News & Events

Recording Begins!

The new band featuring Mario Parga - guitar (Mario Parga Band/Cozy Powell/Forcefield/Graham Bonnet), Tony Martin - vocals (Black Sabbath/Tony Martin Band/The Cage), Kevin Valentine - drums (Kiss/Cinderella), Tim Luce - bass (Alcatrazz) and Eric Ragno - keyboards (Takara/Vox Tempus/American Angel) have now started work on their debut album scheduled for release in 2009.

The band’s official website www.Savage-Paradise.com will open next month, the date of which will be announced on this news page.

Mario Parga Signature Guitar

The new Mario Parga Signature Guitar is almost finished, the body material has been changed to sapele (a tropical hardwood similar to mahogany) following tests by luthier Neil Smith and Mario. The guitar’s neck is made from African mahogany; this combined with the slim body made from sapele produces the warm yet clear tone favored by Mario.

An entire new subdomain is currently being built at www.MarioParga.com dedicated to the new Signature Guitar, and will feature photos of Neil building the instrument and video of Mario playing the finished guitar.

For all enquiries and orders of a Mario Parga Signature Guitar, please email Vegas Guitars’ Custom Shop at info@vegasguitars.com Please remember that all Vegas Guitars are handmade (no factory machines nor mass-produced pre-cut bodies and necks!) and a waiting list will be in place.

Mario Parga Signature Guitar Strap

Mario is pleased to announce that he’s now officially endorsed by Violet Moon Guitar Straps. The Hawaii and Los Angeles based exclusive handmade leather guitar strap company has made Mario his own special ’signature’ strap of 2 ½” black leather with a tooled pattern design. A photograph of the new strap will be added to the main website soon.

Mario said of Violet Moon: “A good guitar strap is a very important piece of equipment that’s often overlooked by guitarists, yet makes all the difference when touring and playing standing for long periods. I’ve always preferred leather straps for their comfort and durability, and when absolute quality counts, you’ll not need to look any further than Violet Moon.”

To purchase a strap like Mario’s or to browse the many other designs, click on the image above or email Violet Moon’s Strap On’s at: peachtree792@yahoo.com

New Guitar Instrumental Album!

Mario’s follow up to Entranced (2007) has been named Shadows & Light. Work will commence on the new album towards the end of November for a Summer ‘09 release with Midnightcafe Music. The track listing will be announced here on the news pages soon.

New Dutch Fan Site!

Mario is proud to announce that he now has a new fan site based in the Netherlands, built and run by his loyal fans and friends, Bert & Wilma Wildenberg. The new site can be viewed here. The fan site was created by Bert & Wilma for all Dutch fans to hear Mario’s music, watch videos, read news, etc. The new band Savage Paradise will also be featured at the website.

Our extra special thanks go to Bert & Wilma :-)

Vegas Guitars

Mario is pleased to announce that he is now officially endorsed by Vegas Guitars. Vegas Guitars are based in Las Vegas, NV and the workshops are owned and run by renowned guitar luthier Neil Smith. Mario and Neil have been in lengthy talks and have designed a ‘Mario Parga Signature’ guitar, a prototype is being built at the moment and will be featured on the main website’s galleries in the near future. The basic specification for the instrument is a thru-neck all mahogany guitar (mahogany body and neck) with slimline body, strung through body with a fixed bridge, graphite nut, two humbuckers (Seymour Duncan ‘Custom Custom’ in the bridge and ”59′ in the neck), 24 frets with pearl dot markers on a flat rosewood fingerboard, one volume pot, custom 5 way selector switch which automatically switches to coil tap in positions 2,3 & 4 and 18:1 ratio tuners. The guitar has been designed for tone, balance, playability, speed and comfort. Mario’s personal guitar will be in a transparent black finish with chrome hardware. The guitar is being entirely handmade by Neil.

Mario said of Vegas Guitars: “I’ve been on the lookout for a new guitar endorsement for a while, and have recently had an offer from a major manufacturer. But instead of a factory mass-produced guitar, I decided I wanted something more personal and built to my specifications. Vegas Guitars listened to my ideas and luthier Neil Smith and I sat down and planned the guitar from start to finish. Neil’s an expert and experienced luthier, it’s very cool and convenient that we’re both based in Las Vegas! My new guitar really is a ’signature’ model, it’s not an already existing model with a couple of minor modifications that claims to be built to the standards of a known player. I’m very excited about it and I’m looking forward to playing the finished guitar!”

For all enquiries and orders of a Mario Parga Signature guitar, please email Vegas Guitars at info@vegasguitars.com Please remember that all Vegas Guitars are handmade and a waiting list will be in place.

‘Spirit of Night’ video

Due to personal circumstances, Tony Martin is unable to appear in the new music video for ’Spirit of Night’ being filmed in Los Angeles. A video for the song is still going to be made, but has been postponed until September 28th. A second video will be shot at the same time of the original instrumental version of ‘Spirit of Night’ featuring Mario Parga.

New Guitar Instrumental Albums

Mario will start work on the follow up to Entranced this November, further details and track listing will be announced on the ‘News’ page soon. The album will contain nine new songs, all written and performed by Mario. The album will be released by MidnightCafe Music during the Summer of 2009.

Due to Mario’s current busy schedule and the upcoming Savage Paradise project, the E.P. Somewhere at the Midnight Cafe has been placed on hold. A song originally intended for the E.P. called ’Electric Lounge’ featuring several guest musicians will now be included on the new instrumental album scheduled for Summer ‘09.

