Uli Jon Roth Rehearsal

Today the band had their first rehearsal, with out Uli. He doesn't arrive to SoCal till tomorrow, and with the NAMM convention, it would be difficult to coordinate any other rehearsal before Monday's.

The drummer, Glen Sobel, you may know is my regular drummer for my own gigs, and as always was uber-prepared, and luckily our notes/charts seemed to line up. This, however, is the first time meeting, let alone playing with Bjorn Englen, the bassist for these dates. Bjorn has been Yngwie Malmsteen's bassist for the last 4-5 years and has a strong feel for the tunes. Mark Boals, of course, also known from Yngwie's classic "Trilogy" album and others, was on hand for vocals.

Comedy ensued as Mark kept asking whether I would sing backup/harmony parts for every Scorpions song we ran through... I obliged with mixed results though better than I (and I hope the others) expected.

Overall we did pretty well, and it sounded rather tight. What you would expect from seasoned musicians, I guess.

These SoCal tour dates will feature a number of classic Scorpions songs, some Jimi Hendrix, and a couple Electric Sun tracks.

On Monday, we rehearse with Uli.

Uli Jon Roth Mini-tour Diary

I received the set list last week. I sorted through the recordings I have, then bought the songs I didn't have from itunes. I then sorted the recordings and put them into the order of the set list... some tracks, though, have chnaged over the years and Uli has asked that we learn the songs as they have recently been performed - youtube recordings are our reference.

The set includes a good number of classic Roth-era Scorpions songs, a handful of Jimi Hendrix and some Electric Sun. The plan: learn the songs in groups... Scorps first, Hendrix, then Electric Sun.

Today, I began to sit down with the Scorpions tracks - the difficulty with these, is dicerning/differenciating my rhythm guitar parts, as the original recordings/mixes can make it hard to hear individual harmony/guitar parts. I plan to make notes of the parts/sections in question and perhaps ask Uli about them over Skype.

Adrian Galysh and Uli Jon Roth

I will open for legendary ex-SCORPIONS axeman Uli Jon Roth and ALCATRAZZ (featuring Graham Bonnet) in January. I will also perform in Uli Jon Roth's band for these Southern California dates.

The details are as follows:

* Jan. 18 - Brick by Brick - San Diego, CA (Uli Jon Roth only)
* Jan. 20 - Majestic Ventura Theatre - Ventura, CA (Uli Jon Roth, Alcatrazz, Adrian Galysh)
* Jan. 21 - Blue Cafe - Huntington Beach, CA (Uli Jon Roth, Adrian Galysh)

Adrian Galysh "The Blue Jungle"

Cozy's live - Feb 4th

Hey folks,

I had a great gig this past Thursday at Cozy's in Sherman Oaks, CA. I was joined by drummer Glen Sobel (Jennifer Batten, Tony MacAlpine, Sixx AM), bassist Philip Bynoe (Steve Vai), and Maureen Baker on keyboards. Every one played great, Philip even broke a string on his bass during an impressive solo, during our unexpected 2nd set.

If you haven't been to Cozy's, you could expect a nice size room, holds about 100, a couple pool tables, fun staff, and a nice history of great Blues artists have hit their stage since 1996.

Below is some footage from the show, enjoy!

CDs on Sale

NAMM

So, this last weekend was the NAMM show in Anaheim, CA. For those of you that know, yes, its a place where new music gear is shown, sold, and tried out.. artists, celebrities, and industry get shmooze, perform, and get drunk. This year's show was very positive, especially after last year's funereal attendance. The Hilton's remodel was not very popular, but some highlights: Uli Jon Roth's new Dean Guitar, the Young Dubliners at the Marriott lobby, seeing my friends and colleagues: March Koch and Tom Kikta (Duquesne univ.), Glen MacCarthy, drummers Charlie Waymire and Glen Sobel... hanging with Scorpions drummer James Kottak, singer Mark Boals, dinner with Wild West Guitars and Matt and Debbi Scurfield. Thanks gang!