Tony MacAlpine (born August 29, 1960) is an American musician and composer. In a career spanning four decades, he has released twelve studio albums. MacAlpine is best known as an

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instr ...

and heavy metal solo guitarist, although he has worked with many different bands and musicians in guest appearances and collaborations.

Biography

Having started playing piano at the age of fiveProkofiev, Dane (2012-10-06)
An Interview with Tony MacAlpine (6th October, 2012)"
YouTube. Retrieved 2012-10-19."Tony MacAlpine Interview"
The Prog Report. 2014-04-09. Retrieved 2014-04-10. and guitar at twelve, MacAlpine studied classical piano and violin for a number of years at the Springfield Conservatory of Music in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, as well as various music programs at the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

."Tony MacAlpine Biography"
tonymacalpine.com. Retrieved 2012-10-11. Reffett, Dave (2011-10-08)
"Interview: Tony MacAlpine Discusses Gear and Tone and Answers Readers' Questions"
''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

''.

NewBay Media NewBay Media, LLC was a magazine and website publisher founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York City. NewBay Media served five marketplaces — Music, Pro Audio/AV, Video & Broadcast, Consumer Electronics, and Education. In April 2018, Fut ...

. Retrieved 2012-10-11. One of his musical influences is

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

, to whom he pays homage in his interpretations of the latter's études, which are featured on the majority of his studio albums. Together with his first studio releases, ''

Edge of Insanity ''Edge of Insanity'' is the first studio album by guitarist Tony MacAlpine, released in 1986 through Shrapnel Records. In 2014, nearly thirty years after its release, MacAlpine performed the album in full during a series of shows in California and ...

'' (1986) and ''

Maximum Security Maximum Security may refer to: * Supermax, "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons * Maximum Security (comics), a comic book miniseries published by Marvel Comics * ''Maximum Security'' (Tony MacAlpine album), 1987 * ''Maximum Security'' ...

'' (1987), he had a prominent role on other works during the popular shred era, including keyboard performances on the debut albums of fellow guitarists

Vinnie Moore Vincent Moore (born April 14, 1964) is an American guitarist and a member of the British hard rock band UFO. Biography Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware. He began his professional career at age 12 after receiving a guitar as a Christ ...

(''

Mind's Eye A mental image is an experience that, on most occasions, significantly resembles the experience of 'perceiving' some object, event, or scene, but occurs when the relevant object, event, or scene is not actually present to the senses. There are ...

'', 1986) and Joey Tafolla (''

Out of the Sun ''Out of the Sun'' is the first studio album by guitarist Joey Tafolla, released in 1987 through Shrapnel Records. The album features fellow shred guitarists Paul Gilbert and Tony MacAlpine in various roles (guitar, keyboards and production). Cr ...

'', 1987). Soon after his own debut, he played guitar in a heavy metal supergroup named M.A.R.S. (MacAlpine/

Aldridge Aldridge is an industrial town in the Walsall borough, West Midlands, England. It is historically a village that was part of Staffordshire until 1974. The town is from Brownhills, from Walsall, from Sutton Coldfield and from Lichfield. ...

/ Rock/ Sarzo), which resulted in the 1986 album '' Project: Driver''. As part of a band effort named 'MacAlpine', '' Eyes of the World'' was released in 1990 as a more commercially oriented attempt to emulate other

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

acts at the time. The venture was short-lived, and his subsequent album '' Freedom to Fly'' (1992) was a return to his instrumental-based work. A further consecutive string of instrumental albums followed throughout the 1990s, most of them through the renowned

Shrapnel Records Shrapnel Records is an American record label founded in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney. History Guitarist Marty Friedman (formerly of Megadeth and Cacophony), one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album ''Un ...

label: ''

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

'' (1993), ''

Premonition A premonition is a feeling that some event will happen, typically a forewarning of something unwelcome. Premonition(s) or The Premonition may also refer to: Film and television * "Premonition" (''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''), an episode of ' ...

'' (1994), ''

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

'' (1995) and '' Violent Machine'' (1996). For his last album of the decade, '' Master of Paradise'' (1999), MacAlpine briefly assumed singing duties in an effort to experiment with different styles. After the release of ''

Chromaticity Chromaticity is an objective specification of the quality of a color regardless of its luminance. Chromaticity consists of two independent parameters, often specified as hue (h) and colorfulness (s), where the latter is alternatively called ...

'' in August 2001, he took an extended hiatus from recording solo albums and worked with a variety of other musicians and bands, most notably with supergroups CAB and

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring ...

