Jennifer Batten

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Jennifer Batten is a guitarist who first received word-of-mouth attention that eventually led guitar magazines to take notice of her highly original approach to the electric guitar. On Guitar Player Monthly's premier compilation CD, John Stix wrote, "It was Jennifer's version of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" that was considered by her peers the "scariest and most requested cut on the disc."

At one point Batten was in six different bands playing many genres including rock, metal, fusion and funk. She was selected from over 100 guitarists to play in Michael Jackson's band on his one and a half year world tour. She played for a total of 4.5 million people on Jackson's first solo tour, the Bad Tour. In the following years she joined Michael on his "Dangerous Tour" as well as 1997's "HIStory Tour", traveling to such countries as South Africa and India. She also joined him in Super Bowl XXVII's half time entertainment which aired to the largest audience in television history (1.5 billion).

Following 1989's "Bad Tour" grand finale, she started work on her debut album with renowned producer (ex-Stevie Wonder guitarist) Michael Sembello (Sembello also wrote and performed the hit song "Maniac", which was featured in the soundtrack for the film Flashdance). The results can be heard on "Above, Below, and Beyond". Her second solo record, "Jennifer Batten's Tribal Rage", was released in 1997 and is heavily influenced by world music. In 1998 Jeff Beck asked Jennifer to join his band. She spent three years recording and touring in support of his albums Who Else!, and You Had It Coming. Tour dates included many dates with Sting. Guest recordings include: Jeff Beck's "Who Else" and "You Had It Coming", Carmine Appice's "Guitar Zeus" (featuring Brian May), Michael Sembellos' "Heavy Weather" , Carl Anderson's "Sunlight Again", Cindy Cruz's debut, Public Image bassist Bret Helm's "Doc Tahri" and the debut of The Immigrants. Music video appearances include Jeff Beck, Michael Jackson, Natalie Cole and Sara Hickman. She was also featured in "Hot Guitarist's" video magazine.

Between 1994 and 1999 she also joined for a few eurobeat songs to Dave Rodgers and Domino; "Sun City", "Music For the People", "Fly" and "Woa Woa Woa" feature her guitars. However, though uncredited, her writing and performing skills appear in several other songs under the A-Beat C label. Live Eurobeat appearances are limited to playing at the Tokyo Dome with Dave Rodgers and Queen of Hearts.

She's also authored two music books. Her third solo album, Whatever., was released in Japan in September 2007 and will be available in the U.S. soon.

Mattias Eklundh

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Mattias "IA" Eklundh (born 1969 in Gothenburg, Sweden) is a guitarist and vocalist, known for his work with the bands Freak Kitchen, Frozen Eyes, Fate and the Jonas Hellborg Trio; he has also released several noted solo albums. He was also prominently featured playing his trademark-style solos on 3 Soilwork albums.

Mattias began drumming at the age of six; when he was thirteen, he began playing guitar. He has named Frank Zappa and Kiss as his two major musical influences, but his record collection also included gypsy jazz, Miles Davis, and Slayer among many others.

Mattias began drumming at the age of six; when he was thirteen, he began playing guitar. He has named Frank Zappa and Kiss as his two major musical influences, but his record collection also included gypsy jazz, Miles Davis, and Slayer among many others.

In the mid-80's, Mattias formed the band Frozen Eyes. Frozen Eyes split up soon after their self-titled album was released in 1988 and Mattias subsequently joined Danish metal band Fate as lead guitarist. Mattias appears on their 1990 album Scratch 'n Sniff. He later returned to Sweden, forming his own band Freak Kitchen in 1992 with former Frozen Eyes drummer Joakim Sjöberg and bassplayer Christian Grönlund. The band played together for 8 years, until Sjöberg and Grönlund left in 2000, only to be replaced by Christer Örtefors and Björn Fryklund.

Outside of Freak Kitchen, Eklundh has recorded several solo albums, and made appearances as a guest musician for Swedish heavy metal bands like Evergrey and Soilwork. His two Freak Guitar solo albums are released on Steve Vai's Favored Nations label, and include drawings and other artwork by friend Anders Nyberg. In 2005, he grouped with Swedish bass guitarist and composer Jonas Hellborg in the Jonas Hellborg Trio along with drummer Niclas Campagnol and played their first gig in Mumbai, India and followed with a tour of India.

He also annually hosts and teaches at the Freak Guitar Camp. Mattias Eklundh endorses Caparison guitars, who make his signature Apple Horn guitar, and Yamaha Guitars for the company's unique Silent Guitar electroacoustic. He is also a long time user of Laney amplifiers, currently using a VH100R.

