Adrian Galysh taps Alice Cooper Drummer Glen Sobel for New Album

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Guitarist Adrian Galysh has enlisted Alice Cooper stickman Glen Sobel to lend his talents to Venusian Sunrise: 20th Anniversary Edition. Sobel brings both world-class drumming and a wealth of experience to the project, including touring and recording with such legendary artists as: Paul Gilbert, Jennifer Batten, Tony MacAlpine, Beautiful Creatures, and, of course, Alice Cooper. 

Galysh has been described as “A virtuoso of modern electric and acoustic guitar techniques” by 20th Century Guitar magazine. He’s been dazzling audiences for over 20 years, whether backed by his own band, or as sideman for ex-Scorpions guitar-god Uli Jon Roth. 

Prior to being recruited by legendary shock-rocker Alice Cooper, Sobel performed regularly with Galysh, making him an easy and evident choice for the project.

“Glen is the perfect drummer for instrumental guitar music,” declares Galysh. “His curriculum vitae of recordings with Gary Hoey, Jennifer Batten, Tony MacAlpine, Impellitteri, and Paul Gilbert, make his playing instinctively ideal to the genre.” Galysh continues, “Glen is already familiar with the material, having played much of it live with me years ago. Of course, he also has the chops to take this record to the next level.”

Drums for Venusian Sunrise will be recorded by Ryan Greene (Megadeth, NOFX, Dishwalla) at Validus Recording in North Hollywood, California. 

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut release, Venusian Sunrise (1998), Galysh will be re-recording the entire work, recalling that, “Venusian Sunrise was recorded in my parent’s basement on a single Alesis 8-Track ADAT recorder. While the performances are commendable for their time, given limited resources at the age of 22—it lacks what 20 years of experience and advancement in recording technology can now easily provide—richer guitar tones, advanced recording techniques, the palatial keyboard and realistic orchestral sounds of today, and maybe most importantly…real drums!” 

Galysh adds, “The new version of Venusian Sunrise will be performed and recorded the way I wished I could have done it back then, but with the tools and know-how that didn’t exist in the day.”

Production limitations notwithstanding, Venusian Sunrise was one of Galysh’s best-selling albums, released during the halcyon years of compact disc sales and the burgeoning days of independent record labels. As an independent release it garnered coverage in guitar magazines and a growing number of online review websites, firmly establishing Galysh as an up-and-coming player in guitar circles of the time.

Venusian Sunrise: 20th Anniversary Edition will be released this summer and available at all online retailers.

Venusian Sunrise: 20th Anniversary Edition is available for pre-order at https://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/venusiansunrise

For more information, please visit www.AdrianGalysh.com 

Adrian Galysh announces Venusian Sunrise: 20th Anniversary Edition

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.

For more on Adrian Galysh, follow along on Facebook.

What Everyone is Saying about 'Into The Blue' (Press and Reviews)

Below you will find all reviews and press for my newest album, "Into The Blue". Keep checking this blog entry as more press and reviews will be added as they come.

‘Into the blue’ is a welcome departure that sees Adrian digging deep to deliver an album that pays tribute to the blues. With drummer Joey Heredia (Stevie Wonder) and bassist Paul Loranger (Eric Sardinas) on board as the rhythm section and with Kacee Clanton (Joe Cocker, Beth Hart) providing vocals on a number of tracks, 

‘Into the blue’ stands tall against any of the big blues releases we’ve seen this year (a list which includes Joe Bonamassa, The Rides and Eric Clapton) and further cements Adrian’s impressive reputation." - Sonic Abuse

Read the whole review here: http://www.sonicabuse.com/2016/07/adrian-galysh-into-the-blue-album-review/

October 2016

October 2016 Guitar Player

Guitar Player Debuts the Single "Messin' With The Kid" May 2016

"A well-rounded exploration of every shade of the blues from L.A. based guitarist, Adrian Galysh can be experienced on his latest release, 'Into The Blue'.  A great album that displays his blues chops." - Dedicated Rocker Society

Read the whole review here: http://thededicatedrockersociety.blogspot.com/2016/06/cd-review-into-blue-adrian-galysh.html

"Speedy finger work, a raucous riff and soulful vocals make Adrian Galysh’s “Barstool Monarchy” both bad-ass and masterful.

The first single off of Galysh’s upcoming album, Into the Blue, the track is chock full of vibrant guitar solos, driving beats and a "welcome to the party" vibe. It’s a perfect example of well-executed, straight-up blues rock." - Guitar World

Guitar World magazine debut's the single "Barstool Monarchy" May 2016

Adrian is featured in the Argentinian magazine "Todo Guitarra", discussing "Into The Blue" as well as life as an independent artist.

