The Aristocrats

9/19Thank You North America – Europe, You’re Next (Dates Below)!

The North American leg of the Tres Caballeros World Tour is now in the books, and we want to say to everyone from Seattle to Salt Lake, from to Omaha to Ottawa, from Cincy to Indy, from Boston to Houston, from New York to New Mexico, from Montreal to Mexicali, and from St. Louis to Los Angeles: T H A N K Y O U.

Thanks to you, and to our amazing crew, and to the Travis Larson Band, and to our North American booking agents Blue Mouth Promotions, we did the thing they said couldn’t be done: We did an old-fashioned two-van rock-venue tour of North America, for 8 weeks, as an instrumental rock/fusion band, and It Worked. We are grateful beyond words.

Here’s a shot of the Tres Caballeros North American Tour entourage plus one, backstage at King King in Hollywood, the last gig of the tour. L to R: Guthrie Govan, stage tech/assistant T.M. Ben Travers, Bryan Beller, Marco Minnemann, BOING Music (label) head Ed Yoon, and Josiah Baker (social media/merch).

And here’s a (slightly fuzzy) shot from the same gig of everyone in the traveling party, both bands and both vehicles. L to R: Guthrie Govan, Josiah Baker, Travis Larson, Dale Moon (drums/TL), Kip Stork (seated; front of house sound for both bands), Jennifer Young (bass/TL), Marco Minnemann, Devon Booth (merch/TL), Ben Travers, Bryan Beller.

Now it’s time for the first leg of our European tour! Dates and gigs below:

November 16th: Cologne (Germany) – Kantine
November 17th: Dortmund (Germany) – Piano
November 18th: Frankfurt (Germany) – Zoom
November 20th: Nurnberg (Germany) – Luise Cultfactory
November 21st: Stuttgart/Winterbach (Germany) – Strandbar 51
November 22nd: Reichenbach (Germany) – Bergkeller
November 24th: Munich (Germany) – Strom
November 25th: Bratislava (Slovakia) – Majestic Musik Club
November 26th: Nove Mesto (Slovakia) – Blue Note
November 27th: Bochnia (Poland) – Oratorium Sw. Kingi
November 28th: Warszaw/Grodzisk Mazowiecki (Poland) – Centrum Kultury
November 30th: Berlin (Germany) – Kesselhaus
December 1st: Osnabruck (Germany) – Gaste Garage
December 2nd: Hamburg (Germany) – Fabrik
December 4th: Larvik (Norway) – Bolgen
December 6th: Istanbul (Turkey) – Garajistanbul
December 7th: Bucharest (Romania) – Silver Church
December 9th: Zoetermeer (Netherlands) – De Boerderij
December 10th: Verviers (Belgium) – Spirit of 66
December 12th: Dublin (Ireland) – The Grand Social
December 13th: Edinburgh (Scotland) – Liquid Room
December 15th: Manchester (England) – Club Academy
December 16th: Birmingham (England) – Temple
December 17th: Bristol (England) – Bierkeller
December 18th: London (England) – Heaven
December 19th: Brighton (England) – The Haunt
December 20th: Paris (France) – La Maroquinerie

And that’s followed by our second leg in early 2016!

January 18th: Lisbon (Portugal) – RCA Club
January 20th: Sevilla (Spain) – Custom
January 21st: Murcia (Spain) – Garaje
January 22nd: Madrid (Spain) – Caracol
January 23rd: Valencia (Spain) – Rockcity
January 24th: Barecelona (Spain) -Razzmatazz 2
January 26th: Nice (France) – Le Palace

STILL TO BE ANNOUNCED: ADDITIONAL FRANCE, ITALY, SWITZERLAND, ISRAEL AND MORE!

Just click the TOURS page for ticket links and additional details on all of these dates.

We can’t do this without you, so once again, thanks for your support and see you out there soon!

-The Aristocrats

7/21Chicago Sold Out – But Milwaukee Tickets Still Available!

