Beller Bryan

Joe Satriani may have retained the services of keyboardist Mike Keneally for Shockwave Supernova, the guitarist's 15th studio album – Keneally has been in Satch's orbit for a while now – but he chose to invite bassist Bryan Beller and drummer Marco Minnemann (from the inventive instrumental rock band the Aristocrats) to be his rhythm section for the bulk of the record. This slight shakeup reinvigorates Satriani, who already sounded spry on Unstoppable Momentum.

What should be described as a true labor of love for drummer Chris G was finally completed. The recorded work, a tribute CD of the music of his late brother Andrew Gorczyca, is the culmination of four years effort devoted to countless recording studio sessions. At its core, the music would fall into the progressive rock category - given some of the notable influences and instrumentation. Yet the music in this tribute collection balances the technical playing side of classic progressive rock with a songwriting sensibility devoted to melody and lush vocal arrangements. A total of eighteen progressive rock players were recorded in twelve different studios located in six different American cities. This host of artists associated with the genre (including Adrian Belew, Nick D Virgilio, Phil Keaggy, and Mike Keneally) provided the cast of players sought by Chris to re-create Andrew s music with professional flair and credibility.