Jeff Scheetz Band - Behind the Mask (2008) Lossless

With “Behind the Mask” the Jeff Scheetz band has captured what is so often missing in music these days. The raw power of the music. Not over produced and overly “tweaked” - not the “lo-fi - because we are so cool we don’t need to be good” kind of pap that you hear blaring from every mall store. No. This is music that has the vibe of the great albums of the 70s, back when Hendrix and Zeppelin were pouring their hearts into it and playing for the sake of the music.

Jeff is no stranger to the guitar world: He is a prolific guitarist. With 8 albums out (5 of which are instrumental), he has also written a guitar instructional book and CD, released an instructional video, and 2 live dvds. He has recorded 7 instructional CD-roms for Truefire, and is considered one of the top guitar instructors in the U.S. - He has toured the US, Europe and Mexico, and has been featured in Guitar, Guitar Player, Guitar School, and Guitar World magazines, as well as numerous magazines in Japan and Europe. He is endorsed by Ernie Ball strings, Spectraflex, Avlex, Pro stage gear, and Dailey Amplifiers (who have released a “Jeff Scheetz” model tube amp). He has performed over 300 clinics worldwide for Yamaha guitars, and appeared as a product specialist at numerous NAMM shows, the LA guitar show and more.

But “Behind the Mask” goes way beyond just a guitar album. Oh don’t worry, there is enough tasty guitar riffs and searing solos to satisfy the most discriminating six string aficionado, but the amazing soulful vocals and twisting grooving bass playing of Matt Waddill along with the sometimes frenetic but always in the pocket drumming of Kent Burnham make this a complete music lovers “top pick”.

This CD also features some fantastic drumming by Jim Riley - the drummer for Rascal Flatts. Jim played with Jeff for several years before he started touring the world with the Flatts, and was in fine form laying down drums on several songs.

To solidify the attitude of “back when the music was real” the band tapped into Jeff’s longtime friend, world famous fantasy artist Rodney Matthews to produce the original artwork for the cover. Rodney lives in the rolling hills of Wales and has been doing album covers for bands such as Nazareth, Thin Lizzy, Magnum, Asia, and tons more since the late 70s, and his work on “Behind the Mask” is as captivating as any.

So whether they are speaking the truth on CD, or sharing the stage as they recently have with artists like ZZ Top, Cheap Trick, Banyan, Proto-Kaw, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Poison, Cinderella, Joan Jett, .38 Special, ELO, Scorpions, Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer and more - The Jeff Scheetz band are a group who can take the music to a special place that is exciting and fresh, while at the same time feeling so familiar and “right”.