Guitarist MARIO PARGA To Be Joined By GRAHAM BONNET For NAMM Performance

UK guitarist Mario Parga will appear at the 2009 NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show, which will be held January 15-18 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. He will perform an all-acoustic set on January 17 at the Fishman Transducers Inc. booth alongside his friends Graham Bonnet (vocals; RAINBOW, ALCATRAZZ, MSG),Tim Luce (bass; ALCATRAZZ, SAVAGE PARADISE) and Eric Ragno (keyboards; JOURNEY, SAVAGE PARADISE, TAKARA).

Due to "personal circumstances," former BLACK SABBATH singer Tony Martin was unable to appear in the new music video for "Spirit of Night", the vocal version of Mario Parga's popular song, which was filmed in Los Angeles.

The vocal version of "Spirit of Night", featuring a guest appearance by Tony Martin, was released through MidnightCafé Music as a CD and download single on June 27.

Mario's new band project SAVAGE PARADISE featuring Tony Martin on vocals, Kevin Valentine (CINDERELLA, KISS) on drums and Tim Luce (ALCATRAZZ) on bass, has commenced work on its first album.

Parga, born in Lytham, Lancashire, England on August 7, 1969, came into the spotlight during the late 1980s when he began appearing in numerous guitar and rock magazines such as Guitar Player, Metal Hammer, Kerrang!, Metal Forces and played a live guitar solo on MTV's "Metal Hammer" show.

During the early 1990s, Parga toured, played and recorded with numerous artists, most notably Cozy Powell and Graham Bonnet. In 1991, his debut guitar instrumental album "The Magician" was released by President Records. Following disillusionment with the music industry, Parga shied away from the scene until he re-emerged in Los Angeles in 1998, playing guitar on Graham Bonnet's "The Day I Went Mad".

Considered by many to be one of the greatest sweep arpeggio players of the guitar "shred" and neoclassical metal genres, Parga combines complex arpeggio patterns with rapid alternate picking, sweep-picking and string bending. He is also renowned for his emotive slower playing.

In 2000, Parga was approached by the guitar label Liquid Note Records and recorded his instrumental "Valse Diabolique" for their "The Alchemists" album. Two years later, he recorded his haunting ballad "Hourglass" for Lion Music's "Warmth in the Wilderness II", a tribute to fellow guitarist Jason Becker.

Early in 2007, Parga announced the creation of his own record label MidnightCafé Music (the name taken from his track "The Midnight Café" from "The Magician") and plans on releasing his future instrumental rock guitar music through it. His latest album "Entranced" was released on the label on April 14, 2007.