Mike Varney is an American record producer and music publisher. He is the founder of the Shrapnel Label Group, which includes Shrapnel Records,

Tone Center Records Tone Center Records is a record label devoted to jazz fusion. It was founded by Mike Varney, who started the rock music label Shrapnel Records in 1980. The label grew out of Varney's admiration for the jazz fusion of the 1970s and groups such as ...

, and Blues Bureau International. He also has a 50% stake in

Magna Carta Records Magna Carta Records is an independent record label located in Rochester, New York. Magna Carta was formed in 1989 and is owned by Peter Morticelli and his partner Mike Varney. The label, named for the 1215 English document advancing democracy, '' ...

, a New York-based label. Varney is often credited with being the individual most responsible for popularizing the mid-1980s

shred guitar Shred guitar or shredding is a virtuoso lead guitar solo playing style for the guitar, based on various advanced and complex playing techniques, particularly rapid passages and advanced performance effects. Shred guitar includes "fast alternate pi ...

boom, and has continuously specialized in producing musicians within the genres of instrumental rock, hard rock,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, jazz fusion, blues, blues-rock,

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

, and

speed metal Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...

Early life

Mike Varney grew up in

Novato, California Novato (Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...

, located in the North Bay region of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. Prior to forming Shrapnel Records, Varney played extensively with the pre-punk San Francisco band, The Nuns. The Nuns were one of the most successful bands in the Bay Area at that time, regularly selling out at the local venues and clubs. He co-wrote and performed "Rock Justice" along with Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship's

Marty Balin Martyn Jerel Buchwald (January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018), known as Marty Balin (), was an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the founder/leader and one of the lead singers and songwriters of Jefferson Airplane and J ...

, released by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

in 1980. Varney also led his own band, Cinema, which received wide recognition in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was known for searing lead guitar runs performed on his collection of

Gibson SG The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961 as the Gibson Les Paul SG. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. The SG (where "SG" refers to Solid-Body Guitar) Standard is Gi ...

guitars.

Career

Shrapnel Records

Shrapnel Records was founded in 1980 by Mike Varney at the age of 22. It was the first record company in the USA strictly dedicated to heavy metal. As other labels followed suit, Shrapnel was at the forefront of the neo-classical electric guitar and shred movements. Shrapnel Records was the first label to bring guitarists to world attention such as

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...

( Steeler),

Marty Friedman Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 unti ...

, Jason Becker, Paul Gilbert, Racer X,

Tony MacAlpine Tony MacAlpine (born August 29, 1960) is an American musician and composer. In a career spanning four decades, he has released twelve studio albums. MacAlpine is best known as an instrumental rock and heavy metal solo guitarist, although he has ...

, Vinnie Moore,

Greg Howe Gregory Howe (born December 8, 1963)Malusardi, Guglielmo (October 2006) Guitar Nine Records. Retrieved 2012-10-14. is an American guitarist and composer. An active musician across four decades, he has released ten studio albums in addition to co ...

Richie Kotzen Richard Dale Kotzen Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. As a solo artist, Kotzen has back catalogue of more than 20 album releases. He was a member of glam metal band Poison from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Big ...

, John5 and many others. Today Shrapnel continues to record guitarists and has also returned, in part, to its metal roots in releasing some classic metal and hard rock records due to a resurgent market interest.

Guitar Player Magazine's Spotlight column

Mike Varney began his "Spotlight" column in ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and politica ...

'' magazine in 1982 as a vehicle for discovering talent among the magazine's readerships. His monthly column featured many so-called hometown heroes who sent in demos to showcase their abilities. Several players who were featured received opportunities to record with Shrapnel Records.

