OSI (Office Of Strategic Influence), the progressive hard rock duo formed by Jim Matheos (Fates Warning) and Kevin Moore (Chroma Key, Dream Theater), has inked a deal with Metal Blade Records! The band has gained a strong underground following since its inception in 2003. OSI already has 3 full length records and an EP in its catalogue of music. Their 2009 album, Blood and includes guests Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree) and Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth). Past participants include Mike Portnoy on the first two albums, Sean Malone and Steven Wilson on the debut, and Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Fates Warning) on Free. OSI is currently working on their fourth album and Metal Blade debut for a late 2010 release.

OSI’s music can’t easily be pigeonholed and is a completely different animal when compared to its founders’ other projects. The music is a combination of dark rock chorus’ with atmospheric, often industrial keys and is an eclectic mix of both Moore’s and Matheos’ influences.

Metal Blade founder and CEO Brian Slagel adds: “We are very excited to welcome OSI to the Metal Blade Family. I have been a big fan of the band and all of us here can’t wait to work on the new album.”

Keep an eye out for more news and updates as the band continues work on their new album!

OSI discography:
Office of Strategic Influence (February, 2003)
Free (April, 2006)
re:free (EP) (November, 2006)
Blood (April, 2009)

UMPHREY’S MCGEE ANNOUNCES COMPLETE SUMMER TOUR SCHEDULE

LOOK FOR THE BAND AT FESTIVAL STOPS
INCLUDING BONNAROO, SUMMERFEST, ALL GOOD AND OTHERS

PLUS, BIG PLAYS
AT COLORADO’S RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE ON JULY 3
WITH GALACTIC AND THE WAILERS,
AT LC OUTDOOR AMPHITHEATRE IN COLUMBUS OPENING FOR WIDESPREAD PANIC, AND MORE

On the heels of big plays in Amsterdam and Australia, and still buzzing from the ground-breaking first annual UMBowl in Chicago, pop prog rockers Umphrey’s McGee today unveil their complete summer 2010 tour schedule.

The band’s summer plans include stops at festivals throughout the country: Bonnaroo, Summer Camp, Wakarusa, Summerfest, and All Good, among others. Additional tour highlights include a highly anticipated Colorado visit - for a July 3 “Red Rocks & Blue” show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre with Galactic (w/ Cyril Neville) and The Wailers and an intimate play on the 4th of July at the Gothic Theatre, and an opening stint for Widespread Panic on July 13 at LC Outdoor Amphitheater in Columbus, OH. Umphrey’s McGee’s complete summer tour schedule is included below.

The always forward-thinking Umphrey’s McGee recently carved out new terrain in musical interactivity with fans, when they hosted the first annual “UMBowl” - an unprecedented 4-quarter evening-long concert at Lincoln Hall in the group’s hometown of Chicago. For the April 24th event, fans determined the show’s entire set list via real time text messaging and pre-show balloting. Complete with (quite funny) ESPN style videos in between quarters, UMBowl football jersey-styled t-shirts, and “overtime”, the venue roared with the energy of an NFL Playoff game. Each quarter offered a unique approach to fan interaction – such as an acoustic “1st quarter” with songs determined by pre-show balloting, and a wholly improvised 2nd quarter performance driven by real time texting from the fans to the soundboard, where it was reviewed and delivered to the band (and the crowd) by “offensive coordinator/sound caresser” Kevin Browning. A Blogritics.org review hailed UMBowl as “…challenging, fan-centric and courageous.”

Umphrey’s McGee also recently released their song “1348″ on the Rock Band Network. This marks the first time Umphrey’s McGee’s music has been part of any video game, and the progressive-rock influenced music proves to be a great fit. For “1348” Umphrey’s McGee worked with former Harmonix Music Systems employee and current Rock Band Network freelancer Andrew Buch. In addition to “1348”, Buch is helping to prepare several Umphrey’s McGee songs for the program that will be made available soon.

Umphrey’s McGee’s complete list of summer tour dates is as follows:

