STEVE VAI, ZAKK WYLDE, JOHN 5, BILLY SHEEHAN, MIKE PORTNOY AND DEREK SHERINIAN JOIN FORCES FOR A BENEFIT CONCERT FOR GUITARIST TONY MACALPINE
Guitar legends Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde and John 5, along with drum powerhouse Mike Portnoy, bass icon Billy Sheehan and keyboard phenomenon Derek Sherinian are joining forces to play a benefit concert for guitar and keyboard virtuoso Tony MacAlpine, who was recently diagnosed with colon cancer.
The Benefit for Tony MacAlpine will take place at the Wiltern Theater on December 12th, 2015, at 7:00pm, featuring performances from John 5 & The Creatures, Zakk Wylde with Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and Derek Sherinian; Steve Vai and band, and culminating in an all-star jam with house band Portnoy, Sheehan, Sherinian, and featuring special guests. Eddie Trunk will serve as master of ceremonies for the night.
In addition to this extraordinary musical event, Steve Vai, John 5, Paul Gilbert and Joe Satriani have all graciously donated personal guitars to be auctioned during the event. Tony’s gear manufacturers Ibanez, Hughes & Kettner, EMG, Ernie Ball, Source Audio and Voodoo Lab have also generously donated equipment to be raffled.
Tony’s cancer diagnosis comes on the heels of his wife’s diagnosis with breast cancer in June, making the situation even more trying for Tony and his family.
“Tony is a dear friend, an absolutely sweet human being and one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever worked with,” says Mike Portnoy, “We are coming together to help raise money and awareness to help him fight his battle and come out on top!” Adds Steve Vai, “It’s a great privilege to take to the stage with my friends Zakk, John, Mike and Billy in support of our dear friend Tony. Tony has always been blessed with an exceptional talent and more so, he’s an exceptionally cool guy. It’s a great cause and will be a magical evening of guitar extravaganza.”
“Tony has been such an inspiration to me,” says John 5 “He is an incredible musician and an unbelievable talent. Please let’s all come together and beat this!”
“Tony is our brother. We look forward to making a historical night, and raising a lot of money to help our friend in need.” said Derek Sherinian.
Tony MacAlpine is widely known as a guitar virtuoso who is just as skilled on the keys. Edge of Insanity, his classic debut album, was recently ranked by Guitar World magazine as one of the Top Ten Shred Guitar Albums of all time. Aside from his solo work, Tony has also been part of several rock supergroups including Planet X with Derek Sherinian and Virgil Donati; PSMS (Portnoy/Sheehan/MacAlpine/Sherinian); as well as the Grammy nominated CAB with bassist Bunny Brunel and drummer Dennis Chambers. MacAlpine also spent seven years playing guitar and keys in Steve Vai‘s touring band The Breed.
Tony’s most recent album Concrete Gardens was released in May. Tony toured the US in June to promote the album, but was forced to cancel tours of Asia, Australia and Europe when his health deteriorated.
Tickets are on sale Saturday November 7th at 10am PT through LiveNation.com, with all proceeds going to help Tony and his family. A GoFundMe campaign will be set up for fans who can’t make the show, but still want to contribute.
Doors will be at 7 pm with the show set to begin at 8 pm. For tickets, visit Live Nation.
Sending good vibes to Tony. What an incredible musician.
God bless Tony and his wife. My heart and my prayers go out to them. Cancer is the scariest thing ever and here Tony and his wife is dealing with it together at the same time. I hope this event raises a TON of money. God bless all the artists and everyone involved with doing this for Tony.
I hope T-Mac is feeling better soon. To this day, I think he was the best guest guitarist on TMS w. Eddie. I forgot how much that guy just shreds.