Blues Bureau International

Blues Bureau International, founded in 1991, is a label that has focused its attention on the blues rock genre. Through the years the label has recorded many artists including twelve

Pat Travers Patrick Henry Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career in the mid-1970s. Early life Travers was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Soon after picking up the guitar at ag ...

records, six Rick Derringer records, as well as records by other rock blues artists such as

Eric Gales Eric Gales (born October 29, 1974), also known as Raw Dawg, is an American blues rock guitarist, originally hailed as a child prodigy. , Gales has recorded nineteen albums for major record labels and has done session and tribute work. He has a ...

, five records,

Scott Henderson Scott Henderson (born August 26, 1954) is an American jazz fusion and blues guitarist best known for his work with the band Tribal Tech. Tribal Tech Henderson formed Tribal Tech with bass player Gary Willis in 1984. Under the direction of Hende ...

, solo records and with his group "Tribal Tech", Glenn Hughes, two records with Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford, five records with Chris Duarte, Neal Schon, The Outlaws,

Joe Louis Walker Joe Louis Walker, also known as JLW (born December 25, 1949) is an American musician, best known as an electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. His knowledge of blues history is revealed by his use of older material and playi ...

, etc. The label continues to record artists in the electric blues style.

Tone Center

, founded in 1997, is an independent record company owned by Varney, dedicated to recording high level, jazz, jazz/rock and fusion music. The roster is made up of some the most well-known names in the instrumental jazz/rock/fusion world. This labels records include performances by musicians such as Frank Gambale, Eric Johnson,

Warren Haynes Warren Haynes (born April 6, 1960) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as longtime guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was ...

Steve Morse Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...

Victor Wooten Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...

and

Mike Stern Mike Stern (born January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, ...

Partial list of artists who have appeared on releases on Varney's record labels

Shrapnel Records

Source: *

Apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

* Artension *

Brides of Destruction Brides of Destruction was an American hard rock supergroup from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002. The band's last lineup consisted of singer London LeGrand (vocals), Tracii Guns (lead guitar) and Scot Coogan (drums, percussion). Prev ...

Cacophony Phonaesthetics (also spelled phonesthetics in North America) is the study of beauty and pleasantness associated with the sounds of certain words or parts of words. The term was first used in this sense, perhaps by during the mid-20th century and ...

* Chastain * Craig Goldy * Deen Castronovo *

Derek Taylor Derek Taylor (7 May 1932 – 8 September 1997) was an English journalist, writer, publicist and record producer. He is best known for his role as press officer to the Beatles, with whom he worked in 1964 and then from 1968 to 1970, and was one ...

* George Lynch * Glenn Hughes * Great White *

Haji's Kitchen Haji's Kitchen, sometimes shortened to just Haji, is an American heavy metal band from Lewisville, Texas. Formed in 1992, the band members themselves uncertain, they take influences from early heavy metal and modern progressive rock. Biogra ...

Jake E. Lee Jake E. Lee (born Jakey Lou Williams, February 15, 1957) is an American musician best known as lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne between 1982 and 1987 and later as a member of the band Badlands with Ray Gillen. He formed the band Red Dragon Car ...

* James Murphy * Jason Becker * Jeff Watson * Jizzy Pearl * Joey Tafolla * John5 * Johnny Hiland * John West * L.A. Guns *

Marc Rizzo Marc Rizzo (born August 2, 1977) is an American musician, best known as the former lead guitarist of metal band Soulfly. He has featured on eight Soulfly albums: ''Prophecy'', '' Dark Ages'', '' Conquer'', ''Omen'', '' Enslaved'', '' Savages'' ...

Michael Lee Firkins Michael Lee Firkins (born May 19, 1967) is an American electric guitar player, whose sound fuses bluegrass, country, blues, and jazz elements, into his distorted rock sound. He is noted amongst guitarists for his prolific use of hybrid picking a ...

* Michael Schenker Group *

Michelle Meldrum Michelle Meldrum (September 28, 1968 – May 21, 2008) was an American hard rock guitarist known for being a member of the bands Phantom Blue and Meldrum. Biography Meldrum was born in Detroit, Michigan, to a family of musicians and actors ...

