Gregg Rolie of Santana Journey fame releases solo EP

Rock `n` Roll Hall of Fame inductee Gregg Rolie, co-founder of two multi-platinum super groups, Santana and Journey, and the sound of such 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 good as Gregg`s own compositions through solo voice and piano, `Five Years` was recorded in the living way of his Central Texas home on the piano given to him by his mother in the former years of Santana.

It`s from my home to yours, says Gregg, whose new EP includes the songs Black Magic Woman, Anytime, Love Doesn`t Exist 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. Hell share stores from his 40-plus year career and answer questions from the hearing during the show. Afterwards, Gregg will be on hand for pictures and autographs. Admission is free, and the case is subject to the public.

In 1998, the public class keyboardist/vocalist/producer was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame as division of the original Santana band. "There`s one unique power of the band," Gregg told music critic Ben Fong-Torres, "and that was that it created music that there is no call for_ Santana`s music is such a set of dissimilar material that there simply is no figure 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 enormously 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 Force at the rear end of the decade. The Storm released two albums: 92s eponymous disc that yielded the #13 Billboard Hot 100 hit Ive Got A Lot To Learn About Love and 96s `Eye Of the Storm`. That same year, Rolie, along with 5 other original Santana members, formed Abraxas Pool, a spirited collaboration that resulted in the 1997 critically acclaimed album of the sami name.

Thirty-five days after Gregg and Carlos Santana met in San Francisco, 2001 marked the issue of Rolie`s third solo album `Roots`. The first-ever going on Bay-Area based Tower Records` new proprietary label 33rd Street, `Roots` finds Gregg revisiting the brew of sounds he helped conjure up in the late `60s. Rolie calls Roots` twelve original selections "Latin rock plus"; the instrumentation is Latin percussion, with organ, guitar, horns, and much of great solo act and songwriting", adding that "I really wanted to go all the way backwards 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 likewise in The Storm), Rocket Ritchotte on guitars, internationally acclaimed bassist Gary Brown, percussionist Elliot Toby Borrero and early Jean Luc Ponty keyboardist Wally Minko. Last year, Gregg caused a flurry of excitement amongst the music press with the loss of his latest CD `Rain Dance". This live CD captures Gregg and his all-star band playing at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in 2007. The music press and fans alike get 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 here.

For more info see the official site at www.greggrolie.com NEW items that you may revel in our Goldmine store: