The Aristocrats

[sawtooth]

I must admit that ignoramus that I am, I've never heard of Guthrie Govan before (I AM a keyboard player after all! ) but after seeing him on youtube I was completely blown away. That track called Waves is jawdroppingly good. Very technical, sure, but also very melodic. Nicey!

[RacingHippo]

They've been on my WinAmp since yesterday. On about the 4th consecutive play now (with breaks, though!)

And can I say, with no attempt to avoid double-entendre, I love Sweaty Knockers.

[gr8gonzo]

Beller also plays with Mike Keneally, doesn't he? I played a track from that Aristocrats album on the EIMA show a while back and even Leon from Tinyfish had nothing bad to say about it.  

[MikeEvs]

Beller also plays with Mike Keneally, doesn't he? I played a track from that Aristocrats album on the EIMA show a while back and even Leon from Tinyfish had nothing bad to say about it.  

Yes Beller play in Keneally's band and Keneally plays in Beller's band too

[Mikey]

Beller also plays with Mike Keneally, doesn't he? I played a track from that Aristocrats album on the EIMA show a while back and even Leon from Tinyfish had nothing bad to say about it.  

Yes Beller play in Keneally's band and Keneally plays in Beller's band too

They play with each other

[RacingHippo]

They play with each other

Do they play with their twangers?

[Mikey]

Aristocrats Fans-
 
After the successful launch of the debut album and tours of Far East Asia and US/Canada east coast in 2011, the Aristocrats are now ready for more action in early 2012 - starting out with a short west coast tour after the NAMM Show in Los Angeles. After a pair of already-sold-out shows in San Pedro during NAMM weekend, the band heads up the coast for a show at Biscuits & Blues in downtown San Francisco on Friday 1/27, and then two shows at the Rendezvous in Seattle on Saturday 1/28 and Sunday 1/29. Then in February The Aristocrats will fly down to Costa Rica for a gig on Saturday 2/25 that will also feature Greg Howe and his band, and guitarist Alex Hutchings from the U.K. After that, the band returns to Southern California for a show on Friday 3/2 at Brick By Brick in San Diego......and then a big show at The Roxy in West Hollywood on Sunday 3/4 Sun as the headliner for the WesFest 7 benefit concert, a four-act show that will also feature Mike Keneally (as an artist, and also sitting in with The Aristocrats for three tunes!), and several other superb artists. This is a major event in the heart of LA that you won't want to miss, and it's for a great cause as well. Click here for all the details. Right after WesFest, the band is straight off to London to start a big tour of Europe that will cover the U.K., Holland, France, Spain, Turkey and Israel. The U.K. portion of the tour will feature the prog power trio Godsticks as the opening act, and the guys are grateful for their support and psyched to have them opening up for them in Guthrie's home country. Just click here for complete info on all of the early 2012 Aristocrats shows! Guthrie, Bryan and Marco are really looking forward to getting out there and playing live once again, and the groundwork is being laid right now for more touring and album releases in the not-too-distant future. Thanks for all your support, and for signing up for this list, and here's to more BOING-ing in 2012. :-)

Tour dates

[Nev]

A phenomenal night last night seeing The Aristocrats (my first gig of 2012).  I had a stupid grin on my face the whole time.      Even Mrs Nev enjoyed it.  

I was stood directly in front of Bryan Beller and his Gallien Kruger rig - Trouser flapping bass, but with a great view of both Guthrie and Marco (front row).

I thought it was a disappointing turnout, considering the calibre of these guys - around 200 people at a guess.

Guthrie Govan was just incredible.  There are a couple of quotes on the Adrian Legg album 'Technopicker' that apply equally to Mr Govan, the first from Alexis Korner; "Here's a man who completely understands his instrument, plays with fiery passion and controls his rampant fingers with dexterity and delicacy"  The other quote; "...has the virtuosity of a brain surgeon, the taste of a tuna fish sandwich and the speed of a man with more fingers than the rest of us".   Personally I love the way that although he plays incredibly fast, I don't get the impression that it's mindless widdling using standard patterns, rather that every note seems to have its place, changing modes freely to give sections a different spin.

This was the first opportunity I've had to see Marco Minneman live and I wasn't disappointed.  What can I say.  I'm not a drummer, but even a numpty like me can tell that he is in the upper echelons of the skin bashing fraternity.  Two particular highlights for me of his playing were in 'Sweaty Knockers' where he plays over and across a rhythm set up by Bryan and Guthrie.  A perfect example of polyrhythmic drumming.  The second was his drum solo where he not only played his drums (including 'La Cucaracha' on the toms) but also the hi-hat stand and microphone.  Amazing.  I also had the opportunity to briefly say hello to him after the gig and thank him for a great night.

