A-Z

Progressive Metal • Multi-National

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A-Z biography
A-Z is a Progressive Metal/Hard Rock/AOR band which is the brainchild of ex-FATES WARNING drummer Mark ZONDER, who wanted to start a commercial-style hard rock band that would appeal to a mass audience and thus lead to them being able to perform at larger venues, with the success of the first record hopefully leading to the release of further albums in the future. The band's line up was completed by the addition of FATES WARNING vocalist Ray ALDER, bassist Philip BYNOE (WARLORD, Steve VAI, RING OF FIRE), guitarist Joop WOLTERS and keyboardist Vivien LALU. The band's name, 'A-Z', is actually a shortened form of 'ALDER thru ZONDER'.

Mark ZONDER had his first drum lessons at the age of 7, and although he played in a school band, he didn't practice much at the time. At the age of 12 he got a job at the music store in San Jose, CA where he met some older musicians with whom he could jam. He started playing in some cover bands and met Bill TSAMIS, joining his band WARLORD and moving to Los Angeles, CA with him. Mark has played in a number of other bands since, including the legendary FATES WARNING.

For his A-Z project, Mark got in touch with the first recruit, Vivien LALU, through another keyboard player he knew, and told him what he wanted to do, sending him some drum patterns and grooves, and LALU added his guitar sounds to turn them into basic song structures. ZONDER and Philip BYNOE already had a long history and mutual respect for each other, so his decision to jump on board was a formality, and LALU had worked with WOLTERS for years, making it an easy process to recruit him for the band as well.

The intention from the outset was to create an album focusing on shorter songs which got right to the chorus rather than lengthy ten-minute-plus songs, and everyone found it easy working to this remit. The hardest aspect of the whole process was finding the right singer, and ZONDER sent a basic song out to over 20 different singers to begin with, without any of them really standing out. In the end he made a call to his old FATES WARNING bandmate Ray ALDER to see what he was up to, and Ray found the blend of music very much to his liking, resulting in the two of them being re-united again after many years.

The putting together of the record was a truly global event, with everyone recording in their respective home studios and sending the files across to each other to add their parts. The only exception was Philip BYNOE, who recorded his ...A-Z is a Progressive Metal/Hard Rock/AOR band which is the brainchild of ex-FATES WARNING drummer Mark ZONDER, who wanted to start a commercial-style hard rock band that would appeal to a mass audience and thus lead to them being able to perform at larger venues, with the success of the first record hopefully leading to the release of further albums in the future. The band's line up was completed by the addition of FATES WARNING vocalist Ray ALDER, bassist Philip BYNOE (WARLORD, Steve VAI, RING OF FIRE), guitarist Joop WOLTERS and keyboardist Vivien LALU. The band's name, 'A-Z', is actually a shortened form of 'ALDER thru ZONDER'.

Mark ZONDER had his first drum lessons at the age of 7, and although he played in a school band, he didn't practice much at the time. At the age of 12 he got a job at the music store in San Jose, CA where he met some older musicians with whom he could jam. He started playing in some cover bands and met Bill TSAMIS, joining his band WARLORD and moving to Los Angeles, CA with him. Mark has played in a number of other bands since, including the legendary FATES WARNING.

For his A-Z project, Mark got in touch with the first recruit, Vivien LALU, through another keyboard player he knew, and told him what he wanted to do, sending him some drum patterns and grooves, and LALU added his guitar sounds to turn them into basic song structures. ZONDER and Philip BYNOE already had a long history and mutual respect for each other, so his decision to jump on board was a formality, and LALU had worked with WOLTERS for years, making it an easy process to recruit him for the band as well.

The intention from the outset was to create an album focusing on shorter songs which got right to the chorus rather than lengthy ten-minute-plus songs, and everyone found it easy working to this remit. The hardest aspect of the whole process was finding the right singer, and ZONDER sent a basic song out to over 20 different singers to begin with, without any of them really standing out. In the end he made a call to his old FATES WARNING bandmate Ray ALDER to see what he was up to, and Ray found the blend of music very much to his liking, resulting in the two of them being re-united again after many years.

The putting together of the record was a truly global event, with everyone recording in their respective home studios and sending the files across to each other to add their parts. The only exception was Philip BYNOE, who recorded his bass parts at ZONDER's Moorpark, CA studio. ZONDER himself produced the album, with his friend Robbie WYCKOFF - a Los Angeles based vocalist and recording artist whose voice can be heard on numerous films, television shows, hit records and national jingles, and who has recorded and performed with a number of World famous artists - providing some backing vocals.

Despite Robbie's involvement, there were no actual guests involved in making the record, and the album was mixed by producer, mixer, engineer & guitar player Simone MULARONI at his Domination Studio in San Marino, Italy. The self-titled debut album's artwork was created by the famed Hugh SYME (RUSH, FATES WARNING), and was released by Metal Blade Records on August 12th 2022, with the vinyl LP version being part of their 'Metal Blade Records 40th Anniversary 1982 - 2022' series. The band are already working on album number two, with a tour eventually being planned.

(biography provided by David/yam yam)read more

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A-Z discography

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A-Z
2022

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Thanks to cristi for the artist addition.