*In this segment we put guitarists and bassists from every metal genre you could imagine in the spotlight!*
So, this is my first King of Strings spotlight and it will come as no shock to anyone who knows me, has ever met me, or has had a 30 second conversation with me, that I’ll be spotlighting bassist Ryan Martinie – formerly of Mudvayne and currently of Soften the Glare.
Mitch Hull is a drummer based in North Carolina whose musical resume includes everything from metal to country. Currently, he’s one of the busiest musicians out there – playing with everyone from unknowns to legends (Ryan Martinie & Bon Lozaga in their new band Soften the Glare). To meet Mitch, you’ll immediately find a friendly, kind, unassuming guy, yet within a few minutes of conversation, discover that he’s had a pretty enviable career (and, even had a hand in starting one for a now well-known recording engineer). STG’s highly anticipated first album, ‘Making Faces‘, is set to release Spring of 2017.
After returning from their recent Mission Possible Tour, supergroup, Soften the Glare have just released their new single and associated video for “Mission Possible”, produced by Michael Hull! While checking out their musical wizardry, please consider giving them a hand funding their new album to be released in March of 2017 or at least sharing the video around to all of your friends. This is music of the highest caliber performed by some of the best in the business! The Soften The Glare Pledge Site includes pre-orders for all kinds of goodies, including signed CDs, vinyls, posters, cards, shirt packages, guitar lessons from the master himself Bon Lozaga via Skype (!), a custom Framus Panthera Supreme guitar (this thing in absolutely gorgeous!), signed cymbals and drumsticks from Mitch Hull, a Warwick 1124 bass signed by Ryan Martinie (Holy Cow!), and many other packages with various and sundry, highly desirable swag. So head over there and pick up what grabs you. Prices are really reasonable and would make great Christmas gifts for your favorite music fan! Heck, treat yourself too while you’re at it!
Soften the Glare is an instrumental super-group comprised of Jazz/Blues guitar great Bon Lozaga of Gong and TinyBoxes fame who has been featured with Allan Holdsworth, Kai Eckhardt, David Torn, David Fiuczynski among many others; Rock/Metal bass wizard Ryan Martinie from Mudvayne and Gongzilla/Staxx/Chemeleon/War 4Peace drummer Mitch Hull. The result of seemingly unrelated specialties is some of the most fun, complex and genre-bending music available anywhere! Jazz, Funk, Metal, Heavy Blues and Rock “with a touch of chaos” as they say. With the depth of talent this trio bring to the table, rest assured that no one will find fault with Soften the Glare’s inspirationally fun vibe.
Check Soften the Glare out on Facebook for more information!
Have you heard of Soften the Glare? Sure you have, just maybe not in this particular form. Heard of Mudvayne? How about that bad-ass bass player and songwriter? What’s his name again? Oh yeah, right: Ryan Martinie. You game now? Alright then, add the mind-bending guitar talent of Bon Lozaga. That’s right, the one from Gong, Tiny Boxes and been featured with other notable guitar gods as Allan Holdsworth, Kai Eckhardt, David Torn, David Fiuczynski among many others. This match made in heaven is joined by the drumming skills of Mitch Hull who has played with Gongzilla, Staxx, Chameleon, War 4 Peace and shared the stage with Tiny Boxes and many other in the past. Well, now you know and you can see them on “The Funky Lady Tour” that kicks off tomorrow in Jacksonville, NC!