. Nearly a decade later, in June 2011, he released his self-titled eleventh studio album through guitarist

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist f ...

's Favored Nations label. From 2001 to 2005, MacAlpine played both guitar and keyboards in Vai's touring band The Breed. He is featured on the band's DVD release '' Live at the Astoria London'' (2003), along with two DVDs of the

G3 tour G3 is a concert tour organized by guitarist Joe Satriani featuring him alongside two other guitarists. Since its inception in 1995, G3 has toured most years and has featured many guitarists, including Steve Vai (Satriani's former student), Er ...

: '' G3: Live in Denver'' (2004) and '' G3: Live in Tokyo'' (2005). During that time, he was also the guitarist for

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

supergroup

Planet X Following the discovery of the planet Neptune in 1846, there was considerable speculation that another planet might exist beyond its orbit. The search began in the mid-19th century and continued at the start of the 20th with Percival Lowell's ...

, alongside keyboardist

Derek Sherinian Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X an ...

and drummer

Virgil Donati Virgil Donati (born 22 October 1958) is an Australian drummer, composer and producer. He holds the drum sticks in the traditional style and is also proficient at the keyboard. Donati formed Planet X with Derek Sherinian and was the band's princ ...

. He played with them for three albums in the first part of the decade—''

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the univers ...

'' (2000), '' Live from Oz'' (2002) and '' MoonBabies'' (2002)—and rejoined them in 2009 for a string of live performances, and at that time a possible new album.Pavlichko, Matt (2011-07-07)
"Interview: Tony MacAlpine on His New Self-Titled Solo Album"
''

''.

. Retrieved 2012-10-11. His most recent collaborations have included

Seven the Hardway Seven the Hardway is a US progressive rock band formed in 2009 consisting of Tony MacAlpine, Virgil Donati, Mark Boals, Doug Shreeve and Stefanía Daniel. Their self-titled debut album, released in August 2010 on Mascot/Provogue Records, was mix ...

, a progressive metal group with whom he released their self-titled album in 2010,Hodgson, Peter (2010-08-10)
"Interview: Tony MacAlpine of Seven The Hardway"
I Heart Guitar. Retrieved 2012-10-11. and a guest appearance on Sherinian's seventh studio album '' Oceana'' (2011). In the second half of 2012, MacAlpine toured Europe and Asia as part of PSMS ( Portnoy/ Sheehan/MacAlpine/Sherinian), an instrumental supergroup.Cavuoto, Rob (December 2013)
"Tony MacAlpine Interview: New DVD Release Live In Tokyo"
. ''Guitar International''. Retrieved 2014-03-01. ''Instrumental Inspirations'', a DVD of their live material, was released October 21, 2012. Additionally, in an October 2012 interview, he stated that he was working on new studio material (one of them being a "strictly classical record" recorded solely on piano), as well as a new album with Ring of Fire. ''Battle of Leningrad'', Ring of Fire's fourth studio album, was released on January 28, 2014. MacAlpine's twelfth studio album, '' Concrete Gardens'', was released on April 21, 2015.""Concrete Gardens" - Out Now!"
tonymacalpine.com. 2015-02-21. Retrieved 2015-04-25.

Style and influence

MacAlpine was highly influential in the

neoclassical metal Neoclassical metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is heavily influenced by classical music and usually features very technical playing,Stephan Forté, "Metal néoclassique" in ''Guitarist Magazine Pedago'', Hors Série #29, "Les secrets du ...

genre, becoming known for his instrumental rock style of playing that displays highly advanced shred techniques; one of his most oft-used techniques being 'sweep

tapping Tapping is a playing technique that can be used on any stringed instrument, but which is most commonly used on guitar. The technique involves a string being fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion. This is in contrast to stand ...

', a variation of sweep picking. He has incorporated elements of classical, jazz, fusion, hard rock and heavy metal on both guitar and keyboard, and has been described as a

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such a ...

by Jason Ankeny at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

Equipment

*''Edge of Insanity'':

Kramer guitars Kramer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses. Kramer produced aluminum-necked electric guitars and basses in the 1970s and wooden-necked guitars catering to hard rock and heavy metal musicians in the 1980s; Kramer is ...

