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What’s On My Mind #1: Sons of Apollo

Hi everybody and welcome to my first review in the section of my website I’m calling “What’s On My Mind.” Named after a Kansas song, this area will feature my thoughts on whatever has my attention at the time. My goal is to keep things positive and informative. Thanks for reading (and hopefully in this case, listening)!

Mike Portnoy’s latest musical offering comes in the form of another “supergroup.” The term is often used with Portnoy’s projects, but if you really dig into each band he’s been involved in since his departure from Dream Theater, it’s a shallow term that’s easily thrown around and doesn’t do the bands justice. Each one has its own cohesive sound that is the result of a true chemistry between the artists involved as opposed to a bunch of “name” musicians being thrown together to see what happens. Adrenaline Mob, Flying Colors, The Winery Dogs, and now Sons of Apollo all have a different vibe and musical direction. Each has members that have chemistry and have been involved with each other in various other projects. It would be interesting to see a Portnoy family tree of his involvement in groups over the past few years.

This is another group of seasoned virtuosos, some whose paths have crossed before. Sons of Apollo brings Portnoy together again with keyboardist extraordinaire Derek Sherinian, whom he worked with in DT, and virtuoso bassist Billy Sheehan, who worked with Portnoy and Sherinian in the instrumental project PSMS and is also a member of The Winery Dogs. New to the fold are guitar wizard Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Guns & Roses) and dynamic vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen, Soul SirkUS, Journey, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra). My only experience with Soto was with Malmsteen’s band, but he was my favorite vocalist. His voice is still amazing and fits this project perfectly. He may be rock’s best kept secret. Bumblefoot was the wild card for me, but after a few listens, you can deal me in.

God of the Sun opens with an eerie eastern motif and Sherinian quickly announces his presence with his dramatic, signature searing synth sound and we’re off. Guitar and drums enter and quickly establish that this band means business. Soto’s vocals give a serious, melodic weight that proves he’s one of rocks underrated singers. Portnoy’s drum sound is crisp and tight and the immediate mix comes off strong and well balanced. The tune segues into a dreamy bridge that hears Soto and Sherinian both showing their prowess.

The opening tune makes a statement that this band is about melody and hard rock, but sees Portnoy dipping deeper into the prog-rock pool than he has since departing DT. Portnoy and Sherinian’s chemistry and influence in this department is noticeable. Bumblefoot provides the “balls & chunk” while adding a modern sound with his soloing style. The tune closes with some great synchronized triplet instrumental runs.

Sons of Apollo waste no time going for the groove with the bass riff heavy Coming Home. Sheehan shines on this tune while Portnoy kicks in some background vocals. Bumblefoot adds some tasty guitar wizardry and the tune has a great break down that builds back up into the tune’s chorus. Great feel on this one with tastefully regulated chops.

Next up is the more proggy, yet tribal, Signs of the Time. Rhythmic tom patterns take the verse into an intricate two surface ride pattern. The band emphasizes the feel in the chorus before launching into a nice instrumental workout featuring more great work by Sherinian. Even though the band has plenty of heaviness, they again take a nice breakdown that has some elegant solo work by Bumblefoot that veers into fusion territory.

Labyrinth opens with a symphonic backing to Soto’s emotive phrasing. As the tune progress, an instrumental maze of accents is punctuated by Soto’s singing. Sherinian shines again on this tune with his synth sound selection and it isn’t long until he and Portnoy are into prog territory again with the tunes bridge. Sheehan’s growling bass isn’t lost in the mix either and only strengthens the power of the intricate riffs the band synchronizes on, especially throughout the latter part of the song. Sherinian chooses a great organ sound for his solo and Bumblefoot again pulls out a melodic solo full of phenomenal technique.

A dreamy guitar riff opens Alive, the next track. Solo’s vocals are again spotlighted as he shows he’s just as much a virtuoso with his instrument as the others. The band once again wastes no time in getting to the hook of the song which features more tasty interaction on Portnoy’s part. Sherinian again makes his case for best keyboardist in rock with a creative solo before Bumblefoot takes a mellow lead before building back up into the chorus.

More musical mayhem ensues on the opening of Lost in Oblivion before Portnoy ties everything together with a steady double bass rhythm. It’s not long before that riff is dropped for the more staccato style of the other section of the verse. Portnoy has a nice breakdown in this tune before matching up accents with the guitar riff as Sheehan roars again with some nicely mixed harmonized runs with his fellow bandmates.

Figaro’s Whore is a blazing one minute spotlight for Sherinian, who solos while segueing into the opening keyboard riff of Divine Addiction. This mid-tempo rocker is probably the most straight ahead tune on the album but still has moments of flash and flurry, especially from Portnoy. He manages to weave in bursts of his patented hand/foot combinations into the groove without getting in the way of Soto’s strong vocal melody.

The album closes with the 10 minute instrumental, Opus Maximus, which opens with a heavy, ominous riff, before launching into an sludgy riff that gives Portnoy plenty of room to stretch. Things get quickly get proggy again with and odd chop riff. A majestic theme takes over and we’re only two minutes in. More dynamics come in to play as the band closes this chapter and leads into another odd time work out for Bumblefoot’s solo. More mechanized mayhem ensues in collective synchronous symmetrical runs, which set up another dynamic change in intensity. This sets up Sheehan’s spotlight again as he moves to the forefront of the mix. The band really sounds like they’re having fun playing together as opposed to counting beats and measures. After some extended jamming, the main theme is revisited again taking us out.

