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British
composer, multi-instrumentalist
virtuoso and inventor Alex
Gregory was born into a family
of sixth generation musicians
and visual artists.
Gregory graduated from the
University of Milan as a
Classical Composer and was
titled
“Maestro”
by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II
Government in 1983.
Impressed by electric
guitarists like Ritchie
Blackmore, Allan Holdsworth, Jan
Akkerman and others, the young
composer found himself to be far
more of a Rock ’n’Roller
than he could have ever
conceived during his many years
of strict studies.
This strong Rock element in
conjunction with Alex ’s
love for the ancient melodies of
Britain, popularized by virtuoso
mandolinists, and the knowledge
gained at college of orchestral
instruments and orchestration
led to the invention of the 7
STRING STRATOCASTER (Gregory was
issued with the only two patents
ever issued on the 7 STRING
ELECTRIC GUITAR!) and a
Signature deal with Fender
Musical Instruments in 1987.
The top A on the 7 String
Stratocaster allowed Gregory to
duplicate very complex violin
parts, and, together with the
further inventions of the
“Heavy
Metal Mandolin”
and the
“Piano
Guitar”,
in 1991 the young Maestro
recorded for
“PAGANINI’S
LAST STAND”
for Priority Records/CAPITOL.
“ PAGANINI’S
LAST STAND”
was released in 1992 and quickly
became a
“must
have”
collectors item, so much so that
by 1996 it had reached GOLD
STATUS in Japan as a bootleg,
leading to a publishing deal in
that country with VIRGIN/EMI and
the official release by FANDANGO
RECORDS in 1997.
Fifteen years after the
original release,
“PAGANINI’S
LAST STAND”
remains an underground legend
throughout the world.
The success of "Paginini's
Last Stand" confirmed to Alex
that he was on the right track
in his musical quest, and, under
the endorsement of Gibson
Guitars, Gregory spent the five
years between 1992 and 1997
creating the instruments and the
concept of the
“XXI
CENTURY ELECTRIC ORCHESTRA”.
Alex felt that the first step
to the introduction of the
“XXI
CENTURY ELECTRIC ORCHESTRA”
would be the popularization of
its lead instrument, the 4
string
“XXI
CENTURY ELECTRIC MANDOLIN”
(affectionately called the
“HEAVY
METAL MANDOLIN”).
Therefore a new record titled
“24
JOKES FOR HEAVY METAL MANDOLIN”
was started as early as 1994,
but by 2001 only
“12
JOKES”
were completed and ready for
release due to various
distractions. One of such
distractions was a stint in
FOCUS 2000, the 1997 new venture
of FOCUS founder, guitar legend
JAN AKKERMAN, with the DIXIE
DREGS as the rhythm section.
While the press was busy
covering with major features the
new concept of the
“XXI
CENTURY ELECTRIC ORCHESTRA”
and its instruments, Gregory had
already taken the same concept
to the next level with the
invention of the PENTASYSTEM®.
The PENTASYSTEM®, which is a
radically NEW FAMILY of five
string instruments all tuned in
fifths and a NEW METHODOLOGY for
their use, provides simple
answers (based on scientifically
and mathematically proven facts)
to almost every single musical
and engineering problem relating
to TUNING, HARMONY and
ORCHESTRATION.
Seeing the importance and the
possibilities of the PENTASYSTEM®,
which is dramatically different
from the traditional six string
guitar, several groundbreaking
patents were acquired to protect
its assets.
In 1998-99 the 7 STRING
ELECTRIC GUITAR (because of
bands like KORN, LIMP BISKIT,
ORGY, etc.) was the hottest item
on the market and companies like
B.C. RICH, FENDER MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS and SCHECTER, were
eager to secure licensing deals
for Maestro Alex Gregory ’s
old invention as well as the
first PENTASYSTEM® instrument to
be released: the CELLOBLASTER®.
The CELLOBLASTER® debuted
Nashville at the 1998 summer
NAMM and was an immediate
commercial success. In no time
major players like Tommy Lee,
Ryan Shuck of
“Orgy”,
Billy Corgan of the
“Smashing
Pumpkins”,
DJ Lethal of
“Limp
Biskit”,
etc. switched to what the press
called the NEW 5 STRING GUITAR,
but that was only the beginning
of a TRUE REVOLUTION that would
change forever the way you hear
and view MUSIC.
In fact, a new record titled
“ANOTHER
MILLENNIUM?”
featuring Maestro Alex Gregory’s
13 piece PENTA ORCHESTRA, was
completed and released in 2001.
Astonishingly, on "ANOTHER
MILLENNIUM?" even the drums
played melodies and in tune
harmonies!
Never one to rest on his
laurels, Alex quickly followed
up this release in 2002 with
“THE
HOLY GRAIL OF 7 STRINGS”.
"THE HOLY GRAIL OF 7 STRINGS"
features VIRGIL DONATI on drums,
MATT BISSONETTE on bass guitar,
JOHN LEVESQUE on vocals and
ALBERT LEE on
“chicken
picking”
jewels. The record shines with a
unique cover of Deep Purple's
"BURN", that demonstrates not
only the ability of all the
musicians, but also the
versatility of Gregory's
inventions.
Throughout 2003 and 2004 Alex
and the Pentasystem® were
featured on prime time Los
Angeles major TV News channels.
But, even as this was happening,
Alex was focused on his next
goal, the recording of "BACH ON
STEROIDS!"
In order to be able to
dedicate himself completely to
his recording career, in 2004
Maestro Alex Gregory sold all
the Pentasystem® technology to
Pen 5 Guitars LLC. Finally free
of distractions, he could now
undertake the monumental task of
orchestrating and recording what
many described as
“an
impossible dream”.
“ BACH
ON STEROIDS!”
i.e.:
“the
impossible dream”,
was completed in 2006. While
re-writing all the books, from
POP to ROCK, from CLASSICAL to
PUNK, from JAZZ to COUNTRY, Alex
succeeded where others had
failed -- to record the
conclusive statement,
contemporary and accurate, on 15
of the MOST POPULAR BACH PIECES,
performed by the spectacular
line up of some of the most
respected musicians in the
world.
Signs that the industry was
finally ready to recognize
Gregory and his past
achievements came on November
9th, 2006 when Maestro Alex
Gregory was presented in
Hollywood with an LA MUSIC AWARD
for career achievement in guitar
innovation.
Now, with the record
complete, Alex is focused on
securing management, recording
and publishing contracts, while
letting "BACH ON STEROIDS!" and
the overwhelmingly positive
response received from the
industry, musicians and critics
do the talking.
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