TESTAMENT Guitarist Jamming With RODRIGO Y GABRIELA On MTV; Video Available

Video footage of TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick jamming with the guitar duo RODRIGO Y GABRIELA is airing this entire week on MTV as part of the channel's "52/52" campaign (with RODRIGO Y GABRIELA as the featured artist). Original performances, interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage, including Rod, Gab and Alex jamming together in Mexico, is being shown on the channel and on the MTV.com web site. All three are interviewed together and discuss their mutual respect and individual guitar techniques.

Watch these three 30-second spots featuring Alex:

Spot#1
Spot#2
Spot#3

In other news, ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO — the experimental band led by TESTAMENT/ex-SAVATAGE guitarist Alex Skolnick — will support RODRIGO Y GABRIELA on the following dates:

Sep. 07 - The Marquee, Tempe, AZ
Sep. 08 - Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ
Sep. 09 - The Viper Room, Hollywood, CA (AST only)
Sep. 12 - Canes, San Diego, CA
Sep. 13 - Grove of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
Sep. 26 - UK Pizza Express Dean St., London (AST only)
Oct. 17 - Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA
Oct. 18 - Electric Factory Philadelphia, PA
Oct. 19 - Roseland Ballroom New York, NY
Oct. 21 - 9:30 Club Washington, DC

A cover of METALLICA's "Orion" by RODRIGO & GABRIELA has been posted online at their MySpace page. The song is included on RODRIGO & GABRIELA's latest self-titled album, which came out in March 2006 via Rubyworks Records.

"Rodrigo y Gabriela" was produced by John Leckie (MUSE, RADIOHEAD, MY MORNING JACKET) and the artistes themselves. It was recorded in the U.K. in the late summer of 2005, and features nine new tracks — seven RODRIGO & GABRIELA originals and two covers: METALLICA's "Orion" and LED ZEPPELIN's "Stairway to Heaven". All the instrumentation on the album comes from RODRIGO Y GABRIELA's guitars, with the exception of guest gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos, who contributes a blistering solo to "Ixtapa".

Natives of Mexico City, Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero began their careers as members of TIERRA ACIDA, a heavy metal band which played on the city's underground gig circuit for seven years.

"Like a lot of Mexican youth, we were heavily influenced by American metal bands — METALLICA, MEGADETH, PANTERA, and also SEPULTURA," Gabriela explained. "It was a full band, very loud, and for vocals, Rodrigo would just scream. We played this way for seven years."

Since Rodrigo and Gabriela moved to Ireland from Mexico, they have released several albums, contributed to film soundtracks and sold out shows across Ireland and the U.K.

The group's "Live Manchester and Dublin" CD was recorded in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral and the Manchester Academy and was issued in 2004. The album combines live performances from both cities and features their distinctive cover of METALLICA's "One" interwoven with the DAVE BRUBEK jazz classic "Take 5".