DVD cover. Click to enlarge.

THUMP! is an in-depth exploration of the modern playing techniques of Tosin Abasi. Together with his trio, Animals As Leaders, Tosin has cemented himself as a pioneer in today’s generation of progressive music, pushing boundaries both as a guitarist and composer. THUMP! focuses primarily on his approaches to the thumping technique, and also explores several other key techniques that offer insight into his music.

This DVD features over an hour of lessons and performances, in-depth interviews, gear discussion, tone concepts, and behind-the-scenes footage. The accompanying 46-page booklet contains thorough tablature transcriptions of all examples and song performances.

THUMP! is also available as a DELUXE Package, which, in addition to the DVD and transcription booklet, also includes:

• TOSIN’S FRACTAL AUDIO AXE-FX PATCHES
  • Includes 4 patches: Thump/Slap tone, Clean Tone, Rhythm Tone, Lead Tone.
  • Actual patches used live with Animals As Leaders, including Tone Match of Tosin’s Port City guitar cabinet.
  • Patches designed in Firmware Quantum 1.05 and can be tweaked for any firmware update.
• BACKING TRACKS
  • Backing tracks of three Animals As Leaders songs that are performed on the DVD and transcribed in the accompanying booklet: “Another Year,” “The Woven Web,” and “Mind-Spun.”
  • Feature full-band audio, minus Tosin’s lead parts.

AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE. ORDER TODAY:

$30 USD – Standard Version SOLD OUT

(DVD + Transcription Booklet)

$50 USD – Deluxe Version    SOLD OUT

(DVD + Transcription Booklet + 4 Axe-Fx Patches + 3 AAL Backing Tracks +
Tosin Abasi Autographed Picture + 3 Animals As Leaders Signature Dunlop Picks)

THUMP! is now available in digital format: thump.guitarmessenger.com.

Contact us at ‘admin @ guitarmessenger.com’ (no spaces)
for shipping discounts on multiple orders.

The DVD is in region-free (0) NTSC format.

WE SHIP WORLDWIDE: Purchaser is responsible for any local customs and postal service fees required by his/her country. To ensure fastest delivery on orders outside of the United States, please submit complete addresses translated into English.

Topics Include:

• Mechanics of Thumping
• Thumping in a Rhythmic Context
• Musical Thumping Examples
• Hammer-Ons From Nowhere
• Approaches to Chord Playing
• Intervallic Phrasing
• Low-Register Sweeping
• Crafting Guitar Tones

Additionally, we’ve included playthroughs and note-for-note transcriptions of three Animals As Leaders songs:

• Another Year
• The Woven Web
• Mind-Spun

The post THUMP! – Tosin Abasi’s Guitar Instructional DVD appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

From Mayones.com

THE ESSENCE 

Mayones instruments find their origin in the very same place music starts – the heart. Their essence stems from passion of the talented musicians we work with and the devotion of our experienced luthiers. Our guitars and basses are the result of the perfect blend of nearly 30 years of tradition,  modern technology we use and affection at every stage of the building process.

THE TRADITION 

At Mayones we believe that the soul of a musical instrument comes from the quality wood it is build of. Flamed Maple, Swamp Ash, Mahogany, Amazaque or Wenge are just a few wood types we import from our long-term suppliers to ensure superb tone qualities and seductive looks. The careful selection of tone wood we’ve applied for almost three decades guarantees the best sound properties of every “M”-labelled guitar or bass.

THE TECHNOLOGY

Mayones instruments are truly handmade in a traditional luthier style accompanied with state-of-art technology and equipped with top class components. Every guitar and bass follow the same production routine: take the skills and the experience of our crew, implement strict quality standards at every step of production and add the elusive touch of our love to guitars. The result is always the same – a top notch instrument with soul and built-in inspiration.

THE AFFECTION 

We love music and we love our guitars. We share this passion with thousands of guitar enthusiasts attracted by Mayones instruments around the Globe. We share the satisfaction of our customers and the confidence of our endorsers. Feel free to browse through our website and feel a part of May-players family for this little while. If you would like to say for good – everyone’s invited.

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From Pro.UltimateEars.com:

The beginning of Ultimate Ears

Ultimate Ears began because Alex Van Halen and his monitor engineer were tired of having things get between them and their music. So they took matters into their own hands and changed music forever. After working on prototypes for the band, they started sharing the first Custom In-Ear Monitors with other people as dedicated to music as they were. Selling them out of the back of their tour bus, word started spreading immediately. As soon as musicians tried them, they understood that UE gave them something amazing – a way to protect their hearing while allowing them to perform better. They weren’t fashion statements. They weren’t a trend. UE had planted a flag in the ground for people who lived for music. And everyone who put them on wanted to be a part of it.

The revolution catches fire

In 2005, we introduced our first universal-fit earphones – giving emerging artists the ability to perform like pros, and discerning listeners the chance to connect with music like never before. In 2008, Ultimate Ears teamed with Logitech, a company as passionate about connecting people through technology as Ultimate Ears is about changing the way you hear music.

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From EQGuitars.com:

Resonance, sustain, tone, ergonomics and aesthetics.

These five attributes are at the forefront of our minds in every stage of the design process. The specific woods used, body proportions and contours, scale length, neck set and other subtler details all contribute to what we consider to be a “complete” instrument. It must be resonant, evenly sustaining and toneful, yet effortless to play, all with a look that is both understated and bold.

Electronics

Pickups are literally microphones capturing the unique character that the guitar imparts to the strings. For that reason we very carefully select the electronics to complement the tonal voice of the guitar itself. From the pickups used, to the pots, switches, capacitors and overall functionality; everything serves the goal of making the guitar as musical, versatile and intuitive to control as possible.

Finish

For the past 50 years or so, nitrocellulose and polyurethane finishes have dominated the guitar market; nitrocellulose for the look and vintage appeal, and polyurethane for the hardness and durability. The unfortunate reality is that both types are chemical-based and produce harmful byproducts, both in their manufacturing, and again in their application. For those reasons we have decided on several finishing options that capture the best qualities of nitro and poly, without any of the drawbacks.

Dave Cohen, Founder of Equilibrium Guitars

Oil: For those who desire a more organic look and feel, a hand-rubbed oil finish is a must. We saturate the wood with oil, working it deep into the grain until the surface is sealed. Once the oil is dry, we follow up with an application of an all-natural carnauba wax, beeswax and orange oil blend to hydrate the wood, seal it even more to climate change, and maintain a beautiful matte lustre. Although an oil finished guitar is still more susceptible to temperature and humidity change, the benefits of unhindered resonance are truly something to behold.

Waterborne Lacquer: After many experiments with different spray-finishing solutions, we decided on a very high-end waterborne acrylic/urethane co-polymer as our offering for hard, high-gloss finishes. Unlike the previous generations of water-based lacquers, this material is self-crosslinking, allowing for a clarity and depth of color traditionally only possible with solvent-based coatings. Additionally, the surface dries hard enough that it can be applied as a thinner topcoat, enabling the guitar to breathe, wear and resonate much more like a true vintage instrument.

Sustainability

It might seem a bit counter-intuitive to claim green-thinking initiatives as a company that sells products made from wood, but in fact that is exactly what we’re doing. We are working with local wood salvage companies and responsible lumber distributers in order to offer premium tonewoods with minimal impact to the environment. We are also reusing any exotic wood pieces left over from the primary build as binding, wood accents, pickup rings, knobs, switch tips and other parts and details.

As previously explained in the Design Concept section, the finishing options that we have decided on are essentially “green” alternatives to the industry standard choices. Waterbased lacquer is a fume-free finish that dries hard like polyurethane while shellac is flexible and resonant like nitrocellulose but is literally edible once it is dry.

The honest truth is that the modern incarnations of a number of “legendary” tonewoods don’t live up to their former glory. As time marches on, we will continue to find creative ways to offer either the “real deal” in a way that won’t deplete natural resources or provide alternatives that have equal tonal benefits without sacrificing quality in any way. After all, we’re here to make a positive mark on the guitar industry, not a carbon footprint.

The post NAMM 2016: Equilibrium Guitars appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

Ultimate Ears general manager Philippe Depallens gives us an insight about the company’s approach to creating industry leading in-ear monitors for musicians and engineers.

Ivan Chopik chats with the founder of Equilibrium Guitars, Dave Cohen, at NAMM 2016.

The post NAMM 2016: Exclusive Updates appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

Friedman To Perform Two Complete Sets And One Guitar Clinic

Performances And Clinics From Breaking Benjamin, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Michael Schenker, Motionless In White, Flyleaf, Thousand Foot Krutch, Alex Skolnick, Demon Hunter, Adelitas Way And More

Click to enlarge.

(New York, NY – August 20^th, 2015) – As the impressive lineup of performances and clinics continues to expand, Axes & Anchors music cruise brings another virtuoso on board its inaugural voyage. Shred guitar  maestro Marty Friedman has been added to the list of confirmed performers. Marty will be performing two complete sets with his band and will delight attendees with an up-close and personal guitar clinic showcasing some of his legendary techniques. Since the release of his critically acclaimed album “Inferno” — which Guitar World readers voted the “Best Shred Album” of 2014 (Marty was voted “Best Shredder” as well) — he’s toured around the world and next month he will embark on his first American tour in 12 years, which includes his participation on Axes & Anchors in 2016. Now, Marty is ready and excited to take his talents to sea on his first-ever cruise appearance.

“Axes & Anchors is not only the first cruise I`ve ever played on, but it`s the first cruise I`ve ever been on so I`m beyond excited to join in this awesome event!” exclaims Marty Friedman. “Not only am I going to play my ass off, but I`m planning to learn a TON from all the other super players on this trip. How many times do you get to surround yourself with this many amazing guys in one place?! I can`t wait!”

Coming off of the recent announcement of the addition of Breaking Benjamin to headline the inaugural music cruise, as well as the addition of Demon Hunter, Axes & Anchors is the most diverse cruise hitting the sea in 2016. The five days and four nights cruise to Key West and Nassau, Bahamas leaves from Miami on February 20^th and will take place on the Carnival Victory. Performances and clinics will be presented by Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Michael Schenker, Motionless In White, Flyleaf, Thousand Foot Krutch, Alex Skolnick, Tony MacAlpine, Adelitas Way, Randy Rhoads Remembered, Tracii Guns, Rudy Sarzo, Gilby Clarke, Mike Orlando and A Beautiful Disaster, Dario Lorina, Aranda, Black Knight’s Castle featuring Joe Stump, Johnny Monaco, Pamela Moore, Falling Through April, Gabriel Ayala and Headstrum. Cabins can be reserved at www.AxesAndAnchors.com.

The cruise guarantees fans plenty of opportunities for meeting and hanging with their favorite bands on board, including free workshops on topics ranging from guitar and vocals to concert photography to stage clothing construction. 31 workshops are already confirmed and currently listed online with more to be added before Axes & Anchors sets sail in February. Passengers are encouraged to bring their guitars on board for workshops and jam sessions.

All reservations include 4-nights lodging and taxes, all meals, all concerts, all open workshops, a professional photo opportunity with every artist, and more.  Current promotions include a $150 per person rebate by paying in full, a special Marty Friedman code for paying passengers (enter reservation code MARTY16) for $100 savings on any booking (may be combined with the paid in full rebate) and the recently announced Stowaway Package, which allows 3rd and 4th passengers in a cabin who are under 21 to cruise for free when accompanied by two paying passengers as long as one is over 25 years old.

Website: www.AxesAndAnchors.com

Twitter: @Axescruise

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AxesCruise

The post Axes & Anchors – First Ever Guitar-Dominated Music Cruise appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

In the beginning, Periphery’s music was anchored by Misha’s intricate, crushing riffs, but the darker, more brooding Juggernaut highlights the efforts of a writing team that has learned to focus their best individual efforts into a seamlessly unified whole. When Periphery came through Fort Lauderdale in January, we honored our tradition of catching up with Misha at each major album release by joining him on the band’s tour bus for a few questions.

IC: The big thing with Juggernaut is that the story came first and you guys wrote a lot of the music around the story – which is the opposite of the previous albums that you’ve put out.

