Planet X to play NEARfest 2004 in Bethlehem, PA!

Taken from the official Press Release from Inside Out:

PLANET X TO ILLUMINATE NEARFEST 2004

We are thrilled to announce the progressive fusion powerhouse PLANET X as band #7 for NEARfest 2004.; Planet X features three virtuoso instrumentalists: keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, KISS, Alice Cooper), drummer Virgil Donati (Tribal Tech, Steve Vai, Freakhouse), and guitarist Tony MacAlpine (G3, CAB); Planet X mixes progressive, metal, and jazz influences into a powerful and dazzling musical blend,loaded with strong riffing, majestic melodies, and mind-searing solos.Their most recent CD "Moonbabies" is absolutely essential for prog, fusion, and metal fans alike.

Planet X's ambition is to become "the sickest instrumental group in the world" and they may have already achieved that lofty status! Without doubt, they will shine very brightly among the constellation of progressive music talent on display during the festival weekend. We hope that their set at NEARfest 2004 causes many listeners to discover Planet X!

Jim Pitulski

Inside Out Music America

Click here for the Official NEARfest website

Billy Idol Tour...

The Billy Idol tour has already started. You can catch Derek at a show near you, click here to check out the tour dates.

Here they are once again:

Sun 08/24/03 Kings Island, OH Timberwolf Ampitheatre
Tue 08/26/03 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
Wed 08/27/03 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
Fri 08/29/03 Columbus, OH PromoWest Pavilion
Sat 08/30/03 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest
Mon 09/01/03 Toronto, ON Kool Haus
Wed 09/03/03 Verona, NY Turning Stone Casino
Thu 09/04/03 Providence, RI Providence Perf. Arts Ctr.
Fri 09/05/03 Boston, MA FleetBoston Pavilion
Sun 09/07/03 Mashantucket, CT Foxwoods Casino
Tue 09/09/03 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
Wed 09/10/03 New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom
Fri 09/12/03 Asbury Park, NJ Stone Pony
Sat 09/13/03 Atlantic City, NJ Grand Cayman Ballroom
Sun 09/14/03 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Mon 09/15/03 Norfolk, VA The NorVa
Wed 09/17/03 Richmond, VA Innsbrook After Hours
Fri 09/19/03 Biloxi, MS Beau Rivage
Sat 09/20/03 Robinsonville, MS Sam's Town
Mon 09/22/03 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theatre
Fri 09/26/03 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Beach Events
Sat 09/27/03 Alpine, CA Viejas Concerts In The Park
Wed 10/01/03 Thousand Oaks, CA Civic Arts Plaza
Tue 10/07/03 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
Fri 10/10/03 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre

Derek accepting students in Chicago and NYC...

Derek will be accepting students in Chicago and New York City. Here are the dates:

Chicago: August 26th and 27th. Click here to contact Derek.
New York City: September 10th and 11th. Click here to contact Derek.

Click here to check out the upcoming Billy Idol tour dates!

Getting ready to tour with Billy Idol...

Hello Friends,

We started Billy Idol rehearsals yesterday, it was great seeing everybody - Billy should be coming around in a few days once the band is tight.

I have co-written 4 songs with Steve Stevens for my next solo CD, which he will also be featured on guitar. I will do pre-production and drums with Simon Phillips sometime in January.

On the Planet X front, we will do a CD sometime in late 2004.

See you on tour!
Derek

Click here to view Derek's upcoming tour dates with Billy Idol.

Derek now endorsing Carvin keyboard amps + quick links...

Here are a couple of quick links on articles related to Black Utopia as well as Derek endorsement with Carvin for the new KB1015 Keyboard Amp.

• Guitar World article on Black Utopia
• Guitar Player magazine article on Black Utopia
• Keyboard Magazine Discography
  
• Derek endorses Carvin's new KB1015 Keyboard Amp

Click here to view Derek's upcoming tour dates with Billy Idol.

Post Black Utopia Tour update...

