Illumination Road

Many music biz folk in the know have been quietly predicting the resurgence of guitar music in 2013, including BBC Radio 1 head George Ergatoudis, who confidently stated in November 2012 that “guitar music is definitely on the way back.” At the forefront of the movement is the Los Angeles-based duo of Chris Ayden and Chad Shlosser, who together form Illumination Road, a thoroughly 21st Century rock band that nevertheless recalls the passion and intensity of such illustrious forebears as Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Bob Marley and Led Zeppelin.

Chris Ayden is the singer/songwriter of the duo, with Chad handling production duties. Chris, who numbers Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Ray Davies amongst his songwriting inspirations, hails from the Bay Area of California while Chad, a self-described “studio junkie,” once called Seattle home but now lives in the eclectic, electric seaside community of Venice, California, where he has his own production studio. The pair met in Los Angeles a couple years back and immediately clicked musically, as evidenced by a torrent of songwriting output that will witness the group release not just one, but a pair of debut albums this spring: A Fool for the Dream is a 12-track full band album prominently featuring the aforementioned guitars, while Life on the Western Shore is a full-length 10-track acoustic effort composed of entirely different songs. The drum tracks for A Fool for the Dream were played by Gil Sharone (Dillinger Escape Plan, Stolen Babies) and recorded at Tranzformer Studios, where they were amongst the last sessions engineered by the late, great Bryan Carlstrom (Alice In Chains, The Offspring). All other production, engineering and mixing for both albums was done at Chad’s own Area7 Studios in Venice.

Chris and Chad have recruited a top notch five-piece band of international artists to help bring Illumination Road’s sonic visions to the live stage…and what a stage it will be, as Illumination Road will be jetting to Sydney, Australia, to make their live debut at the inaugural Stone Music Festival on April 20-21, 2013, where they’ll be sharing the stage with the likes of Van Halen, Billy Joel and Buckcherry – a big debut for a bold new band that boasts a big sound and has bigger ambitions.

www.illuminationroad.com