Friday, May 28 - Sunday, May 30 Summercamp Chillicothe IL
Wednesday, June 2 House of Blues New Orleans LA w/ Brock Butler
Thursday, June 3 House of Blues Dallas TX w/ Brock Butler
Friday, June 4 - Saturday, June 5 Wakarusa Festival Ozark AR
Thursday, June 10 - Sunday, June 13 Bonnaroo Manchester TN
Wednesday, June 30 Summerfest Milwaukee WI
Friday, July 2 Nateva Music & Arts Festival - Oxford Fairgrounds Oxford ME
Saturday, July 3 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison CO w/ Galactic and The Wailers
Sunday, July 4 Gothic Theatre Englewood CO
Wednesday, July 7 Centennial Terrace Sylvania OH Co-headlining w/ moe.
Thursday, July 8 Party in the Park Rochester NY w/ Cornmeal
Friday, July 9 All Good Music Festival Masontown WV
Saturday, July 10 Forecastle Festival Louisville KY
Sunday, July 11 Jamboozle Big Flats NY
Tuesday, July 13 LC Outdoor Amphitheater Columbus OH Opening for Widespread Panic
Thursday, July 15 Lafayette Square Buffalo NY w/ Tea Leaf Green
Friday, July 16 Frederick Meijer Gardens Grand Rapids MI
Saturday, July 17 White River Lawn Indianapolis IN w/ Rusted Root
Thursday, July 29 South Shore Music Circus Cohasset MA w/ Rebelution
Friday, July 30 Cape Cod Melody Tent Hyannis MA w/ Rebelution
Saturday, July 31 Gathering of the Vibes Bridgeport CT
Sunday, August 1 Hampton Beach Casino Room Hampton Beach NH w/ Rebelution
Wednesday, August 4 Saranac Brewery Utica NY w/ Rebelution
Thursday, August 5 Theatre at Westbury Westbury NY w/ Rebelution
Friday, August 6 Penn’s Peak Jim Thorpe PA
Saturday, August 7 Stone Pony Asbury Park NJ
Wednesday, August 11 The Norva Norfolk VA
Thursday, August 12 House of Blues Myrtle Beach SC w/ Rebelution
Friday, August 13 Raleigh Amphiteater Raleigh NC w/ Rebelution
Saturday, August 14 Masquerade Music Park Atlanta GA w/ Rebelution
Thursday, November 11 - Friday, November 12 Bear Creek Music & Art Fest Live Oak FL
Thursday January 20 - Sunday, 24 2011 Mayan Holidaze Mayan Riviera, Mexico w/ The Disco Biscuits and STS9

www.umphreys.com for tickets and information. (more…)

The lineup and schedule for ProgPower Europe 2010 is now set. On Friday 1 October, the festival will be opened by the French band KLONE, which has just released a new album. On Saturday talented newcomer HAKEN from the U.K. will open and on Sunday LOVE DE VICE from Poland will open the last day of the festival.

The complete lineup is:

Friday 1 October

SERENITY (austria)
LEPROUS (norway)
KLONE (france)

Saturday 2 October

SHADOW GALLERY (usa)
MYRATH (tunesia)
DARKWATER (sweden)
XERATH (uk)
PROGHMA-C (poland)
HAKEN (uk)

Sunday 3 October

JON OLIVA’S PAIN (usa)
OCEAN’S OF SADNESS (belgium)
ASPERA (norway)
THE DUST CONNECTION (the netherlands)
SACRUM (argentina)
LOVE DE VICE (poland)

London, England –- Joe Satriani, one of rock music’s most renowned electric guitarists, undertakes a six date UK tour from Sunday 17th October at the Manchester Apollo.

Tickets go on sale from Friday May 14th and can be purchased from the National Credit Card Hotline - 0844 888 9991 or www.ticketline.co.uk. Very special guest is the critically acclaimed Belfast-based blues guitarist Simon McBride. The tour coincides with the release of Satriani’s 11th studio album.

Joe Satriani has been a worldwide guitar hero since his 1987 breakthrough album, Surfing With The Alien. Over 10-million albums and CD’s later, in addition to 14 Grammy nominations and numerous accolades Joe continues to push the envelope of modern rock guitar playing.

Although he originally started his career by teaching some of the top rock guitar players of the ’80s and ’90s like Metallica’s Kirk Hammet and virtuoso Steve Vai, Joe Satriani is universally hailed as one of the most technically accomplished and respected guitar players in the history of rock music. Satriani, who cites Jimi Hendrix as a major influence, quickly established his reputation as one of rock’s most important guitarists.

In 2009 Satriani teamed up with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony of Van Halen plus Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) to form Chickenfoot. Their debut album became a global hit and received gold awards in the US, Canada and Europe, while Classic Rock Magazine voted them Best New Band of 2009.

NEW MYSPACE OFFERING:

Pain of Salvation have redesigned their MySpace page to include new,
pre-listing, tracks of “Linoleum” and “No Way” off the band’s new album,
“Road Salt One,” (in US stores on June 8th ). Friends can also check
out new videos for “Linoleum” and the band’s “Road Salt” performance on
Sweken’s Melodifestivalen as well as their older videos like “Undertow,”
“Ashes” and “Ending Theme.”

