DREAM THEATER 'Incredibly Excited' About New Drummer

Guitarist John Petrucci of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER has issued the following update:

"Hey, everyone. Wanted to quickly let you all know what's been happening lately.

"I know that the big question is 'Who is the new DREAM THEATER drummer?' I also realize that some people are getting frustrated waiting for the news.

"Well, auditions went great and we do have someone but we are spending some time getting everything in order before making an official announcement. Let me just say that we are all incredibly excited about our choice and just bursting at the seams to let the world know!

"The Long Island Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony was a lot of fun and truly an incredible honor. DREAM THEATER is so thankful to the board to be recognized in that way.

"I've been demoing tunes for my next solo record at my home as well as writing and cataloguing riffs and ideas for the new DREAM THEATER album. We'll be in the studio come January which is already just around the corner. Can't wait!

"Been working on and developing a few new signature products which will be released soon. Stay tuned for details. Also, I've recorded a few demo videos for some of the gear companies I endorse which should be available to view soon. The one for the Zoom Q3HD is already up [see below].

"Besides that, just practicing, lifting and taking care of the family.

"Life is great.

"I hope this message finds everyone well and again, thanks so much for the tremendous support."

DREAM THEATER will co-headline next year's edition of Classic Rock magazine's award-winning High Voltage festival, set to take place Saturday, July 23 and Sunday, July 24, 2011 in Victoria Park, London, England. The band will headline the main stage on July 24. High Voltage 2011 will mark the first U.K. performance of the group's new lineup following the departure of drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy.

Portnoy, who is currently out with AVENGED SEVENFOLD as their touring drummer, previously said of his decision to quit DREAM THEATER, "Please believe me that it is not a hasty decision . . . it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so . . . After having had such amazing experiences playing with HAIL!, TRANSATLANTIC and AVENGED SEVENFOLD this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in DREAM THEATER."

Portnoy added, "I love the DREAM THEATER guys dearly and have a long history, friendship and bond that runs incredibly deep with them — it's just that I think we are in serious need of a little break."

The drummer said that DREAM THEATER's "endless write/record/tour cycle for almost 20 years" was the main factor in his decision. He said he wanted a "break," not a "split," but that the band decided to move forward without him.

Portnoy added in a separate post on Facebook that his current gig with AVENGED SEVENFOLD had nothing to do with his departure from DREAM THEATER, writing, "They are just as shocked as you guys."

Source: RNR COLA

RUSH To Film Cleveland Performance For Future Release

As a tribute to the U.S. city that first played their music, Canadian rock legends RUSH have confirmed that the Cleveland performance of their "Time Machine" show on April 15, 2011 at the Quicken Loans Arena will be filmed for a full-length release.

Cleveland is remarkable for being one of the very first U.S. cities where RUSH performed, in addition to being the first city to provide American airplay.

This will be a must-see event for RUSH fans in Cleveland — and for everyone able to make the road trip as it is will also mark the first live full-length filming on U.S. soil.

Tickets for Cleveland go on sale on Saturday, December 11, with pre-sales for RUSH fan-club and CITI cardmembers beginning December 7.

Tickets for Ft. Lauderdale, Greensboro, Nashville, Louisville, Toledo, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Hamilton and Montreal all go on sale this week.

Newly announced RUSH tour dates:

Mar. 30 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center
Apr. 01 - Greensboro, NC @ Coliseum
Apr. 03 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Apr. 05 - Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
Apr. 06 - Toledo, OH @ Huntington Center
Apr. 08 - Hershey, NJ @ Giant Center
Apr. 10 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Apr. 12 - Chicago, IL @ United Center
Apr. 15 - Cleveland, OH @ Quickens Loans Arena
Apr. 17 - Detroit, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
Apr. 19 - Hamilton, ON @ Copps Coliseum
Apr. 20 - Montreal, PQ @ Bell Centre
Apr. 22 - Baltimore, MD @ 1st Mariner Arena

The "Time Machine" tour is an evening with RUSH, where they will perform their classics, give a taste of the future and will — for the first time ever in the U.K. — feature the "Moving Pictures" album live in its entirety.

The first North American leg of the tour kicked off in June of 2010 and led to RUSH ranking #1 on Billboard's "Hot Tours" chart, followed by a return to Brazil and first-time shows in Argentina and Chile on their South American tour this past fall.

