The Guitar Player's Resource
Yes it iz! Fresh from the cerebrum of guitarist Mike Serviolo is the genre-bending instrumental CD entitled Iz. This being the Denver musician's second release, he decided on this go round to couple the power and attitude of heavy metal with the avant garde flavor of a jazz combo - using the guitar as a centerpiece - to come up with something completely different. And that's Iz, a brazenly composed work that shifts tempos, gargles riffs and changes tones and moods at the drop of a hat (perhaps one of Mike Keneally's hats). This is some interesting stuff here - instead of the standard if-Satch-can-do-so-can-I wankfest (not that there's anything wrong with a wankfest - plus he can wank when he wants to), Serviolo goes the extra mile to deliver something that will provide hours of repeated listening - as long as your ears and mind open up wide enough to soak it all in.
Michael is a longtime staple on Denver, Colorado's music scene. He has appeared with Local Threat, Peace Corp and Acid Ranch as well as the original Jux County, with founder Andy Monley. Michael later decided to concentrate on two projects - the hard-rocking IZ and an electronic recording project called Elan. His heritage, a mixture of Sicilian, Jewish, Native American and Uzbekistani, contributes in no small part to the blend of wide-ranging musical flavors found on his recordings. Michael formed his own label, Infinite 7, so that he would be free to do his own thing. "For the most part, Infinite 7 is just projects that I'm involved with," he reveals. "In truth, it's a vanity label, like most labels. Even labels that put out other bands are vanity labels, in a sense."
Serviolo spends most of his time around music - performing, composing, teaching, and handling promotion and publicity. "Teaching is the thing that I like to do more than anything else," he has been quoted as saying.
Sinergy Distribution
United States
Web site: www.thisisiz.com