SCREAMS WORLD MUSIC

On Monday February 21st, Guardian Angels Records will release an exclusive digital Deluxe Edition of Sandi Thom's No.1 best-selling blues rock infused album Merchants and Thieves". The album will be available to download from iTunes and other leading digital retailers. The Deluxe Edition boasts two brand new, previously unreleased studio recordings, including Sandi's breathtaking rendition of the timeless folk classic House of the Rising Sun and Darren Haynes heartbreaking If Heartaches Were Nickels."

Sandi's version of House of the Rising Sun was recently the No.1 single on iTunes' UK blues chart for several weeks. The Deluxe Edition of Merchants and Thieves"also features the previously unreleased promo video for the third single Gold Dust." 

When Sandi first released Merchants and Thieves in 2010, her shift from pop music to grassroots blues attracted the attention of the global guitar brand 'Farida'. Impressed by her blues guitar recordings and performances, Farida asked Sandi to endorse a new acoustic guitar they were developing - a ground-breaking new electro acoustic model. 

Sandi then worked closely on the final development stages of the guitar. The official Sandi Thom signature model, the Farida SF-55ce, was premiered at the Frankfurt Musikmesse in January 2011. "I've never seen anything quite like it before" says Sandi, "I think it's an elegant looking guitar with a lot of individual features."

Don't miss Sandi on tour in the UK during March and April at the following venues - East Grinstead, Chequer Mead Theatre (March 18), Isle of Wight, Villa Marina (Mar 25), Holmfirth Picturedrome (Mar 26), Wolverhampton, Bilston Robin2 (Mar 27), Milton Keynes, The Stables (Mar 30), Southampton, The Brook (Mar 31), Norwich, Blakeney Harbour Rooms (April 1), Braintree, High Barn (Apr 3), Oxford O2 Academy 2 (Apr 4), Bridport, Electric Palace (Apr 5), Bristol, The Fleece (Apr 6), Pontypridd, Muni (Apr 7), Shrewsbury, Theatre Severn (Apr 9) Nottingham, The Playhouse (Apr 10), and Blackburn, Thwaites Empire (April 24).

Read the official online press release below:

We hoped to be finished with the new EP before the new year, but we're running a few months behind. You can't believe how many of the major snowstorms hit New Jersy mid-week... on days we were scheduled to be tracking! Then throw in various vacations (for some reason we all love to visit warmer destinations in the middle of winter) and a major hospital visit for one of our children (thankfully the end result will be a positive outcome) and it all adds up to some delays.

But the good news is that the music is sounding amazing. We're in the midst of tracking vocals, and then it's on to mixing. We know many of you can't wait to hear how the band has evolved musically since keyboardist Damon Fibraio and bassist Paul O'Keeffe joined our lineup last year. We're also itching to play out again.

Right now (Sunday night) we're featured on the SignMeToRoadRunnerRecords homepage. This is a huge opportunity for us to get taken seriously by the label that is home to Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree. Just imagine the tour possibilities if we were also on the artist roster!

Please visit the link below and register for an account on the SignMeTo website so that you can post reviews of our music and cast votes for it. We could definltey use your help.http://signmeto.roadrunnerrecords.com

A personal and intimate reworking of Santana and Journey classics as well as Gregg's own compositions through solo voice and piano

Austin, TX – 2/21/2011 – Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee Gregg Rolie, co-founder of two multi-platinum super groups, Santana and Journey, and the voice of such timeless classics as "Black Magic Woman" and 'Evil Ways', has released new solo EP, 'Five Days'. A personal and intimate reworking of Santana and Journey classics as well as Gregg's own compositions through solo voice and piano, 'Five Days' was recorded in the living room of his Central Texas home on the piano given to him by his father in the early days of Santana. "It's from my house to yours," says Gregg, whose new EP includes the songs "Black Magic Woman", "Anytime", "Love Doesn't Live Here Anymore", "If I Went Home", "Trouble In Mind" and "Cool Little Mama".

