Special
guests Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) / Paul Gilbert (Mr Big, Racer X) /
Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) / Carl Verheyen (Supertramp) /
Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) / Jonas Reingold (The Flower Kings / Steve
Hackett) / Jem Godfrey (Frost*) and more
Invisible
is the second solo album by California born but Indiana based drummer,
vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Nick D’Virgilio and comes almost two
decades after his debut solo offering. D’Virgilio describes his new
record as: “a collection of songs that make up the story of a man who is
unhappy with where his life has ended up. He finally decides to take
the scary step of leaving everything behind so he can go and find the
meaning of his life,” before continuing: “Throughout my career I have
been in many different places. Over time the word ‘invisible’ kept
coming to mind and it got me thinking of people that truly had the
hardest jobs in the world, or no job at all. The outliers. The ones we
all take for granted. The ones we will never know but if they were not
there then our lives would not be the nearly the same. Over time I
amassed lyric and song ideas with the idea of writing a concept record
on the subject.”
Keen to establish that: “This is not your typical drummer record,” D’Virgilio describes Invisible as “a rock record with various musical flavours thrown in because the songs were formed with the story in mind. A classical prelude that uses various themes from the whole piece sets the stage. From there comes a mellow ballad outlining the story and then it is onto the adventures of the central character. The main thing making this record did for me was to reaffirm my strong belief that we are all here for something. We all have a purpose.”
With the recording process split between the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London (including full string and brass sections) and the world class Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Invisible boasts star turns from luminaries such as guitarists Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) and Carl Verheyen (Supertramp), bassists Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) and Jonas Reingold (The Flower Kings, Steve Hackett), plus keyboard players Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) and Jem Godfrey (Frost*).
Keen to establish that: “This is not your typical drummer record,” D’Virgilio describes Invisible as “a rock record with various musical flavours thrown in because the songs were formed with the story in mind. A classical prelude that uses various themes from the whole piece sets the stage. From there comes a mellow ballad outlining the story and then it is onto the adventures of the central character. The main thing making this record did for me was to reaffirm my strong belief that we are all here for something. We all have a purpose.”
With the recording process split between the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London (including full string and brass sections) and the world class Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Invisible boasts star turns from luminaries such as guitarists Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) and Carl Verheyen (Supertramp), bassists Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) and Jonas Reingold (The Flower Kings, Steve Hackett), plus keyboard players Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) and Jem Godfrey (Frost*).
D’Virgilio’s debut solo album, Karma (2001),
had appeared midway through his tenure with US progressive rock titans
Spock’s Beard, with whom he started out as drummer upon their inception
in the early 1990’s before taking on additional lead singer and live
frontman duties in 2002 for four studio albums prior to his departure in
2011. At the time, this was partly in order to continue touring as
drummer, singer and assistant bandleader with Cirque du Soleil, with
whom he performed over 1400 shows over a five year period until 2014. He
has also been the drummer with the award winning UK band Big Big Train
since 2007 and performed with world renowned acts such as Genesis
(appearing on the Calling All Stations album) and Tears For Fears (with whom he toured for over a decade).
Upon ending his stint with Cirque du Soleil, D’Virgilio relocated to
Fort Wayne to become the face of the drum division of world leading
music technology and instrument retailer Sweetwater Sound and states:
“The drum division at Sweetwater has exploded and I have had the
opportunity to meet a lot of very interesting people while building some
new life-long relationships. I’ve also had the chance to play on so
much great drum gear – it really is Disneyland in that regard! Many of
my old bands and music compatriots have been there to record or do
workshops, which is icing on the cake.”
The release of Invisible now begins yet another fascinating
chapter in D’Virgilio’s multi-faceted career, which he concludes “has
taken many twists and turns. I have been able to live out some major
musical fantasies. I have seen some of the highest highs as well as some
of the lowest lows. It has been a wild ride that is not over yet!”
Nick D’Virgilio’s Invisible will be released on June 26, 2020.
For more information: nickdvirgilio.com
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