* Nicole Couch * Paul Gilbert * Racer X *

* Timelord * Tony Fredianelli *

* UFO *

Vicious Rumors Vicious Rumors are an American power metal band, originally formed in 1979 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was conceived by founder and guitarist/vocalist Geoff Thorpe, and has been actively recording and touring worldwide since their ...

* Vinnie Moore * Vitalij Kuprij * War & Peace * Winger *

Tone Center Records

Source: * Adam Rogers * Anthony Jackson * Bill Connors *

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...

* Bireli Lagrene * Brett Garsed * Chris Duarte *

Craig Erickson Craig Neil Erickson (born May 17, 1969) is a former professional quarterback who was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 1991 NFL Draft and also by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 1992 NFL Draft. H ...

* Dennis Chambers * Eric Johnson *

Frank Gambale Frank Gambale (; born 22 December 1958) is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released twenty albums over a period of three decades, and is known for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques. Recording career Solo ...

Gary Willis Gary Willis (born 28 March 1957) is an American bassist and composer known foremost as the co-founder (with Scott Henderson) of the jazz fusion band Tribal Tech. Aside from his work in Tribal Tech, Willis has worked with numerous other jazz music ...

* Jack DeJohnette * Jimmy Haslip * Jimmy Herring * John Abercrombie *

John Patitucci John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz bassist and composer. Biography John James Patitucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. When he was 12, he bought his first bass and decided on his career. He listened to bass parts in R ...

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in th ...

* Kai Eckhardt * Larry Coryell *

* OHM * Pat Martino *

Rob Wasserman Rob Wasserman (April 1, 1952 – June 29, 2016) was an American composer and bass player. A Grammy Award and NEA grant winner, he played and recorded with a wide variety of musicians including Bob Weir, Bruce Cockburn, Elvis Costello, Ani di Fr ...

* Robben Ford * Ron Keel *

* Scott Kinsey * Simon Phillips *

Steve Bailey Steve Bailey is an American bassist. He is the chair of the bass department at Berklee College of Music. Career Bailey began playing bass guitar at age 12 and started playing fretless bass after he ran over his fretted Stuart Spector with his ...

Steve Khan Steve Khan (born Steven Harris Cahn; April 28, 1947) is an American jazz guitarist. Career Steven Harris Cahn was born in Los Angeles. His father, lyricist Sammy Cahn, "loved to hear any and all versions of his songs". He took piano lessons as a ...

* Steve Lukather * Steve Marcus *

Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...

Stuart Hamm Stuart Hamm (born February 8, 1960) is an American bass guitar player, known for his session and live work with numerous artists as well as for his unconventional playing style and solo recordings. Career Born in New Orleans, Hamm spent his chil ...

* TJ Helmerich *

T Lavitz Terry "T" Lavitz (April 16, 1956 – October 7, 2010) was an American keyboardist, composer and producer. He is best known for his work with the Dixie Dregs and Jazz Is Dead. Biography Born on April 16, 1956, Lavitz grew up in New Jersey. He s ...

Tom Coster Tom Coster (born August 21, 1941) is an American keyboardist, composer, and longtime backing musician for Carlos Santana. Early years Detroit-born and San Francisco-raised, Coster played piano and accordion as a youth, continuing his studies ...

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Cola ...

Walter Trout Walter Trout (born March 6, 1951 in Ocean City, New Jersey, United States) is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Biography Trout's career began on the Jersey coast scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He then decided to rel ...

Blues Bureau Records

Source: * Blindside Blues Band * Chris Cobb *

* Glenn Hughes *

* Johnny Nitro * Jon Butcher *

Leslie West Leslie West (born Leslie Abel Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain. Life and career Early years: 1 ...

* Marc Ford * Neal Schon *

* Paul Gilbert *

* Rick Derringer *

* The Outlaws * Tony Spinner

Magna Carta Records

Source: * Age of Nemesis *

Alex Skolnick Alex Skolnick (born September 29, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Tr ...