Gregg Rolie makes his first-ever solo appearance, Saturday March 5th at 9:00 pm on the grand piano in the lobby bar of The Four Seasons Hotel in Austin. This special performance is in celebration of his new solo EP, "Five Days". Gregg, along with his special guest, blues guitarist Alan Haynes, will be playing selections from the new EP along with many old favorites. He'll share stores from his 40-plus year career and answer questions from the audience during the show. Afterwards, Gregg will be on hand for pictures and autographs. Admission is free, and the event is open to the public.

Gregg Rolie is responsible for co-founding two phenomenally popular, multi-platinum super groups - Santana and Journey. In 1998, the world class keyboardist/vocalist/producer was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame as part of the original Santana band. Formed in San Francisco in 1969, the multi-cultural ensemble produced three groundbreaking hit albums which yeilded several FM staples. You've heard Gregg's voice and keyboards on such classic Santana hits as "Black Magic Woman", "Evil Ways", "No One To Depend On", "Everybody's Everything" and "Oye Como Va". "There's one unique ability of the band," Gregg told music critic Ben Fong-Torres, "and that was that it created music that there is no name for... Santana's music is such a jell of different material that there just is no name for it."

Departing after the pioneering jazz fusion offering 'Caravansarai' in 1972, both band members Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon went on to form quintessential 1980s hit-makers Journey. After co-writing and producing the band's first 7 albums, along with constant touring, Gregg decided to leave Journey once the hugely successful 1981 live double LP 'Captured' was issued. During the '80s Rolie wrote, produced and played on the Santana albums 'Shango' and 'Freedom', and released his debut, self-titled 1985 solo album and its 1987 follow-up 'Gringo', before co-founding the all-new Journey-esque rock group The Storm at the tail end of the decade. The Storm released two albums: '92's eponymous disc that yielded the #13 Billboard Hot 100 hit "I've Got A Lot To Learn About Love" and '96's 'Eye Of the Storm'. That same year, Rolie, along with five other original Santana members, formed Abraxas Pool, a spirited collaboration that resulted in the 1997 critically acclaimed album of the same name.

Thirty-five years after Gregg and Carlos met in San Francisco, 2001 marked the release of Rolie's third solo album 'Roots'. The first-ever release on Bay-Area based Tower Records' new proprietary label 33rd Street, 'Roots' finds Gregg revisiting the incredible brew of sounds he helped conjure up in the late 60's. Rolie calls Roots' twelve original selections "Latin rock plus"; the instrumentation is Latin percussion, with organ, guitar, horns, and lots of great solo work and songwriting", adding that "I really wanted to go all the way back to my Santana roots".

Formed in 2006, the Gregg Rolie Band consists of Adrian Areas (son of original Santana percussionist Jose Chepito Areas) on Timbales, drummer Ron Wikso (who was also in The Storm), Rocket Ritchotte on guitars, internationally acclaimed bassist Gary Brown, percussionist Elliot "Toby" Borrero and former Jean Luc Ponty keyboardist Wally Minko. Last year, Gregg caused a flurry of excitement amongst the music press with the release of his latest CD 'Rain Dance". This live CD captures Gregg and his all-star band performing at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in 2007. The music press and fans alike have been raving about the new CD and have even compared Rolie's band to that of the original Santana group, in which Rolie was a founding member.

Gregg Rolie's 'Five Days' EP can be purchased at http://www.bitvibe.com/products/gregg-rolie-five-days-cd

For more information visit the official website at www.greggrolie.com

Arguably the most important spearheading act in the great progressive rock renaissance of the late 90s. Spock's Beard from Los Angeles debuted in 1995, making a whole new generation aware of the heritage of bands like Genesis and Gentle Giant. In 2002, after six albums, frontman and then bandleader Neal Morse decided to leave Spock's Beard and go solo. Many were pleasantly surprised to find that Spock's Beard passed this test with flying colors. The band has since released four more albums, most recently "X" in 2010, their new incarnation displaying a tougher guitar sound more reminiscent of full-fledged hard rock. To all who have yearned to see one of the most important bands in contemporary prog rock at SRF, the waiting is finally over.