"'Moving Pictures' is our most popular album and it's the one that seems to have passed the test of time most gracefully," observes singer/bassist Geddy Lee. "We're playing better than ever, and I'm not sure we're quite ready to put that tour away," he adds.

Markus Reuter To Release New Contemporary Classical Composition

For Immediate Release

Markus Reuter releases digital download of his contemporary classical composition 'Todmorden 513'

Producer, musician, composer and sound designer Markus Reuter has just released the first performance of his contemporary classical piece 'Todmorden 513'. The piece is an algorithmic composition for live instruments and electronics. This recording of the piece is available for digital download (and on CD, see below) at http://www.markusreuter.com.

'Todmorden 513' is an hour-long composition based on a cycle of 513 evenly spaced chords that were strictly derived from systematic combinations of pitches and recursive definition (i.e. the repeated application of a set of rules).

As Henry Warwick explains in the liner notes, "It is a continuous movement and sequence of five hundred and thirteen harmonies and triads generated by a combinatorial compositional technique of Reuter's own design.

The notes of each harmony or triad is then fed back into the same algorithm, resulting in a progression of chords and note clusters of highly varied density, ranging from simple two note harmonies to dense twelve note chords spread across several octaves. Starting on an A flat, the sequences of pitches form a kind of melodic or thematic line throughout. The rhythms of the performing instrumental trios and quartets were derived from the chord sequences themselves, which were looped across the whole piece, mapped to the notes of each chord, then mixed together. From there it was split into three or four independent voices respectively. The result is a shifting set of harmonic densities
-- at times quite spare -- ranging from a harmony of two instruments to other moments of thick and lush instrumentation."

Critically acclaimed composer Nik Bärtsch says of the piece, "The composition sounds like a totally liberated Richard Wagner after an intense week of meditation in a space station behind Mars in the year 2050."

This performance of 'Todmorden 513' features a string and recorder ensemble and is intended as a starting point as Reuter intends for many more performances of the work in the future.

Personnel for this original recording include Reuter, Tobias Reber, Karina Bellmann, Uta Maria Lempert, Wiebke Tschöpe, Juliane Gilbert, Ulrich Pollmann, Frieder Zimmermann, and Robert Rich.

Todmorden 513 is also an experiment in distribution: for a minimum price of 4 EUR for the download from Bandcamp, a CD hardcopy (signed if
requested) will be sent to the buyer. The small cost covers shipping and handling of the CD to anywhere in the world.

New Eloy Documentary on DVD

Cinematic Document of Germany's Most Successful Progressive Rock Band ELOY To Be Released


"The Legacy Box" (2 DVDs / PAL)
Release date: 10.December 2010
Artist Station Records/Soulfood


12/7/2010 – Germany – In celebration of their 40 year band history, a new cinematic document of Germany's most successful progressive rock band ELOY take the friends of their music on a journey through four decades of the band's fascinating history. In the 90-minute documentary Mighty Echoes (DVD 1) former and current ELOY musicians (Frank Bornemann, Klaus-Peter Matziol, Jürgen Rosenthal, Hannes Folberth, Michael Gerlach, Fritz Randow, Hannes Arkona) talk about their time and work with ELOY. Likewise engineers, product managers and other important companions of the band also have their say. All phases are documented and enhanced with previously unpublished pictures making this the definitive documentary of the legendary German ensemble. On the clip compilation (DVD 2) there is an additional collection of old TV shows, live videos and promotional videos, such as The Midnight Fight, The Sun Song, Decay of Logos, Silhouette and Voyager of the Future Race.


The Legacy Box is the ultimate Eloy collectors item!!!


Formed in Hanover, Germany by guitarist Frank Bornemann in 1969, ELOY derived its name from HG Wells science fiction classic 'The Time Machine'. After winning a regional band competition the band recorded their first single in 1970. In 1971, ELOY signed their first recording contract with Philips and went to Hamburg to record their debut album with sound engineer Conny Plank (who was also working with Kraftwerk, The Scorpions and Jane at that time). The sometimes socio-critical lyrics were reflected in the iconic folding dustbin album cover. Frank Bornemann, reflecting on this debut in 2008 said, “Despite the often polarizing positions concerning the artistic line, we nevertheless managed to put an album together which aptly depicts the zeitgeist of this era.”


With a new line-up, ELOY recorded 'Inside', which was released in 1973 on EMI’s prestigious Harvest label (Pink Floyd, Deep Purple among others). These changes proved successful, and now a clear musical outline was visible. The typical ELOY sound, a synthesis of spherical sounds, pulsating rhythms, powerful guitars and complex concert arrangements was born, and set out to enthuse an ever growing community of fans. Sales figures for 'Inside' were good enough to call the album a success and the band proceeded to the next album, 'Floating', which consolidated their success. However, the band did not consider this rock-orientated material a step forward and went on to tackle a more substantial project. 'Power And The Passion' was ELOY's first concept album. It was released in 1975, and featured new synthesizers. Putting a story into music allowed the band to give their work a broader narrative scope.


Unfortunately, the influence of ELOY’s manager at the time, Jay Partridge, caused strong tensions. The band fell apart, and eventually, Frank Bornemann found himself without fellow musicians. However, EMI stood by him, still trusting his artistic abilities. They offered to help him to rebuild the band with new members and continue his career. With a new line-up intact, the music became even more orchestral, structurally diverse and atmospheric. During rehearsals, ELOY wrote the music for the new album, 'Dawn'. At subsequent recording sessions in Cologne, a string orchestra added orchestral elements. This gave the music a unique touch, something special. The album hit the stores in 1976, at once becoming ELOY’s greatest success so far. With two subsequent tours, the band gained a dedicated following. The ground was cleared for the big one, which followed in 1977 with the album 'Ocean', which has remained ELOY's best-selling album till today. This album precisely mirrored the zeitgeist, with its synthesis of atmospheric electronic sounds, orchestral rock-music patterns and esoteric lyrics. It brought about the band's breakthrough and put them at the top of the so-called progressive-rock movement. It eventually turned out to be the best-selling progressive rock album by a German band to date. In 1995, it was awarded a gold award by EMI - 25 years after the release, with sales figures in Germany alone at 250,000. ELOY were high in the German charts in 1977, sometimes outperforming their British colleagues in Genesis and Pink Floyd. The subsequent tour was elaborately staged with a laser show. The audiences were growing and the live show was triumphant. Recordings of it were released in 1978 as a double album named 'Live'.

Eloy would go on to record several more critically acclaimed albums throughout the '80s with several line-up changes, albeit the one consistent original driving member Frank Bornemann. After a break in the early '90s, 1993 became a special year in the band's history with the approaching 25th anniversary of ELOY the following year. It was to be celebrated with the ambitious 'Chronicles' project, with two CDs comprising the best ELOY songs. Some of the material was re-recorded with the original cast, some was remixed or remastered. Autumn of this year saw the release of 'The Tides Return Forever', and, for the first time since the '80s, they were touring again. Due to public demand, there was a second part to the tour in 1995, and the second part of 'Chronicles' was released that year as well. “What more is to come?” asked Frank Bornemann? The answer was 'Ocean 2'. This ambitious project also owed itself to the fan club, which had been set up for the tour of '94. In 1998 the 16th studio album eventually saw the light of day. Positive reactions everywhere sent the band on another tour. Unfortunately, this was to be the last sign of life from Germany's most successful progressive rock band for a long time.

In 2003, EMI released 'Timeless Passages', the ultimate song collection on two CDs. The product was graced with elaborate cover artwork, strongly suggestive of the band's heyday. Shortly after, the last newly mastered old EMI studio albums hit the market. The back catalog sold in respectable quantities, proving the interest of the fans was still alive. And so the people at Frank's label, Artist Station, which he founded together with Martin Kleemann, had to figure out a way of meeting expectations. In December 2010, ELOY are celebrating their 40th anniversary with the release of 'The Legacy Box' DVD-set. On the occasion of the anniversary, new music is being written and recorded much to the elation of ELOY fans around the globe. 'Visionary' is the title of the new album, set to challenge the best of the old ones. Frank has brought the band together again and inspired them to give their best. ELOY is back!


The entire ELOY history, discography, pictures and more can be viewed at www.eloy-legacy.com