Mike Shouse (all guitar)
Charlie Z, Grom, Joey Sanchez (drums)
Kyle Honea, Alun Vaughan, Trip Wamsley, Byron Santo, Scott Hubbell, Josh Kerr, Travis Nichols, Sean Taylor (bass)
Gene Booth (vocals)
“Shouse” has been playing for 20 years and is versed in many styles of music. Teaching and working on NEW ideas and techniques have kept him busy these last years. He is involved in independent film making and is an actor, producer, composer and sound editing for Showhouse Productions.
Hailing from Lexington, KY, Shouse has just finished his 2nd CD “Alone on the Sun”. He recorded and composed all guitar at his home studio and used many great session artists from all over the world, including: Kyle Honea(Dallas), Alun Vaughan(Swansea, UK), Scott Hubbell(Kansas), Byron Santo(New Orleans), Trip Wamsley(Louisiana) and Josh Kerr(LA) on bass with Joey Sanchez(Nashville), Diego “Grom” Meraviglia(LA via Italy) and Charlie Zeleny(NY) on drums. You can find info on them on the musicians page.
Influences are Gilbert, Petrucci, Satriani, Wylde, Vaughn and many others. Shouse is also a columnist on Chops from Hell (www.chopsfromhell.com) and Guitar 9 (www.guitar9.com).
Reviews:
In the world of hard rock instrumental guitar music you normally have those that can play with great technical precision, and those that write great melodies. It’s not too often that you get a player that can do both of those things, but Mike Shouse is definitely one that can.
Upon hearing the first track (“Bionic”) of Shouse’s second disc, “Alone On The Sun,” you might think that you simply have a shredder, but it turns out he can do so much more. When Shouse is not playing in a flashy shred style, he brings an almost lyrical way of playing to these great songs. Songs like “You Can Fly” and the title track, “Alone On The Sun,” will have you singing. Almost all of these songs have great structure and amazing technical expertise. You can hear Shouse running up and down the fret board, but it always sounds like it’s going somewhere. So many shredders make the mistake of throwing all the great licks out there, but they have no rhyme or reason, no structure. Shouse never overplays and seems to stay focused on each song.
My favorite track on the disc, “Shock And Awe,” is an amazing piece of work. I couldn’t begin to tell you how he gets the brilliant “wah-wah” effect (I would imagine it’s a pedal….) that sings the song, but it’s played to perfection. This song seems to have a couple of verses, a nice solo, and then a concluding verse. It really is a wonder the way this guy constructs these songs, and I think “Shock And Awe” should be a blueprint for all hard rock instrumental guitarists.
Many would compare Shouse to Joe Satriani, and that would be very fair. He is a lot like Joe, and to me that’s a wonderful thing! But make no mistake, these songs are all Mike Shouse, and there are a bunch of great ones on display here.
-Scott Itter www.drmusic.org
"He sounds like 80s Steve Vai and he looks like modern day Joe Satriani (okay, so he sounds a little like Satch too). Southern-bred guitar instrumentalist Mike Shouse has jam packed his sophomore effort with catchy, toe-tapping, rock guitar inspiration. What was surprising and quite possible the best part of the album was the two vocal tracks (Gene Booth on vox) "Man of Constant Sorrow" and "Don't Remember Me." Both tracks mix gritty southern rock style with intricate and virtuoso guitar mastery Shouse's instrumentals are great, but his vocal tracks are that much better."
4 out of 5 -George Dionne http://www.rock-is-life.com/reviewsinbrief.htm
RATING - ****(4 stars)
"Mike Shouse is no newcomer and we can clearly hear that in this new album entitled 'Alone on the sun'. 10 very interesting and well structured tracks with a strong instrumental rock feel a-la Vai and Macalpine. Discrete production and good sounds. I will immediately mention 'Man of constant sorrow', sung by an excellent Gene Booth. A real rock song with Satch-like attitude. The melodic influences of Vai and Satch are also audible in the pleasant 'Choices' and 'Alone on the sun'. Excellent phrasings, never boring, please us with nice guitar lines instead of the usual super-virtuoso technical solos without feel. 'Shock and awe' is a great metal song, based on a very good riff. We also have a very entertaining boogie with 'Dead in Memphis' as well as the other vocal track 'Dont remember me', with the again excellent Gene Booth. What to say...an excellent record very well done, never boring and lifted by a true tasteful rock'n'roll. Bravo Mike ! Great album, a must have !"