Bryan Beller played some beautiful bass and used the wah pedal to achieve some unusual lead sounds while not destroying the underlying bass tone (split signal maybe?).  Although he doesn't stand out as a flashy virtuoso (certainly in comparison to Guthrie and Marco), his playing was nevertheless tasteful, solid and a perfect support for his two band-mates.  Bryan was also the principal 'introducer', including a little bit in Spanish.  He told the audience how they had gone to a flamenco bar the previous night and said "now that was rhythmic complexity".  He and Marco then decided that, being Spain, the audience would have no problem in helping them out by clapping the 5/4 intro for the next song, which they did without a problem.

Overall the highlights of this great show (for me) were 'Sweaty Knockers', 'Flatlands' and 'Blues F**kers'.

Sadly I forgot my camera so I couldn't resurrect my gig photography, last practiced in the early 80s.  

Did I mention that I enjoyed this gig?

[Mikey]

THE ARISTOCRATS TOUR EUROPE: OCTOBER/NOVEMBER
 
First of all, we're getting excited for our European tour in October and November! Here's a list of confirmed dates and locations as of this writing:
 
10/9 - Uppsala, Sweden - Uppsala Guitar Festival
10/13 - Assemini - Cagliari (Sardinia), Italy - Golf Club Ercole Cellino
10/14 - Cassibile – Siracusa (Sicily), Italy - Anfiteatro Hotel Fontane Bianche
10/15 - Jesolo (VE), Italy - Scuola di Musica JAM c/o aula magna istituto "I. Calvino"
10/17 - Prato, Italy - Keller Platz
10/19 - Caserta, Italy - Black Cat Club
10/20 - Rome, Italy - Guitar Art Nights Festival (venue TBA)
10/21 - Molvena (VI), Italy - Revolution Studios
10/23 - Nice, France - Forum Nice Nord
10/24 - Legnano (MI), Italy - Land Of Live
10/26 - Frankfurt, Germany - Frankfurt Jazz Festival (Sendesaal des hessischen Rundfunks)
10/27 - Zagreb, Croatia - Zagreb Guitar Show (VIP Club)
10/28 - Zoetermeer, Netherlands - De Boerderij
10/29 - Verviers, Belgium - Spirit Of 66
10/31 - Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg - Kulturfabrik
11/3 - Unna, Germany - Kuhlschiff
11/5 - Hamburg, Germany - Logo
11/7 - Berlin, Germany - Crystal Club
11/9 & 11/10 - Athens, Greece - Athina Live
 
We're still confirming the last few dates,and should have that info up soon. But this is most of the plan, and we're excited to do our very first gigs as a group in Sweden, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Belgium, Greece, and perhaps more.

[Mikey]

ROCK/FUSION POWER TRIO THE ARISTOCRATS
TO RELEASE FIRST LIVE CD/DVD
BOING, WE'LL DO IT LIVE! ON DECEMBER 10
Guitarist Guthrie Govan, bassist Bryan Beller, and drummer Marco Minnemann are captured live at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro, CA
 
LOS ANGELES, CA (November 8, 2012) – The rock/fusion power trio The Aristocrats – featuring Guthrie Govan on guitar, Bryan Beller on bass, and Marco Minnemann on drums – will release BOING, We'll Do It Live! The Aristocrats At Alvas Showroom onDecember 10, 2012. The release will be in two formats: A standard-edition, 14-track, 2CD album, and a Deluxe EditionDVD + 2CD package featuring two additional bonus tracks, bonus audio from soundcheck, additional candid show footage, and bonus interviews with each band member. The 6-camera video was shot in high definition, and the 5.1 surround audio mix was done by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. A 2-channel stereo mix is also available.
 
Formed practically by demand after a single raucously received set at the Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA in January of 2011, the trio tracked their debut album The Aristocrats [BOING!] just four months later, and released it that September to universal acclaim. But the core energy of the band from the start was their preternatural live chemistry, which became even more explosive during a year's worth of worldwide touring.
 
"We're all definitely proud of the studio album," says bassist Beller, "but we were just getting to know each other when we cut it. Now that we've traveled the world together, we really get each other musically and personally. Honestly, we spend a lot of time making each other laugh to the point of tears. I think that really comes through live, the sense that we're friends walking a high wire together musically, but also that, sometimes, we just choose to be extremely silly. Somehow it all works."
 
BOING, We'll Do It Live! was captured over two nights in June of 2012 at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro,CA, and features the entire Aristocrats repertoire, plus select material from the trio's individual back catalogs, and a brand new, previously unreleased song, "Dance Of The Aristocrats."
 