NEW ALBUM:

“Road Salt One” is Pain of Salvation’s 11th release and the first
installment of a two album series. This new chapter continues the band’s
challenging musical journey while paying homage to a hard rocking 70s
progressive style. Frontman, Daniel Gildenlow, continues to reinvent
himself taking the listener on a musical rollercoaster ride of
stunningly beautiful songs which leave you salivating for the upcoming
“Road Salt Two.” (due out later this year)

Euopean fans can see frontman, Daniel Gildenlow, this May on
Transatlantic’s Whirlwind 2010 tour:

04. May Frankfurt, Germany Batschkapp
05. May Hamburg, Germany Markthalle
06. May Poznan, Poland Hala Arena
07. May Berlin, Germany Columbia Club
08. May Köln, Germany Live Music Hall
09. May Stuttgart, Germany Longhorn*
*10. May Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg Rockhal
13. May Madrid, Spain La RivieraTickets
14. May Barcelona, Spain Razzmatazz 2
15. May Lyon, France Transbordeur
17. May Milan, Italy Alcatraz
18. May Pratteln, Switzerland Z7
19. May Paris, France Elysée Montmartre
20. May Tilburg, Holland 013
21. May London, England Shepherd’s Bush Empire
22. May Manchester, England Academy

Now that Asia’s new album “Omega” is in the hands of Frontiers Records, it’s no surprise
to see a press release and some sound bytes posted as reported last
week. However, the label has now posted a complete track from the album
- “Finger on the Trigger”. You can check it out here:

http://www.frontiers.it/intro/asiapromopage.html

A few more notes to pass along …

- One minor change on the “Omega” release date. The album should be out
a week early in Finland (April 16th) in order to ensure that it is in
the shops when the band plays there in Helsinki on the 21st. The
standard European release is on the 23rd, with the USA on May 4th.

- For those of you following keyboardist Geoff Downes on Twitter, he has recently had to
change his account. You can now find him under the user name
“asiageoff”, or check him out here:

http://www.twitter.com/asiageoff

- Yes have just announced that they will be touring with Peter Frampton
in June/July. Some early dates can be found on the band’s official site:

http://yesworld.com/

- After the Yes tour, guitarist Steve Howe will be joining up with the guys in Asia for
the High Voltage festival in London, with plenty of touring to follow:

http://www.highvoltagefestival.com/

- Drummer Carl Palmer is about to head out for a few solo tour dates in Germany. Dates
can be found here:

http://www.carlpalmer.com/index01.html

- John Wetton recently appeared live with It Bites at a charity concert for the
Cumbria flood recovery fund. Looking ahead, John has also hinted that he
may begin work on his next solo album after the Asia touring cycle later
this year.

MARS HOLLOW Release self-titled debut on 10T Records

Charleston, SC – March 23, 2010 (10T Records) – 10T Records is excited to announce the release of the full length debut CD release by Mars Hollow on June 8, 2010. Mars Hollow are based out of Southern California’s musically fertile San Fernando Valley, where some of rock’s classic albums have been recorded. Comprised of four veteran musicians - John Baker (vocals/guitar), Jerry Beller (drums/vocals), Kerry Chicoine (bass/vocals) and Steve Mauk (keyboards/vocals) - Mars Hollow blend their unique individual musical voices into one captivating whole.

Mars Hollow take the foundation of ‘70’s progressive rock – classical-based song structures combined with melodic pop and rock sensibilities – and update this classic formula for the new millennium. Seamlessly blending unexpected instrumental passages with traditional progressive, pop and rock motifs, Mars Hollow strive for songwriting perfection sprinkled with the left-turns necessary to keep the music challenging, all without devolving into mindless ego-stroking. In other words, it’s all about the song.

Mars Hollow’s self-titled debut album was produced, mixed and mastered by King Crimson associate Ronan Chris Murphy. Ronan has also been involved with such artists as Terry Bozzio, Steve Morse, Tony Levin, Steve Stevens, Mike Keneally, the California Guitar Trio, and Nels Cline.

“We’re very happy to be on the 10T Records roster,“ says Mars Hollow bassist/songwriter Kerry Chicoine, “and, considering the caliber of the artists they’ve signed in the past, we’re very flattered as well. We’re looking forward to a positive and fulfilling relationship with 10T Records.”

“There are some bands that have that unique ability to instantly captivate the ear and dominate your attention,” says 10T Records president, Steve Carroll. “Mars Hollow was able to accomplish that feat almost instantly within the first track of their debut CD and then hold onto it throughout. We are genuinely excited to be able to bring this music to larger audience.”

“Mars Hollow”” is available for immediate pre-sale through the 10T Records website. All orders received between now and the official release date will ship by the end of the week prior to the official release. Additionally, all tracks from “Mars Hollow” are available to preview in their entirety through the 10T Records website:

http://10trecords.com/artists/genres/progressive-experimental/mars-hollow/mars-hollow-discography/

After June 8, “Mars Hollow” will be available at your favorite retail outlet for immediate purchase.

German metallers BLIND GUARDIAN have posted their first studio trailer featuring drummer Frederik Ehmke on the band‘s official website. The 3:22 episode is titled “The sacred wheel of time cannot erase the medieval song.“ The video contains musical excerpts from “A Voice In The Dark“ (Intro/Outro) and demo versions of “Wheel Of Time.“

The band are currently in the studio recording their follow-up to 2006’s A Twist In The Myth, which debuted at #21 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums chart and #288 on Billboard’s Top Albums chart. A summer/fall release is expected.

Visit BLIND GUARDIAN online at www.BLIND-GUARDIAN.com & www.myspace.com/BLINDGUARDIAN.