Hey everyone – our “Tres Caballeros” tour is now in full swing, and the crowds have been great so far! Right now we’ve got some important news on a couple of shows coming up:

1) The Chicago show at Reggie’s on Friday July 24 is SOLD OUT. We know there’s been a bit of back and forth on this one, but that’s now official. So…

2) If you’re in the Chicago area and didn’t get a ticket, we’re playing the night before – Thursday July 23, two days from now – at The Miramar Theatre in Milwaukee! It’s not that long of a drive for hardy midwestern folk, and there’s plenty of seats left. Click here to get tickets!

3) Other near sellouts include: Montreal (Cafe Campus) and Washington DC/Vienna VA (Jammin Java). We think there’s under 15 tickets left for each of those shows, so if you’re on the fence, now’s the time. Check out the Shows page for all ticket links.

4) People of Austin, TX: You may have heard that our venue The Roost has closed. This is true but perhaps only temporarily. There WILL be a show no matter what, either at the re-opened Roost or at Threadgill’s if The Roost doesn’t re-open. We’re on the case and all pre-purchased tickets will be honored if the venue changes. Just watch our website and Facebook page for the latest updates on that one.

Thanks to all the fans who’ve already come out to witness the “Tres Caballeros” in action. Here’s a shot from our packed show in Vancouver. Check out the video screens. ;-) (photo by Jennifer Young)

Hope to see you out there soon, friends in North America and beyond!

Cheers to all,
The Aristocrats

7/04New Tour Dates: Milwaukee, Kansas City – Tour Starts This Week!

This is it – The Aristocrats’ Tres Caballeros North American Tour starts on Monday in Northern California! We have two important late changes to the itinerary we wanted to tell our North American friends about:

1) MILWAUKEE! On Thursday July 23 we will be playing the The Miramar Theater in Milwaukee, WI. If you’re up there, please help us spread the word on this late addition to the tour!

2) KANSAS CITY! On Monday, August 17, the venue has changed. It’s now ~~VooDoo~~ Davey’s Uptown Ramblers. All tickets purchased in advance for The Scene (the other previous venue!) will be honored.

This is all brand new information. If you don’t see it on the venue websites yet, don’t fret – it’ll be there soon. The most current information is always available on our Tours page.

Here’s the new full itinerary for the tour:

THE ARISTOCRATS
“Tres Caballeros“
North America Tour Summer 2015
with special guests The Travis Larson Band

Mon 6-Jul Sacramento, CA Harlow’s
Tues 7-Jul San Francisco, CA Slim’s
Wed 8-Jul Santa Cruz, CA Don Quixote’s
Fri 10-Jul Portland, OR Star Theater
Sat 11-Jul Seattle, WA Studio Seven
Sun 12-Jul Vancouver, BC, CANADA Rickshaw Theatre
Tues 14-Jul Boise, ID Reef
Wed 15-Jul Salt Lake City, UT Club X
Fri 17-Jul Denver, CO Quixote’s True Blue
Sun 19-Jul Omaha, NE Slowdown
Mon 20-Jul Des Moines, IA The Gaslamp
Tues 21-Jul St. Paul, MN The Amsterdam Bar And Hall
Thurs 23-Jul Milwaukee, WI The Miramar Theatre
Fri 24-Jul Chicago, IL Reggie’s
Sat 25-Jul Indianapolis, IN Birdy’s
Sun 26-Jul Cincinnati, OH The Mad Frog
Tues 28-Jul Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
Wed 29-Jul Pittsburgh, PA Hard Rock Café
Thur 30-Jul Columbus, OH Skully’s
Fri 31-Jul Detroit, MI Token Lounge
Sat 1-Aug Toronto, ON, CANADA Mod Club
Sun 2-Aug Ottawa, ON, CANADA The Rainbow Bistro
Tues 4-Aug Montreal, QC, CANADA Cafe Campus
Wed 5-Aug Woodstock, NY Bearsville Theater
Fri 7-Aug Boston, MA The Middle East
Sat 8-Aug New York City, NY Irving Plaza
Sun 9-Aug Philadelphia, PA North Star Bar
Mon 10-Aug Washington, DC Jammin‘ Java
Tues 11-Aug Raleigh, NC Pour House
Thur 13-Aug Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall
Fri 14-Aug Atlanta, GA Aisle 5
Sat 15-Aug Nashville, TN The High Watt
Sun 16-Aug St. Louis, MO Old Rock House
Mon 17-Aug Kansas City, MO Davey’s Uptown Ramblers
Tues 18-Aug Tulsa, OK The Vanguard
Thur 20-Aug Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s
Fri 21-Aug Austin, TX Threadgill’s
Sat 22-Aug Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX The Sanctuary
Mon 24-Aug Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
Wed 26-Aug Phoenix, AZ Club Red
Thur 27-Aug Mexicali, MX Teatro De Estado
Fri 28-Aug San Diego, CA Price Center Ballroom East, UCSD
Sat 29-Aug Riverside, CA Romano’s Concert Lounge
Sun 30-Aug Los Angeles, CA King King

Meanwhile reviews for Tres Caballeros keep rolling in. Here’s a snippet from a particularly effusive writeup from UltimateGuitar.com:

“Surely one of the best albums of the year, Tres Caballeros represents a tour de force of musicianship, poignant storytelling, and artistic control.”

We’ve been blown away by the response to our very ambitious new album. Thanks so much to all who ordered. What, you didn’t order yet? Click here to join the “better late than never” crowd. :-)

Lots of album previews are still available at our YouTube page.

Finally, we had an absolute blast at the G4 Experience camp last week, along with Joe Satriani, Animals As Leaders, Mike Keneally and a cast of thousands (ok, hundreds). Some highlights from the last night:

* Mike Keneally and Guthrie Govan playing dual leads Frank Zappa’s “Zomby Woof”
* Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes from Animals As Leaders jamming Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” (on their 8-string guitars!) with Mike Keneally, Bryan Beller and Joe Travers (drums)
* Joe Satriani and Mike Keneally playing Keneally’s tune “Rosemary Girl”

In addition to the guitar clinic information overload, bassists saw Bryan Beller and Stu Hamm lead clinics and do a live tribute to the late Chris Squire of Yes…and drummers (and plenty of guitarists!) saw Marco Minnemann and Matt Garska (of AAL) work up a righteous sweat in a dual-drummer chopsfest.

Here’s a shot of all of the instructors hamming it up for the camera. From left to right: Andy Aledort, Bryan Beller, Mike Keneally, Bruce Bouillet, Tosin Abasi, Javier Reyes, Joe Satriani, Matt Garska, Stu Hamm, Guthrie Govan, Marco Minnemann. (photo by Doug Doppler)

Thanks to all who attended and everyone who made it such a successful event.

That’s it. Time to hit the road! Hope to see you out there…

Best wishes to all,
The Aristocrats

6/23“Tres Caballeros” Is Out NOW!

The day has finally arrived: Our third studio album, Tres Caballeros, has been released into the wild.

It’s now available for immediate digital download and international order shipping through our webstore. And yes, it’s also available on iTunes, Amazon, various e-tailers, and select physical stores worldwide.

For those who pre-ordered through our webstore, digital downloads (accessible through a link in your order receipt e-mail) will now be activated, and shipments are all either on the way or have already arrived. International shipments take a bit longer sometimes, but the digital download should keep our global fans busy for a while. :-)

Late to the party? Try going here and watching the top three videos on the page for some tasty previews of Tres Caballeros.

Reviews are starting to come in. Here’s an excerpt from a very kind one:

“Tres Caballeros is extraordinary. In fact, almost every single note is extraordinary. Individually these guys are astonishing…together, this is the stuff of dreams.”
—The Progressive Aspect

We’re blushing. :-)

In all seriousness, from all three of The Aristocrats to everyone reading this note, THANK YOU for your support and interest in us as we made this record.

