tracks, with styles spanning from rock, fusion, and even spanish influences, to sweeping orchestral works with choir! It features riveting and dramatic instrumentals, as well as electrifying songs with vocals. All of the tracks feature plenty of acoustic and electric guitars, as you have come to expect.
You may have read, I have enlisted ex-Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist, Mark Boals, to contribute vocals on a number of tracks. His vocal tracks are done, and they have exceeded my expectations - really outstanding. I have also finished tracking drums with STYX stickman and Modern Drummer magazine award winner, Todd Sucherman. He absolutely killed it, knocking out 5 tracks on a day off from tour at his home studio in Austin, TX!
Needless to say, the album is coming together nicely, but I have much more work to do. I need to track drums for 4 more songs, re-record a number of my guitar parts, re-track some solos, and then lay down bass guitar parts. After that is done, then there is album artwork, and the final mastering.
I need YOUR help. All of this costs money, and as an independent artist, much of what I do is paid for out of my own pocket. But here's how YOU can help:
I am offering a number of bundled merchandise packages, combining my various CDs, limited edition T-Shirts, Autographed Photos, and my guitar book, "Progressive Guitar Warm-ups and Exercises". I am offering this discount-priced merchandise directly to you, as my way of saying thanks. A truly unbeatable value, these bundled merch-packs offer you more for your money.
The merch bundles are:
1. Limited edition Adrian Galysh "Earth Tones" T-Shirt & "King Friday" CD: $29 (includes USA S&H), save $8!
2. Limited edition Adrian Galysh "Earth Tones" T-Shirt & "Earth Tones" CD: $29 (includes USA S&H), save $8!
3. Limited edition Adrian Galysh "Earth Tones" T-Shirt & "King Friday" & "Earth Tones" CDs: just $39 (includes USA S&H), save $11!
4. Autographed 8x10" Adrian Galysh lithograph photo & "King Friday" CD: $18 (includes USA S&H) - photo by Neil Zlozower!
5. Autographed 8x10" Adrian Galysh lithograph photo & "Earth Tones" CD: $18 (includes USA S&H) - photo by Neil Zlozower!
6. Autographed 8x10" Adrian Galysh lithograph photo & "King Friday", "Earth Tones" CDs, and Book "Progressive Guitar Warmups and Excercises": just $39 (includes USA S&H)
I wanted to thank all those who came and supported me at the world famous Baked Potato in Studio City last Tuesday, May 15th. It was an intimate night of music, (and potatoes!) featuring my band-mates and friends, Philip Bynoe on bass, Glen Sobel on drums, and Yuko Tamura subbing for regular member, Maureen Baker, on keys.
We plowed through 12 tunes in our 70 minute set, that included tunes from my albums "Venusian Sunrise", "King Friday", and "Earth Tones"... We tweeked up the set in rehearsal, trying to add some performance elements, tying a few tunes together, added an extended intro to fan-favorite "Ventura Blvd.", and I've been trying to improve my between song-patter. It isn't easy describing or giving a story behind instrumental songs! I think the band is developing a few key memorable "moments" over the course of our set - including the jaw-dropping drum solo by Glen Sobel.
Below are a couple video clips from the show, enjoy!
Cold Spring, NY - The result of 20 years of state-of-the-art electric guitar research and design combined with their long time relationship with Los Angeles guitarist, Adrian Galysh, iGuitar Workshop / Brian Moore Guitars debuts the “Adrian Galysh Signature” C-90F electric guitar. Company president, Patrick Cummings, said, """Adrian has been making our guitars sound great for over 10 years, we are very pleased to honor him with this signature model."
The “Adrian Galysh Signature” model guitar has Brian Moore Guitars’ patented comfort contoured body and innovative rear output jack combined with Galysh’s preferred asthetics and features, which are reflected in its spectacular satin finished spalted maple top and mohaghany back, Seymour Duncan pickups, Floyd Rose locking tremolo, and gold hardware (including the pickup pole pieces!).
Instrumental rock guitarist, music educator, and recording session ace, Galysh professes, ”M”My guitar is like a paint brush, and I want to take the listener on a colorful journey. I need to be able to have a large pallet of tones to work with. My Brian Moore “Adrian Galysh Signature" guitar does this.”
And a large pallet of tones it has indeed. Featuring a 7-way “super switch”, the “Adrian Galysh Signature” guitar lets players select seven different pick up combinations, giving players access to classic single coil and humbucking tones.
Features and specs:
• Adrian Galysh Signature Headstock
• Comfort Contoured Mahogany body
• Spalted maple top with Satin finish
• 22 fret Maple neck 25.5" scale, 15" radius
• Rosewood fingerboard • 6105 Frets
• Matching Sculpted Headstock • Abalone "M" logo
• Seymour Duncan Alnico II neck
• Seymour Duncan JB bridge
• Floyd Rose tremelo
• Gold Hardware • Sperzel locking tuners
• Available left handed at no extra charge
Available factory direct, and customizable with optional left handed model, piezo pickup, and 13 pin synth access.
