AG BIO
Guitarist, Singer, and Songwriter Alastair Greene has been a mainstay of the Southern California music scene for over 2 decades. Alastair was born April 18th, 1971 in Santa Barbara, CA. He discovered music through his mother's piano playing at home and whose record collection included classics by The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John, while his father's tastes at the time leaned toward Bach and Beethoven. Alastair was inspired to pursue music as a career by his grandfather, the late Chico Alvarez, who played trumpet as a member of the Stan Kenton Band in the '40s and '50s. Growing up, Alastair took piano lessons and played the saxophone before discovering the guitar in High School. He received a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied for two years before returning to southern California to begin playing with Blues and Rock bands in the early ‘90s.
Alastair is best known for his blues-based, soulful, and melodic guitar playing (as well as one of a rare-breed to play slide guitar), Alastair can be heard on CDs by Alan Parsons (2006 Grammy Nominated ‘A Valid Path’); Aynsley Dunbar (2008 SPV Records release ‘Mutiny’); Blues singer, harmonica legend, and former member of WAR, Mitch Kashmar (2005 ‘Wake Up and Worry’ on Delta Groove Records), as well as French Blues Guitarist Franck Golwasser’s 2007 release ‘Bluju.’ Alastair has put out 5 of his own CDs and has also appeared on countless independent CD releases ranging from Blues to Southern Rock. Alastair's song 'The Long Way Home' appeared in a 2007 episode of the TNT hit TV series 'Saving Grace'.
Whether with his own band or as part of others, Alastair has opened shows for The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Robin Trower, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Lonnie Brooks, Chris Thomas King, Lucky Petersen, Jonny Lang, Billy Boy Arnold, Joe Bonamassa, Mike Campbell's Dirty Knobs, and many more. Alastair continues to perform an average of 100 live dates a year with his own band as well as with Mitch Kashmar, Franck Goldwasser, Shari Puorto and a host of other Southern California Bands. The Alastair Greene Band was the only unsigned act to play the main stage at the 2010 Sonora Blues Festival.
Alastair released the Blues CD ‘Walking In Circles’ in June 2009 and accepted an offer to be the full time guitarist in the Alan Parsons Live Project in January 2010. The Alastair Greene Band Co-Headlined the 2010 Real Blues Festival of Orange County and the 1st annual Kern River Blues and Rock Fest in addition to headlining the 25th Anniversary Avocado Festival. The Hard Rock CD 'Through The Rain' is scheduled to be released in November 2011 on LeRoi Records following the release of the single 'By The Way' which features a guitar trade-off solo between Alastair and Ty Tabor from King's X.
Through The Rain One Sheet
Brand New Release from LeRoi Records
ALASTAIR GREENE – THROUGH THE RAIN
ARTIST: Alastair Greene
TITLE: Through The Rain
FORMAT: Compact Disc (12 Tracks)
LABEL: LeRoi Records
RELEASE DATE: November 11th, 2011
CATALOGE NUMBER: LR003
UPC CODE: 885767937468
MUSICIANS:
Alastair Greene: Lead Vocals, Guitars, Bass
Ty Tabor: Guitar trade-off solo (right channel) track 3
Tom Lackner: Drums on tracks 4, 5, 9, 10, 11
George Pendergast: Drums on tracks 2, 3, 6, 8, 12
Jim Rankin: Bass on tracks 4, 5, 10; Harmony Vocals on track 5
Misha Feldmann: Bass on track 3
Bush Miller: Bass on tracks 9, 11
Chris Chalk: Harmony Vocals on tracks 3, 6
Alastair Greene’s career path has taken some interesting turns over the last couple of years. Between accepting the enviable job as lead guitarist for The Alan Parsons Live Project in 2010, and being the only unsigned act invited to play the 2010 Sonora Blues Festival, Greene has been performing a wide variety of music on stages the world over. Greene also recently signed to LeRoi Record to release his newest recorded offering. THROUGH THE RAIN may come as a bit of a shock to those who only became aware of Greene’s music via his Blues-based live band and previous CD releases. If his 2009 record WALKING IN CIRCLES was a musical tribute to Greene’s Blues heroes, then THROUGH THE RAIN would be his tribute to his hard rock upbringing.
From the Led Zeppelin-style riffing of the title track, to the Hendrix-meets-Pearl Jam of closer ‘You Will Remember’, Greene spends the majority of his new release in old-school hard rocking territory. THROUGH THE RAIN is even more eclectic than his 2002 debut A LITTLE WISER. ‘Take Me With You’ conjures up laid back Americana sounds that will be familiar to fans of The Black Crowes, while ‘The Real You’ mines a deep Funk Rock groove with extended solos reminiscent of heavier jam bands such as Gov’t Mule. Greene has not abandoned his love for the Blues and its early Rock n’ Roll off shoots, as up-tempo barnburner ‘T’other Way’ and the mid-tempo retro-rocker ‘Stoneroller’ prove. THROUGH THE RAIN also touches on a wide variety of lyrical themes, including stories of love lost and won, songs that question political motives, and introspective topics such as what happens after this life is over.
“My goal for this record was to combine my love of Blues with my Hard Rock influences and make a record that pushes the boundaries and challenges the perceptions of what is considered Blues Rock.” – Alastair Greene
The musician line-up on THROUGH THE RAIN gives the album a wide variety of feels and grooves. The drumming is split between long time Alastair Greene Band drummer Tom Lackner (who has been touring with Jeff Bridges) and former Dishwalla drummer George Pendergast. AGB bassist Jim Rankin, former Summercamp bassist Misha Feldmann and Greene himself share bass duties. As a special treat for guitar fans, Ty Tabor (guitarist for the legendary King’s X) engages in a guitar solo trade-off with Greene on the first single from the record ‘By The Way’.
“Alastair should be playing with the biggest bands in the world. I believe it’s just a matter of time.” – Alan Parsons
Track Listing: 1) Before The Storm 2) Through The Rain 3) By The Way 4) Get Your Evil On 5) T’other Way 6) All Of This Time 7) Dearly Departed 8) Take Me With You 9) Madman 10) Stoneroller 11) The Real You 12) You Will Remember
PUBLICITY: Scott Thomas sthomas9@austin.rr.com
RADIO: Robert Putignano bob8003@yahoo.com
MANAGEMENT: Doug Adamski dougadamski@cox.net
BOOKING: Alastair Greene agbluesband@yahoo.com
Alastair’s website: www.agsongs.com
LeRoi Records website: www.leroirecords.com