And now, it’s time to take the show on the road. Below you’ll see our North America and Europe tour dates (more dates will be announced for Europe soon). We can’t wait to play this new music for you. Hope to see you out on tour!

Cheers to all,
The Aristocrats

THE ARISTOCRATS
TRES CABALLEROS
NORTH AMERICA TOUR SUMMER 2015
(click here for links and available details on all dates)

Mon 6-Jul Sacramento, CA Harlow’s
Tues 7-Jul San Francisco, CA Slim’s
Wed 8-Jul Santa Cruz, CA Don Quixote’s
Fri 10-Jul Portland, OR Star Theater
Sat 11-Jul Seattle, WA Studio Seven
Sun 12-Jul Vancouver, BC, CANADA Rickshaw Theatre
Tues 14-Jul Boise, ID Reef
Wed 15-Jul Salt Lake City, UT Club X
Fri 17-Jul Denver, CO Quixote’s True Blue
Sun 19-Jul Omaha, NE Slowdown
Mon 20-Jul Des Moines, IA The Gaslamp
Tues 21-Jul St. Paul, MN The Amsterdam Bar And Hall
Thurs 23-Jul Milwaukee, WI The Miramar Theatre
Fri 24-Jul Chicago, IL Reggie’s
Sat 25-Jul Indianapolis, IN Birdy’s
Sun 26-Jul Cincinnati, OH The Mad Frog
Tues 28-Jul Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
Wed 29-Jul Pittsburgh, PA Hard Rock Café
Thur 30-Jul Columbus, OH Skully’s
Fri 31-Jul Detroit, MI Token Lounge
Sat 1-Aug Toronto, ON, CANADA Mod Club
Sun 2-Aug Ottawa, ON, CANADA The Rainbow Bistro
Tues 4-Aug Montreal, QC, CANADA Cafe Campus
Wed 5-Aug Woodstock, NY Bearsville Theater
Fri 7-Aug Boston, MA The Middle East
Sat 8-Aug New York City, NY Irving Plaza
Sun 9-Aug Philadelphia, PA North Star Bar
Mon 10-Aug Washington, DC Jammin‘ Java
Tues 11-Aug Raleigh, NC Pour House
Thur 13-Aug Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall
Fri 14-Aug Atlanta, GA Aisle 5
Sat 15-Aug Nashville, TN The High Watt
Sun 16-Aug St. Louis, MO Old Rock House
Mon 17-Aug Kansas City, MO VooDoo (at Harrah’s Casino)
Tues 18-Aug Tulsa, OK The Vanguard
Thur 20-Aug Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s
Fri 21-Aug Austin, TX The Roost
Sat 22-Aug Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX The Sanctuary
Mon 24-Aug Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
Wed 26-Aug Phoenix, AZ Club Red
Thur 27-Aug Mexicali, MX Teatro De Estado
Fri 28-Aug San Diego, CA Price Center Ballroom East, UCSD
Sat 29-Aug Riverside, CA Romano’s Concert Lounge
Sun 30-Aug Los Angeles, CA King King

THE ARISTOCRATS
TRES CABALLEROS
EUROPE TOUR WINTER 2015/2016
(many more dates to be announced for early 2016!)
(click here for links and available details on all dates)