, DiMarzio pickups, Peavey amplification *''Project: Driver'':

B.C. Rich B.C. Rich is an American brand of acoustic and electric guitars and bass guitars founded by Bernardo Chavez Rico in 1969. History The company started making electric guitars in the 1970s. In the following decade B.C. Rich gained a broad expo ...

guitars, DiMarzio pickups, GHS strings, Peavey and

Rockman Rockman may refer to: * ''Rockman'', the Japanese name for the ''Mega Man'' franchise ** Rockman, the Japanese name of Mega Man (character), the titular protagonist of the ''Mega Man'' video games * Alexis Rockman (born 1962), American contemporary ...

amplification *''Maximum Security'': B.C. Rich guitars, DiMarzio pickups, Peavey amplification,

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, ...

effects *''Eyes of the World'': Mason Bernard guitars, DiMarzio pickups, Dean Markley strings, Peavey amplification, Baldwin keyboards *''Freedom to Fly'': Peavey guitars,

Seymour Duncan Seymour Duncan is an American company best known for manufacturing guitar and bass pickups. They also manufacture effects pedals which are designed and assembled in America. Guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and Cathy Carter Duncan found ...

pickups, GHS strings, Peavey amplification, Baldwin pianos *''Madness'': Washburn Mercury series guitars, Seymour Duncan pickups, Dean Markley strings,

Hughes & Kettner Hughes & Kettner is a German manufacturer of instrument amplifiers, cabinets and effects boxes. History The company was founded in Neunkirchen in 1984 by two brothers, Hans and Lothar Stamer, and moved to St. Wendel three years later. It is c ...

amplification *''Premonition'': Washburn guitars, Seymour Duncan pickups, Dean Markley strings, Hughes & Kettner amplification *''Evolution'': B.C. Rich guitars, Seymour Duncan pickups, Hughes & Kettner amplification *''Chromaticity'':

Carvin Carvin () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography An ex-coalmining commune, now a light industrial and farming town, situated some northeast of Lens, completely encircled by the N17 and ...

guitars and amplification *''Tony MacAlpine'': Ibanez guitars, DiMarzio pickups,

Ernie Ball Ernie Ball (born Roland Sherwood Ball; August 30, 1930 – September 9, 2004) was an American entrepreneur and musician who developed guitar-related products. Ball began as a club and local television musician and entrepreneur, building an inte ...

strings, Hughes & Kettner amplification,

Source Audio Source Audio is a guitar effects pedal company based near Boston, Massachusetts. They produce modular effects pedals for electric guitar and bass, such as the Nemesis Delay, Ventris Dual Reverb, and Collider Delay+Reverb, as well as the C4 Synth, ...

effects, Toontrack software MacAlpine became a prominent user of

seven-string guitar The seven-string guitar adds one additional string to the more common six-string guitar, commonly used to extend the bass range (usually a low B) or also to extend the treble range. The additional string is added in one of two different ways: by ...

s after joining Planet X and still plays them regularly, along with eight-string guitars. A long-time endorsee of Carvin guitars (notably the T-Mac and DC series), he switched to Ibanez in 2010. Since 2011 he has played a customized RG Prestige eight-string model with EMG pickups, while his seven- and six-string models use DiMarzios. For amplification, he uses the Hughes & Kettner TriAmp for studio recording and the Coreblade model for live touring. An Ernie Ball

wah Wah Cantonment ( pa, ; ur, ) (often abbreviated to Wah Cantt) is a military cantonment located in Wah in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is a part of Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District. It is the 24th largest city of Pakistan by popu ...

and volume pedal completes his live setup. A detailed diagram of his 2011 gear can be found at Guitar Geek.

Personal life

MacAlpine currently resides in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

. On August 25, 2015, he posted on his Facebook profile that he may have developed colon cancer, which forced cancellation of some dates on his tour to promote ''Concrete Gardens''. In August 2016 he wrote on his personal website, "I have been feeling back to normal and tests indicate that all is well in medical land. Deep and sincere thanks to you all for your wonderful support through this very difficult last 12 months." Tony also reveals in an interview with Herman Li that, among his traumatic experiences, his wife has passed away and the release of his new record was a way for him to get back into creativity. Li, Herman & Macalpine, Tony (17-03-2022). Herman Li x Tony Macalpine Shred Session. Dragonforce , Facebook

Discography

Solo studio albums

*1986: ''

'' *1987: ''

'' *1992: '' Freedom to Fly'' *1993: ''

'' *1994: ''

'' *1995: ''

'' *1996: '' Violent Machine'' *1999: '' Master of Paradise'' *2001: ''

'' *2011: '' Tony MacAlpine'' *2015: '' Concrete Gardens'' *2017: ''Death of Roses'' *2021: ''Equilibrium''

Solo live albums

*1997: '' Live Insanity''

Solo compilation albums

*2006: '' Collection: The Shrapnel Years''

MacAlpine

*1990: '' Eyes of the World''

Vinnie Moore

*1986: ''

'' *1999: '' The Maze'' *2006: '' Collection: The Shrapnel Years'' (compilation)

Planet X

*2000: ''

'' *2002: '' Live from Oz'' (live) *2002: '' MoonBabies''

CAB

*2000: '' CAB'' *2001: ''

CAB 2 ''CAB 2'' is the second studio album by the rock/jazz fusion band CAB, released on February 20, 2001 through Tone Center Records.Astarita, Glenn"CAB 2 - Tony MacAlpine" ''AllMusic''. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-08-26. The album was nomina ...

