NEW
YORK (Soul SirkUS Website) - Soul SirkUS�a "supergroup" of legendary
music talents--will be embarking on their first U.S. tour starting
April 5 in Allentown, PA and conclude April 28 in
Santa Ana, CA in
support of their critically acclaimed WORLD PLAY debut album, which is
available now exclusively on the band's website (www.soulsirkus.com).
Soul
SirkUS was born out of the ashes of Planet US, a band originally
featuring guitarist Neal Schon and drummer Deen Castronovo of Journey
along with
Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony of Van Halen. When Hagar and
Anthony left the band to return to their roles in
Van Halen last year,
Schon and Castronovo teamed up with former Yngwie Malmsteen and
Talisman singer Jeff Scott Soto (who also provided lead vocals for the
lead character in the movie "
Rock Star") and bassist
Marco Mendoza (Ted
Nugent, Whitesnake) to create Soul SirkUS which picks up where Planet
US left off.
Due to mutual agreement, Deen Castronovo will not
be joining the band on this month-long trek. He's chosen to step down
as drummer for Soul SirkUS as the work load between both Soul SirkUS
and
Journey left him devoid of personal/family time. Earlier this year,
he was diagnosed with extreme dehydration and exhaustion, which forced
the cancellation of this tour which was originally scheduled to start
in January. World renowned Australian drumming sensation, Virgil Donati
(Steve Vai, Planet X), has stepped in to replace Deen behind the skins.
Deen
says, "Virgil Donati SERIOUSLY kicks my butt! He is the most unreal
drummer I have ever seen...this guy is a studied musician and does
things on a kit I had never witnessed...with 'this guy' in Soul SirkUS
they are going to make some real noise in the music business. They
couldn't have chosen a better guy�they just don't come better than
Donati."
Neal Schon recently commented on the vibe of the band:
"The new stuff is cool, melodic and has plenty of edge. We are very
much looking forward to playing live. I definitely feel we have the
goods. It's raw, in-your-face rock...the way rock should be."
In
international news, Soul SirkUS will release a re-recorded version of
WORLD PLAY--with drum tracks by Virgil Donati and three brand new
songs--in
Europe on April 25 on Frontiers Records. As a special bonus,
the entire first pressing (including Deen Castronovo's drums) will be
specially packaged in ecobook (recycled paper) edition and will feature
a bonus DVD, which will include videos for the songs "New Position" and
"Another World," as well as an interview with the band and
behind-the-scenes footage.