November 16th: Cologne (Germany) – Kantine
November 17th: Dortmund (Germany) – Piano
November 18th: Frankfurt (Germany) – Zoom
November 20th: Nurnberg (Germany) – Luise Cultfactory
November 21st: Stuttgart (Germany) – Venue TBA
November 22nd: Reichenbach (Germany) – Bergkeller
November 24th: Munich (Germany) – Strom
November 25th: Bratislava (Slovakia) – Majestic Musik Club
November 26th: Nove Mesto (Slovakia) – Blue Note
November 27th: Bochnia (Poland) – Oratorium Sw. Kingi
November 28th: Warszaw (Poland) – Venue TBA
November 30th: Berlin (Germany) – Kesselhaus
December 2nd: Hamburg (Germany) – Fabrik
December 4th: Larvik (Norway) – Bolgen
December 6th: Istanbul (Turkey) – Venue TBA
December 7th: Bucharest (Romania) – Silver Church
December 9th: Zoetermeer (Netherlands) – De Boerderij
December 10th: Verviers (Belgium) – Spirit of 66
December 13th: Edinburgh (Scotland) – Liquid Room
December 15th: Manchester (England) – Club Academy
December 16th: Birmingham (England) – Temple
December 17th: Bristol (England) – Bierkeller
December 18th: London (England) – Heaven
December 19th: Brighton (England) – The Haunt
December 20th: Paris (France) – La Maroquinerie
January 20th 2016: Sevilla (Spain) – Custom
January 21st 2016: Murcia (Spain) – Garaje
January 22nd 2016: Madrid (Spain) – Caracol
January 23rd 2016: Valencia (Spain) – Rockcity
January 24th 2016: Barcelona (Spain) – venue tba
January 26th 2016: Nice (France) – venue tba

6/22Hear “Tres Caballeros” Live Stream Today Only At Ultimate Guitar .com!

Just a quick but important note: Tomorrow’s the release day for our new album Tres Caballeros, but you can now hear the whole album TODAY ONLY FOR FREE, live-streaming at Ultimate Guitar .com!

Click here to check out the entire new Aristocrats’ album Tres Caballeros! (good for June 22, 2015 only)

Check it out and let us know what you think, perhaps at our Facebook page. :-)

And if you haven’t done so yet, you can still order by clicking right here.

Digital downloads come free with any CD purchase, and become available at midnight June 23 local time. Which is soon.

Enjoy, and thanks for all of your support while we got to this momentous day!

Cheers to all,
The Aristocrats

6/09“The Kentucky Meat Shower” – Full Song Preview From “Tres Caballeros”

Behold, “The Kentucky Meat Shower” – the first full-song preview from our third studio album Tres Caballeros, available now for pre-order and due to drop on June 23.

Every song on Tres Caballeros has a different flavor. This one is Kentucky fried.

For the record, Guthrie wrote this one. Wondering what it’s about? Wikipedia might just be your friend. ;-)

We’ll have one more very special preview next week. For now, if you dig it, spread the word and tell ’em what you heard.

Also: don’t forget to check out our North American and European tour dates, now scattered throughout the remainder of 2015!

Cheers to all,
The Aristocrats

6/04European Tour Announcement!

While we’ve got all this excitement going on about our new album Tres Caballeros and the North American tour this summer, we didn’t want to forget about our many friends in Europe. So we’re now happy to announce the first leg of our Tres Caballeros European tour!

We’ll be doing one leg in November and December, and then after a quick break, we’ll be doing more dates (to be announced later) in January and February. For now, here are the European dates for the first leg:

THE ARISTOCRATS
TRES CABALLEROS
EUROPE TOUR WINTER 2015
(click here for links and available details on all dates)

November 16th: Cologne (Germany) – Kantine
November 17th: Dortmund (Germany) – Piano
November 18th: Frankfurt (Germany) – Zoom
November 20th: Nurnberg (Germany) – Luise Cultfactory
November 21st: Stuttgart (Germany) – Venue TBA
November 22nd: Reichenbach (Germany) – Bergkeller
November 24th: Munich (Germany) – Strom
November 25th: Bratislava (Slovakia) – Majestic Musik Club
November 26th: Nove Mesto (Slovakia) – Blue Note
November 27th: Bochnia (Poland) – Oratorium Sw. Kingi
November 28th: Warszaw (Poland) – Venue TBA
November 30th: Berlin (Germany) – Kesselhaus
December 2nd: Hamburg (Germany) – Fabrik
December 4th: Larvik (Norway) – Bolgen
December 6th: Istanbul (Turkey) – Venue TBA
December 7th: Bucharest (Romania) – Silver Church
December 9th: Zoetermeer (Netherlands) – De Boerderij
December 10th: Verviers (Belgium) – Spirit of 66
December 13th: Edinburgh (Scotland) – Liquid Room
December 15th: Manchester (England) – Club Academy
December 16th: Birmingham (England) – Temple
December 17th: Bristol (England) – Bierkeller
December 18th: London (England) – Heaven
December 19th: Brighton (England) – The Haunt
December 20th: Paris (France) – La Maroquinerie

