“The Superleggera’s body shape is unique and perfectly balanced. The subtle references to the great Marcello Gandini (Lamborghini Miura, Alfa Montreal) are sublime. The brushed aluminum hardware is entirely bespoke. The bridge is made to my design parameters (as tool free as possible) with Tao’s usual attention to detail and magnificent design aesthetics. The pickups are custom Benedetti.” - Hansford Rowe
American bassist Hansford Rowe began his career in the clubs of New York City. With French drummer Pierre Moerlen, he reformed the jazz-rock group Gong. PM’s Gong is considered one of the great fusion bands of the late 70s. Recording guests included icons like Mick Taylor, Steve Winwood and Didier Lockwood. International touring soon secured Hansford a place among the world’s leading bass players and work with Mike Oldfield, Allan Holdsworth, John Martyn, Biréli Lagrène, La Monte Young, David “Fuze” Fiuczynski, Gary Husband etc Hansford, with Warwick bass guitars and guitarist Jon Catler developed the first Just Intonation bass. He is considered an expert in the use of alternate tuning systems. His last record is Decadence by Gong Expresso.
Tao Guitars was founded by Belgian luthier duo Serge Michiels and John Joveniaux in Brussels in 2004. The boutique builders collaborate closely with customers to perfectly outfit guitars to the individual and since the two luthiers handcraft all of the instruments by themselves they limit their output to just a few instruments per year. Infused by a deep sense of design and inspired by architecture, Italian auto design and Japanese aesthetics, Tao’s work is a perfect balance between functionality, tone and adventurous design. For more on Tao Guitars, please visit: http://www.taoguitars.com/.
HR Superleggera Bass by Tao Guitars
• Lightweight Swamp Ash body • Neck-through of Bosnian maple with a Wenge center (tinted black) • Wenge fingerboard with brushed aluminum fret marker inlays • Custom proprietary Benedetti pickups • Proprietary aircraft-grade brushed aluminum hardware • Circular graining of electronics box aluminum lining • Modified Hipshot lightweight tuners • Proprietary titanium truss rod by KTS Japan (single bar, double action) • Fret and nut material 18% Nickel / Silver (Maillechort – copper, nickel, and zinc) • Paint: Lamborghini Oro Elios • Scale: 34.5” • String spacing at nut: 9mm • String spacing at bridge: 17mm • Fingerboard radius: 14” • Weight: 7.8lbs • Price: 14,000 Euros
Featuring Bill Ortiz of Santana and Jim Bogios of the Counting Crows
San Francisco, CA – Throughout her storied music career, Anna Karney has performed across the country and released an incredible catalog of chart topping and critically acclaimed singles, EPs, and albums. Now with her San Francisco-based band KARNEY is set to release GONNA BE BEAUTIFUL on February 18, 2022, an exciting new collection of KARNEY originals along with some freshly conceived versions of old favorites.
GONNA BE BEAUTIFUL was recorded at East Bay Recorders in Oakland, CA, and produced by Anna Karney and Michael Rosen (Rancid, Tesla). Featured performers include Bill Ortiz (Santana, Tony Toni Tone) on trumpet; Jim Bogios (Counting Crows) on drums; James Deprato (Chuck Prophet Band) on guitar; Kevin White (Chuck Prophet Band) on bass; and longtime Karney band drummer Jeff Herrera. Offering a message of hope in uncertain times on the title track “Gonna Be Beautiful,” Anna Karney encourages her listeners to not get discouraged and to keep moving towards a kinder, inclusive, and happier world as she sings “Turn on the light / Keep the vision in plain sight / Bring it all into focus.” Also coming soon is an official music video for the track to be released later in 2022.
Keeping her mind on social justice and positive messages, Anna Karney’s lyrical content offers a sardonic and sometimes straightforward approach to many of the issues facing people today. Her musical influences include Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Patti Smith, John Lennon, Sheryl Crow, Chrissie Hynde, and Joni Mitchell. As an arranger, pianist, and guitarist, she has worked with artists such as George Clinton, Linda Perry, and Dennis Bovell.
Songs from the last KARNEY EP release Better received stellar airplay on Triple-A and Americana radio stations, including the title track and her powerful cover of “Ramble On,” one of Anna Karney’s favorite Led Zeppelin songs. She then released a series of singles throughout 2021, including her personal and heartfelt original track “Be Together,” and a cover of the Neil Young classic “Heart Of Gold.”
To create the “Be Together” single, KARNEY band musicians worked from individual studios to assemble their parts and build the track. Singer/guitarist Anna Karney, bassist Kevin White and guitarist James DePrato all recorded tracks at their own home studios. Drummer Jeff Herrera created rough drum parts in his rehearsal studio and sent them to trumpet player Bill Ortiz, who then recreated them digitally. All the tracks were then sent to producer/mixer Michael Rosen, who finished the mix at his East Bay Recorders studio. Ironically, even though the single is titled “Be Together,” the musicians never were.
