Virgil Donati

Sounded superb to my ears - cool ideas, great sounds. And great musicians (the bassist is from Symphony X - a band I adore).
 
Sounds cool!

I saw Virgil twice last week with OTV and my inspiration to play has returned to fully erect. I was getting a bit stale lately and seeing how hard Virgil works really put me in my place, I'm too lazy for the sake of comfort and efficiency. I want to learn to play a bit harder comfortably, put more effort into moving around the kit and just take more risks in general.

There are some clips on YouTube btw, check it out.
 
I just got his Double Bass Freedom book. It just feels great to have something to finally work from to try and get a solid db foundation.

woo go virgil you rule .etc .etc
 
Sounds cool!

I saw Virgil twice last week with OTV and my inspiration to play has returned to fully erect. I was getting a bit stale lately and seeing how hard Virgil works really put me in my place, I'm too lazy for the sake of comfort and efficiency. I want to learn to play a bit harder comfortably, put more effort into moving around the kit and just take more risks in general.

There are some clips on YouTube btw, check it out.

What a great thought that is. That's what inspiration is all about.
 
From Virgil's Facebook page:

These are the final Allan Holdsworth tour dates. We just arrived in Poland yesterday, and I'm running out the door for the first of 2 days of rehearsals before the tour kicks off on Friday... looking forward to a month of great shows with these guys!
ALLAN HOLDSWORTH BAND (featuring Anthony Crawford on bass, Virgil Donati on drums)
Presented by GUITAR Magazine, Drums & Percussion Magazine, and Hughes & Kettner Amplification
05.10.2012 PL-Chorzów, Chorzowskie Centrum Kultury
07.10.2012 PL-Opole, Filharmonia Opolska (Philharmony Hall in Opole)
09.10.2012 NO-Oslo, Nasjonal Jazzscene
11.10.2012 SE-Uppsala, Uppsala Gitarr Festival
12.10.2012 SE-Uppsala, Uppsala Gitarr Festival
14.10.2012 SE-Malmö, Kulturbolaget
16.10.2012 DK-Copenhagen, Jazzhouse
17.10.2012 DK-Esbjerg, Tobakken
19.10.2012 NL-Zoetermeer, Boerderij
20.10.2012 NL-Enschede, Atak
21.10.2012 DE-Münster, Hot Jazz
22.10.2012 BE-Verviers, Spirit of 66
25.10.2012 FR-Paris, New Morning
27.10.2012 ES-Madrid, Sala Caracol NEW!!!
29.10.2012 ES-Barcelona, Sala Bikini NEW!!!
31.10.2012 FR-Nice, Cedac de Cimiez
01.11.2012 IT-Prato, Keller Platz
02.11.2012 IT-Ascoli Piceno, Break Live Club
03.11.2012 IT-Rome, XS Live
www.therealallanholdsworth.com
Booking by MAXIMUM Booking: [email protected]
 
Found a video with Virgil rehearsing for the Bonzo Bash 2012 (I guess?).

Awesome stuff - Virgil in an unusual setting musically and instrument-wise, and he
rocks it amazingly!! Very tasty stuff to me, played astonishingly as usual.

Of course he doesn't sound like Bonzo, but a) who does, and b) he doesn't have to :).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLTvKoE9SOk

I'm a Virgil fan and I know he can play it straight, but for some reason, this just doesn't do it for me. I feel like he's kind of bored, not really laying into it with the conviction he usually shows. Maybe because it's a rehearsal, or maybe the problem is me, but it doesn't knock me out like he usually does.
 
Here are the big news, finally!

Virgil's upcoming album In This Life will be out on July 23.
Here's a free download of one of the songs on the album. Great solos on this one:
http://t.opsp.in/p0ctR

I've worked with my cousin Lars on the album art (not just the cover). He's an award-winning architect and designer and my job has been that of facilitator, project manager, design advisor and overall go-getter.

Here's the cover front:
 

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Thanks Matthias!

"In This Life" is now available for pre-order! The album will be released on July 23 and those who pre-order either the digital album or the CD digipak will automatically get a link to download the album on release day.

All pre-order customers will also automatically go into the draw to win one of Virgil's personal snare drums used on several tracks on the album! Virgil will autograph the drum for the winner. We will draw the winner at random from our pre-orders after July 23.

Click here for the pre-sale: http://virgildonati.spinshop.com/
 
"In This Life" is my new favorite album of all time. Virgil isn't just a monster drummer. He's an outstanding composer and arranger, as well. 3 years in production, and well worth the effort!

It's amazing how many of my favorite musicians he brought onto this project, including Anthony Crawford, Alex Machacek, Doug Shreeve, and Jeff Babko (just to name a small sample).

The project is similar in scope to Russ Miller's "Arrival" project, which has been my favorite album since its release in 2007. Albums like this are the creative apexes of *decades* of dedication to musical excellence - and you can hear it in every phrase, on every song.

It is music like this which keeps me interested in drumming. "In This Life" inspires me in a very deep way.

I highly recommend this album for anybody interested in cutting edge drumming, prog rock, or jazz fusion.

-sheldon
 
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