Hello Friends,

I want to thank all of you who came to the solo shows. Also a great thanks to Jonathan Mover, Philip Bynoe, Tony MacAlpine, Inside Out Records, and Lisa Donini for helping make the tour happen. I am hoping to play more solo shows in the near future.

Also, Black Utopia is selling better than all of my other solo and Planet X releases, so THANK YOU!!

Next on the calendar is to finish writing for my next solo album for the month of July (I have 30-40% of the music written now.)

I start rehearsing with Billy Idol at the beginning of August and will do a 7-week US tour with him, here are the dates so far:

Sun 08/24/03 Kings Island, OH Timberwolf Ampitheatre
Tue 08/26/03 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
Wed 08/27/03 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
Fri 08/29/03 Columbus, OH PromoWest Pavilion
Sat 08/30/03 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest
Mon 09/01/03 Toronto, ON Kool Haus (formerly Warehouse)
Wed 09/03/03 Verona, NY Turning Stone Casino
Thu 09/04/03 Providence, RI Providence Perf. Arts Ctr.
Fri 09/05/03 Boston, MA Fleet Boston Pavilion
Sun 09/07/03 Mashantucket, CT Foxwoods Casino
Tue 09/09/03 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
Wed 09/10/03 New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom
Fri 09/12/03 Asbury Park, NJ Stone Pony
Sat 09/13/03 Atlantic City, NJ Grand Cayman Ballroom
Sun 09/14/03 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Mon 09/15/03 Norfolk, VA The NorVa
Wed 09/17/03 Richmond, VA Innsbrook After Hours
Fri 09/19/03 Biloxi, MS Beau Rivage
Sat 09/20/03 Robinsonville, MS Sam's Town
Mon 09/22/03 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theatre
Fri 09/26/03 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Beach Events
Sat 09/27/03 Alpine, CA Viejas Concerts In The Park
Wed 10/01/03 Thousand Oaks, CA Civic Arts Plaza
Tue 10/07/03 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
Fri 10/10/03 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre

Please check billyidol.com, and pollstar.com for updates.

Anyways, I will keep you all posted on things to come.

See ya,
Derek

Slight change of plans on dates...

Hello Friends,

Due to the gross incompetence and negligence to a certain booking agent named Tim Gerwitz of Progressive Talent (Buffalo NY), I'm sorry to say that the Buffalo, Toronto and Lowell, MA shows are cancelled, and to be postponed until further notice.

I am sorry for any inconvenience but this situation is completely out of my control.

Please check the website daily as the dates are subject to change.

On a good note, the band sounds amazing, and we are anxious to play for you!

See you on tour, and I promise to make up the cancelled dates at a later time.

Thanks,
Derek

Click here for the updated list of tour dates.

New Merchandise and articles...

Some new "Black Utopia" merchandise is now available. Signed Color and Black & White posters of Derek can be purchased here.

Here's another set of articles that have surfaced on the web. You can also consult the articles page for more.

• Ytsejam.com Derek Sherinian Exclusive Interview (membership required)
• Revelationz.net Interview with Derek Sherinian (audio clip available)
• Guitar Player magazine article with Derek Sherinian
• Le Fantastique.net "Black Utopia" review (in french)

Tickets still available for the Viper Room show on June 5th. This is the only west coast appearance on this leg of the tour. Click here to buy your tickets online!

More Black Utopia tour dates...

Some more confirmed have been added to the upcoming Black Utopia Tour in June 2003. Check out the tour dates here. The Derek Sherinian band will feature Derek Sherinian - Keyboards, Tony MacAlpine (Planet X, CAB) - Guitar, Philip Bynoe (Steve Vai) - Bass, Jonathan Mover (Joe Satriani) - Drums

More dates should be confirmed in the near future. Please stay tuned!