MM: Yeah, everything before was very much approached from an instrumental standpoint. Maybe even a little bit unfairly so given that we have a singer, but you live and you learn. We were basically arranging songs to be instrumental and then kind of handing them off to Spencer [Sotelo, vocalist] to figure it out, which sucks because no other person in the band has to work with that. We kind of took a look at that and were like, ‘That’s not right.’

A lot of people, I think, when we say that we’re making vocals more of a priority, they think that we allow them to take center stage, but the way we were all looking at it was that it should be treated as an equal, rather than an afterthought. That was especially needed given that we were going to be working with a concept this time. Because if it’s going to be lyrically and vocally driving and a big part of the release, then it absolutely needs to at least be an equal in terms of the instrumentation. We approached everything together; we might have come up with the initial ideas individually or with smaller groups, but when it came to actually arranging everything and making sure that everything worked with vocals – and any aspect, really – it was all done as a group.

IC: I remember you made a comment once that you felt the need in the past to put vocals in more places than you now feel that should have been? Do you think you got that balance right this time around?

Excerpt from Misha’s Ask.FM page

MM: I hope what I meant was just, ‘I wanted to have more space for the vocals.’ If I look back at our old material, that’s one of the criticisms. As proud as I am of it, I always like to see where we kind of fell short, and sometimes I feel like that stuff was really crowded. It’s almost maybe a symptom of you’re there and you’re like, ‘Look at what we can do.’ But at the same time, it’s just too much.

It’s a lot to process and it kind of doesn’t let any one thing breathe or be. If you have this crazy riff underneath a vocal line, and then there’s layers, and then there’s crazy drums going over it… I guess if you break it all down it’s really cool, but then all together it’s almost too much. I think everything having its right place is something that maybe was even a challenge for us, because that’s not something that, I guess, came too naturally at first.

IC: Your writing styles, especially with Mark [Holcomb, guitar] and Jake [Bowen, guitar] are more intertwined than they have been before. It was easier in the past to point out, ‘That’s a Misha riff, or that’s a Mark or Jake riff,’ whereas now they’re all kind of blending together more. What is the process like when somebody brings a riff or an idea to the table? How do you guys treat it from there?

MM: We like to work together. Historically, I’ve always been sort of the producer, at least in a writing and pre-production sense of things. I guess, what I’m good at is taking people’s riffs and crafting songs with them. I do that with them and we work really well together, whether it’s one-on-one with Mark and Jake or whether it’s all three of us together. We’ve got a good thing going, and we just bounce ideas off of each other, and it’s really fun. What you noticed about it being more difficult to tell our riffs apart is actually interesting, too, because these are two guys who I think are extremely talented musicians, who I really am inspired by, as well.

They joined being inspired by my sound, but then went and turned it into their own thing, which now is like, ‘Whoa. How are they coming up with this?’ That is in turn inspiring me to be like, ‘Man, I got to step up my game.’ There is so much cross-pollination going on, and there’s all these cool little approaches and tricks, especially when we learn each other’s riffs. It’s like, ‘Whoa, that’s how you’re doing that? That’s crazy. I never would have thought to do that.’ It yields a sound that I really like, because we’re all kind of on the same wavelength.

I think that’s definitely a result of that – we are being an influence on each other, and it’s just kind of bouncing back and forth. Working together, writing together as a result is a very easy process. And the other thing is… we discussed this as a band: we’re all on the same team. We’re just trying to create the best song, the best album. I think a lot of times you can get a lot of butting heads when there are ulterior motives like, ‘I want my solo to be heard. I want my riff to be heard. I want my voice to be heard.’

IC: Right. When ego comes in the equation.

MM: Right, and I think all three of us – we tend to not be like that. We’ve all worked very hard to be less emotionally attached to the stuff we put forth, because a lot of it gets cut and we know that. It’s difficult, but we’ve sort of trained ourselves to deal with it, so that it’s not something that we get emotionally upset about. We all remember we are on the same team. No one is trying to take anyone else down a notch.

If we make a suggestion about something being added or being cut, it’s because that person truly believes that that benefits the song. That’s always a healthier place to start a discussion about how it should go, rather than, ‘Oh well, he just doesn’t want my riff or whatever.’ I think because we all kind of understand that, it makes the whole process very smooth.

IC: You mentioned how smooth the process is, but I feel like in every group writing environment, at some point friction comes up. What is that like for you guys and how does that usually manifest itself?

MM: It’s just an extension of what I was talking about, because everyone in the band is so opinionated and everyone has a vision. Luckily, we are all on the same wavelength, but it might be in the specifics or the minutiae that we’re passionate about the differences. Again, it will be coming from the right place, but it’s about understanding where the other person is coming from.

Sometimes, it’s something that can’t be directly reconciled, because it’s just one person’s opinion that this part makes it sound more epic or more appropriate, or that this flows better, and people disagree. We have a lot of material, so there were some songs that we couldn’t get to work to where everyone is happy, and we don’t put those on the album. We have enough material where everyone is happy to where we focus on that stuff. We don’t try to force stuff, either. The songs that didn’t make it – there are some that are really cool, but just the vibe was wrong. It didn’t fit the story, it didn’t really fit what we needed.

There are other ones that were a really cool fit in every way, but we just couldn’t get the arrangement right. No one felt 100% about it. We felt way better about other songs. As long as we’re writing, and as long we’re working together and communicating and being honest, and ready to take the criticism, ready to give the criticism constructively… which means in our band: we don’t identify problems, we identify solutions.

You don’t say, ‘This part sucks.’ You say, ‘How about we try this?’ Anyone can criticize something and be like, ‘I don’t like this.’ If you’re like, ‘Hey, why don’t we try to do this instead.’ Then at least we have an option. Sometimes, it’s like something that no one is thinking of, and it’s like ‘Whoa, that totally fixed that part and now everyone loves it.’ It kind of serves two purposes. It not only allows us to communicate better, but it also actively speeds up the process in a lot of cases.

IC: How far do you take [the pre-production process]? When do you know to step away and gain some perspective, or stop tweaking it and making it into the final version?

MM: There’s that saying, ‘Art is never finished. It’s abandoned.’ We definitely feel that way with all of our releases. Eventually timelines come into play, and you’re just like, ‘All right. I hope this is a good thing.’ We took a lot of time off on this one. It took about six months, which I guess we’ve earned the right to tell our management and label, ‘Look, we’re doing this.’ We knew we wanted the time not just to work on it, but for the perspective, as you say. The other thing is, we demoed the whole thing, the whole album[s], the whole collection of songs. We demoed all that in my room in advance. There’s a whole demo version of the albums that no one will ever hear, but it’s pretty much complete. There are a few little tweaks that got done in between the recording, but it’s 99% the same.

IC: Do you actually go through and mix all them and do all the edits on the pre-production as well?

MM: Yeah, but not as strictly as Nolly [Adam Getgood, bass] would do it. Nolly handles the engineering and mixing side of things, and since I know that it’s not the final version, it just needs to be good enough to get a semblance of what it’s going to sound like. Yeah, we try to get the takes tight. We try to edit it in sort of a shorthand way just to see that what we’re doing is possible. The tuning – it has to be relatively in tune, but it’s not like what we do when we’re doing it for real. Not even close. I wanted it to be mixed so that we could hear things in context, because a lot of these parts work with a certain kind of mix. They wouldn’t necessarily have the same impact with a different kind of mix or aesthetic. In a lot of ways, the aesthetic of the demos is similar, but in other ways it’s actually very different, too, because we got kind of more out of the real thing.

It’s an interesting process, but that allowed us to kind of be a little bit more objective – recording it twice and spending some time with it in the studio. I guess between the time that the first demo was done and the final one was done was probably about three or four months. You definitely have a completely different perspective. And even then it’s not the same as spending time away, which was what would have been nice, because honestly by the end of recording we just hated everything. The mix was terrible, all the songs were horrible. Now with the time off – as soon as we were done, I just didn’t listen to it at all. Now I can look back and I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m really proud of this. This is awesome.’

IC: With regards to the [Fractal Audio] Axe-Fx, you’ve used it in all possible variations known today, from going direct on the first album, then using it as a preamp with a tube power amp and cab setup on the second one. This time around, you tone-matched your Zilla cab and used that a cab block. Is the tone quest over then?

Instagram: Periphery’s Zilla cab setup for Juggernaut.

MM: I’d say certain aspects of it are over. I actually love amps and pedals, just as a thing. I love a ton of pedals. I have a bunch of amps, which really at this point in time just get used mostly for jamming or just recording the odd thing at the studio. The Axe-Fx is so convenient and so all- encompassing that yeah, it’s kind of like the quest has just been relocated to inside the machine. But at the same time, we’re not the kind of band that will like say, ‘This is what we have to use.’ It really just comes down to shooting things out and seeing what works best.

So we brought all our amps, all our pedals, everything, all our cabs to the studio and just shot stuff out. Like, seriously, for about four or five days just shooting stuff out, just trying different things. I would have been just as ready to go traditional amp and cab setup. We rented a studio that had a really nice live room, so that was very well suited for guitars. So we were like, ‘If that’s the route we go, that’s the route we go.’ We wanted to capture DI’s for everything, but Nolly and I agreed that the best philosophy was, just because of the nature of how long this project was, how many layers there are, and how tedious the re-amping process is…

IC: Committing to the sound right away?

MM: We wanted to take the DI’s as a last resort, but we wanted to come up with a tone that we thought we’d be able to commit to. Luckily, we didn’t really end up having to re-amp very much stuff. When we did it was like leads or layers, or things that were like more effect based, because we wanted to re-amp with certain pedals, rather than like the rhythm tone. The rhythm tone we ended up going with, and it kind of showed that that’s a healthy way to go about it for us, where you kind of commit to a sound. Because we also are all of the philosophy that if the source tone is good, it’s really up to the user to make it work. Pardon the language, but you can’t polish a turd. But if you end up with a good source tone, then you can shape it to the mix.

What you don’t want to do is end up with something that’s not appropriate or aesthetically pleasing, and then shape it from there and hope that it works. That kind of proved that sort of philosophy and theory to us, so that ended up being the rhythm tone that we used. We used three mics, an Shure SM57 as the main one, a Neumann KM184, and a Heil PR-30, which Nolly got wonderfully phase-matched. We captured the Zilla going through a QSC PLD4.3 power amp, which is very flat – just getting the sound of a cab, and then we put that on the Axe-Fx. We also shot out that versus the actual miced up rig, and in the mix you would never be able to tell which one is which. That’s all that matters, and it’s much better to have it quieter in the other room.

IC: I guess the other thing with Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal was consistency. I think you mentioned every single day the tone would change just a little bit and it would take you a second to find it.

MM: Yeah, that was the most frustrating thing in the world. There were days wasted where we were halfway through a song and we got all the takes, and the tuning especially, which people don’t realize takes forever – getting everything intonated. And it’s like… we have a different tone, and it’s audible. It’s like, ‘Oh my God, what do we do? Do we redo the first half?’ It was so frustrating. That was in a studio where there was a lot more moving stuff, so we actually said that if we went with the amp route, that no one would ever be allowed in the live room ever. We would block it off. That was the agreement. If that did sound the best, then we absolutely were going to go that route. But thankfully, there was no audible difference between doing that and the tone match, so the tone matching made it so that we never had to worry about that problem.

IC: I think it can be a little bit of a mystery for people to know how big a progressive metal band has to be these days for them to truly focus on their music 100%, without having to rely on outside work. In your opinion, how much, beyond the quality of the product itself, is it required for a band to get creative about alternative sources of income?

MM: We don’t make enough to survive off this band. We still don’t. Maybe partially a little bit by choice. What I mean is, if we did absolutely no production, used house lights, and scaled everything about the aspect of our headliner down just to be about money, yeah we could probably make a fair bit of money. But I always remember going to shows and being blown away by the shows and production and making it an experience. Half the show is the show itself.

IC:  It’s kind of an investment in that sense.

MM: It absolutely is. We have a pretty insane light rig and Jeff Holcomb, Mark’s brother, is manning that and operating it, basically jamming live with us on that. When we were talking about what we wanted to do, our business manager, whose responsibility is to tell us that, ‘Hey, we’re going to lose money if we do this.’ We’re like, ‘Look, we’ll make it back up in merch, I guess.’ That was important to us. We wanted to have a nice production. We want to have things be a certain way. We make money creatively outside of the band, so that the band can be what we want it to be.

IC: Beyond the traditional album sales, merch sales, and ticket sales, for you as individuals to sustain careers, is it integral to have those outside projects connected to the band?

MM: Absolutely. I think anyone will tell you that  – anyone at this level or even above will tell you that there has to be outside income. But I’d say what the band has done for us, is that it has allowed us to create opportunities for ourselves. It doesn’t create them for us, but it allows us to pursue these opportunities and to have the influence. For example, signature gear and things like that. That wouldn’t really be relevant if our band wasn’t around. But at the same time that’s like one possible way that you can make some extra, passive income which you can only get from being in a band, essentially, with a certain amount of influence.

So it’s just about being creative, it’s about being pro-active, but it is necessary. Unless you make your band entirely about the money, it will be very hard… and you’d [have to] tour non-stop, I guess, all the time, and never live at home. It would be very, very hard to make a living just off being in a band.

IC: Periphery sold 4,500 copies in its first week, Periphery II sold a little under 12,000. How well do you think Juggernaut is going to do? 

MM: I’m terrible with these, because both of those albums sold way more than I thought. I tend to be more pessimistic with these numbers.

IC: I think that’s a healthy approach, though. [laughter]

MM: Yeah, it is. Manage your expectations. I don’t know, I honestly don’t even want to throw a number out there, because the thing about the numbers now is that the sales are down so much just in general. A good example is if you look at how similar records have charted. Let’s say an album does 5,000 in its first week versus 5,000 maybe even a few years ago. The charting point off the same album sales would be much higher. It’s almost showing you how album sales are hurting, because the numbers… You can’t compare. It’s like a currency that’s just losing value.

IC: Speaking of that currency, though, it’s also the way that your place in the industry is determined in a lot of ways. I remember you mentioned that first week of sales are partially about the actual sales, but more so about where your guarantee is, where you get placed on the bill. Is that still as relevant, or is that kind of shifting because the sales are off?

MM: I’d say it’s probably becoming more of a situational basis. What I would say is this… and maybe you can put yourself in the shoes of a promoter or someone who’s booking a tour: if you have to make a decision between a few bands, and if you’re a band that has a lot of peers that you compete with… I’d say like we tend to be kind of lucky, because we’re always the weird band and we don’t have direct competition, so maybe it applies a little less to us. If there are bands that are objectively similar and kind of in the same spot, then you could be like, ‘Well, these guys did more first week.’ What I would do responsibly now, would be to actually look at the charting position, because that would almost be more relevant.

Because if you look at the raw numbers… it’s like the currency has changed. It’s actually worth more now to have 5,000 than it was worth a few years ago, so if you look strictly at the charting positions, that might give you a better sense. But even then, that’s incomplete because you’ve got all the social media influence, you’ve got YouTube, Instagram…

IC: Which is also getting more complicated, because with people buying Facebook likes left and right, you don’t know who’s who anymore.

MM: And the reach on Facebook is getting so bad that a lot of people are ditching it all together. There’s no thing yet, but there needs to be some sort of aggregate of all this information including the torrent downloads, even, because those are still relevant. As much as those are people not paying, they’re people who will pay for shirts and go to shows and things like that. Definitely tough, I think that the smart people are the ones who realize that there isn’t necessarily a definitive answer just yet, but that probably all those things should be factored in.

IC: The interesting stuff happens when somebody goes and does something completely differently from everyone else, and figures out a new way of looking at things. 

MM: Absolutely. With new forms of social media popping up every now and then, that’s also another thing that certain people take advantage of. It’s like, ‘Oh, wow. I never thought of doing it like that.’ And then before you know it everyone else is following suit. Even Instagram, which is a relatively new social media tool, is now ubiquitous with bands. We’re posting on it. We have a photographer on this tour, and a videographer specifically to create content for sites like that and future content for the band, because it’s such an important thing, investing in your future.

It does get a bit more complicated now, and there’s no real definitive answer and I’d say it’s up to a lot of people’s interpretation. It is important, because at the end of the day, people need a way to gauge where you’re at, and where your band would be on a bill. The show attendance and stuff can tell you a bit, but it also is dated to when that was. It could be up or down from then. So all these things kind of together really do affect how your band is perceived, so I really do hope we do well first week. I hope we get some good first week sales, I hope we chart well, because it will absolutely determined where we sort of get gauged in the industry and what our guarantees will look like over the next few years.

IC: I’ve got a good feeling for you guys.

MM: I hope so man. Knock on wood. [Juggernaut: Alpha and Juggernaut: Omega ended up charting #15 and #16 on the Billboard Top 200, respectively. Combined, the Juggernaut albums sold over 35,000 copies in the first week since their release!]

IC: There’s such a great stress put on creating content and being active on your social media, and you’ll see with some newer bands that before you know it, they have complete playthroughs of everything, tabs available, etc… . Is there value in holding back on some of that? Do you think there’s ever a situation where it’s too much?

MM: I think with anything, you can go to the point of excess. I think that we’re seeing is sort of a reaction right now. I actually think it’s people trying to be creative about a less-than-stellar situation. The fact is, the traditional methods aren’t working. The smarter people have realized, ‘Well, that means you’ve gotta do something else.’ So some people are doing the playthroughs, some people are doing the social media stuff, but I think it’s all important to remember that this is all as a support role to a good product. I say that in the subjective sense, because there’s no objectively good product, but if people like it, if it’s something that you don’t have too much trouble marketing and selling, that’s a good product. And then from there, that’s where the social media and whatever you can do comes in to support.

Having management, that’s where they will help you get a lot more strategic. That’s where they help us get a lot more strategic, because sometimes marketing that stuff is a bit counter-intuitive if you don’t sort of take a step back and look at it and plan your moves in maybe album cycles as opposed to the next few weeks, then yeah, you could definitely end up overcrowding with information. A lot of the stuff that we do is definitely calculated and strategized with our management, without a doubt.

IC: Yeah, I can tell. It seemed like there was a strategic release schedule for all the studio videos, and now you guys have the Juggernaut documentary on top of that.

MM: Oh, yeah. The release schedule was something we discussed with management. Everyone signed off on it like months in advance. I know exactly when everything is coming out. We’ve always known when everything’s coming out, and that way we can plan. For example, the days that those things are getting planned, we’re not posting about other things to cannibalize the eventual post that’s coming at noon or whatever. So all these things, absolutely, and most bands at our level, and most of our peers who are doing this kind of thing probably are doing the exact same thing. It’s not an accident, it’s all very much part of a plan.

Juggernaut Alpha & Omega album covers side by side.

IC: You’ve met a bunch of personal and professional goals over the years. How have they changed for you? What is something that would get you excited now?

MM: That’s a good question. The goals that I have set for myself – and sometimes I set unrealistic ones, I have the whole slew of them, and there’s some very attainable ones, but really the fun for them is the journey. It’s not ever getting them. As soon as you achieve the goal, it’s almost like a day of like, ‘Yay! Whoo!’ And then the next day it’s like, ‘All right, what’s the next step? Where do we go from here?’ This band has gone so much further… if you asked me in our first interview we ever did, I would never have imagine that we’d be here now doing this. This is what I’d call the icing on the cake part, and what I would say my goal is, is really just to see how far it goes. So it’s more of an abstract thing than in five years I’d like to be selling this many records or playing to this many crowds. Maybe in a more straightforward manner, I’d say there are some bands that I would love to be able to tour with. Probably some very unrealistic, but the huge ones, like Metallica.

IC: Is that what you mean by the unrealistic goals on the list?

MM: Sure, absolutely. Those are things that are really bucket list items, but I think I’d be able to sleep at night knowing that they never happen, too… they’re not going to ruin me. But it would be amazing if we could tour with Metallica or someone like that, with the legendary bands that are just on a completely different level: Slipknot, Tool, A Perfect Circle…

IC: Actually, there’s a festival coming up that I believe accomplishes a couple of those goals.

MM: Well, that’s a little different. The festival is cool, but I mean a full tour.

IC: I see what you mean. Like with Deftones.

MM: Right, exactly. That was one that I honestly thought was an unrealistic goal, so we got lucky with that one. Yeah, it’s more so just, ‘All right, we made it this far.’ I’m not saying I don’t appreciate it, I definitely appreciate it, but I’m not going to rest on that fact. I want to think about, ‘Well, how far can we take this?’ Because this ride has gone so much further than I thought it would go, and if it ends tomorrow, it will be amazing that we got this far, and I don’t know. I really don’t know what to expect in the next five years, ten years. Maybe it will just completely disappear, maybe it will kind of plateau out, or maybe it will get bigger. Who knows?

IC: I guess that’s part of what makes it all interesting.

MM: Exactly! It’s the journey, as I said.

IC: You guys are no longer newcomers to the scene; you’re a well established band now with three full lengths and some releases in-between. Are there any newcomers to the scene that you’ve kind of had your eye on, that maybe remind you of yourself coming up back in 2004, 2005, 2006?

MM: I wouldn’t say that they necessarily remind [me of myself]… I feel like a lot of these bands are way better than we are. Like The Contortionist, I think they’ve been absolutely killing it. They’re just a favorite with our band; just really sweet dudes, but the music is like a breathe of fresh air, I think. It’s very adventurous, it’s very daring music, even to their own fans and it’s the kind of stuff I respect, because it even took me a while to really get into their latest album. But once I really sunk my teeth into it, I realized it’s brilliant music. It’s very provocative and keeps you on your toes. It inspires me in the way that it’s like, ‘Man, I’ve got to step my game up a little bit.’

I remember seeing Chon live with Animals [As Leaders] – I heard their stuff and I saw them jamming and I was like, ‘These kids are monsters.’ But then seeing them live and it’s like, ‘Damn.’ I think I haven’t been that impressed since I saw Dream Theater for the first time. I was like, ‘There’s no way they could play that.’ They just completely nail it and I was really blown away by them. They seem like really sweet kids. I’d love to be able to take them out sometime, schedules permitting. Again, it’s like I can’t say that I see us in them or vice versa, because they’re each doing their own thing, but I really foresee great things for both of those bands as long as they just keep at it. They’re doing some really unique, genuine stuff that I feel like isn’t coming from any place other than they want to make some cool music.

IC: I have a feeling that [even though] this album is about to drop, you already have other stuff in the works, or you’ve thought about some new material.

MM: Yeah, very much in the sense of what I talked about. It’s like when you’re done with your accomplishment… it’s like the journey of Juggernaut is over. We’re not thinking about the next album, but we’re already ready to write. Especially, when you consider the fact that the album was really written in the summer, and we spent the rest of the time recording it and marketing it. So we are kind of ready to write a new album already, but obviously there’s no rush because this album cycle is hopefully going to be a couple of years, at least.

We’re going to just keep on writing for nothing in particular. Mark and I have Haunted Shores, which we do for fun, I have OMNOM which I do with my friend Elliot [Coleman] for fun, and I have talked about doing a solo album, which with our touring schedule, God knows when that’s going to happen. These are things which I do for fun, and they need to be just that. Who knows when those releases will come out, but those are some outlets I have, and of course we’re all writing with the band in mind, and whatever the band wants they get first pick on. Yeah, we’re already back in the grind of that stuff.

IC: Are there more Bulb riffs kicking around from the old days that you guys are looking to use, or is it all fresh material now – all new materials?

MM: That stuff always has to kind of come in the right context. It’s always in this pool of ideas that’s there, but usually we’re more excited about the new stuff that we’re creating. But who knows? What I really wanted to with the Bulb stuff was use a lot of my favorite stuff from that, and stuff that I was kind of bummed never saw the light of day, just because it wasn’t really appropriate for vocals or Periphery in general… and to have that be on the solo album. So that’s why I would want to put it out, so that I know it’s out there. It’s not really for any other goal, it’s not really to make money, or to have something out, or for ego, or anything. It’s just so that it’s kind of spoken for and I don’t have to think about it anymore, if that makes sense.

So a lot of that stuff will be on there. The new stuff – I can already tell you we’re in a different mood. Juggernaut was very much a reaction to Periphery II’s upbeat, optimistic, playful, notey vibe. We were going for the slower, cinematic, theatrical vibe with the Juggernaut albums. And now since we’ve spent so much time, like years, in that vibe and that mentality, I know that everyone is ready for something different. I think this will be a lot faster now, just because we’re ready to switch gears again.

IC: If the next album is called Periphery III, what’s the subtitle?

MM: Someone made a suggestion, Periphery III: Now It’s Serious, because then it would say P3NIS, which I think is great. Periphery Can’t Polish A Third… I think that was Mark’s suggestion.

IC: You guys have clearly thought about this. [laughter]

MM: Oh, yeah. We joke about it. I was saying that we should just call it Periphery VI: Periphery III In Japan or something, which ten people who are watching this get… but I love Final Fantasy. Or we could just skip straight to Periphery IV and be weird. And if we did Periphery IV, we’re just going to put this out there right now – it should totally be called Periphery IV: Skin, because skin is, like, the biggest organ on your body… That’s how we’d sell it, because we wouldn’t be able to pull the foreskin joke, but it would be Periphery IV: Skin.

IC: I guess we will have to wait and find out.

MM: There will definitely be a penis joke in there somewhere, obviously.

[Special thanks to camera operator Brandon Epling and Chris Dingman for his editing assistance!]

The post Misha Mansoor Interview – Periphery (2015) appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

Special Providence is one of the most well-known modern instrumental bands in the Central-Eastern European region with their virtuosic, yet easily digestible style. Prioritizing their music over individualism allows the band to represent their mixture of modern jazz, progressive-rock-metal, electronic styles in a fresh, unique light. Their signature sound is paired with a huge dynamic stage presence and an aura for any listener to digest.

The above music video for the track ‘Northern Lights,’ recorded at Supersize Recording Studios, serves as a first taste of Special Providence’s brand new studio album, Essence Of Change. The Hungarian quartet has been going strong since 2004 and with the release of this record, they are showing no signs of slowing down.

Special Providence

‘We’ve been working hard on the new material since last year. We had gone through a lot of things together and we put it into our music. We are really pleased and excited now to unveil it and show it to you guys! Our fourth studio album ‘ESSENCE OF CHANGE’ will be released on March 30, 2015 at GEP records’ – Adam Marko.

Pick up the new album Essence of Change on BandCamp and check out the links below for more information on Special Providence:

• FaceBook.com/SpecialProvidence
• Twitter.com/SpecialProvidence
• Instagram.com/SpecialProvidence
• SpecialProvidence.eu

The post Hungarian Prog-Quartet SPECIAL PROVIDENCE Release Fourth Album appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

 [Chris’ Strandberg Boden CL7 signature 7-string guitar is in Standard Tuning: B E A D G B E.]

Atlas Novus

In this lesson, Chris Letchford breaks down the intro to ‘Atlas Novus’ off Scale The Summit’s third record, The Migration. As explored in our 2011 Artist Lick feature with Chris, this excerpt is also based around the classic Scale The Summit suspended 2nd (sus2) arpeggio sound.

Based in the key of B Minor, section A (mm. 1-4) outlines a Gadd9(#11), Aadd9(11), Bmin progression, while the B section (mm. 5-10) shifts between Bmin(add9) and G arpeggios. The left hand outlines sus2 shapes, consisting of the root, 5th, and 9th (which is the second scale degree an octave higher). Within section A, the left hand variations also include the third of the chord, in which case it makes more sense to view these arpeggios as add9 (1, 3, 5, 9), rather than sus2.

The right hand adds both tensions and chord tones to the arpeggios, which can be tapped by the index and middle fingers. The exception to this fingering occurs in measures three and four, where Chris switches to tapping with his index and ring fingers to accommodate for the wider octave shapes.

A key factor in nailing these licks is getting the timing right: note that in section A, each arpeggio starts with a triplet, while section B consists entirely of quintuplets (5 notes per beat). To practice, start by listening to the track and internalizing the rhythms. At this stage, the actual notes aren’t as important as programming the rhythmic figures into your mind and feeling them against a steady pulse. Once that happens, the notes will fall into place with some slow, repetitive practice to train your muscle memory!

Atlas Novus – Intro

[Special thanks to Brandon Epling for his additional camera work and Ron Vantassell of Greenline Vape for kindly sharing his space with us for the filming of this feature.]

The post Scale The Summit: Chris Letchford Lesson – Atlas Novus appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

 [Richie’s Ibanez RG 8-string guitaris tuned to Drop-E: E B E A D G B E,
his Strat-type custom guitar is in Drop-B tuning: B F# B E G# C#,
and his Ibanez RGD-7 string guitar is in Standard tuning: B E A D G B E.]

In this lesson, Richie Allan breaks down several sections from the tracks ‘Istagey’ and ‘Melodyk,’ off the Heavy Metal Ninjas album, Interstellar Abduction:

Istagey: Palm-Mute Riff (0:50 – 1:05)

The key to nailing this riff lies in Richie’s right hand palm-muting approach. To start, hit an open B power chord (1st degree, 5th degree, octave) with some strength, then quickly palm-mute the strings over the bridge. Timed properly, the transition between the open ringing to the palm-muted sound gives a unique, vocal-like ‘bow’ character to the chugs.

Istagey Palm Mute

Istagey: Second Verse (2:05 – 2:27)

The haunting groove of the second verse of ‘Istagey’ is driven forward with a percussive, two-handed slap guitar part. Richie employs an envelope filter effect to accentuate its funky character. Like with the palm-mute riff above, the exact articulation of this part can be best internalized via the accompanying video and audio clips, so be sure to check those out.

Istagey Verse 2

Melodyk: Fast Run (3:08 – 3:12)

This lesson concludes with a blazing run from the track ‘Melodyk.’ It consists of six-note patterns played through the D major scale (D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#). Note the specific combination of hammer-ons and alternate-picking that repeats throughout the lick: the first note is down-picked, the second and third notes are hammered on, and on the next string the remaining three notes of the pattern are alternate-picked, up-down-up. This hybrid approach allows Richie to fly through the part at high speeds while maintaining much of the intensity that is inherent to alternate picking.

The six-note phrase is repeated across the entire neck in octaves until it arrives on the top two strings in the second bar. The remainder of the lick maintains the same picking pattern as it climbs diatonically up the D major scale, arriving at a victorious whole-step bend to from E to F#!

Melodyk Run

More Features With Richie Allan

• Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Interstellar Abduction
• Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Design
• Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Propulsion (Coming Soon)
• Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan’s Gear (Coming Soon)

[Special thanks to Peter Boyle for his transcription editing!]

The post Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Istagey & Melodyk appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

IC: Tell me a little bit about Wylde Audio and how you got the idea to come up with this new line of gear. 

ZW: To me it’s just a natural progression. You’re a player, then you’re a coach, then you’re general manager for the team, and then the next logical step for me and you would be [to become] team owners. Being with Marshall, Gibson, and Dunlop for all these years, I couldn’t ask for anything more. The reason why I’m with them, is because I think they’re the best. Now starting my own thing, that’s basically like moving out of your parent’s house. That’s pretty much what it is. I’ve always wanted to do it, so now is the time.

IC: How does this gear differ compared to your Gibson, Dunlop, and Marshall gear that you’ve had over the years?

ZW: Like you said, the quality has to be stellar. I’m not going to sit here and play anything inferior. It’s not like with Gibson my signature Les Pauls are inferior to other Les Pauls. You have to make stuff that’s got to be slamming. It’s the same thing with the Marshalls. Making a signature head, [it’s not like] ‘No, you don’t want that one. It’s the worst of the batch.’ No. Everything’s got to kick ass.

I designed it all myself, and we gave it the Black Label Pepsi Challenge [blind listening test] over at the Black Vatican [Zakk’s studio] with the little speakers in the studio, the sound of it just cranking in there. You can really hear the difference of what has the best fidelity. From the shimmering highs, to the bottom, [whether] it’s a really tight bottom, and the mids and everything… you can hear it with the little speakers. I can be cranking these things in here, and after about three minutes, you’re not gonna know – your ears are gone, man. They don’t know what’s good or what’s bad. They know it’s loud, but that’s about it.

So I’ll check everything myself, and that’s always been that way – whether we were doing signature Marshalls or guitars, or whatever. You can tell what it needs, and what needs to be tweaked and what sounds good and what doesn’t.

IC: You’ve had the bullseye for some time as a part of your image – it’s on [most of your gear]. How did that first come into the equation? 

ZW: I thought most of my image was of having large breasts, and I’m very curvy, and my J.Lo. power rump… [laughs] But I guess there’s a bullseye in there somewhere. Originally, I wanted it to be the vertigo from the Alfred Hitchcock thing, and my buddy Max had painted it. I had a photo session that day, I opened it up I went, ‘Max this is a bullseye, man.’ He goes, ‘Yeah. I thought that’s what you wanted.’ I go, ‘No. I wanted the vertigo thing.’ He goes, ‘Oh. Well, I fucked up.’ I go, ‘Yeah.’ Anyway, so I did a photo shoot that day and the rest is history, man.

IC: So you’ve got guitars, amps, pedals… you’ve pretty much got the entire line-up with your own company now, right?

ZW: Yeah, but we’re going to do everything now. It’s Wylde Audio, so it’s going to be everything. We’re also going to be into refrigeration, air conditioning, kitchen goods, utensils, you name it… No seriously, like the kitchen sink, anything we could think of. It would be like you and me being in the studio and going, ‘Man, you know what would be great? If somebody had a pedal that did this or whatever.’ Even out to outboard gear, Pro Tools studio stuff, mics – everything.

It could be something that we’re using, that we could improve upon. Whether it would be like an Echoplex and going, ‘Man, this thing breaks all the time. It would be great if somebody built one sturdy enough where you could take it on the road.’ Then it’s like, ‘Yeah. Well, then let’s do that. We’ll make our own version of it, and we’ll just tweak it and make it ours.’

It’s like I said, it’s a dream come true because now whatever it is me and you want to make, we’ll just make it.

IC: What’s it like for you when you get into the studio to write something new and lay it down? How much of it is worked out, how much of it just happens when you’re jamming on something and you hit the record button?

ZW: Like with everybody, it just depends on what side of the bed you woke up that day. Whether you get inspired by… you could hear ‘Whole Lotta Love’ on the radio and go, ‘Man, it would be cool if we just had something that basic where it’s just the main riff and then the vocal comes in or whatever.’ Or you could hear ‘Heart Of Gold’ by Neil Young and just go, ‘It would be killer if we had something like that.’ Then you pick up an acoustic and you do something.

Now after it’s done you go, ‘Zakk, I was listening to ‘Heart of Gold’ and I got the idea for that song.’ I go, ‘If you hadn’t told me that, I would have never gotten that.’ Because the song sounds completely different than ‘Heart Of Gold’ or whatever. Or ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ or something. I was just like, ‘I would have never got that, unless you told me that’s where you got inspired to write that song.’ That’s the cool thing about music.

Usually, when we make the record, like with Catacombs Of The Black Vatican, I’m like, ‘How much time do we have before the fellas get out here?’ My wife Barbaranne is like, ‘You’ve got about twenty-five days.’ I go, ‘All right, I‘ve got twenty-five days to make a record.’ So you go out there every day and just start jamming riffs and you go, ‘there’s one, there’s another one.’ If you don’t come out with anything you dig, you wake up tomorrow and you just sniff some more glue, do some more steroids and you’ll come up with something. [laughs]

IC: You’ve reached so many milestones in your career which many people can only dream of. Obviously, it’s exciting when it happens, but then you wake up the next day and you’re always keeping busy and moving on to the next thing. What’s something excites you these days? What gets you out of bed?

ZW: Right now, obviously starting Wylde Audio, but every record and every tour. Every night I get up on stage, I love it. I never get like, ‘Oh, I’m bored, I want to go home.’ I never, ever get like that. I got buddies that are just like, ‘Dude, I couldn’t stand touring anymore.’ Or it’s the other way around, ‘I can’t stand making records, but I like touring.’ I like the whole thing. Even when I played football, I dug the tour days, I dug lifting weights, I dug running plays. There wasn’t anything about it that I didn’t like. It’s the whole process.

As I always tell kids, ‘When you’re playing video games, you’re having a good time. You’re not practicing playing video games, are you? You want to get to that next level. You’re not practicing, though. You’re enjoying doing it.’ Obviously, as a guitarist or on pianos or drums, any instrument, you practice triplets until you can get them smooth. It’s just repetition. I just always think it’s funny when people ask me, they’re like, ‘Oh, do you still practice?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah.’

Michael Jordan and Larry Bird still practice free throws everyday. It’s part of your routine. You wake up, you have a cup of Valhalla Java [Coffee], you make sure you’re still breathing – that’s usually first – and then I just run scales. It’s the morning ‘running of the scales,’ but it’s just like shooting free throws. It’s part of what you do every day and that’s that. Then you fondle your genitals like the wonderland that it is. That’s after the running of the scales. [laughs]

IC: Looking back on your career, if you could give a piece of advice to someone coming up in the business now, what’s something you could offer them?

ZW: Well, do like Uncle Zakk… buy a lot of stock in Anal-Ese – that’s helped me tremendously. Actually otherwise, without it, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. Literally sitting… because I’m so gapingly massive. It’s prevented a lot of leakage, let’s put it that way. [laughs]

No, the whole thing is like anything – if you have passion for what you want to do and that’s what you want to do, you’ve just got to bust your balls and go for it if you want to play music. Otherwise, it’s just a hobby. If you’re like, ‘No. This is what I’m going to do with my life.’ Then, you do it.

That’s how it is with every musician I know, all my buddies. They’re just like, ‘No, Zakk, I refuse to get a crap job that I can’t stand. I’m going to play music and that’s that.’ Whether you’re playing Madison Square Garden for three nights or me and you are playing in a cover band and a wedding band on weekends, we’re still playing music, and that’s what we’re going to do. That would be the advice I would give – just work. And like I said, it’s not work if you’re doing something you love, man. You’re playing music, so it’s really never work, because you’re doing what you love. Like fondling your body like the wonderland that it is. That ain’t work, either. That’s just pure love – for yourself. [laughs]

IC: You’ve done a couple of interviews in your career. What’s something you’ve never mentioned before?

ZW: That I don’t like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I liked them when I was five and I’m forty-eight now, and I still thoroughly enjoy them.

IC: Nice.

ZW: Exactly. There was a rumor going around that I didn’t like them, and that’s false.

IC: You’ve mentioned you have [upcoming Wylde Audio gear in the works], but for right now can you tell us about some of these pedals and guitars in the room, and just give us a brief overview?

ZW: Obviously, we’re working on some Wylde Audio pedals. These are my signature Dunlop pedals – the Black Label Chorus and the Berzerker Overdrive. Right here you’ve got the Wylde Audio Master 100 in cream and gold, and then obviously you’ve got the silver and black over there. The whole thing is what I would always do with Marshall, too, which was awesome – make it as basic and as bare-bones as possible.

The same thing with these Wylde Audio Master 100’s. You just plug in and it either sounds good or it doesn’t. You shouldn’t have to read a manual from NASA to figure out how to make the thing sound good. I just never understood that. It should just – you plug it in, you turn it on, turn it up and then whatever it is you don’t want in there that’s killing you, you just turn it down and there’s your guitar tone. We’ve got the Master 100, and then we’ve got the Master 50, Master 25, Master 15 – whatever the wattage is.

I just love stuff as basic as you can get it. We’ve got the little mini stacks, the practice amps, and everything like that. Obviously, everything here is a prototype, but I’m really stoked with the way everything is turning out.

Zakk Wylde & Ivan Chopik (& Chris Dingman!) – January 24th, 2015

[Special thanks to Chris Dingman and Alexander Pierce for their fantastic video work, and Chris’ additional editing assistance!]

The post NAMM 2015: Zakk Wylde Interview @ Wylde Audio appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

 [Ben Schmitz and Mike Semesky are playing ESP LTD EC-1000 and Ibanez S Series Prestige S5470 6-string guitars, respectively. Both are tuned to Drop-C: C G C F A D.]

Rest Among Ruins is a 3-piece progressive metal act from Baltimore, Maryland featuring vocalist Mike Semesky (Raunchy, ex-Intervals/The HAARP Machine). Their debut release, Fugue, is a 14-song concept album that showcases Semesky on vocals, rhythm guitar, and bass, Ben Schmitz on lead guitars, and Geoff Palmer on drums. It was produced by Drewsif Stalin and is set for a 2015 release.

Semesky comments regarding Fugue: ‘The concept was inspired by the story of a fascinating patient I had the pleasure of meeting when I was working at a psychiatric hospital, back before I began pursuing my music career. This person’s extremely rare clinical condition was the unfortunate result of a severe traumatic incident, and it sparked a haunting journey in his life under a fictitious identity that his mind had created. It was unlike any other case I’d ever heard of throughout my experience in the field. The lyrics were written in first-person, stream-of-consciousness form, and shift in and out of his reality, dreams, and dissociation. The instrumentation of the album adapts stylistically to complement the story, and explores a broad range of heavy and melodic metal, prog, and rock.’

Regarding the album release/guitar and bass duties/members: ‘Ben, Geoff, and I have been working on this for quite some time with our producer Drewsif, and we’re so fired up for people to finally hear it. Fugue is a very special release for me, not only because of the lyrical content, but also because (as you’ll see in the video), I performed the rhythm guitars and bass guitar on the album. Having the opportunity to sing and scream, as well as riff and strum alongside Ben’s wicked lead work and Geoff’s incredible drumming has been an amazing experience! Those two bring so much talent and creativity to the table.’

Regarding Intervals split and ongoing work: ‘After the split with Intervals in late November, I flew to Denmark for the MTV Headbangers Ball tour with Raunchy at the beginning of December. Our new album Vices.Virtues.Visions. was just released on November 21st through Massacre Records, so it was an absolute blast getting to play the new Raunchy material live for the first time! After getting back from Europe, I began switching gears to focus on this Rest Among Ruins release, the upcoming Ordinance record, as well as my own solo music. I’ve also continued offering my online voice lessons over Skype. 2015 is already shaping up to be a fun one.’

Rest Among Ruins (from left to right): Ben Schmitz, Mike Semesky, Geoff Palmer.

Links

• Facebook.com/restamongruins
• Twitter.com/restamongruins
• Youtube.com/restamongruins
• Instagram.com/restamongruins

The post Rest Among Ruins – ‘Beyond The Storm’ Guitar Playthrough appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

 [Richie’s Ibanez RGD-7 string guitar is in Standard tuning: B E A D G B E,
and his Strat-type custom guitar is in Drop-B tuning: B F# B E G# C#.]

In this lesson, Richie Allan breaks down several sections from the title track of the Heavy Metal Ninjas album, Interstellar Abduction:

Introduction (0:09 – 0:39)

The intro to ‘Interstellar Abduction’ consists of clean guitar chords, paired with an interesting multi-delay effect, which plays back each echo two octaves higher and in reverse. The part starts out with a C power chord with a doubled fifth, which establishes the key of the progression. One of the fifths in the voicing is then moved up a half step to the minor 6th of the key, establishing the minor tonality. From there, Richie moves to a B augmented triad with a D on top [which can also be viewed as a Cmin(maj7) chord].

Notice how with each chord, the tonality of the piece becomes more specific; we started out with 5th interval, which could have implied a major or minor tonality, and then confirmed what is most likely a natural or harmonic minor tonality with the addition the minor 6th interval (at this point we could also be thinking of Harmonic Major, though it is less common in this musical idiom). Finally, the addition of the raised 7th degree (B) confirmed that we are in C harmonic minor!

In bar seven, we jump up an octave to a C minor triad in its second inversion. In the following bar, we’re back to a Cmin(maj7) chord, although the third is omitted, so we have to assume the minor tonality of the chord based on the context in which it is presented. In a similar fashion, the next chord again only implies the lowered third degree, suggesting a Cmin7 chord, which temporarily shifts us from a harmonic minor tonality into a natural minor tonality.

In bar 10 we have a gorgeous Fmin9 voicing, which is then followed by an Abmaj7 in bar 11, which again has an implied third degree. After that we have B+ and Bsus4 triads, which are only differentiated by one note moving down a whole step on the B-string (G to F). Bar 15 presents a tasty Abmaj7 voicing, which is then followed by a Cmin(maj7) in bar 16.

The final chord of the progression, also in bar 16, can be named in a number of ways. Most importantly, however, it functions as the V chord of the key, which is pulling us back to the tonal center of C minor. Viewed as such, we’re dealing with a G augmented triad with a Bb on top. It’s interesting to note that Richie plays the same voicing a major third up in bar 5, referencing the symmetric nature of augmented chords. [Any augmented voicing can be moved freely around the neck in major thirds and will contain the same notes – give it a try!]

Remember that there are numerous ways to analyze and name these chords. The purpose of the analysis is to provide context to these different sounds, to explain how they function within the tonality of C minor, and to make it easier to recall specific voicings in the future. All of these tools can be utilized in your own songwriting arsenal!

Richie Allan – Heavy Metal Ninjas – Interstellar – Intro

Second Verse (1:16-1:46)

The second verse riff continues in the same tonality as the intro chords, with all notes falling within the key of C harmonic minor. Note that the two melodies in measure four are identical, but played an octave apart. What really makes this section shine however, is its driving, polyrhythmic groove.

Although the underlying time signature is 4/4, there’s a repeating pattern of seven 16th notes cycling against the 4/4 pulse, so that each time the pattern repeats, it lands on a different beat. This powerful effect adds movement to the underlying groove. The pattern is interrupted by a sixteenth note triplet run at the end of measure eight to round off the end of the riff.

Richie Allan – Heavy Metal Ninjas – Interstellar – Second Verse

More Features With Richie Allan

• Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Design
• Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Istagey & Melodyk
• Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Propulsion (Coming Soon)
• Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan’s Gear (Coming Soon)

[Special thanks to Peter Boyle for his transcription editing!]

The post Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Interstellar Abduction appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

 [Richie’s Ibanez RG 8-string guitar is tuned to Drop-E: E B E A D G B E,
and his Ibanez Jem 555 guitar is in Standard tuning: E A D G B E.]

In this lesson, Richie Allan breaks down several sections from Design, the closing track of the Heavy Metal Ninjas album, Interstellar Abduction:

Arpeggio Section: Lead Guitar (1:04 – 1:16)

First up, Richie digs into the sweeping arpeggio section of Design. Be careful to maintain clear separation between all notes, particularly within arpeggio shapes that require barring several strings with the same finger. Left-hand muting and rolling will go a long way to prevent notes from bleeding into one another!

In terms of harmony, Richie is playing in the key of E minor, shifting from a string of C major arpeggio inversions to E minor arpeggio inversions. What gives this section its flavor, however, are the tension notes he mixes in with the triad arpeggios. For the C major arpeggios, he adds in a #11 tension (F#), implying a C Lydian sound. Transitioning with an alternate-picked chromatic line, he moves on to the E minor arpeggios, where he adds some spice using the blues note, a.k.a. the b5 interval (Bb). The key to nailing the position shifts this section is solid knowledge of all arpeggio inversions across the neck!

Heavy Metal Ninjas – Richie Allan – Design Arpeggios

Arpeggio Section: Bass & Rhythm Guitar (1:04 – 1:16)

The bass and rhythm guitar parts behind the sweeping arpeggios serve as a bridge between the old-school neoclassical shred world, and the modern progressive metal riffing styles. Be sure to listen to the track carefully and lock into the 4/4 pulse, in order to nail the shifting downbeat and upbeat accents.

Harmonically, Richie is still in the key of E minor, outlining a C major to E minor chord progression. This time, a diminished arpeggio riff serves as the connective tissue between the two chords. The riff is rounded out by some mighty open chugs, utilizing the vast low-end real estate provided by an 8-string guitar in Drop-E.

Tapping Section: Bass & Rhythm Guitar (2:08 – 2:40)

This section revolves around a rhythmic pattern, which consists of both hands tapping an E note an octave apart.  Reaching over top of the neck with your fretting hand will not only allow you tap the fifth fret on the low B string, but will also give you the opportunity to cover the top five strings to prevent them from ringing out. The challenge here lies in the rhythm; be careful to analyze the pattern and memorize the groove as it changes in each measure.

Heavy Metal Ninjas – Richie Allan – Design Tapping

Solo (2:40 – 3:05)

The solo for Design starts out with some wild phrasing filled with dive bombs, a dissonant minor second interval stab, and some heavy duty vibrato. Starting in bar five, Richie introduces some melodies based on the E harmonic minor scale (E F# G A B C D#), and goes on to add extra flavor with an E hungarian minor run (E F# G A# B C D#) starting in measure eight. Note the added tension that the raised fourth degree of the hungarian minor scale creates!

In bars ten through twelve, Richie offers an interesting approach to octave displacement. Essentially, he’s outlining a simple chromatic line, but because each note in the line is spread out into different octaves, the resulting sound has a very wide, angular feel. To add even further to this unusual feel, the notes are rhythmically arranged into quintuplets!

Continuing on with the quintuplet feel, Richie changes gears harmonically in bars 13-15, with a series of three-string augmented dominant arpeggios: Bb+7 (Bb, D, F#, Ab), D+7 (D, F#, Bb, C),  and F#+7 (F#, Bb, D, E). Note that these arpeggios are all a major third apart. This symmetric quality comes from the whole-tone scale, in which each note is a whole step away from the next. Combining the notes of these arpeggios spells out a Bb whole tone scale: Bb, C, D, E, F#, G#.

The solo comes to a fiery finish with some sixteenth note nonuplets (nine notes squeezed into a half note duration) in bars 15-16, this time using G+ (G, B, D#) and D#+ (D#, G, B) arpeggios repeated across two octaves!

Heavy Metal Ninjas – Richie Allan – Design Solo

More Features With Richie Allan

Learn more licks and riffs with Allan by following the lesson links below. Also, be sure to check out the Heavy Metal Ninjas official music video for Design!

• Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Interstellar Abduction
• Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Istagey & Melodyk
• Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan’s Gear (Coming Soon)
• Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Propulsion (Coming Soon)

[Special thanks to Peter Boyle for his transcription editing!]

The post Heavy Metal Ninjas: Richie Allan Lesson – Design appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

Armageddon first came to life in Sweden in 1997 as a studio project, with the cult release Crossing the Rubicon. The sci-fi themed concept album was followed by Embrace the Mystery in 2000 and Three in 2003, which both featured different line-ups and musical directions, with Christopher Amott remaining as the sole original member.

Resurrected in its most powerful form with a crushing line-up of musicians, Armageddon is now based out of New York City. The new album CAPTIVITY & DEVOURMENT consists of ten ingeniously crafted songs filled with devastating riffs, soaring guitar leads, and fist-pumping choruses. Heavy, melodic, technical, and groovy: this is creative metal songwriting with one foot in deep in the classics, and one eye gazing towards the distant future. Prepare to be captivated by ARMAGEDDON in 2014.

Matt Hallquist – Lead Vocals
Christopher Amott – Guitars & Clean Vocals
Joey Concepcion – Guitars
Sara Claudius – Bass
Márton Veress – Drums

Lyric video for ‘Captivity & Devourment’

The post ARMAGEDDON: ‘Captivity & Devourment’ Lyric Video Posted appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

Devil You Know’s Francesco Artusato walks us through his arsenal of Ibanez guitars that he’s currently using on the Revolver Golden Gods tour with Black Label Society and Down. Watch the video above, click on the thumbnails below to view the full-size images, and be sure to check out our interview with Fran here: PART ONE  & PART TWO.

Ivan Chopik & Francesco Artusato

[Special thanks to Brandon Epling for his excellent video and photography work!]

The post Francesco Artusato (Devil You Know) – Gear appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

In this next segment, Francesco offers some insight about his upcoming solo instrumental record, his approaches to expanding music harmony, and what it means to be a professional musician:

IC: I know you have some new solo material in the works. What can you tell us about that and how it’s coming together?

FA: All I do when I’m home and not on tour, is write music. And it happens that some material goes to one record, and some goes to an instrumental record. I actually finished a whole record – a second solo album. It’s pretty different from the first one and I’m really, really happy with it. It will get released sometime this year.

IC: Will there be any guest appearances?

FA: Yes! One of the tracks on the record has a few of my friends and great guitar players that I know. One is Per Nilsson. I’ve been a fan of his playing forever and I got to meet him a few years ago – he’s awesome. And when I asked him and he said ‘yes,’ I was stoked.

And then Wes Hauch – another friend and incredible player, so it was awesome to have him. And Ryan Knight from The Black Dahlia Murder. Same thing – toured with him before, it’s like we’re best friends, and I admire his playing a lot. On that track there’s also crazy stuff going on with bass solos, and drum fills and solos. It’s a fun track; everybody is really showing what they can do. It’s awesome!

IC: How is this material different from your first solo album?

FA: It’s definitely a lot more organic, even though I didn’t actually get to go to a studio and play the music live, but that’s how I wrote it. I wrote it really thinking about playing songs from start to finish. I feel like it’s more organic, more alive. It feels like a band playing… and the fact that I had awesome players also [helps]. There’s Ray Riendeau on bass and Danny Handler on drums. So this time I really got to enjoy that part and feel like a band.

IC: What are you working on right now as a guitar player?

FA: I wish that I had more time to actually work on the guitar playing part. It’s something that I’ve done for so many years, where I would have just focused on that. Now, I feel like when I sit down it’s mostly about writing music, so I don’t really practice. I practiced a lot before going in the studio for this record, because I wanted to go in and just nail riffs and solos and everything, and feel really comfortable.

Of course, then, a lot of the stuff changed while I was in the studio; a lot of what I was practicing was different…. [but it’s] all good. I mean, I still try, especially for lead stuff, to come out with fresh ideas. But I feel it’s like I haven’t done too much [practicing] lately. I’m still, obviously, in love with the guitar playing part of this whole thing.

IC: I heard that in your years when you were coming up and learning, you played through [John Petrucci’s instructional video/book] Rock Discipline every day straight for a year. Is that true?

FA: Oh, yeah. That was part of my routine every day. It was probably even more than a year. It’s been a few years, but I think I still remember… I could practice the whole thing even without the book. I remember every example and everything. For that specific aspect of guitar playing, it’s probably the best book that I’ve ever seen.

IC: One thing I really like about your playing is the phrasing and the more angular motion that you often have [in your lines]. And then you often stretch things out harmonically, also. For a player who’s comfortable with pentatonic scales, minor scales, and some of the more common patterns in metal playing – what advice can you give them to start expanding their playing and taking it to those different places?

FA: One thing that kind of changed the way I was playing, especially when I started getting more into a classical composition, was seeing how a lot of the composers (like the modern composers), pretty much create their own scales. That made a lot of sense.

I don’t really have to play this scale that I’m supposed to play. I can just do whatever I want. Sometimes, inside that one line you can actually combine different sounds. Sometimes, I don’t really think about, ‘Is it right or not?’ Even now, if I were to analyze some of the stuff that I play, I would find, ‘This actually doesn’t really make total sense, but it sounds good and I’m going to do it.’

It’s the approach of: first learn as much as you can, and then do whatever you want with it. That’s what I try do with guitar playing. I feel you should never force yourself to play things that don’t sound good to you. Some people think, ‘I need to play weird scales, because they’re fancy and they’re cool to play.’ But if it’s not in your ears, you shouldn’t play them. You’re not going to be able to play them in the correct way. It’s a whole different thing when they actually are in your ears, and that’s what you’re putting on the guitar. That’s what I would suggest – that’s what I do.

IC: If you could look back at yourself as you were coming up, learning all these things, is there anything that you would have told a younger self to try differently, because you could have saved a lot of time?

FA: It’s hard to say. I’m really happy with what I have right now, so even if I made a bunch of mistakes, and I know I did, it still got me to this point. And I’m really happy in life, happy with what I’m doing in my career. Obviously, there are probably a few things I could have done better, in a smarter way, to make things happen faster I guess, but you live and learn.

In terms of guitar playing, in terms of music, sometimes I wish I still had the time that I used to have. When we were at Berklee [College of Music]… there were all the classes, all the homework, but it still felt like I had all the time in the world to just focus on music. Now there are certain situations with touring and traveling, where sometimes you spend a few days not even touching the guitar. And it’s weird, because I used to be obsessed with just playing guitar. Now it’s like I don’t get to play for a few days, because we’re traveling, there’s crazy scheduling and all that. That’s definitely different.

IC: When we wrapped up our previous interview, I asked you for a piece of advice for upcoming musicians. You mentioned that besides the guitar playing, the band dynamic is also very important, as is carrying yourself like a professional; that if you do so, you will ultimately find your place. Is there another piece of advice you can offer to upcoming musicians, maybe something you picked up along the way during the last couple of years?

FA: I still feel like the most important thing is: if you want to be in the professional world of music, treat it like a job. So many people think music is all fun and drinking and whatever, showing up on stage half-wasted. I never see it that way. For me it is a job. If I had [another] job, I would have to show up at a certain time every day, do my things, and that’s it.

It’s even more than a job, because I never get to go home and not do it, because that’s all I do. When I’m on the road, I’m always thinking, constantly. Especially in a band like this when, even though we have managers and agents and lawyers and things like that, I still try to be in control… not in control, but I try to know what’s going on about everything.

The business aspect; in this band it’s been more [prevalent for me] than in previous bands. Since it started, I was there since day one. I’m so present with everything that is happening. That’s even less about just music. Now it’s a lot more about the business aspect. Keep all that in mind – you’re not just going to be playing guitar and relaxing the rest of the time. It’s a full-time job on the road. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing forty minutes or an hour a day; everything else you’re doing during the day is a job.

IC: I know the first [Devil You Know] album just came out. Any talks about putting all that material that you have towards a second album?

FA: John and I already started writing new material. We already have five, six songs that are new, so it’s kinda like it’s never going to stop. I don’t think with this band we’re ever going to feel like, ‘We’ve got to write another record. Let’s start writing music.’ We just write.

We have so much material that we still love from the stuff that we didn’t use for the first record, and that could turn it into something that would be on the second record. Who knows? I’m not worried that we’re not going to have enough material. So that’s really cool to know; [that you’re working] with somebody who’s that into it, also. So yeah, it’s probably going to be a combination of old stuff, new stuff, or just all-new stuff.

[Special thanks to Brandon Epling for his excellent video work!]

Click HERE to view our gear segment with Francesco, where he walks us through his arsenal of Ibanez guitars.

Devil You Know – Seven Years Alone (Music Video)

The post Francesco Artusato Interview (Devil You Know): Part 2 appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

Powerhouse vocalist Howard Jones joined Artusato and Sankey in late 2012. Renowned for his decade with metalcore pioneers Killswitch Engage, Jones rounded out the unified sound that became Devil You Know with his signature scorching screams and soulful melodic vocals. Completed by bassist Ryan Wombacher and guitarist Roy-Lev Ari, the band unveiled the US release of their debut album, The Beauty of Destruction, on April 29^th. The following day, Francesco spoke with us during a tour stop in Orlando, FL:

IC: You’re often asked about how the reception [has been for the new album]. How has it been different from what you expected it might be with regards to this new album and band?

FA: I’m surprised to see so much excitement; the fact that it’s a brand new band and we’ve already been on the road for two weeks, and the album was not even out. People loved it! It was a great reaction and [we’ve had] great shows. I’m so excited! It feels so fresh; brand new music and the first time playing it live in front of people, it’s just awesome.

IC: The musical chemistry is clear, listening to you guys on the record. What’s it like for you guys personally? I know, for example, you and Howard [Jones, vocals] had only met for the first time when you were talking about being in a band together.

FA: Yes, totally. It was a weird time, because Howard was not even thinking about doing anything with music anymore. When we started talking, it was supposed to maybe be a studio project just for fun. Then, as soon as we started to get it rolling and got managers involved, the label, agents… it’s like ‘Alright, want to tour?’ ‘Yes, sure!’

