Guitarist ALEX MASI Working On Three New Projects

In the wake of his successful spring 2008 tour of Italy, Grammy-nominated guitarist Alex Masi is planning to hit the road again in late fall. A few stops on his multiple-city European trek will include personal appearances and guitar clinics for Ernie Ball / Music Man, who recently inked an endorsement agreement with Masi. Los Angeles dates are in the works and will be announced in September.

Masi, who is known as much for his classical opuses as he is for his instrumental rock and metal compositions, is back at work in his Haunted Hill Studio working on three separate projects. He explains, "Continuing in the same tradition as 'In The Name of Bach', I'm doing a Vivaldi album. It's my personal homage to the composer who represents the city of Venice to the world, my fellow Venetian, Antonio Vivaldi. I'm choosing excerpts from the 'Four Seasons' to some more obscure pieces...two musicians from Venice meet across the centuries..."

Inspired by the ongoing organic connections between jazz, fusion and rock, Masi is also mixing it up with "a heavily groove-oriented electronica that features massive amounts of orgiastic guitars," which he says is "something I've wanted to do for a long time." He continues, "I'm not afraid to venture into the world of dance music. I like the idea of electronic sleaze shred."

While many of Masi's albums are instrumental, he will include vocals on this project.

According to Alex, "The third project is a rock album based on more traditional instrumentation but no less daring in terms of envelopes being pushed and cliches thrown out the window — HENDRIX, CREAM, ZEPPELIN, etcetera, but with a 21st century twist."