A Call To The Wild

      Billboard #4 hit multi-genre session guitarist and acclaimed rock fusion, blues rock, instrumental rock and progressive rock solo-artist, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and vocalist Neil Rambaldi is a musical force to be reckoned with. His highly-anticipated sophomore solo album A Call To The Wild conjures up the spirit of epic desert landscapes with its fire-red guitar tones, blues-laden guitar lines, and exciting multi-instrumental soundscapes carrying listeners to a place where a guitar has never taken them before. Inspired greatly by both his life experiences and his time spent in the U.S. Southwest desert lands and beyond, Neil’s guitar sound and compositions, time and time again, have been described as powerful and earthy, with one critic calling them “a stunning barrage of sound” (20th Century Guitar Magazine). He paints a scenery with “the brush that is the virtuoso guitar of Rambaldi” (Patricios 95.5 FM, Buenos Aires, AR).

Neil Rambaldi with bassist Stu Hamm (from Steve Vai & Joe Satriani fame) and vocalist Carl Restivo (music director for and touring member of Tom Morello's band) performing in Hollywood, CA

     Upon the album’s release in March 2017, Neil peaked at #6 on the Reverb Nation rock charts for Los Angeles, surpassing artists such as rock guitar legend George Lynch. And the San Francisco area veteran radio DJ Don Campau (KKUP 91.5 FM) has called Neil’s A Call To The Wild one of his “favorite albums of the year.”

     Entirely producing, writing, and performing all of the instruments and the occasional vocals on the album (including guitars, bass, keyboards, and various percussion with the exception of some drum programming), this monumental 67-minute work is Neil’s second solo release on his own label Prismism Music, with worldwide distribution on CD, download, and streaming through all major platforms including CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Apply Music, and many more online music retailers and services, as well as additional CD distribution through Alliance Entertainment and its affiliates worldwide. Mainly influenced by a wide spectrum of classic rock, progressive rock, hard rock, blues, soul, classical, funk, jazz, and even pop, Latin jazz, and flamenco (including anywhere from Led Zeppelin and Stevie Ray Vaughan, to Beethoven and Paganini, to Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani, to Jimi Hendrix, Steve Vai, Freddie King, Eddie Palmieri, Vinnie Moore, Greg Howe, Al Di Meola, Jeff Beck, Stevie Wonder, Yngwie Malmsteen, Francisco Tárrega, and Paco de Lucía, among others), Neil’s second album has major crossover appeal—and although Neil’s sound is eclectic, it has a distinctive thread throughout that is all his own. His guitar playing is highly melodic, soulful, sometimes aggressive, and often deeply-textured with sounds spanning his stylistic palette. Pete Pardo of Sea of Tranquility (USA) says:

     “Much more than just an instrumental guitar-oriented album... Neil Rambaldi not only has all the chops, but the songwriting skills to match them every step of the way. This guy is a monster player. ...Each (song) a sizzling vehicle for Rambaldi's serious chops of doom. The songs here contain a wealth of variety, tones, textures, and colors. ...and he knows how to cross different genres and really mix it up a bit. He's a guy that deserves to be heard by the masses. Lion Music and all the guitar labels out there – check this guy out. I think he is well deserving of finding a spot on one of your rosters.”

Neil Rambaldi performing with legendary guitarist Nuno Bettencourt's protégé recording artist Gabriela in San Juan Capistrano, CA (Gabriela is also a touring vocalist member of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra)

     Neil has had the honor of being introduced to associates as "an amazing guitarist" by the legendary guitarist himself and guitar icon Nuno Bettencourt of the band Extreme, and was once even voted as a top-10 international finalist by guitar legend Steve Vai in the Tonos.com Steve Vai Guitar Challenge. With honors and accolades like this, Neil has much more than just two solo albums under his belt... There are also dozens of other releases, artists, and projects that he has either recorded for or with, or performed and shared the stage or bill with as a session and touring guitarist, backing vocalist, music director, songwriter/composer, producer, arranger, or solo artist. These collaborations include a Billboard #4 hit Dance Club Songs Chart single of Michelle Kash’s (INgrooves Music Group) cover of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus,” on which Neil played lead guitar and did the arrangement for—making it to the top of the charts!

