Monday, June 27, 2005

From the lips of keyboardist Chris Opperman: Eric Slick - 19 year old drum phenom!


Sorry, I know I just posted this pic from Guitarmageddon but I love it and I'm still waiting for the Guitarmageddon info so no sense letting the photo go to waste...

Anyway, as I previously broadcasted, my son Eric, who is 18, not 19 (arghh...please don't make him grow up any faster, Chris), has a gig in NYC at the Lion's Den on July 9 with members of Project Object and Chris Opperman, Steve Vai's keyboardist.

Here is what we received from Chris' mailing list today, and how cool is this!

Sent: Mon, 27 Jun 2005 3:05:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Subject: [Chris Opperman] Oppy Takes Manhattan Saturday, July 9th
[Chris Opperman Mailing List - Monday, June 27th, 2005]
Episode #41: Oppy Takes Manhattan
Order now at http://www.oppymusic.com/.
Mailing list entires archived at http://www.united-mutations.com/.

* Oppy @ The Lion's Den in NYC, Saturday, July 9th @ 9:30 PM
* "Beyond the Foggy Highway" Preview on MySpace
* Belgian Review of "Concepts of Non-linear Time"

* Oppy @ The Lion's Den in NYC, Saturday, July 9th @ 9:30 PM

Opperman will be making his debut New York City performance in front of over 100 of his biggest fans on July 9th with the debut of the East Coast version of his band SPECIAL OPPS featuring several members of legendary Frank Zappa cover band Project/Object as well as a graduate from Paul Green's School of Rock (http://www.schoolofrock.com/). They will be performing a long set consisting of fan favorites from all of Opperman's albums including the upcoming SPECIAL OPPS studio album as well as selected compositions by two of Opperman's mentors, Steve Vai and Mike Keneally.

The band will feature Chris Opperman on piano, Andre' Cholmondeley on electric guitar, Jeff Paitchell (from Opperman's hometown of Clifton, NJ) on guitar, Jordan "J-Ro" Shapiro on keyboards, Dave Johnsen on bass guitar, and 19 year-old phenom Eric Slick on drums.

"I realize that some of you have been waiting 7 years for this concert and that some of you are traveling long distances and planning your vacations around this event. I just want you to know that the band and myself are just as excited about this concert and this music as you are and that we are going to have one hell of a music party. It is an honor and a privilege to finally be able to bring this music home and we will all be playing like we've never played before. Get ready to have a great time!"

To order your tickets, go to http://www.cegmusic.musictoday.com/LionsDen/calendar.aspx. The show is 18+ and tickets are $10 each.

* "Beyond the Foggy Highway" Preview on MySpace

Last week, mastering engineer Scott Chatfield burned the final master for Opperman's fourth album, "Beyond the Foggy Highway." Also, local LA artist T.J. Moore completed two paintings for the artwork. Once the graphic design phase is completed and the mechanical licenses are signed, the album will be sent to the manufacturing plant and will be showing up in your mailboxes! Currently, there is an exclusive preview up on MySpace.com at www.myspace.com/chrisopperman which features 4 of the compositions on the album. At 65 minutes, it clocks in as Opperman's longest effort to date and includes 17 songs which feature all of his Los Angeles ensembles from 2002-2004.

The album can be pre-ordered from http://www.oppymusic.com/. All pre-orders will be individually signed and numbered and will include a unique one-of-a-kind sketch on the CD face by Chris Opperman.

* Belgian Review of "Concepts of Non-linear Time"

by Peter Van Laarhoven of Vosselaar, Belgium for United Mutations

"Concepts of Non-linear Time" is Chris Opperman's latest album. Or as the liner notes say: "This album is dedicated to everyone who has player or performed my music in the past, present and future."

This is one great album. It's contemporary, modern music, combining very fine compositions with superb playing. If you are familiar with Opperman's previous albums, you will probably be glad to hear that the grand piano still is the main instrument on this album. Chris' playing is astonishing. Just listen to "The Saddle Ranch" where he (and Mike Keneally) will take you for a rodeo ride, using various rhythmic and melodic elements. Beautiful.

My favourite tracks are "The Walls are Coming Down" and "Dora's Aura," both featuring excellent vibraphone work by Ben Adams. Mini-Moog fans on the other hand (and who isn't one) will be glad to hear that Marc Ziegenhagen is also present. He does some rather psychedlic things on "Reviving Aeris." Highly recommended.

No comments:

Post a Comment