Freak Kitchen

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Freak Kitchen is a heavy metal/hard rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1992. The high technical level of their compositions usually makes people refer to their style as somewhat of a progressive metal or progressive rock band.

Freak Kitchen's style of music is influenced by many genres besides the traditional heavy metal, ranging from jazz to pop. The band described their third album as "A corny little heavy-pop-rock-latin-world-jazz-avant-garde-metal-blues-record".

Lyrics contain heavy criticism against capitalist society, conformity, racism and the attitude of huge record companies.

Frontman Mattias Eklundh is widely known as a guitarist of high technical ability, and live shows often contain parts where Eklundh plays the guitar using several foreign objects such as a vibrating dildo. Eklundh has also released three solo albums, Sensually Primitive (1997) (under the pseudonym Mr. Libido), Freak Guitar (1999) and Freak Guitar - The Road Less Traveled (2004). The band announced a new album "Land of the Freaks", which will be released in 2008.

Cacophony

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Cacophony was an American neoclassical speed metal band formed in 1986 by guitarists Marty Friedman and Jason Becker. Cacophony is often recognized for its technically challenging, neo-classical metal elements, as well as featuring two shred guitarists. The band broke up in 1989, with Friedman joining the successful thrash metal band Megadeth and Becker joining David Lee Roth's solo band.

Their first album, the predominantly instrumental Speed Metal Symphony, fused classical and hard rock styles with Friedman's preference of exotic scales (especially obvious in the song "The Ninja"). It featured exceptionally fast, melodic and technical music.

Their second release Go Off! was a more song-oriented album, while still displaying the virtuosity of the two guitarists. Besides Becker, Friedman and Marrino, it featured a new bassist and a new drummer. The drums were played by Deen Castronovo, however the picture of new drummer Kenny Stavropoulos was included on the back cover. The guitar playing is more technical and the harmonization of the lead lines and solos is different from the common twin-guitar harmonies made common in heavy metal by such bands as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

Though the second album was a commercial failure, it spawned cult followings around the band. Cacophony broke up with Jason Becker joining David Lee Roth and Marty Friedman joining Megadeth. Friedman and Becker have since left Megadeth and David Lee Roth's band respectively (in Becker's case due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Both released several solo albums that include a wide variety of music.

Dokken

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Dokken is an American heavy metal band which was formed in 1976. The group became one of the classic metal bands from their era, accumulating numerous charting singles and selling over 10 million albums. While the band became associated with bands like Ratt, Judas Priest, Motley Crue, Quiet Riot, Warlock, and Def Leppard, their style of traditional metal characterized by extravagant use of lead guitars and soaring melodic vocals backed by a heavy thumping bass still sets them apart from similar acts to this day. Though some have insisted that Dokken produced a image that was somewhat "glam," their music, due largely to the unique style of world renowned guitarist George Lynch, was traditionally heavy with technical expertise, and the band relied much less on a "glam" image than later glam metal bands such as Poison and Cinderella, focusing more on the musical aspect. Nevertheless, they failed to achieve the same commercial success as any of the aforementioned bands.

Dokken was composed of founder Don Dokken on vocals, George Lynch on lead guitars, Jeff Pilson on bass, and Mick Brown on drums. Currently, only Dokken and Brown remain from the original lineup. After several lineup changes on guitar, Dokken's attorney, Jon Levin, stepped in to fill the role. In 2001, Barry Sparks replaced Jeff Pilson on the bass guitar.

Duran Duran

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Duran Duran are an award-winning English rock band notable for a long series of popular singles and vivid music videos. They were the most commercially successful of the New Romantic bands and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States. They were credited with bringing New wave to a mainstream audience. During the past three decades they have placed 21 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 and 30 in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, and have sold more than 85 million records.

The band's hit singles include "Girls on Film", "Rio","Hungry Like the Wolf", "Save a Prayer", "Is There Something I Should Know?", "Planet Earth", "Union of the Snake", "The Reflex", "Wild Boys," "Notorious", and the James Bond theme "A View to a Kill" in the 1980s, "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone" in the early 1990s, and "Sunrise", and "What Happens Tomorrow" in the 2000s. A new single, "Falling Down" has been released from their 2007 album Red Carpet Massacre. They have won two Grammy Awards for their music videos.

Duran Duran was created by Nick Rhodes (keyboards) and John Taylor (bass), with the later addition of Roger Taylor (drums), Andy Taylor (guitar), and Simon Le Bon (lead vocals); none of the Taylors are related. The group has never disbanded, but the line-up changed to include guitarist Warren Cuccurullo from 1989 to 2001, and drummer Sterling Campbell from 1989 to 1991. The reunion of the original five members in the early 2000s created a stir among music media and the band's fans. Andy Taylor has since left the band once more.