Barry Sparks
| Barry Sparks | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 20, 1968 Lucasville, Ohio |
| Genres | Glam metal, hard rock, heavy metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments |
Bass guitar Guitar |
| Years active | 1991-present |
| Associated acts |
Guy Mann-Dude Yngwie Malmsteen Michael Schenker Group Cosmosquad Uli Jon Roth Dokken Ted Nugent UFO Scorpions B'z |
Barry Sparks (born June 20, 1968 in Lucasville, Ohio) is the former bass player of Yngwie Malmsteen, the Michael Schenker Group, UFO, Dokken, and Ted Nugent, amongst others. Currently Sparks is part of the touring band for the Japanese rock group B'z, and has also contributed to several of their albums and singles.
Barry Sparks first began to make a name for himself as the bass player for former MCA recording artist Guy Mann-Dude with whom he toured and recorded the 1991 "Mannic Distortion" release. This led to Sparks landing the bass gig with Swedish guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen in time for The Seventh Sign tour in 1994, followed by a 4-year on-and-off stint with German guitar legend Michael Schenker, starting with the 1996 Written in the Sand album.
In 1997, Sparks and Michael Schenker Group drummer Shane Gaalaas teamed up with guitarist Jeff Kollman to form the all-instrumental fusion trio Cosmosquad with whom Sparks recorded 3 albums before exiting. The trio also backed vocalist John West on his 1998 sophomore release, Permanent Mark. In 1998, Sparks became a touring musician with pop singer Billie Myers of "Kiss the Rain" fame, doing TV and radio station appearances and playing worldwide, including shows supporting Bob Dylan in Europe.
In the late 90's Sparks also guested on albums by former Loudness vocalist Michael Vescera and then Helloween guitarist Roland Grapow, toured with future UFO band mate Vinnie Moore, and recorded and toured with ex-Scorpions guitar legend Uli Jon Roth.
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Wikipedia