The nine tracks clock in at just under an hour. Produced by Portnoy and Sherinian, it’s a perfect combination of tight songs but room to stretch. With “Psychotic Symphony,” each member is given a voice and it shows in the overall balanced sound of the record.

Although this is definitely a group effort, one gets the feeling that on this ship Sherinian is the Captain, Portnoy the Navigator, Sheehan the First Mate, and Bumblefoot and Soto the new, but highly experienced and talented Crew. Sail on gentlemen, I’m on board.

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Alvas Showroom

Music, Music, I Hear Music

Wow. It’s been a heavy few weeks. Hurricanes. Fires. Earthquakes. More hurricanes. Another mass shooting. More fires. I haven’t been writing even though I had a bunch of blog ideas underway, including one on travel that I teased at earlier. I’ve been struggling with doing anything in light of recent events. My negative self asks me, “What good is writing about things when people are dying, being killed, homeless, devastated by events, both natural and man-made. What does one do?” As “hippy – dippy” as it may sound, the only way I can keep from going crazy in this world is to put something positive out there in it. This can take shape in the form of music, words, or any other expressive, artistic medium. That is my contribution. Sometimes it can be hard. Especially on social media. Everyone is right. Everyone has a cause or belief, but we don’t talk to each other anymore. We make “comments” and argue endlessly about a wide range of issues, including the ones that have impacted my depression. It came to me that I must write. Write about how I feel. Write about how I am choosing to use positivity and music to impact my immediate community.

When music is an obsession. My CD collection at its peak.

Besides expressing myself thru writing, one of the things I have always turned to for support during times of anxiety and stress is music. It has always been there for me. It can inspire, enrage, sadden, inform, and make you fall in love, just to name a few effects. I love music. I recently saw a tweet that said “being obsessed with music is a full-time job” (@ThatEricAlper). I can attest to that. I love playing music and drumming, but the obsession with music began as a listener. It all started with the 45 rpm record and grew into the usual formats such as iPod, headphones, car or home stereo. Besides listening, I particularly enjoy seeing and hearing live performance. This is especially true when the music is of a high calibre, such as jazz, fusion, or progressive rock.

Since moving to Los Angeles, I have had the opportunity to see some amazing shows at some intimate performance spaces. Some of the venues are well known, such as the Baked Potato in Studio City and the Catalina Club in Hollywood. There are other lesser known clubs that also dot the area’s musical landscape such as The Mint in Los Angeles and the Jazz Bakery (currently in a “moveable feast” mode, but planning on a permanent space in Culver City). Another venue is Alvas Showroom in San Pedro. A historic, family owned facility that in addition to being a world class performance space, also houses a gymnastics and dance studio, music lesson school, and one of SoCals hidden gems of a music store (especially for guitarists). It’s an out of the way performance space conveniently located in my newly adopted hometown. I always tell the owner, Matt Lincir, that Alvas is the reason we moved to San Pedro. After living in downtown Los Angeles since 2006, we had decided to get out of the city, but still needed to stay close to our respective workplaces. We attended a show by one of my favorite drummers, Virgil Donati, at Alvas and as we drove around the area, we thought, “Hey, what if we could move here?” My wife Liz was looking up apartments the next day.

We moved to San Pedro and haven’t looked back. More stellar gigs at Alvas ensued, which included Jeff Hamilton, Peter Erskine, The Aristocrats, and Tony MacAlpine to name a few. At the MacAlpine gig, guitar great Allan Holdsworth was in attendance as a listener and after the show he chatted amicably on the sidewalk with the rest of the concertgoers. Where else but Alvas?

I recently attended a performance by avante-garde cellist Artyom Munukyan. During a pause between songs, an audience member asked about the effects pedals he uses in conjunction with his cello. He explained their different uses and proceeded to launch into an improvised jam with his band demonstrating their various sounds he uses in conjunction with his cello. Where else but Alvas?

At the recent show by fusion band OHM, the guitarist, Chris Poland, had major technical difficulties right when the show started. He uses a complex set of rack equipment for his guitar tones and after having to change tubes in his amp, had to re-program each effect at the beginning of each song. He handled the situation calmly and smoothly and the attending guitar aficionados received an up close lesson in keeping your cool when your gear goes down. Where else but Alvas?

I mentioned Allan Holdsworth earlier. Sadly, one of his last performances before he died was at Alvas. He was in rare form, talking with the audience and joking about his equipment. Virgil Donati was playing in his band at the time and the gig really stands out to me as one of those special performances. Where else but Alvas?

Pretty cool when your new boss comes to a meeting wearing a Mike Keneally t-shirt.

Fast forward to three years later. I’m ten months into retirement from my “day job” at the United States Postal Service and was looking for something to do to keep me out of trouble and make some extra money (man does not live by government pension alone). In my meanderings amongst my social media addictions, I happened upon an add on Facebook for “Lobby Host” at Alvas Showroom. I leapt at the opportunity to be involved somehow and after going thru a job application and interview process, I was chosen for the gig. I really love what Matt does with the Showroom and part of how I am dealing with my depression and anxiety concerning current events is to be involved in my neighborhood by being part of a local business that supports the arts. Being involved with giving the community the opportunity to hear and see high calibre music gives me great joy and satisfaction.

So, turn off your television, get off of your computer (except to read my blog), and go listen to some live music!

“The answer is love, you just need to decide what the questions are.” – Me

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” – Gandalf