Guitar World Magazine

In the June edition of the international magazine Guitar World, Mario was listed as being one of the World’s 50 fastest players according to a note-clocking experiment.

The new single ‘Spirit of Night’

There have been some unforeseen and unavoidable delays with shipping the CD version of the new single ‘Spirit of Night’, this was mostly due to an incorrect CD supply. The CDs will be shipped soon, but in the meantime all customers who ordered one will receive a free complimentary high quality download version of the single as a gesture of good will from MidnightCafe Music. Thank you for your patience!

Savage Paradise have now found their keyboard player to complete the line-up with Eric Ragno (www.ericragno.com), a seasoned pro and well respected Los Angeles based session player. Mario said of Eric “I’ve been in talks with Eric and it was obvious that he’s in the same place musically right now as Savage Paradise. Eric will no doubt play a big part in the sound of the band and we’re all looking forward to working with him.”

Spirit of Night

The new single with Tony Martin has been delayed a little for the pre-order-er’s signed copies due to Mario and Tony’s schedules. Tony has recently returned from Brazil and Mario has been busy in the US. The  delay is only a short one and the signed CDs will be shipped soon.

Graham Bonnet

Mario is teaming up with his old friend, singer Graham Bonnet (Rainbow/Alcatrazz/Impelliteri/MSG) to record a special CD/download single. The song is called ‘American Angel’ and is based on Mario’s previously unreleased instrumental song of the same name. Mario said recently “I’ve not worked with Graham since his album The Day I Went Mad in 1998, we’ve always had a lot in common with music and we’ve been good friends for over twenty years. ‘American Angel’ is an instrumental song I wrote a couple of years ago for my wife Shawna, and I know that Graham’s voice is perfect for the vocal version. Graham likes the song too, and I can’t wait to hear him sing on it.” The single will be released by MidnightCafe Music late in the year. A video for the song is in the pipeline and will be shot in Los Angeles, more news of this to follow.

New Videos in the Galleries

There are four new videos in the Galleries from Mario’s personal collection. The videos are the result of those of you who regularly read the blog and tell Mario how much you enjoy it, so he’s going to try and update it more often and add more ‘every day’ kind of video to the galleries.

The videos added to the galleries today contain footage from a couple of years ago when Mario visited the Valley of Fire, NV, and the Scottish Highlands. Both these trips inspired him to finish off material from Entranced (2007). There’s also a video of the Las Vegas Boulevard (The Vegas Strip) and a video clip of his recent Mojave Desert trip (see the blog).

A soundclip of the new single is now available on the home page of the main site, it can also be heard in it’s entirety for a limited time only at Mario’s MySpace page. The single can be purchased from the online store for only $9.99 as a CD (includes free worldwide delivery!) or $5.49 as a high quality 320 kbps MP3 download.

The track listing for the single is:

1. Spirit of Night (featuring Tony Martin)
2. Spirit of Night (Original Instrumental Version)
3. Spirit of Night (Chilled Solo Version)

A reminder that pre-orders for autographed CD singles are being taken only until June 14th. If you’d like a copy, please click the above banner or visit the store. An audio sample of the song will be up on the main website and MySpace page over the next few days.

A video for the song is going to be filmed by Los Angeles based music video director Karpis Maksudian. The video will feature Mario and Tony and is going to be shot on location in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles and on Malibu Beach. The video shoot is scheduled for early August. Please check the ‘News’ pages at the main website for further updates and special previews.

Mario’s new band project Savage Paradise featuring Tony Martin - vocals (Black Sabbath/Tony Martin), Kevin Valentine - drums (Cinderella/Kiss) and Tim Luce - bass (Alcatrazz) will start work on their first album during the early Fall. The official website www.savage-paradise.com is currently being built and will be available soon. The band is looking for a keyboard player to complete the lineup, auditions will be held in Los Angeles later in the year. For full information please click here.

The vocal version of Mario’s popular song featuring ex-Black Sabbath singer Tony Martin will be released through MidnightCafe Music as a CD and download single on June 27th. The CD will be available on special edition black vinyl discs signed by Mario and Tony for all those who pre-order before June 14th. For all press enquiries regarding the single, please use our contact page.

Mario has another project in the pipeline with Tony and drummer Kevin Valentine (who’s played with Kiss & Cinderella). Further details will be announced soon on these pages.

Message from Mario:

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been a little quiet over Christmas & the New Year as we’ve been busy with our new baby daughter, Skye Lee Parga (born 21st December 2007). Please read my latest blog entry for more on this subject.

Although it’s a little late, I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year, and hope that 2008 brings good fortune and happiness to you :-)

2008 will be a busy year for me as I plan on recording and releasing several projects, all of which will be announced here on the News & Events page. To start off the New Year, the old Gallery has been replaced with a brand new one: the new Galleries contain photos & videos of me and my guitar music plus some photos & videos from my personal family & friends albums. There’s also a ‘Travel & Places’ gallery; whilst I’m not really a photography enthusiast, a couple of years ago I bought a digital camera and have just started to document events and travel, recording memories to look back on. At the moment, there are only photos of the UK and USA in the gallery, but other countries will follow soon. At this moment, there are 128 photos in the Galleries, more will be added over time and the gallery link opposite will be updated to reflect this.

Mario has received a FANTASTIC review of Entranced by All Out Guitar, one of the internet’s most popular and respected online guitar magazines! To view the review click here!

A new video of Mario playing his popular piece ‘Solo in D’ has been added to the Audio/Visual area of the main website, plus the YouTube site. We hope you enjoy it! :-) Don’t forget, ‘Solo in D’ is available in tablature, transcribed by Mario himself, from our online store.