Now, all of a sudden, he’s doing it, he’s in another band doing this all over again. He’s enjoying it. It’s the same thing for all of us. We’ve been on this tour, like I said, for two weeks and it feels like we just left. It’s fun. We all get along and we have very good chemistry. That’s why even when you’ve got those moments when you’re a little tired, you don’t really care about it, and you just can’t wait to be on the stage again every day.

IC: I know that you and John [Sankey, drums] had been writing music for years, actually, before this band even materialized. When you guys set out to write you didn’t necessarily have a specific sound in mind. I understand start it was just to start writing together?

FA: Yes.

IC: Now that Howard is in the band, you guys have worked together and put together this album. How does the original vision of what you were sounding like in the beginning differ to where you’ve come to now?

FA: We actually have a song on the record called ‘Shut It Down’ and that’s either song one or two of almost forty songs that we wrote, and that stayed the same. We were not thinking about anything back then. We were just like, ‘Let’s write a song!’

But obviously, after we got Howard involved, we started writing really thinking about the possibility of having a singer like him. All three of us gave each other a lot of freedom to experiment and do things that we always felt like we’d never done before. This was the time to do it. John and I kept going and wrote bunch of material. Howard liked everything we were writing. In fact, it was really weird when we got to the studio. We had so much material…

Francesco Artusato & Howard Jones

IC: Forty songs is a lot!

FA: Yeah, it was like, ‘What should we put on the record?’ We didn’t even know. We pretty much liked everything; everyone liked everything they were doing. It was a very cool process, kind of different from the past and from anything I’ve done before.

IC: How did you end up narrowing down the material? There are twelve songs on the album, but you wrote forty going into it.

FA: I don’t know; whatever was making more sense. We had people involved: the label and even managers, and the producer [Logan Mader]. We started showing a lot of material to the producer in the studio. And even for Howard some of the material was new, and he was literally saying, ‘Guys please stop writing music! I can’t… !’ [laughs]

IC: Once the label got involved and you guys were looking to make a record, was there a push from the label towards a specific direction?

FA: Not really. The awesome thing about working with Monte Conner – he’s about the music. He loved the demos that we had showed him and he’s was like, ‘You guys are the musicians. You guys are the writers.’

That was awesome. You never know… I was expecting maybe a bunch of people to come and tell us, ‘It needs to sound like this. It needs to sound like that. Don’t make it to sound too much like that.’ And instead it was like, ‘You guys do whatever you want.’ I loved it. It’s always my favorite part – just writing music, from writing a riff to getting the full song finished. It’s the coolest part about this job.

IC: You covered a lot of ground on the record – there’s fast material, slow material, heavy and melodic… you have a whole variety of metal happening here. Was there anything that came out of it that you didn’t expect to, as you were writing it?

FA: The cool thing is that all three of us wanted to make a record that had a lot of variation. We were like, ‘You know what? I don’t care if somebody is going to think this song is very different from the other song.’ I like records that have songs that are very different from each other. I don’t want to hear the same song over and over, or the same tunings… having the same first note of the song start in the same key.

I want a lot of variation, even sonically. I want to have a song that has completely different dynamics. I like to have the really fast and crazy song, and then maybe a ballad with just clean guitars or something like that. The last song on the record was something that kind of happened by accident. It’s a very dark, slow song. I just started writing it for fun… thinking maybe they’re going to think it’s crazy, that it wouldn’t even fit. None of us had ever done anything similar to that. As soon as I showed it to Howard, he e-mailed me right away, saying ‘Man, I always wanted to do a song like this! It needs to be on the record.’

There are twelve songs on the record, but we actually tracked and finished a lot more songs in the studio. Even now, there’s so much cool stuff that I almost wish we had more songs on the record. For a moment, John and I were thinking, ‘Maybe we should do a double album.’ But it’s too soon for that – maybe for the next record. It’s so easy to write with him and Howard.

IC: And I’m wondering about that process… How do you get to that amount of material? What’s the workflow like as you go back and forth?

FA: It started with John and myself. Most of the time, he would write drum beats and send songs that would have… a five-minute song, just drums, and then all different kind of different grooves and different things. My job would be to listen to it, and I’d feel like, ‘Okay – this could be the chorus. This could be the verse.’ And I would start putting riffs over it and then together [we would go] back and forth rearranging things. This whole process was all done from my house, from his house, and sending stuff back and forth. Most of the time, he’s in Australia and I’m in Los Angeles. That’s how we were writing most of the material.

The whole point would be at the end, before we got to the studio, we were actually going to jam and play all the stuff. We actually did. We went in the studio, brought this music to life, and played almost forty songs. We spent weeks just playing the stuff like that. It’s crazy! That’s how we started feeling like, ‘This song is going to sound awesome live. This song is going to sound great…’ That was the whole thing.

IC: I appreciate the fact that you guys took to the time to actually play the songs as a band, jamming them out in the room. I feel like I can tell sometimes when a song was written completely on a computer and then brought to a band to try to recreate live, and some things work and some things don’t. What kind of changes did you notice between your computer versions of the songs that you sent back and forth, to the ones that you jammed out?

FA: A lot of the times it would be slight adjustments in terms of tempos. Sometimes we would change a whole riff to make it more of a live band riff. That was our whole point. Both John and I come from bands that are very technical. What I didn’t want, would be to have music that was very difficult to actually play live and you wish you had written something easier. That was totally what I didn’t want.

Even the solos and everything; I played everything so much and practiced it so much. I wanted to have it comfortable on the stage. At least how I see it now, the show shouldn’t be about impressing people in terms of the things that I can play. It should give a certain entertainment to the people. I feel like us, as a band, are going to have a better show that way.

IC: All Shall Perish is taking somewhat of a break right now. Would you consider this a side project to All Shall Perish or is it its own entity altogether?

FA: Absolutely, its own entity. This is a band that I wanted to start or be in for a very long time. It’s not a side project. This is not a side project for any one of us. Yes, with All Shall Perish we’re currently on a little bit of break, but the band is not done. We’re still working and there’s going to be a future for that band.

Continue to Part II

Click HERE to check out the second part of this interview, where Fran foreshadows some future plans with Devil You Know, and reveals details about his upcoming solo album, which features several special guest appearances. He also shares his approaches on expanding harmonic boundaries within music, and wraps up with core advice for upcoming musicians. 

[Special thanks to Brandon Epling for his excellent video work!]

The post Francesco Artusato Interview (Devil You Know): Part 1 appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

Having covered the ins and outs of his musical past, present, and future in parts I-III of our interview series, Paul Masvidal now opens up about the non-musical forces at work in his life and the merits of art that ‘argues with itself.’

 Part I | Part II | Part III

PHILOSOPHY

LD: The one thing that always just seems paradoxical about your band is your very pervasive sense of positivity, consciousness, and cosmic understanding that comes across through your lyrics, but at the same time you’re called Cynic. It seems almost like a cynical name to have for yourself. Can you speak to the name?

PM: It’s funny; we put the definition of a cynic in the liner notes of Focus, because I was so concerned with the bad rep that the modern ‘cynic’ name has gotten. I wanted to show people what the original cynics, Diogenes and Antisthenes, were doing back in the day. They were like the yogis of ancient Greece. Their whole philosophy was that happiness is not externalized. It’s not out there; it’s an internal experience. They lived like homeless people and still maintained this sense of dignity and presence. They were just like, ‘Look, we don’t have all the things you guys have. We’re basically dirty, homeless people and yet, we are perfectly fine. I feel clear. I feel stable. I feel aware and awake and happy.’

Their whole thing was that virtue constitutes happiness and the essence of virtue is self-control. The whole thing was rooted in something to me that was almost Buddhist. One of the stories about Diogenes is that he would walk around ancient Greece in broad daylight with a lamp. The famous question was, ‘Why are you holding a lamp in broad daylight?’ He said, ‘I’m trying to find an honest man.’ You think of the modern cynic as someone who questions someone’s motives, who questions the truth in a situation. There is the root of it, how it’s misconstrued into somebody who’s a doubter.

I don’t really think that was the whole view of cynicism. Cynicism was more about a sense of discipline in order to know thyself and attain happiness. I got so caught up in that for a while. The roots of cynics, they were like yogis: really cool guys talking about really interesting things. But over time, it became like a snarky intellectual disposition to be a cynic. At this point, I feel like it gives us an edge or something. You almost think it’s a punk rock band or something.

Originally, I just liked the name. I remember I gravitated towards it even before I knew what it meant just based on how it looks. It was framed by two C’s with this ‘YNI’ in the middle. I liked the way that it sounded. It was just one of those things that was like, ‘ooh, cool!’ as a kid when I connected with it. Then I did more research and I was like, ‘Ooh, it has really interesting meaning. There’s all this philosophy surrounding it!’ In some ways we’re more true to the origins of cynic than ever. We’re singing the praises of what the cynics were trying to say, even though the word’s meaning has shifted and taken on a more negative kind of thing.

I see it like that’s part of the contrast. In some ways it’s weird to see, for example, the psychedelic Robert Venosa painting and then ‘Cynic.’ I love that. It challenges things and makes you ask questions. It’s doing art that argues with itself. I like when that happens.

The early days of Cynic, circa early 1990s. From left to right: Sean Reinert, Paul Masvidal, Tony Choy, and Jason Gobel.

LD: There’s an Alan Watts sample in ‘Moon Heart Sun Head.’ Were there other non-musical influences that you felt helped inform your approach to this album?

PM: Oh, yeah, man. Every song has some reference point to something I’m practicing in my life – either spiritual practice, or something I’m doing to expand my knowledge of who I am or enrich my path as a person. There were different kinds of perspectives going on. For example, ‘Gitanjali,’ a direct reference to a book of the same name, is about a girl. She was a sixteen-year-old girl from India who had terminal cancer. She secretly wrote a bunch of poems as she was dying and hid them all. Her mother found them after she died and they’re like Emily Dickinson’s writing. It’s phenomenal, really wise, beautiful, transparent kind of stuff.

She was named after a book called Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore of India who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. I thought she was channeling his wisdom, because at sixteen, how could she have this much life awareness? Some things are directly referencing that kind of stuff. I’m a big fan of Chögyam Trungpa, and ‘The Lion’s Roar’ was a lecture he gave about navigating yourself, navigating reality, and working with certain energies.

I worked it into ‘Mood Heart Sun Head,’ too; how essentially all our intimate relationships are spiritual practices. They’re mirrors, essentially, and opportunities for us to see who we are. ‘True Hallucination Speak’ is very inspired by Terence McKenna, the psychotropic author who wrote Food of the Gods and True Hallucinations. I saw him speak a couple of times back in the day and I became good friends with him. He’s just one of those people that was so incredibly intelligent and tuned in to another dimension, another level of vibration in the way that he saw the world and communicated. I’ve always been a big fan of his, so I directly referenced some of that inspiration mixed with my own interest and curiosity in psychotropic medicines and shamanic stuff.

Every song has its own very specific little thing and the through-line, I think, on the whole record, is the mind – a relationship to one’s own mind. That’s why the cover is kind of a brain. It’s three things: a brain, a mushroom cloud, and a tree, but they’re all interrelated.

Kindly Bent to Free Us – Album Cover

[Special thanks to Carl Frederick of Blazing Metal Photography for allowing us to use his outstanding live photo of Paul Masvidal].

The post Paul Masvidal Interview – Cynic (2014): Part 4 appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

 Part I | Part II | Part IV

SESSION WORK / MUSIC THERAPY

LD: You probably could do Cynic full-time, with rigorous touring, recording and all, but you don’t seem to feel that need or that pressure. What do you feel you get as an artist, lending so much of your craft and time to other people’s recording sessions and compositions?

PM: I want Cynic to be something that’s really pure and driven by art, not deadlines and touring. This project is like a fine diamond to me. We’ve always had that sense of integrity with it and we never want it to lose that. We’ve been lucky as musicians to be able to pull it off somehow. It’s not true, I think, in most cases, but for us we’ve been able to do it.

I, personally, write for television and all kinds of stuff. For example, I just did a pilot for NBC that I have my fingers crossed gets picked up. I produced this children’s book with Jim Carrey last year. I wear any kind of hat you give me. Basically, as soon as the phone rings, I’ll generally take the gig. I’m not too picky, especially if it’s in town.