'' *2002: ''CAB Live at The Baked Potato'' *2003: ''

CAB 4 ''CAB 4'' is the third studio album by the instrumental rock/jazz fusion band CAB, released on September 23, 2003 through Favored Nations.

'' *2008: '' Theatre de Marionnettes'' *2010: ''Live on Sunset'' *2001: ''CAB Live at the Baked Potato: First and Second Set'' (DVD) *2002: ''CAB Live at The Musician Institute'' (DVD)

Mark Boals

*2000: ''

'' *2002: ''Edge of the World''

Steve Vai

*2003: '' Live at the Astoria London'' *2004: '' G3: Live in Denver'' *2005: '' G3: Live in Tokyo''

Ring of Fire

*2003: ''Dreamtower'' *2004: ''Burning Live in Tokyo'' (live) *2004: ''Lapse of Reality'' *2014: ''Battle of Leningrad''

Other appearances

*1986: '' Project: Driver'' – M.A.R.S. (with

Tommy Aldridge Tommy Aldridge (born August 15, 1950) is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. He is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesna ...

Rob Rock Robert Rock (born June 29, 1959) is an American heavy metal singer who is best known as the longtime frontman of Impellitteri, a position he has held from 1987 to 1988, 1992 to 2000, and now from 2008 to the present day. Rock has also released ...

and

Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban American hard rock/ heavy metal bassist. He remains best known for his work with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played ...

) *1987: ''

'' – Joey Tafolla *1999: ''VK3'' –

Vitalij Kuprij Ring of Fire is an American neoclassical/progressive/power metal band from Chula Vista, California formed in 2000. Fronted by former Yngwie J. Malmsteen collaborator Mark Boals after the release of his solo album ''Ring of Fire'', the band also in ...

*2004: Eric Clapton's Guitar Festival - "I'm the Hell Out of Here" (with

) *2007: ''Clinophobia'' – Devil's Slingshot (with

and

Billy Sheehan William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...

) *2007: ''Ze re Tour 2007'' –

Michel Polnareff Michel Polnareff (born 3 July 1944, Nérac, Lot-et-Garonne, France) is a French singer-songwriter, who was popular in France from the mid-1960s until the early 1990s with his penultimate original album, ''Kāma-Sūtra''. He is still criticall ...

*2010: ''On Revolute'' –

Dave Weiner David Jason Weiner (born September 24, 1976) is an American musician, best known for being one of Steve Vai's touring guitarists. He also posts instructional videos, called the "Riff of the Week", every Wednesday on YouTube, iTunes and his own w ...

*2010: ''

'' – Seven the Hardway (with Virgil Donati and

Mark Boals Mark Robert Boals (born December 5, 1958) is an American heavy metal vocalist and occasional bassist, best known for his vocals with Yngwie Malmsteen. He is currently a member of the band Foundry. Boals' first album with Malmsteen, 1986's '' ...

) *2011: '' Oceana'' –

*2012: ''Plains of Oblivion –

Jeff Loomis Jeff Loomis (born September 14, 1971) is an American musician, best known for his role as lead guitarist in the progressive metal band Nevermore during its existence from 1991 to 2011, as well as brief tenures in its precursor, Sanctuary. In ...

*2012: ''Instrumental Inspirations'' – PSMS (with

Mike Portnoy Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician who is primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departure ...

, Billy Sheehan and Derek Sherinian) (DVD) *2013: ''Live in Tokyo'' – PSMS (with Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and Derek Sherinian) *2018: ''Enfin!'' –

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macalpine, Tony 1960 births American heavy metal guitarists African-American guitarists African-American rock musicians American heavy metal keyboardists Living people Musicians from Springfield, Massachusetts Lead guitarists Seven-string guitarists Eight-string guitarists Progressive metal guitarists Guitarists from Massachusetts 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American keyboardists Planet X (band) members CAB (band) members 20th-century American keyboardists Shrapnel Records artists PolyGram artists Favored Nations artists 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians