CYNIC Drummer To Release Instructional DVD

Sick Drummer Magazine will produce "It's About Time", the first-ever instructional DVD from Sean Reinert of the reunited progressive rock/metal band CYNIC. The filming is scheduled to start in November and will take place just outside San Fransisco, California.

"It's About Time" will walk you through Sean's warm-up excercises, practice routines, posture, stick selection & grip variables, pedal approach, drum tuning/tones, drum selection and much, much more. The DVD will also include the performance and explanation of several songs Sean has recorded with various projects during his amazing — and still flourishing — career. Add to that some live footage and other relative advice from Sean, and you've got yourself a very unique and valuable tool to help improve your playing!

CYNIC recently completed the inaugural Hall of Fame tour. Historic in every sense, the Hall of Fame tour, titled "Re-Traced / Re-Focused Live", saw the band performing Hall of Fame album "Focus" in its entirety, along with tracks from the group's lauded second album, "Traced in Air", and more. Direct support came from progressive masters INTRONAUT and DYSRHYTHMIA.

On May 17, CYNIC released a brand new EP entitled "Re-Traced", featuring reinterpretations of four songs from the group's critically acclaimed "Traced In Air" album as well as a previously unreleased song.

T Lavitz Passes Away

We’re saddened to follow the news of Solomon Burke’s passing with word that keyboardist T. Lavitz passed away unexpectedly, in his sleep on the evening of October 7th. Lavitz first gained notoriety in 1978, when the then-University of Miami student was tapped to replace Mark Parrish in Southern rock band Dixie Dregs. The Dregs went on to release three albums with Lavitz before breaking up in 1983.

Over the 27 years that followed Lavitz’s original tenure in the Dixie Dregs, the versatile keyboardist put out seven solo albums and performed with dozens of musicians with ties in the jam scene in a number of different projects. After Brent Mydland passed away in 1990, T. was on the short list to fill Mydland’s seat, but the job ultimately went to Vince Welnick. In 1991, Lavitz lent his talents to Widespread Panic for the band’s self-titled Capricorn debut. His work impressed the band enough that they asked the keyboardist to join them as a touring member, though his tenure lasted only a year. [see our B List: 10 Band Members With Short Tenures]

T. Lavitz might be best known to much of our readership for his work with instrumental Grateful Dead cover band Jazz is Dead. Along with Jimmy Herring, Alphonso Johnson and Billy Cobham, the band completely reworked some of the Dead’s best songs with amazing results. Jazz is Dead wasn’t your typical cover band and the three albums they put out are all highly recommended.

Jon Lord Joins Forces With Violinist ANNA PHOEBE In New Band

Acclaimed violinist extraordinaire Anna Phoebe (JETHRO TULL, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, PAUL RODGERS, ROXY MUSIC) has joined forces with former DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord in a brand new brand. Phoebe writes on her Twitter profile, "I am VERY excited! Now we need a name!"

In a recent installment of her weekly column for U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine, Phoebe stated about Lord, "What a nice, gentle, intelligent, interesting man! We talked seamlessly for over two hours [over lunch] and decided that we have the same approach to music as each other — albeit his experience and sheer genius far outweighing mine! We're hopefully going to get together and have a little play with our instruments and see if our Hammond and violin get on as well as we think they might!"

SOURCE: RNRCOLA

Keith Emerson Has Surgery and Recovers

From Keith Emerson's Facebook page:

I would like to thank all those well-wishers that wrote to me during my recent hospitalisation. I would also like to thank the doctors, surgeons and nurses of The London Clinic as well as those individuals who donate blood.

At this time I would say a prayer for all those less fortunate than myself in sickness.

To recap, this all started during a routine medical that incorporated an endoscopy, MRI, blood tests all of which turned out OK. Finally my doctor looked up my past medical records.
" I see it's been over five years since your last colonoscopy. To be safe it is time for another."

That test caused concern with the reveal of a dangerous polyp situated in my large colon. It was decided that I should have it removed for analysis immediately. This involved laparoscopic surgery and a two-inch incision in my stomach to remove about two inches of the colon it was attached to.

However, surgery showed up more than anyone had bargained for. A large section of my lower colon was afflicted with a diverticular disease with significant number of diverticula and it all had to come out - nearly a foot and a half of it!

When I came round from the anesthetic I discovered that I had been cut from the lower end of my rib cage to the pubic region, and what they had taken out was now in the laboratory for analysis. It would be a week before I knew the results. Meanwhile, as I lay hoping I might be recovering, I was bleeding heavily, internally. The initial response was to wait and see if the two parts of the healthy colon had bonded successfully and the bleeding would stop. It didn't. Two blood transfusions later at 11PM, I was told I had no option other than to be immediately rushed back to the operating theater. I really thought that was it. I had no time to tell friends or family. The rest is a bit of a blur except I do remember a surgeon saying to me sometime the next day that he had successfully clipped the two parts of the colon together and halted the spurting blood vessel. Of course I remained doubtful and almost in a panic if I felt I was about to sneeze, as I still am. A few days later the results from the lab had come in. Thankfully, the polyp was not malignant. This experience made me realise the importance of having a colon screening, and of donating blood.

After two weeks in the hospital, I am now recuperating in Sussex having been told by doctors and surgeons that it will be some time before I fully get my strength back.

I am most thankful to Mari for her love and attention, my family and to Greg Lake for his compassion and support.

Stay well.

Keith Emerson

3 October 2010

TRANSATLANTIC: 'Whirld Tour 2010' DVD/CD Detailed

Seven years after the announcement of their creative break, the original members of prog rock supergroup TRANSATLANTIC — Roine Stolt (THE FLOWER KINGS), Pete Trewavas (MARILLION), Neal Morse (ex-SPOCK'S BEARD) and Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER) — got together again and recorded a new studio album titled "The Whirlwind", which went on to be TRANSATLANTIC's best-selling album, entering mainstream charts in the U.S., Germany and Netherlands. Their two seminal albums, tours and DVDs redefined prog's artistic and commercial possibilities with a combination of modern and traditional prog, classic pop sensibilities, and mind-blowing musicianship.

The "An Evening With Transatlantic Whirld Tour 2010" was the group's largest tour, covering both sides of the Atlantic across 11 countries. With the addition of PAIN OF SALVATION's Daniel Gildenlöw on guitar and keyboards, it was also their most musically powerful. On May 21, 2010, at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, the cameras were rolling.

The upcoming release entitled "Whirld Tour 2010: Live At Shepherd's Bush London" will be available as a 2-DVD PAL-version set, a 3-CD audio version and a 2-DVD and 3-CD deluxe edition. The concert featured the entire "Whirlwind" album performed exactly as on the studio recording. But that's just the beginning. For the next two and half hours, TRANSATLANTIC performed nearly every song they've ever recorded, along with some surprises. The audio recorded at the show was later mixed by the band's own Roine Stolt, ensuring a genuine presentation of the music from that night. The show doesn't end, though, with the fading echoes of the final note. Backstage, in and around cities throughout Europe, the cameras accompanied Mike, Neal, Roine and Pete on their journey. Uncensored experiences and candid moments reveal the good, the bad, and the unexpected of life on the road. Also included is the band's encore from the final night of their tour, a headlining spot at the U.K.'s High Voltage festival. For the last song at High Voltage, they performed the GENESIS classic "Return of the Giant Hogweed", joined onstage by original GENESIS guitarist Steve Hackett.