June 5th, 2003 - Viper Room - West Hollywood, CA
June 7th, 2003 - The Reservoir - Buffalo, NY
June 8th, 2003 - Reverb (Rocks) - Toronto, ON, CA
June 9th, 2003 - Cafe Campus - Montreal, QUE, CA
June 11th, 2003 - Connections - Passaic, NJ
June 12th, 2003 - Johnny D's - Somerville, MA
June 14th, 2003 - Northern Lights - Albany, NY
June 15th, 2003 - The Play Loft - Lowell, MA
June 16th, 2003 - The Bottom Line - New York City, New York
June 18th, 2003 - The Downtown - Farmingdale, NY
June 20th, 2003 - Jaxx - W. Springfield, VA

Derek guest appearance at annual Kiss Expo and solo tour dates announced + Derek on Armenian TV.

Derek Sherinian will be guest appearing at the KISS expo in May 3rd and 4th to sign copies of "Black Utopia". Click here for more information about the event.

Also, Derek will have 2 solo shows coming up at the following venues.

Thursday, June 5th at the Viper Room - West Hollywood CA (310-358-1881)

Monday, June 16th at the Bottom Line - New York City

The band lineup will feature:

Derek Sherinian - Keyboards
Tony MacAlpine (Planet X, CAB) - Guitar
Philip Bynoe (Steve Vai) - Bass
Jonathan Mover (Joe Satriani) - Drums

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In other news, Derek will be featured on Horizon TV (The biggest Armenian cable channel in the world) this Sunday, May 4th at 8pm.

Horizon TV is airing a series of interviews of influential Armenian Americans
over the next month. For more info on Horizon TV, please call (818) 240-1721.

Black Utopia availability...

Slight change of plans for the release of Black Utopia. Derek's 3rd solo CD will be available in Europe on April 22nd and April 29th in North America. We're sorry for the inconvenience.

In other news, look out for Derek in the upcoming issues of the following magazines this summer. Stay tuned for more!

Guitar World
Guitar Player
Keyboard
Young Guitar/Japan
Player/Japan

Upcoming Interviews with Derek Sherinian!

Here are a few upcoming interviews with Derek where he will chat with fans about Black Utopia and more! Don't miss it!

April 17th - DementiaRadio.com @ 7PM PST
April 18th - Ytseradio online chat #ytseradio on irc.dreamt.org @ 7PM PST
April 19th - SeismicRadio.com @ 2PM PST

Derek Sherinian - "Black Utopia" announced!

Derek Sherinian's 3rd solo CD,"Black Utopia" will be available on BigMF/Zain Records in Japan April 17, 2003 and on InsideOut Music in The US and Europe on April 22, 2003

Derek has assembled his dream team for his 3rd solo record. Guests are Yngwie Malmsteen (Guitar), Al DiMeola (Guitar), Zakk Wylde (Guitar), Steve Lukather (Guitar), Simon Phillips (Drums), Billy Sheehan (Bass), Tony Franklin (Bass), Brian Tichy (Guitar) and Jerry Goodman (Violin).

Click here to listen to excerpts from "Black Utopia".

Here are a couple of reviews that already started to surface:

• Ytsejam "Black Utopia" review
• Sea of Tranquility "Black Utopia" review
• "Black Utopia" review at SteveLukather.net

More articles archived here...

Final tracklisting for "Black Utopia":

1. The Fury NEW!
2. The Sons of Anu (sherinian/tichy)
3. Nightmare Cinema (sherinian/tichy)
4. Stony Days (sherinian/phillips/franklin)
5. StarCycle (hammer)
6. Axis of Evil (sherinian/singer)
7. Gypsy Moth (sherinian)
8. Sweet Lament (sherinian)
9. Black Utopia (sherinian/tichy)

Produced by: Derek Sherinian
Co-Produced by Simon Phillips

In other news, Derek has been named the "Hero of the Day" on the MikePortnoy.com messageboards. Here's a snip of what Mike says:

[...] His upcoming solo CD "Black Utopia" is his best yet!
Leaning very much in the "Balls & Chunk" direction, with some seriously cool riffs and an all-star lineup of players [...]

Stay tuned for more news on Derek and Black Utopia!