Guitarist GREG HOWE Cancels North American Tour To Care For Ailing Fiancée/Manager

Guitarist Greg Howe has canceled his 2022 North American tour in order to care for his longtime manager and fiancée Cassandra, who is battling stage four breast cancer.

On Tuesday (April 26),Howe released the following message via his social media: To all my amazing supporters, fans, and friends. It is with deep regret that I am officially announcing the cancellation of my 2022 North American tour until further notice. After much consideration and contemplation, this very difficult decision comes as a result of recent news regarding the health condition of Cassandra, my beloved fiancee and manager of 20 years. Cassandra has been very strong and determined ever since her diagnosis of Stage IV breast cancer in 2018. And while she has been maintaining an optimistic view with some degree of success, her most recent scan had indicated metastatic growth in the brain which has already required a very aggressive treatment plan resulting in some significant side effects.

"With these new developments and the uncertainty surrounding them, I've decided it's best not to be away from home for extended periods of time in order to care for her.

"After having exhausted practically all methods of conventional treatments with mixed results, she has decided to explore alternative treatments and methods. There are countless cases of success stories of people who have benefitted by exploring other non-conventional options, however they are often very expensive and unfortunately not covered under Insurance. Because of that, a GoFundMe page has been set up in Cassandra's behalf. Any amount you can give will be deeply appreciated.

"Once again, my enormous heartfelt thanks to all of you for understanding and for having been such amazing supporters of my music and career over the years.

"P.S. I am still hoping to release new material soon, and with your help, both Cassandra and I look forward to moving past this season of challenge.

"Much love to you all, Greg"

Howe officially began his solo career after sending a demo tape to Shrapnel Records in 1987, upon which he was immediately signed by founder Mike Varney. His self-titled debut album was released in 1988, during the popular shred era, and went on to become his highest-selling album. A Guitar World article in 2009 would rank it as tenth in the all-time top ten list of shred albums. The following year, he joined with his brother Albert to form a VAN HALEN-inspired hard rock group named HOWE II. Through Shrapnel, they released two studio albums: "High Gear" (1989) and "Now Hear This" (1991). His second solo album, "Introspection", was released in 1993. At this point his style had changed radically from the straightforward instrumental rock of both his debut and the HOWE II albums, to a more jazz fusion-laden approach which remains unique and identifiable to this day; some of his signature traits being fast left-hand legato passages (having been influenced greatly by jazz fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth),and the frequent use of tapping and odd time signatures. A trio of albums spanning the middle part of the decade — "Uncertain Terms" (1994),"Parallax" (1995) and "Five" (1996) — were all a consistent evolution of the sound he had adopted on "Introspection". During this time he collaborated twice with fellow guitarist Richie Kotzen for the albums "Tilt" and "Project" in 1995 and 1997, respectively. He then briefly dabbled with a heavier, neo-classical metal style for his 1999 release, "Ascend", which featured keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij. However, he has since spoken of his dissatisfaction for that project, as well as an earlier collaboration on Kuprij's own album, "High Definition" (1997). After switching labels to Shrapnel's jazz-oriented counterpart Tone Center Records, he returned to his familiar style with "Hyperacuity" (2000),which still stands as some of his most prominent experimentation with jazz fusion. After a highly troubled recording process for "Extraction" (2003),which featured drummer Dennis Chambers and bassist Victor Wooten, he took an extended hiatus from recording solo material until the release of his ninth studio album, "Sound Proof", in 2008. In 2017, Howe returned to his instrumental roots with "Wheelhouse", an album he has called his most personal to date.

Currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada (having previously lived in Easton, Pennsylvania until around 2006),Howe continues to work as a session musician and producer, as well as providing online guitar lessons through his official web site.