TRACK LISTING
 
DISC ONE
1. Bad Asteroid
2. Greasy Wheel
3. Boing!...I'm In The Back
4. Flatlands
5. I Want A Parrot
6. Blues Fuckers/Drum Solo
7. Waves
 
DISC TWO
1. Get It Like That
2. Furtive Jack
3. Train Trax
4. Cave Dweller
5. Mr. Kempinski
6. See You Next Tuesday *
7. Dance Of The Aristocrats
8. A Very Metal Introduction
9. Sweaty Knockers
10. Erotic Cakes *
* on Deluxe Edition only
 
DVD FEATURES
 
* Complete show, including bonus tracks & additional between song footage
* 5.1 surround mix by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree (and 2-channel stereo mix)
* Bonus audio from soundcheck
* Interviews with each band member

[Mikey]

Hello again-

Before we dive into the holiday week, we wanted to let you know about something really cool: Jam Track Central (the fine bunch who helped Guthrie re-release his amazing solo album Erotic Cakes) has just released bass/drum-only "backing tracks" from The Aristocrats debut album, with full transcriptions of all Guthrie Govan's guitar parts, composed and improvised! For guitarists, it's a lifetime of learning – and for bassists and drummers, it's a very revealing focus on the rhythm section interplay.
 
Just click here to check out JamTrack Central's Aristocrats "Backing Tracks".
 
Meanwhile, we wanted to repeat how grateful we are for the response to our new live album Boing, We'll Do It Live! The Aristocrats At Alva's Showroom!
 
All of the pre-orders have now shipped. Some are traveling internationally, so if you haven't gotten yours yet, it should be there really, really soon. We've also sent more to the warehouse so there's plenty to go around.
 
Meanwhile we've got some shows coming up on the west coast of the U.S. in January, and we're going to be debuting some new material from the upcoming second studio album, which we'll start tracking in January as well.
 
That's it for now. From all of us at BOING Music and The Aristocrats, thanks so much for a great 2012, and have a wonderful holiday season with you and yours!
 
-BB (for GG and MM as well!)

[Mikey]

Hello again - Bryan Beller here as always with the latest Aristocrats news. There's LOTS to tell you about 2013, so let's not waste any time.

First of all, you may (or may not!) have heard that Marco Minnemann and I have been invited to join Joe Satriani's touring band (along with the amazing Mike Keneally on keys), and we'll be touring the U.K. and Europe in May, June and July. We are both extremely honored and excited for the opportunity to tour with one of the true legends of the guitar world. Marco and I are both looking forward to playing with Joe, and for Joe's legions of fans across Europe and the U.K. And let's not forget about Guthrie Govan touring with Steven Wilson this spring and summer as well. So we're all fortunate to be busy doing some very cool projects.
 
But while we're excited about this new news, we want you, our Aristocratic fans, to know one thing: The Aristocrats are not slowing down at all. In fact, here's the big news in two parts:
 
* Our second studio album, tentatively titled Culture Clash, is targeted for a July 16 release;
 
* We will be touring the U.S. for 6 weeks, from mid-July to late August, to support the new album.
 
Usually we wouldn't announce a tour until it was 100% booked, but given the unique circumstances, we thought it would be cooler to let you know right away about our plans for 2013: New record, new tour, full steam ahead.
 
Here are the dates as of right now, including cities we're working on booking this very second (obviously subject to change and addition):
 
7/17 - Nashville TN - Douglas Corner
7/19 - Tampa FL - Brass Mug
7/20 - Orlando FL - TBA
7/21 - Jacksonville FL - 1904 Music Hall
7/23 - Atlanta GA - Atlanta Institute of Music (clinic/performance)
7/24 - Atlanta GA - (venue) TBA
7/25 - Charlotte NC - Tremont Music Hall
7/26 - Norfolk VA - TBA
7/27 - Washington DC - TBA
7/29 - Boston MA - Berklee College of Music (clinic)
7/30 - Boston MA - Berklee Performance Center (concert)
7/31 - Wilkes-Barre PA - TBA
8/1 - New York City NY - TBA
8/2 - Philadelphia PA - North Star Bar
8/3 - Dunellen NJ - New Jersey Proghouse
8/6 - Pittsburgh PA - TBA
8/7 - Cleveland OH - Beachland Tavern
8/8 - Columbus OH - Southgate House Revival
8/9 - Cincinnati OH - Rumba Café
8/10 - Charleston WV - Empty Glass
8/12 - Indianapolis IN - TBA (clinic)
8/13 - Indianapolis IN - Birdy's
8/14 - Chicago IL - Reggie's
8/15 - Madison WI - Brink Lounge
8/16 - Minneapolis MN - TBA
8/17 - Omaha NE - TBA
8/19 - St. Louis MO - 2720 Cherokee
8/20 - Lawrence KS - TBA
8/21 - Tulsa OK - TBA
8/23 - Denton TX - Dan's Silverleaf
8/24 - San Antonio TX - TBA
8/25 - Houston TX - TBA
 
We're updating the website right now with info as it comes in. Keep checking it and you'll see the latest dates as they confirm.
 