Cover status on Argentinian magazine.

Adrian Galysh feature interview

Adrian Galysh was a recent guest on LA Talk Radio's "All About Guitar" with host Jeff Floro. Download the MP3 of this in depth interview here.

Adrian Galysh talks tone with Seymour Duncan's Jay Hale in this interesting interview where they discuss writing and recording the new album, guitars, gear and tone!

"Adrian Galysh is seemingly one of the busiest guitarists in the Los Angeles area.  Followers of his social media streams get regular notifications of gigs at the legendary Baked Potato and guest spots at Hollywood’s Ultimate Jam Night, as well as for sets he plays at local wineries and aeronautic events and more. When last we spoke with Adrian he was releasing 2014’s Tone Poet, a soaring musical landscape of tones and textures. This year he’s back with Into The Blue, a more vocal blues-oriented record that features epic blues grooves, a great production, and the vocals of Kacee Colton (Joe Cocker, Luis Miguel) on many songs in addition to Adrian’s own vocals."  - Seymour Duncan Blog

Read the whole interview here.

Fireworks UK Octo-Dec 2016

Adrian was interviewed by Dirty D at Radio-Memphis.com, listen to this fun interview here:

Listen to Adrian discussing "Into The Blue", guitars, writing and recording with Bradda-EKG on Malibu's 97.5FM...

San Fernando Valley's own "Valley Scene Magazine" featured the release of "Into the Blue" in it's May issue:

"Into The Blue" debuts at #1 on the iTunes Blues Charts on May 25th, 2016.

"Now here’s an excellent album of blues from L.A. based guitarist, Adrian Galysh who along with drummer Joey Heredia (Stevie Wonder) and bassist Paul Loranger (Eric Sardinas) as well as guest vocals from Kacee Clanton (Joe Cocker, Beth Hart) on some tracks and they’ve turned in a really enjoyable set." - The-Rocker.co.uk

Read the whole review here.

An Interview from VISION Magazine, Issue #2

The story of INTO THE BLUE, Writing and Recording Detailed Track by Track!

Here is the story of INTO THE BLUE, track by track!

1. “Let Your Hammer Ring” (Galysh) - This was originally supposed to be a vocal song, based on the chain gang work-song chant you hear sampled throughout the song, but it didn't make sense to have Kacee sing it as the original lyrics were from a male perspective - and I couldn't do it justice. Instead of scrapping the tune altogether, I decided to make it an instrumental. After it was finished and mixed, I decided to make it the album opener as it sets the tone for the album really well.

2. “Barstool Monarchy” (Galysh/Clanton) - This upbeat song started with the opening riff, which is revisited throughout the song. Very much inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Deep Purple. This song features a great '69/'70 Fender Stratocaster I acquired at auction. The guitar was all original, sounded GREAT, and delivered the perfect Hendrix-era Strat tone for this tune!

3. “Unloveable Me” (Galysh/Clanton) - Inspired by the tone of that '69/'70 Stratocaster, I started writing this ballad with the descending rhythm guitar part that opens the song. The chord progression wrote itself in a day, and I was off and running, overdubbing more guitars, bass, organ, piano and strings, aiming to achieve a classic blues ballad sound. All of the solos are the original takes from the demo, and just came out so well, I refused to retake them. The whole song was there, solos and all. Then Kacee came up with lyrics and a hell of a melody. This song has my favorite guitar solo on the album.

4. “Messin’ With The Kid” (Mel London) - This is a very fun tune to play live, and a song I know I wanted to record as soon as I decided to make a blues album. This song goes over really well in concert and has a fun audience participation section that I included on this recording. I wanted to bring a modern approach to this classic song that I first heard the Blues Brothers do, and came up with a Robben Ford-esque arrangement, and invited guitarist Carl Verheyen lay down a guest guitar solo. 

5. “Nobody Knows You (When You’re Down and Out)” (Jimmy Cox) - This is a song I first heard from another guitar teacher, while teaching at the National Guitar Workshop about 9 years ago. I loved hearing it then, and sought out the the version he referenced from Derek and The Dominoes. While I like that version, I found the performance could have been more dynamic. So, I set out to make my version THE definitive version. I think it turned out very well, with a very powerful and dynamic performance, especially Kacee's vocals. She's such a great singer, and did may be two takes and that was it, perfect.

6. “The War” (Galysh/Clanton) - The main riff and chord progression was inspired by the Peter Green/John Mayall song "Another Kind Of Love", but totally sped up. I dug the sound I ended up with, but at that tempo it seemed to lose the blues shuffle feel. Thankfully vocalist Kacee Clanton wrote some great lyrics to this that really took it to a mother level. This song successfully brings together all my favorite 70s influences including Ritchie Blackmore, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Uli Jon Roth and Robin Trower.