     Neil’s collaborations and performances also include with acclaimed artists and musicians such as former member of the Grammy-winning group The Commodores—Kenny Simmons, Universal Records recording artist / WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia, Sony Music Latin recording artist Julio Reyes, Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme (A&M Records), bassist Stu Hamm (credits: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai), Aaron Kamin of The Calling (RCA Records), Nuno Bettencourt's protégé recording artist Gabriela (and touring vocalist member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra), guitarist Ty Oliver of Powerman 5000 (Dreamworks Records), drummer Chris Reeve of Filter (Reprise Records), multi-instrumentalist Carl Restivo (credits: Tom Morello, Perry Farrell, Rihanna), drummer/percussionist Demian Arriaga (credits: Miley Cyrus, Richie Kotzen, Nick Jonas, Jonas Brothers), and Emmy-winning songwriter Andrew Rollins among many others. Between both his live solo band, solo acoustic, and these other projects, he has performed in many parts of the U.S. and on stages as far as Tokyo, Japan, as well as on national and regional TV in the U.S. Neil’s music has also garnered terrestrial radio airplay in at least 15 countries to date, including the U.S., Canada, Germany, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Italy, Czech Republic, France, Belgium, Austria, Poland, Australia, and others; he has amassed countless rave reviews and features in the U.S. and abroad for both of his solo albums—including 20th Century Guitar Magazine (USA/Canada), The Aquarian (USA), MLWZ (Poland), ProGGnosis (USA/Canada), Guitar Chef (Italy), Sea of Tranquility (USA), Mundo Rock (Chile), and on CNET (USA) as an “Editor’s Pick,” among many others; and his music has also been licensed and heard on national and international TV in at least 35 countries for numerous programs, as well as feature films, video games, commercials, and other media including a commercial spot for Audi of America, the Wii video game “Dancing With The Stars: We Dance,” AMC TV's “Hollywood Icon,” the feature film “199 Lives: The Travis Pastrana Story,” and many others including productions featured on MTV, AMC TV, National Geographic, and Fuel TV, among others.

     Parallel to his performance and recording career as an artist and musician, Neil has also been passing on his guitar and songwriting knowledge for years now as a “guru” for many highly-successful musicians and actors, first in New Jersey and New York City, and later in Los Angeles. His roster has included multi-Grammy nominated solo artist Phoebe Bridgers (PAX-AM Records, and member of the supergroup Boygenius), platinum-selling producer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Andrew Wells (Jason Mraz / Celine Dion / Halsey / Phoebe Bridgers), actress Zoey Deutch (Zombieland: Double Tap / Buffaloed), touring bassist Alicia Vigil for DragonForce (Roadrunner Records / Universal Records), members of The Regrettes (Warner Brothers Records), actor Will Bradley (Pretty Little Liars), and many more.

      Neil has also received artist sponsorships from guitar companies and related companies including Taylor guitars and Spectraflex cables, and has even been selected to do beta testing for a then-new line of guitar strings by D'Addario strings. He is currently an officially endorsed artist by Spectraflex.

      Early in his career as a musician, he also spent a lot of time building his music production skills in New York City-area recording studios, including Sony Music Studios. During that time he got to work with renowned artists such as the late jazz organist Charles Earland (Mercury / Columbia Records), Grammy-winning Latin pop star Marc Anthony (Columbia Records / Sony Music), and late jazz singer Irene Reid (Verve Records), as well as working with Grammy-winning mix engineer Michael Brauer, recording/mix engineer David Swope, and Grammy-winning producer and engineer Bob Power, among others. This experience has carried over into both his solo albums and the many projects he has been involved with.

     Unlike his all-instrumental critically-acclaimed first album Perpetual Horizon, the mostly-instrumental A Call To The Wild expands even deeper into Neil’s range of styles, featuring some of Neil’s vocals as well, where the listener can clearly hear some of his blues and soul influences projecting over catchy blues rock guitar riffs, drums, and bass on the all-out jam “Everything You Say”—but those influences carry much further beyond just Neil’s vocals. On the album, his bluesy influences permeate throughout many of the tracks, which are often centered in a sophisticated rock context. Along with plenty of “shred guitar” and clear signs of progressive rock, this can be heard on tracks such as “The Day The Tides Stood Still,” “When The Days Were Young,” “Wild Seed,” “Brave New World,” the futuristic / bluesy “The Punchline,” and others. Neil’s study of classical music can particularly be heard as well on pieces such as “The Sleeper” and “Into The Twilight,” among others, but these pieces are truly a fusion of rock, classical, and world/ethnic. Latin, Flamenco, and Jazz influences can also be heard on the tracks “Mi Corazón,” “And The Sun Goes Down...” and “Paradise Lost,” respectively—and genre-defying tracks like “Shadow Armada” fall into a style all their own.

     Residing in both the New York City area and Los Angeles, New Jersey-native Neil Rambaldi currently continues to book both East Coast and West Coast solo tour dates in both of his live formats—full-band and solo acoustic, as well as tour dates and recording sessions for other artists where his schedule permits, lately including Michelle Kash (INgrooves Music Group), among others. For his solo touring, his band setlist favors the blues rock, multifaceted instrumental rock, and progressive rock/fusion side of his catalog; and his solo acoustic setlist favors his blues, American roots, soul, jazz, and classical-influenced catalog—both including some of his unreleased material as well. (Keep an eye out for continued upcoming Rambaldi tour dates!) All updates can be found at www.NeilRambaldi.com, with additional information being posted on Facebook (@neilrambaldi), Twitter (@neilrambaldi), and Instagram (@neilrambaldi).

     With the accolades Neil has garnered thus far, and the broad span of his musical talents, we must heed the words one Dutch music critic has said about him: “We need to keep our eyes wide open for this talented man” (Strutter’zine, NL). With no need to concern himself with current trends in order to make great songs, there is creative truth in Neil’s music, and this matches both the honesty of his life experiences heard in the emotions you will find in his songwriting, and the purity found in the desert landscapes that have inspired his creative process so much in the Southwest U.S. and beyond... Take an epic journey down this desert highway, and discover “what is” Neil Rambaldi.