- Matt Cafissi / Guitar Chef Magazine www.guitarchef.cjb.net
.........’Alone on the Sun’ rightfully deserves to sit alongside the works of the guitar gods of this world. No, I’m not being held up by gunpoint, because Shouse’s playing is truly immaculate, and well, he’s among the few instrumental guitarists who have finally ensured that the production and band musicianship has leapt from ‘supporting’ to ‘playing with’ the lead guitarist (a truly miraculous achievement worthy of celebration). Through this lens, hands down, Shouse has excelled at his craft, creating an album that any instrumental guitar purist will drool over for years to come. And as much as I hate to say it, it’d be indecent to assign anything less than a 9.0 out of 10 to ‘Alone on the Sun’.
- Alex Jasperse (www.musesmuse.com)
There are a lot of ace guitarists out there lately, including a flock who mainly prefer to let their instruments do the talking, in the tradition of someone like Jeff Beck, who was giving fans vocals-free platters back in the Seventies. Over the years, some axe-slingers have made projects of reinterpreting familiar songs with their fingers – how about “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” for instance? Ah, but for many aficionados, one true test of a guitarist's effectiveness is whether he does a good job of coming up with distinctive new tunes that engage and stick with the listener. A Guitar Institute alumnus named Michael Shouse carries on in the tradition of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai and others, by delivering both the shredded lettuce of lickage and the meat-and-potatoes of good beats and melodies, rounding out a satisfying musical meal for the discriminating rocker. One bold move is Shouse's use of a flamenco-style intro to “re-invent” the bluegrass classic, "Man of Constant Sorrows." Shouse went with some stock martial sound-effects to start “Shock and Awe,” which also features a satisfyingly-chunky bass line, and solid drumming from Charlie Zeleny. Michael Shouse is a new-age guitar hero who definitely deserves a listen.
-Rob Swick (www.allaccessmagazine.com)
Kentucky guitar slinger Mike Shouse looks like a cross between vocalist Rob Halford and guitarist Joe Satriani; thankfully he plays more like the latter and definitely doesn't sing. Reflecting influences which include Gilbert, Petrucci, Vai, Wylde, Vaughn and many others, Shouse has been at his craft for 20 years, and on his second independent release 'Alone On The Sun,' it certainly shows.
Shouse definitely has his chops down. He can shred with the best; fortunately for us, Shouse has some genuine creativity. Tunes like 'Choices,' 'Alone On The Sun,' or 'You Can Fly' demonstrate that he can craft a whole song developing a melodic arrangement and also blister up and down the fret board. Shouse also displays versatility: his guitar style can move between hard rock and heavy metal within a song. When he does this he keeps your interest for what's next rather than simply reminding you that he's a lick busting guitar hero. Most of the greats already know that we know that they know that they can play; Shouse never over indulges to the point of false humility. I think he knows we hate that stuff. Yet, with that said, for simply amazing kick ass and sizzling fret work you can't beat 'Bionic' (if you skip the ludicrous intro) and 'Dead In Memphis.'
Regarding the latter, realizing he's from down south Kentucky way, you would expect some of those southern influences in his music. It rises on 'Dead In Memphis,' 'Don't Remember Me', and on the best track, the reworking of the classic folk/bluegrass number, 'Man Of Constant Sorrow' (which dates back to 1913 and has been recorded by the likes of Bob Dylan and Rod Stewart).
Additional positives would include the outstanding supporting cast Shouse recruited as backup, with my kudos in particular to drummers Charlie Zeleny and Diego 'Grom' Meraviglia and bassist Kyle Honea. The only significant downsides were in the production which was mostly uneven and even horrible at times as on the opening cut 'Bionic.' If it were not for the promise of Shouse's guitar work ahead, I may have not made it past the opening track.
Overall, Mike Shouse's 'Alone On The Sun' is a solid expression of his experience, skill, and style as a guitarist. His compositions, though seemingly more of the same from another guitar virtuoso, demonstrate his ability to craft a complete melodic composition involving all participants and still soar on his guitar at the same time. Recommended!
- Craig Hartranft www.dangerdog.com
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