Mike Gibbins' first solo album, one and a half years in the making, was recorded at Exile Studio in Oveido, Florida on a digital 8-track recorder which Mike loaned from August Fritsch. Mike wrote, produced, recorded and engineered the album himself. Mike sings, plays drums & percussion, and plays all the keyboard parts. He is helped out on bass, guitars and backing vocals by Rick Warsing, who Mike discovered playing in a country band. Mike was impressed by his guitar playing and asked him if he was interested in listening to some demos he had recorded, intended for other artists to cover.
Over 5 hours of great performances including the entire Testimony and One albums plus special encores of the Spock's Beard classic, "The Light" featuring Alan Morse, and the Transatlantic epic "Stranger In Your Soul." Also included is a behind-the-scenes documentary with footage of Neal's exclusive acoustic concert, rehearsal footage, "Name That Prog Tune" game with Mike and more!…
Former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen and acclaimed drummer Mike Terrana (TARJA, AXEL RUDI PELL, RAGE, YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN, MASTERPLAN) will release the classic-rock crossover live project "Beauty & The Beat" on May 30 via earMUSIC. The effort includes interpretations of classic music pieces ranging from Bach to Mozart to Rossini as well as rock classics from QUEEN, LED ZEPPELIN and Turunen. The music of "Beauty & The Beat" ranges from immortal classic pieces by Bach, Strauss and Mozart to Rossini, but doesn’t neglect pure rock music like songs from LED ZEPPELIN, QUEEN as well as Tarja's own pieces. All combined with orchestra and choir with more than 100 musicians on stage, an enormous sound, energetic drums and Tarja's angelic voice Tarja and Mike complement each other musically. Whereas Mike bangs his drums with rock attitude, Tarja shines with her crystal clear voice and incredible stage presence; all lulled with the warm, full sound of an orchestra.
This album is simply exceptional. You get a hearty dose of a musical genius's compositional skills and vocabulary, but you don't come away feeling as though you were "taken to school"; the music is very accessible…