7. “Who Am I To Say” (Galysh/Clanton) - I had the idea for the acoustic rhythm guitar parts for a long time, but I've never had the right opportunity to use this them until now! I borrowed the tuning from Jimmy Page, and naturally the song takes on a Led Zeppelin-like quality. The tuning is from low to high: D - A - D - A - A - F#. 

In the middle of the song, you hear some bluesy slide guitar solos, but I'm a horrible slide guitar player. I own a slide. Two in fact, but completely suck at using them! After some failed attempts at playing proper slide guitar for the solo sections, I ended up recording "faux" slide, using the Floyd Rose whammy bar on one of my Brian Moore guitars. So far, no one can tell!

8. “Further On Up The Road” (Veasley/Robey) - A classic blues song that I've been including in my live set for years. I changed up the usually rhythm guitar parts, wanting to get a more driving feel from the whole rhythm section. This song features myself on vocals, and special guest guitarist Johnny Hiland from Nashville. Johnny sent me six takes, five of which were pretty rockin' with tons of gain, but in the end I knew I wanted his signature chicken picking sound and went for that. He knocks it out of the park - a real fun track, for sure. 

9. “Why Am I Singing The Blues” (Galysh/Clanton) - This is one of the first songs written for INTO THE BLUE. A bluesy ballad, that started with me exploring a Jimi Hendrix style approach to rhythm guitar, similar to songs like "Little Wing", "Wind Cries Mary", and "Hey Joe", with that gospel style sound. That was the basis for the song, and the first part recorded. Just about everything was in place on the demos before the lyrics were written and recorded: Lead guitars, rhythm guitars, B3 organ, piano, strings, bass and drums. I had a rough draft of lyrics and the idea of the title, "Why Am I Singing the Blues", which Kacee refined and rewrote to give a clear story line to the song. My original idea of the vocal melody did't sit well with her vocal range, and at first we thought Id' have to rerecord the whole song in a different key, but after spending some time with it, she came up with a much better melody that did't require a key change - thank god! This is my favorite song on the album, and I think it successfully combines my guitar style and song writing style with a very organic, bluesy sound.

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Guitarist Adrian Galysh To Release New Blues-Rock Album Into The Blue On May 25, 2016

LOS ANGELES (April 18, 2016) – Renowned guitarist Adrian Galysh will release his fifth solo album Into The Blue on May 25, 2016, featuring nine blues-rock tracks with guitar and vocals that take the West Coast guitarist into an entirely new musical direction. 

 Produced and recorded by Galysh in Los Angeles, Into The Blue draws heavily on the guitarist’s ‘70s-era influences. Galysh shares vocal duties with powerhouse vocalist Kacee Clanton, known for her soulful work with Joe Cocker, Luis Miguel, Beth Hart, and Janis Joplin’s band, Big Brother and The Holding Company.

   

And while Into The Blue is an all-vocal blues-rock affair, fans of Galysh’s guitar-centric style will enjoy this very guitar-driven record. The album also features special guest performances by studio session ace Carl Verheyen (Supertramp), who plays on Galysh’s energetic version of the Junior Wells classic “Messin’ With The Kid,” and chicken picker Johnny Hiland, who takes a string- and mind-bending guest solo on Bobby Blue Bland’s “Further On Up The Road.” 

 The album’s rhythm section is rounded out by the stellar and authentic blues talents of drummer Joey Heredia (Stevie Wonder, Tribal Tech), and bassist Paul Loranger (Eric Sardinas). 

“Playing blues guitar needs to be a concise statement, and requires simple, good tone,” said Galysh. “Into The Blue offers just that – blues-inspired songs that are straightforward in their arrangement, sound, and instrumentation. I didn’t want to waste a single phrase, and wanted to ensure that every solo reflects the song’s feel and intent.” 

Praised by artists like Jennifer Batten and outlets like Power Play Magazine, Galysh has a successful trajectory spanning four previous solo albums and numerous collaborations and performances with industry giants like Uli Jon Roth, Yngwie Malmsteen, Robben Ford, Mike Keneally, George Lynch, Warren DeMartini, and many more. 

 Into The Blue will be available on May 25, 2016 via iTunes, Amazon.com, CDBaby.com, and adriangalysh.com. Preview Into The Blue now at www.adriangalysh.com. 