Previous KARNEY releases include her 2018 album No Mercy; a series of singles from 2016, Manifest Destiny, Vol. 1 EP and Restless Wind, Vol. 2 EP; the 2012 album Love & Respect; the 2003 album All Connected; and her debut release Karney from 1999. Anna Karney has worked with producers and artists in the SF Bay Area such as Producer/engineer Mark Pistel (Michael Franti, Grace Jones, Chuck Prophet), Producer/Engineer Michael Rosen (Rancid, Tesla, Smashmouth, Santana, and Papa Roach), and Adam Munoz (Herbie Hancock, Dave Mathews, Branford Marsalis, Joshua Bell, Chester Thompson, and Lyle Lovett).
Anna Karney has had a diverse musical career, having spent many years composing music for games such as Star Wars Galaxies, Monkey Island IV, Armed and Dangerous, several SimCity titles, Metal Dungeon, Death Jr., and many more. She received the esteemed “Dreamcatcher” Award from the Visual and Performing Arts division of the San Francisco Unified School District for her work as a choral teacher and conductor for middle and high school students, as well as her contribution to the furthering of music education in the San Francisco public school system. Additionally, Anna Karney has scored ballet and modern dance pieces as an artist in residence at Mills College and San Francisco State University. She also composed her Opus 1 Chaconne Sur Sept for nationally renowned contemporary music group Earplay Ensemble.
The KARNEY band has enjoyed several open-air concerts during Covid, giving vulnerable and at-risk populations the opportunity to enjoy live performance in a safe and relaxed way. Stay tuned for more live performances in 2022!
Time Horizon is a Northern California-based melodic art-rock influenced band with two highly acclaimed previously released albums the band has returned with a third album titled “Power of Three” on the Melodic Revolution Records label and is ready for distribution. The album is now available for pre-order in both CD & Digital formats and will be released in early 2022 with Vinyl to follow.
In early Spring, Time Horizon gave fans a sneak peek into “Power of Three” with the release of their first single; “Living for a Better Day” featuring a special guest appearance by legendary SAGA frontman Michael Sadler on vocals.
The band has added two permanent members to the roster since the release of Transitions in 2015, namely David Bradley Mau and Michael Gregory. Their contribution to the music can be heard in the evolving sound that is Time Horizon.
Founding members Ralph Otteson and Bruce Gaetke had brought on Allen White and Dave Miller to be able to tour the first release “Living Water”. Those two ended up staying for the next project “Transitions” and now again with “Power of Three”.
Power of Three line up: David Bradley Mau: Lead vocals, supporting Keys Ralph Otteson: Keyboards, Piano, Hammond Organ, and support vocals Bruce Gaetke: Drums, support vocals, and lead vocals for “Razors Edge” Allen White: Electric fretted and fretless bass guitars @Dave Miller: Electric and acoustic guitars @Michael Gregory: electric lead guitar and acoustic guitars.
Prog ensemble Vast Conduit featuring keyboardist/vocalist Bill Jenkins, best known for his work with Enchant and Thought Chamber, will be releasing their debut album “Always Be There” on February 16, 2022.
This album is dedicated to the notion of doing whatever we can to build and cherish all parent/child relationships, regardless of circumstance. There are so many different ways these can suffer – death, divorce, illness, self-centeredness, etc. – yet they are so vital to our happiness and well-being. Every moment we have to support each other and make each other's lives better is precious.
Says Bill, “The songs ‘Always Be There’ and also ‘Early Eclipse’ convey the main message of the album. The release date is the 40th anniversary of my father’s passing, which set in motion a path through life and philosophy described by the songs on the album. I had the basic song ideas in place for almost all of these songs sitting around for years and it was simply time to finally make it all happen.”
The Fates conspired and a fortuitous set of circumstances created a vast conduit, galvanizing what might have otherwise been a run-of-the-mill progressive rock project with an abundance of musical talent and prowess. Keyboardist Bill Jenkins (Enchant, Thought Chamber), musing over some material near to heart, enlisted the talents of these amazing musicians to bring that material to light: Adding everything from scorching leads to subtle emoting is virtuosic guitarist Michael Harris (Arch Rival, Thought Chamber, Darkology, Michael Harris Tranz-Fusion). Laying the foundation with solid grooves and making odd time signatures seem effortless and feel natural is drummer Will Jenkins (Ghost and the City, Great Wall). The venerable Jeff Plant solidifies that foundation with electric and fretless bass (also from Thought Chamber and whose pedigree otherwise is too long to list here and whose amazing bass playing simply speaks for itself). Adding just the right amount of smoke and fire off his rosined bow is violinist Jim Hurley (who has performed with the likes of Ritchie Blackmore, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Ancient Future, and Queen Ida’s Grammy-winning Bon Temps Zydeco Band, among many others). Rounding out the list are the satiny vocals of Friel (a truly rare gem of vocal talent to have somehow, somewhere, out of the blue, been found for this project).