Guthrie, Marco and I are extremely excited to get this new record out and play the new material across the U.S., especially in some places we've never been as a band before (Florida, Texas, the prairie midwest).
 
There you have it, the big news. Be sure to Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more frequent updates. In the meantime, we'll get back to finishing up this new record. :-)
 
On behalf of Marco and Guthrie, thanks so much from all of us for being on this list and wanting to know what we're up to. Hope to see you out there this year!
 
Best wishes to all,
The Aristocrats

[Pixeltool]

Good stuff! nice music!

[Mikey]

Hey there-

Bryan Beller here, from The Aristocrats. I know it's been a while since we've written to you, but we were hard at work! We were busy making our second studio album. And now it's done, and it's coming out on July 16, and it's called Culture Clash, and here's the cover artwork. You get to see it first because you're on this mailing list:




Yes, we're fighting a pig, a chicken, and a spaceman, in front of a biblically-referenced structure. :-)

We're also proud to reveal the track listing for the new album:

1. Dance Of The Aristocrats
2. Culture Clash
3. Louisville Stomp
4. Ohhhh Noooo
5. Gaping Head Wound
6. Desert Tornado
7. Cocktail Umbrellas
8. Living The Dream
9. And Finally

And there's going to be a Deluxe Edition, with a Bonus DVD called Accept The Mystery: The Making Of The Aristocrats' "Culture Clash". That will include studio footage and exclusive interviews with each member of the band.

It all comes out on July 16. Between now and then, we'll be releasing previews of audio and video on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/aristocratsband), as well as other media outlets. You might want to follow us on Twitter as well at @acratsband.

There will be a presale soon. There will be new t-shirts soon. It will all be available at our webstore at http://thearistocrats.spinshop.com, and you'll be the first to know.

And if you're in America, there will be a tour to promote it this summer! (Don't worry, Europe and South America - we'll get to you next year.)


THE ARISTOCRATS
CULTURE CLASH - Summer 2013 U.S. Tour

7/17 - Nashville, TN - Douglas Corner
7/19 - Tampa, FL - Brass Mug
7/20 - Orlando, FL - West End Trading Company
7/21 - Jacksonville, FL - 1904 Music Hall
7/23 - Atlanta, GA - Atlanta Institute of Music (clinic/performance)
7/24 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade (Purgatory)
7/25 - Charlotte, NC - Tremont Music Hall (Casbah)
7/26 - Raleigh, NC - Pour House Music Hall
7/27 - Vienna, VA - Jammin Java
7/29 - Boston, MA - Berklee College of Music (clinic)
7/30 - Boston, MA - Berklee Performance Center (concert)
7/31 - Wilkes-Barre, PA - River St. Jazz Cafe
8/1 - New York City, NY - Highline Ballroom
8/2 - Philadelphia, PA - North Star Bar
8/3 - Dunellen, NJ - New Jersey Proghouse
8/6 - Pittsburgh, PA - Hard Rock Cafe
8/7 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern
8/8 - Columbus, OH - Rumba Café
8/9 - Cincinnati, OH - Southgate House Revival
8/10 - Charleston, WV - Empty Glass
8/12 - Detroit MI - Token Lounge
8/13 - Indianapolis, IN - Birdy's
8/14 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's
8/15 - Madison, WI - Brink Lounge
8/16 - St. Paul, MN - Station 4
8/17 - Omaha, NE - Shamrock's
8/19 - St. Louis, MO - 2720 Cherokee
8/20 - Kansas City, MO - The Record Bar
8/21 - Tulsa, OK - The Vanguard
8/23 - Denton, TX - Dan's Silverleaf
8/24 - Houston, TX - Rudyard's Pub
8/25 - Austin, TX - Saxon Pub

Guthrie, Marco and I deeply appreciate all your support through the first record and the live album, and we know you've been waiting patiently for the new album. It's almost here.

Stay tuned for more updates - and spread the word. :-)

Cheers,
BB/The Aristocrats