If you don’t see your European country on this list, don’t worry – a lot more dates are coming for early 2016. :-)

In the meantime, Tres Caballeros is available for pre-order, in both standard and deluxe edition (with bonus DVD containing exclusive live and studio footage, interviews, outtakes, alternate solos, demos and more). All CD orders from our webstore come with a free digital download, which become available at midnight local time (your time) on the release date of June 23.

Plus we’ve got two YouTube preview videos:

* Here’s the trailer for the bonus DVD “behind the scenes” footage:

* Here’s a montage with clips from the entire album:

And here are those North American tour dates, one more time:

THE ARISTOCRATS
TRES CABALLEROS
NORTH AMERICA TOUR SUMMER 2015
(click here for links and available details on all dates)

Mon   6-Jul Sacramento, CA       Harlow’s
Tues   7-Jul   San Francisco, CA Slim’s
Wed   8-Jul Santa Cruz, CA Don Quixote’s
Fri   10-Jul Portland, OR Star Theater
Sat   11-Jul Seattle, WA Studio Seven
Sun   12-Jul   Vancouver, BC, CANADA   Rickshaw Theatre
Tues   14-Jul Boise, ID Reef
Wed   15-Jul   Salt Lake City, UT   Club X
Fri   17-Jul Denver, CO Quixote’s True Blue
Sun   19-Jul Omaha, NE Slowdown
Mon   20-Jul   Des Moines, IA The Gaslamp
Tues   21-Jul St. Paul, MN The Amsterdam Bar And Hall
Fri   24-Jul Chicago, IL Reggie’s
Sat   25-Jul Indianapolis, IN   Birdy’s
Sun   26-Jul Cincinnati, OH The Mad Frog
Tues   28-Jul Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
Wed   29-Jul   Pittsburgh, PA Hard Rock Café
Thur   30-Jul   Columbus, OH Skully’s
Fri   31-Jul Detroit, MI Token Lounge
Sat   1-Aug Toronto, ON, CANADA   Mod Club
Sun 2-Aug   Ottawa, ON, CANADA The Rainbow Bistro
Tues   4-Aug Montreal, QC, CANADA   Cafe Campus
Wed   5-Aug   Woodstock, NY   Bearsville Theater
Fri   7-Aug Boston, MA The Middle East
Sat   8-Aug New York City, NY Irving Plaza
Sun   9-Aug Philadelphia, PA North Star Bar
Mon   10-Aug Washington, DC       Jammin‘ Java
Tues   11-Aug Raleigh, NC Pour House
Thur   13-Aug Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall
Fri   14-Aug Atlanta, GA Aisle 5
Sat   15-Aug Nashville, TN The High Watt
Sun   16-Aug   St. Louis, MO Old Rock House
Mon   17-Aug Kansas City, MO The Scene
Tues   18-Aug Tulsa, OK The Vanguard
Thur   20-Aug Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s
Fri   21-Aug Austin, TX The Roost
Sat   22-Aug Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX The Sanctuary
Mon   24-Aug Albuquerque, NM       Launchpad
Wed   26-Aug Phoenix, AZ Club Red
Thur   27-Aug   Mexicali, MX   Teatro De Estado
Fri   28-Aug San Diego, CA Price Center Ballroom East, UC San Diego
Sun   30-Aug   Los Angeles, CA       King King