 Track list
1. “Let Your Hammer Ring” (Galysh) 

2. “Barstool Monarchy” (Galysh/Clanton) 

3. “Unloveable Me” (Galysh/Clanton) 

4. “Messin’ With The Kid” (Mel London) 

5. “Nobody Knows You (When You’re Down and Out)” (Jimmy Cox) 

6. “The War” (Galysh/Clanton)

7. “Who Am I To Say” (Galysh/Clanton) 

8. “Further On Up The Road” (Veasley/Robey) 

9. “Why Am I Singing The Blues” (Galysh/Clanton)

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Family, friends, and fans…. I’ve spent the last 27 years practicing my passion of creating and performing melodic rock guitar music. My friends and family who know me can tell you how independent, focused, and entrepreneurial I am. I have independently released four solo albums, an album of jam-tracks, and an instructional guitar book.

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/adriangalysh

While my last album, Tone Poet, was a strong effort, it is my hope that my next album will take me to new musical ground, and even broader audiences. The next album will be squarely focused on bringing a fresh perspective to blues-rock music.

This blues record will be an exciting vehicle to debut my vocals in addition to my guitar playing, as well a feature a number of very special guests.


By pledging you’re not only pre-ordering the album, but you’ll also be getting a very unique all-access pass to the inner workings of the recording process including exclusive updates and behind the scenes video footage.

Partial proceeds exceeding my goal will go to ALS TDI, a charity that funds medical research and therapy for people suffering from Lou Gehrig’s Disease. I hope we can knock it out of the ball park!

-Adrian Galysh

What Steve Vai Taught Me About Performing

A number of years ago, while I was in college (mid 90s), I got to witness Steve Vai perform on multiple occasions. The first was on the Sex and Religion tour when his band played at Graffiti's club in Pittsburgh, with Devin Townsend on vocals. The show was simply amazing, and contained everything... heavy hard rock vocal numbers, melodic instrumentals, great audience participation, percussion/drum solo, jazzy numbers, mind boggling extended solos, and an amazing, and inspired energy.

A couple years later, I saw Steve play on the first G3 tour, and this was a much more concise performance, limited to 45 minutes, and his best material, but still inspired. A year or so after that, he toured behind the Fire Garden album, again playing at Graffiti in Pittsburgh. This show, again was jaw dropping, and felt so special, as if we were witnessing magic, on a particularly inspired evening. The crowd interaction, Steve's between-song banter, and the performance was just ...special.

I decided to drive down to Washington DC to catch the next show that weekend. This show was at the  now defunct Bayou in Georgetown. I brought a guitar student and my older brother with me... they had to witness what I saw in Pittsburgh. Much to my surprise, this show was nearly identical to the show in Pittsburgh, just two nights before. The same set of songs, the same between-song banter, the same crowd participation scenario, almost every thing about it was the same. As soon as it occurred to me that Steve and the band were playing the same thing every night (hey, I was young and I assumed they changed it up), I was a little disappointed. That show in Pittsburgh wasn't special, it was like all the other shows...

This disappointment quickly faded, as I witnessed a seemingly just-as-inspired performance in Washington DC. Steve and the band were still giving 100%. Sure, it was a similar performance to the other night, but that didn't stop them from delivering. There were two differences from this show and the previous one and I relished them. First, Steve's amp crapped out in the middle of the song "Brothers", right before his solo would have started. His band played on, with Mike Keneally taking a keyboard solo while the crew scrambled to replace the amp - which they did just in time for Steve to deliver THE solo!  Secondly, towards the end Steve decided to smash his guitar to bits, and throw it into the audience, and then proceed to crowd surf in a very packed Bayou club. OK, now that was cool. (If Steve reads this, maybe he can interject a little about what he was feeling that night that prompted this.)

My take away from this was an important music lesson for me. When you are performing the same set of songs over and over, or if you are performing a song that you may feel is easy or boring, you can't let it be easy or boring. Your mind should be on multiple things:

1. Song Arc: Be mindful of the overall dynamic arc of the song, from intro, to verse, pre chorus, chorus, etc... How are you going to shape the song?
2. Part Arc: Each part of the song (Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge) has it's own dynamics, timing, and feel. How are you shaping each part of the song? Is it similar or in contrast to the other parts?
3. Line Arc: Each part of a song is made up of musical lines. Are you paying attention to the phrasing of these melodies and/or chord progressions? There may be a question and answer quality to these lines, are you performing them effectively? How are you shaping these lines?
4. Note Arc: Each melodic line or chord is made up of individual notes. How are you shaping these notes? Are they staccato, legato, loud, quiet? Does the timing occur ahead of the beat, or behind it? What is the envelope of each note and chord?

With all of this to think about, you can guarantee that the performance won't be "phoned in". You should be on your toes through every part of the performance. While much about performing is having the material down so well that it becomes second nature, you should always be mindful of how you shape each part of the song (on the macro and micro level). This will guarantee that you are "in tune" with the song, and can go a long way to delivering inspired performances no matter how many times you've played the set of songs.

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