Andy West Andy West (born February 6, 1953) is an American bass guitarist and composer who is an original founding member of the Dixie Dregs along with Steve Morse. Since the breakup of the original band in 1983, West has been on albums with Mike Keneally ...

Billy Sheehan William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...

Bozzio Levin Stevens Bozzio Levin Stevens is an American supergroup power trio formed by drummer Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa, U.K., Missing Persons, Steve Vai, Jeff Beck), bassist and Chapman Stick player Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Liquid Tension Experim ...

Caliban Caliban ( ), son of the witch Sycorax, is an important character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. His character is one of the few Shakespearean figures to take on a life of its own "outside" Shakespeare's own work: as Russell H ...

* Clinton Administration * David Lee Roth * Derek Sherinian * Doug Pinnick * Enchant * Ethan Brosh *

Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

* Fareed Haque *

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

James LaBrie Kevin James LaBrie (born May 5, 1963) is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead singer of American progressive metal band Dream Theater, which he has been fronting since 1991. Early life Kevin James LaBrie was born in Penetanguishene, Onta ...

Jordan Rudess Jordan Rudess (born Jordan Charles Rudes; November 4, 1956) is an American musician, software developer and composer best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the progressive metal supergroup Liquid Tension Experi ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

* Khallice *

Liquid Tension Experiment Liquid Tension Experiment (LTE) is an American instrumental progressive metal supergroup, founded by Mike Portnoy, then Dream Theater's drummer, in 1997. The band has released two albums through Magna Carta Records. A third album, with the abs ...

* Liquid Trio Experiment *

Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...

Martone Martone ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, in southern Italy. Its origins date back to between the 7th and 8th centuries. The founders were Greek monks from the Byzantine Orient who made a dee ...

Mike Portnoy Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician who is primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departure ...

* Niacin * OHMphrey *

Ozric Tentacles Ozric Tentacles are an English instrumental rock band, whose music incorporates elements from a diverse range of genres, including psychedelic rock, progressive rock, space rock, jazz fusion, electronic music, dub music, world music, and ambi ...

Points North Points North is a California-based rock band consisting of guitarist Eric Barnett, bassist Uriah Duffy and drummer Kevin Aiello. The band has released two studio albums and is known for its high-energy shows. The band also does gigs as their al ...

Robert Berry The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

* Robert Walter *

Royal Hunt Royal Hunt is a Danish progressive metal band. The band was founded in 1989 by keyboardist André Andersen in order to combine basic values of classic rock with progressive, current musical elements. The name originated from a painting seen i ...

Shadow Gallery :''The Shadow Gallery is also the name of the home of the protagonist in the graphic novel V for Vendetta.'' Shadow Gallery is an American progressive metal band formed in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania during the early 1980s. It was originally ...

Steve Stevens Steve Stevens (born Steven Bruce Schneider; May 5, 1959) is an American guitarist. He is best known as Billy Idol's guitarist and songwriting collaborator, and for his lead guitar work on the theme to ''Top Gun'' – " Top Gun Anthem" – for ...

* Stripsearch *

Tempest Tempest is a synonym for a storm. '' The Tempest'' is a play by William Shakespeare. Tempest or The Tempest may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''The Tempest'' (1908 film), a British silent film * ''The Tempest'' (1911 film), a ...

Terry Bozzio Terry John Bozzio (born December 27, 1950) is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa. He has been featured on nine solo or collaborative albums, 26 albums with Zappa and seven albums with Missing Perso ...

* Tiles * Tony Hymas *

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 1 ...

* World Trade

References

External links

The Shrapnel Label GroupShrapnel Records Official MySpace SiteOfficial site for Jason BeckerMagna Carta Records WebsiteBernd Steidl interview, 1993
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varney, Mike Record producers from California Living people People from Novato, California Year of birth missing (living people)