Stately & majestic, well crafted melodic AOR rock with significant progressive over tones.

10 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Progressive Rock, ROCK: Classic Rock



Details:
New Machine is the product of the classic rock group meltdown - "Too many chefs stirring the pot." This unique band consists of only two musicians with an interesting history.

Drummer Chaim Garcia and guitarist Bob Gilmartin have been creating music together for almost 20 years. Their musical journey actually began with childhood friendship. Bob and Chaim met when they were 5 years old and grew up in the same neighborhood together in Old Bridge, New Jersey. Becoming as close as brothers they shared many of the same interests. The biggest of them being music. Chaim and Bob's first musical loves were Rush and Kiss. Out of their passion for these bands, they set out on their musical path with Chaim on the drums and Bob on the guitar. Neil Peart and Peter Criss had a profound influence on Chaim while Alex Lifeson and Ace Frehley had the same influence on Bob.

They played in many local club bands together working on their craft while developing into highly talented and prolific song-writers. By their mid 20's, Chaim and Bob had their first taste of success when they were signed to a 3 year recording contract with Mystery Bloom. They released their first album, "Frame of Mind" in 1996 (re-released as "Lifetime In The Heart" in 2002), but unfortunately, by the start of the writing sessions of the 2nd album, ego problems and the differing ideas of five song-writers in the band contributed to Mystery Bloom's premature demise.

In 1997, Bob landed the coveted guitar spot in Phantom's Opera that was vacated first by Michael Romeo (Symphony X) and then by Karl Cochran (Ace Frehley Band). Bob helped bring Phantom's Opera's third album "Following Dreams" to life with his stunning guitar work. In the meanwhile, Chaim was busy writing and working towards his vision of the perfect musical project.

In 1999, Phantom's Opera was getting set to begin work on their 4th album, ACT IV. When their drummer decided to leave the band, Bob and then lead singer Colie Brice, immediately thought of Chaim and suggested to the band that he play drums. They were receptive and sessions began on ACT IV.

After the completion of that album, Chaim and Bob found themselves longing to create music that they had been hearing in their heads for 10 years. They wanted to do something progressive yet commercial, something powerful yet gentle, and something rhythmic yet melodic. They realized then that they would not be able to create their sound with the conventional 4 or 5 piece rock group and decided to go it alone. With Bob handling all the guitars and bass, and Chaim handling the drums and keyboards, and with both musicians handling the vocal duties, they entered the studio in 2000 to begin work on New Machine.

Within moments of listening to these two musicians, you immediately notice something that is lacking in many groups - chemistry. Because of their childhood friendship and their mutual interest in bands like Rush, Pink Floyd, Kansas, and Marillion, Bob Gilmartin and Chaim Garcia have tapped into something very special. Their passion and commitment to music as art and expression has helped them to break away from the current trends and build their own New Machine.