Track listing for the 2-DVD and 3-CD Deluxe Edition:

DVD 1 (147 minutes)

01. The Whirlwind
02. All of the Above
03. We All Need Some Light
04. Duel With the Devil

DVD 2 (190 minutes)

01. Bridge Across Forever
02. Stranger in Your Soul
03. Documentary
04. Band Interview
05. Return of the Giant Hogweed (w/ Steve Hacket)

Audio CD 1

01. The Whirlwind (79:52)

Audio CD 2

01. All of the Above (30:19)
02. We All Need Some Light (8:40)
03. Duel with the Devil (28:31)

Audio CD 3

01. Bridge Across Forever (6:03)
02. Stranger in Your Soul (30:00)

SOURCE: RNRCOLA

SYMPHONY X Issues New Album Update

North America's progressive metal masters SYMPHONY X are currently recording their Nuclear Blast debut and follow-up to 2007's "Paradise Lost", which has sold over 60,000 copies in North America. Lead vocalist Russell Allen has finished laying down his vocal tracks and the band is moving on to record keyboards, bass, and guitar solos.

Comments Allen: "I just want to say how excited I am about the new album. It's gonna kill! The songs rock and the performances by my fellow bandmates are simply amazing." Guitarist Michael Romeo adds: "We love the fans, and we know we haven't been as on top of things with the updates this year as we should have, but when it's down to the wire and we're going 24/7 trying to wrap things up, then that's what we're focused on.

"We really think the fans will like this album; it has been, by far, more work (and harder work) than any other album, period."

Allen and SYMPHONY X drummer Jason Rullo both recently became fathers for the second time. Jason is now the proud father of a beautiful baby girl and Russell and his wife now have a beautiful baby boy.

In other band news, the SYMPHONY X fan club has been shut down and is currently being revamped. "We anticipate that it will be ready for new members around the same time as the new CD is released, if not a bit sooner," says the band's webmaster. "Existing/previous members should have either already received info on the change to a permanent membership setup and an invite to the new fan club mailing list or will be receiving it soon. If you are an existing/previous SYMPHONY X fan club member and have not received this notification, please contact Jax (jax@symphonyx.com) for more information."

Fans are encouraged to submit questions for the soon-to-be-updated FAQ section of SYMPHONY X's web site. Send questions in to symxfaq@gmail.com with “FAQ” in the subject line.

Formed in 1994 in New Jersey, SYMPHONY X has seven studio albums and one live album to its credit.

SYMPHONY X has scheduled the following dates for 2011:

Apr. 22 - Best Buy Theater (formerly Nokia Theater) - New York, NY
Apr. 25 - Metropolis - Montreal, QC, Canada
May 10 - Wiltern Theater - Los Angeles, CA

JAMES LABRIE's 'Static Impulse': First-Week Sales Revealed

"Static Impulse", the new solo album from DREAM THEATER singer James LaBrie, sold around 1,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 14 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"Static Impulse" was released on September 28 (one day earlier internationally) via InsideOut Music. The CD marks LaBrie's first solo effort in over five years and is sure to please his legion of diehard fans, as well as win over many new devotees in the process.

"Static Impulse" track listing:

01. One More Time (4:16)
02. Jekyll Or Hyde (3:46)
03. Mislead (4:18)
04. Euphoric (5:09)
05. Over The Edge (4:20)
06. I Need You (4:11)
07. Who You Think I Am (3:57)
08. I Tried (3:58)
09. Just Watch Me (4:18)
10. This Is War (4:30)
11. Superstar (3:32)
12. Coming Home (4:29)
13. Jekyll Or Hyde (demo) (3:48) *
14. Coming Home (alternate mix) (4:23) *

* Limited-edition digipak bonus tracks

Mixed and mastered by Jens Borgen (OPETH, KATATONIA), "Static Impulse" features LaBrie's longtime songwriting partner and keyboardist Matt Guillory; Peter Wildoer from Swedish thrashers DARKANE on drums and screaming vocals; Marco Sfogli on guitar; and Ray Riendeau (HALFORD) on bass.

"Musically speaking, 'One More Time' is sort of a marriage of old-school progressive elements and modern melodic death metal," Guillory told Noisecreep. "We wanted to have a drastic contrast between what's going on in the verses and what's going on in the choruses. There's almost a pop feel near the end where both James' vocals and my vocals start layering in different ways. Lyrically, the song is about dealing with the loss of a loved one."