With the players in place, a cross-country recording project began, finishing with Vast Conduit’s initial studio album release “Always Be There” - a centrally themed album that explores several musical genres. Although progressive rock in nature, when pressed for a singular genre, Michael jokingly suggested “smooth prog.” After the requisite laughter, the recognition of how apropos of a description it was settled in, and laughter shifted to nods of approval as it was fully embraced by the band.
The album started as just an EP project, and recording of 3 of the songs with demo vocals started several years ago. Then covid happened and opened up the opportunity and availability to expand it to a full album.
Along with the core ensemble, the album features some guest artists. Having known the California Guitar Trio guys for some time, and loving their sound, Bill had always hoped to get them involved in a song. Bert Lams agreed to add his acoustic guitar to “Early Eclipse,” and helped in adjusting the arrangement to work even better with the addition of his parts.
Bill’s brother Tom Abraira plays the lead on trumpet on the track “Philly Etymology.” There were two spots for a female voice on this album. Says Bill, “I heard Manon’s singing in High Hopes Acapella, and invited her to sing the female part in ‘Barrier.’ Having worked with Betsy Walter previously, I already had an earlier demo of ‘Early Eclipse’ with her voice in it and used her part from under the solo in that song and it fit perfectly.”
Finally, there was an old recording of the instrumental idea that became “Wesley Save Us” that had Jessica Jenkins’ voice when they were a toddler. “With Jess’s voice being my association with that song for so many years, and given the theme of the album, working a few of those samples in just had to happen.”
Work has already begun on writing for the next album. After the release, the band will look into opportunities for live performances. In closing Bill has this to say, “If our listeners enjoy the music even half as much as we enjoyed creating it, that would be amazing!”
Watch the trailer for Vast Conduit’s “Always Be There”:
Track List: 1. Barrier 6:22 B. Jenkins, S. Spring (with lyrics) 2. Soul Tuck 5:10 B. Jenkins (instrumental) 3. Always Be There 5:49 B. Jenkins (with lyrics) 4. Endless Days 6:40 B. Jenkins, D. Ott (with lyrics) 5. Too Busy 5:45 B. Jenkins (instrumental) 6. Odessa 5:56 B. Jenkins (with lyrics) 7. 500 Miles 4:44 B. Jenkins, B. Walter (with lyrics) 8. Philly Etymology 5:39 B. Jenkins (instrumental) 9. Early Eclipse 6:59 B. Jenkins (with lyrics) 10. Of A Feather 5:01 B. Jenkins (instrumental) 11. Wesley Save Us 4:31 B. Jenkins (with lyrics)
Band Members: Friel: Vocals Bill Jenkins: Keys, backing vocals Will Jenkins: Drums Michael Harris: Guitars Jeff Plant: Bass Jim Hurley: Violin
Guest Artists: Tom Abraira - Trumpet on “Philly Etymology” Bert Lams - Acoustic Guitar on “Early Eclipse” Manon Roem -Vocals on “Barrier” Betsy Walter - Vocals on “Early Eclipse” Recorded at: The Zircon Cube, The Beige Area, and Psycho Sound East Mixed by: Bill Jenkins and Will Jenkins Produced by: Bill Jenkins and Will Jenkins Mastered by: Michael Romanowski at Coast Mastering, Berkeley CA Artwork by: Jessica Jenkins
American singer-songwriter Lon’nie is an artist on the way to achieving stardom. Discovering his passion for 80’s rock and pop from a young age, Lon’nie adopted the happy-go-lucky style of the decades into his own musical musings with a vengeance. With his previous releases ‘Won’t Let You Go’ and ‘Dreams’, both singles have racked up to over 495,000 and 576,000 streams on Spotify alone. Known for his unique approach to gaining worldwide attention, Lon’nie looks set to continue his success with further releases planned for the foreseeable future. Having heard the track in his imagination and rolling with it, Lon’nie knew which direction it had to go in. Speaking about the release, the artist shares, ‘Smile Back is about you just loving the way your girl is smiling back at you, that look just lights up your soul!’ Produced by Diamondz, ‘Smile Back’ is armed with an infectious beat that will leave you heading to the nearest dancefloor. Armed with character and attitude, this will instantly leave you smiling from ear to ear.
