Weekly Artist Spotlight: Tony MacAlpine
If Tony MacAlpine licensed one of his songs to Guitar Hero, you would undoubtedly only find his music in Expert Mode. Well-known as a pioneer of the neoclassical metal genre, MacApline has developed a reputation as one of the country’s most skilled instrumental guitarists since launching his professional career with his debut album Edge of Insanity in 1986. Over 30 years, 12 studio albums, and hundreds of live performances later, MacAlpine shows no signs of slowing down and even defeated a recent scare with colon cancer to continue wowing audiences with his music.
Born in Springfield, MA in 1960, MacAlpine started playing piano at the age of five and guitar at twelve. Although best known for his contributions to the modern guitar, Tony has continued to train on the classical piano and often switches between the two instruments on stage. Growing up he attended the Springfield Conservatory of Music for several years before moving to Connecticut to study with various music programs at the University of Hartford.
Throughout his illustrious career, MacAlpine has experimented with several different variations of the electric and acoustic gutiar. When he joined the group Planet X in the early 2000s he became a prominent user of the seven and eight string guitars. While mastering these technically challenging instruments he championed the ‘sweep tapping’ technique, a variation of sweep picking. Deemed a guitar virtuoso by AllMusic, MacAlpine incorporates these highly advanced shred techniques in concert, earning him notoriety amongst the progressive metal community.
In September MacAlpine will embark on a massive US tour that will take him and his guitar to over 20 cities including Las Vegas, Chicago, and Memphis. On Friday September 22nd, the tour finds its way to the mean streets of New York City where Tony will headline a show at DROM in the Lower East Side with support from Felix Martin. VIP seating options are available with an applauded kitchen serving food all night. For more information including tickets, click here.