I don’t really approach the session work I do in Hollywood as an artist. I’m really in service to someone else’s vision when I do that work. I love playing that role because Cynic is so self-serving; there are no rules and no structure and we just do what we want. When I get into a room with, for example, Jim Carrey and he has all these ideas, he’s just singing a cappella melodies and I’m trying to build arrangements around these tunes. I just want to make him happy with whatever it takes to fulfill his vision. That’s how I approach the TV work and the session work. I actually love being able to shift gears and change roles, to become just another dude in a bigger project and be quiet and just do my part as well as I can. I love that. It’s a totally different headspace.

I made a record last year with Aaron Freeman [aka Gene Ween], and we did this whole covers album of Rod McKuen songs called Marvelous Clouds. It was really cool. This guy put a whole band together, none of us knew each other, so we really just met in a studio with a bunch of charts and basically had to pump out fifteen songs or something in two, three days. It was old school. I don’t even know what’s going on with that record. It just came and went, but that’s how it goes for the session musician. You just do your job and disappear, if you want to keep up.

The gig I just did for this NBC show, it was all like bluegrass and country songs. Where else would I get to write that kind of stuff? I got my friend [singer-songwriter] Amy Correia to come over from Boston, and over the course of a week, essentially, we busted out seven, eight arrangements. We went right into the studio, got these Nashville guys, and cut it. It was amazing. I get to totally step out into new places.

There’s a reason why we go to school and study our instruments and play guitar like freaks in our bedrooms for eight hours a day for years and years. When you finally get out and exercise that stuff and see what you’ve got, it’s really affirming. It builds a lot of confidence, because you start to realize that you actually have some skill.

I remember in college I was trying to get deeper into the jazz thing and there was this famous jazz teacher who was known for being really intense and tough. I remember being so scared auditioning for him, just terrified of the whole thing. Then I got the gig and before you know it I’m playing around with a big band all over L.A. It was one of those things where it was like, ‘Wow, I can do this.’ We make these monsters out of our mind, our own insecurities. I do it constantly. What’s funny is that I realized I’m so scared of all these things, but I just push myself into it. I’m terrified and feel like totally inept, and yet I still walk into it.

LD: What are you afraid of?

PM: Just not being good enough! There’s always that sense that most of the people that succeed are better at faking it. I mean, the reality is that there’s always this insecurity underneath of ‘I don’t know if I can do this’ or ‘I don’t know if I’m good enough.’ I’m a total wimp, but I go ahead and just go in there and do it. [laughs] I try to make it work. Nine times out of ten, it works out.

All those different jobs are so good for that, too. When you’re in a band all the time, it’s like its own bubble of reality where you’re calling the shots and it’s your work and everything revolves around you. When you’re working as a session musician, you’re really in service of other people’s work, too, and just trying to help. TV, for example, is completely picture related. Music is background; it’s meaningless. You’re the last person on the train. They do not really make a strong emphasis, especially with a lot of network stuff. It’s like, ‘Oh yeah, the music. Let’s do that.’

There are a lot of different ways of looking at this, but for me I remember making that decision when I was a kid. I think we all did as a band. We’re just so in love with music and so in love with playing that if we can just make a living doing this, we’re okay. If you can steer it in a certain direction and have it be something, fantastic! But to play and make a living? That alone is pretty damn cool. I think that’s how I try and approach it, from a state of gratitude. I realize it’s hard out there to make a living as a musician. It’s good to realize that having all these opportunities is a good thing.

LD: It’s striking to me that you still confess to self-doubt. For the nine times out of ten that you walk into a recording session and kill it, can you recall a remaining one time when you felt like you were out of your league?

PM: Oh yeah! [laughs] I feel like a lot of times I am out of my league and I’m just winging it, you know? I have a bunch of friends that are active film and TV composers and they’re sick musicians. One of them is just a ridiculous pianist. Just this past year we really bonded over a Keith Jarrett thing and I remember he’s like, ‘Let’s jam!’ We sat down and I was with my guitar and he’s with the piano and he’s improvising these Keith Jarrett-esque things. He had this crazy sense of African rhythms and really interesting, complex stuff that just comes second nature to him, but I remember just struggling trying to get a certain rhythmic thing. At one point I said, ‘Just give me a minute here!’ A lot of times, with really complex rhythmic stuff, I have to get it in my body to play it. I can intellectually look at it and probably read it, but to really play it I have to ingest it and embody it, and then it will feel right.

I remember being terrified, because I wasn’t getting it. He’s like, ‘try it again’ or ‘slow this down’ or ‘swing it a little.’ I was being stretched in every way. Everything I knew I could do, I had to pull out of my hat. I felt horrible about it. In the end, I didn’t feel like I fully did what I was supposed to do, but he was really happy. He got what he wanted, he mixed it, and damn, it was off! Normally, you can just fake your way through it enough and let those imperfections be okay, but this was one of those where I just felt like it was never okay. If it was okay with him, I had to be okay with it, because his standards are his own and somewhat higher than mine. Again, it’s almost like you get so good at beating yourself up and not thinking you’re good enough. I’m hopefully better at not doing that to myself as much as I used to.

These are our own standards that push us to become the musicians we are. We see things no one sees. We hear things no one hears. That’s why some artists make albums and never release them, because they’re caught up in these perceptual things that no one’s hearing and yet they’re tripping on it. It’s an ongoing thing. I don’t think I ever will feel 100% confident.

The guitar is so intimidating to me. It’s a beautiful thing, but it’s so dense. I feel like I could spend the rest of my life practicing and not really doing much else. I’m in awe of the instrument and of music in general, but we do what we can and we keep going for it and seeing what happens, right?

LD: I understand that you did some outreach and healing work in the area.

PM: Yeah. I do volunteer work for a certain organization right now. I’ve worked for all kinds of them over the years, even back in Miami before I moved to LA in ‘96. I work with this company now that basically works with people who have less than three months to live. You go and volunteer your time and every situation is unique. You don’t know really who you’re going to end up with or what you’re getting, and that’s part of the whole thing: you just show up and offer your presence to them. Sometimes they’re so far gone that you’re just holding their hands, and sometimes they’re absolutely awake and present, alert and really engaged.

There was a patient I had, who kind of changed my life and was really a part of what inspired some of the components of Carbon-Based Anatomy. He had a certain kind of cancer that basically gets you at the eleventh hour. It’s pancreatic, like what Steve Jobs had. It’s like you’re fine and then the last two weeks, it all happens really fast. It’s not this drawn out illness.

I had like a whole summer with this guy where he was completely normal, like you would have never even thought he was sick, and he brought me into his world. We became like best friends. He was just an incredibly inspired 80-year-old man who had so much wisdom and led such an incredible life. It was so amazing to be around him and to be with him through the end. I’ve done a lot of music work there. I’ll bring my guitar and I’ll play songs.

LD: What do you play for them?

PM: Everything is different. I had a woman once, a transplant patient out of UCLA Hospital that was an opera singer. She wanted me to learn a particular Italian piece before she passed. She just connected with music.

Sometimes, I sit there and I’ll just play these open voicings that sound pleasant, just something that puts them at ease. The whole gig with this work is to make them feel comfortable. They’re about to take the leap, to go there, man. We’ve got to do that too, one day, but our objective is: ‘What can I do to make you comfortable, to make this easier for you?’ Every situation is unique. Sometimes you have a really complicated family dynamic involved. Sometimes you’re with people who literally have no one left and are completely on their own.

It’s good stuff to be around. If you have your health still and you have your bearings, it’s not a big commitment. What I found is that it just grounds me. It makes me appreciate being alive. They totally give perspective to all of my problems, because you can’t help when you walk into these rooms to see yourself there and say, ‘I’ll be here one day.’

It’s a huge wakeup call to how precious it is to be alive and how short our lives actually are. For me, it’s like a practice. It’s a tool to keep me present and in a state of gratitude, because I’m prone to depression and I can easily slip into places that aren’t really constructive. It tricks my mind and gets me back into what’s real because that’s really where I want to be. I want to be in reality, not some nonsense narrative that’s making me depressed.

LD: It seems like music has its own restorative properties for your own life, as well.

PM: Oh, yeah! Where would I be without music? It’s my whole life. I’ve channeled so much emotional muck through music. It has been the ultimate therapist and I don’t even realize it. I just do it. It’s just where I go to process things. Yeah, I mean geez, what a gift to have music. There is that sense that I’ve never really worked a day in my life. I’ve had different kinds of jobs, but whenever it’s music-related, it just doesn’t feel like it. I mean, how lucky are we, really?

Part IV

In our next segment, Paul opens up about the origins of the Cynic name and the non-musical influences that help inform his life and music. Check it out HERE.

[Special thanks to Jerome Abramovitch @ chapter9photography.com and Metallic @ Psychopathia Melomania  for sharing their outstanding photos of Paul Masvidal with us.]

The post Paul Masvidal Interview – Cynic (2014): Part 3 appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

 Part I | Part III | Part IV

GEAR

LD: I know you were using the [Fractal Audio] Axe-Fx Ultra on Carbon-Based Anatomy. What is your amp and guitar setup like these days, both in the studio and live?

PM: I still don’t have the Axe-Fx II and I was really curious about it. I called my friend Tosin [Abasi of Animals As Leaders] and said ‘I want to try one of these new ones out,’ so he let me borrow his rig. It was some trippy cabinet setup, a hybrid of his and Javier [Reyes of Animals As Leaders]’s rig. I went in and spent what seemed like forever creating some of my own patches. The menus are just infinite in that thing! It’s a bit overwhelming, actually. I just created the Dream Dirty patch and the Dream Clean patch. The Clean patch was just a bare bones jazz tone and the Dirty patch was the Friedman, a modified Marshall kind of vibe – just a very precise thing I was looking for.

That was it for the studio. I haven’t really thought about where I’ll get something close enough that will work for the live context. I’ll probably use the Axe-Fx, although I’ve been interested in the Kemper Profiling Amp. I’m curious about other amps and other setups and I’m just not really fixed on one yet. I think the advantage of the Axe-Fx is that you have all those effects at your disposal. You can put a whole mini rig into a two-space rack unit. For live touring that’s really helpful. I just did a tour with a thirteen-space rack and it’s just heavy and bulky and complicated. It always helps to narrow that down.

For guitars I used my Strandbergs. At the time I had the prototype for the Masvidalien, the signature model that I have coming out. Also I used another Varberg, which has different woods and DiMarzio pickups, instead of EMGs, and it sounds amazing. I combo-ed between those two on the record.

LD: Speaking of your .strandberg* Masvidalien signature guitar, what makes it yours?

PM: We broke it down in terms of how we wanted it. We obviously had the Varberg model as a template. I did a little bit of research in terms of wood and what I was looking for. The top is a rock maple and the back is African mahogany. There’s a certain tonal color that I would explain to Ola [Strandberg] I was looking for and he would suggest things. It has that [Endur] neck that he patented, where your thumb remains in almost classical position throughout the neck. I immediately connected with that. It just felt natural from the get-go. On an aesthetic level, it has the crop circle tattoo thing of mine that extends to the fret markers and inlays. Still, I’ve gone through so many phases of being very specific about my instrument, and then realizing that you can just hand me anything and I’m going to make music with it.

.strandberg* Masvidalien

I think with this thing, what really connected with me on multiple levels was that here’s the next generation of a headless guitar! I’ve been playing Steinbergers since basically the late ‘80s, early ‘90s, and here was this guy that’s a real boutique luthier who takes so much pride in his work. He’s really doing it! He’s creating these beautiful instruments that are still headless and making them cool for a whole new generation of people. That’s really what spoke to me. To this day still people ask me ‘How do you tune it, man?’ I’m realizing that the headstock became such a fixture in people’s collective psyche.

I just feel like it’s extremely versatile in the same way that the Steinbergers were. You can get so many different tones and colors out of it. Part of it is these different woods and it’s also hollowed out, so it has this like massive expansive vibe like you hear in an acoustic guitar. It’s really loud unplugged, almost like a semi-hollow body, but not – it’s still this little compact electric guitar. It merges a lot of old school aesthetics mixed with complete futurism. It’s really the perfect combination of elements for me in what I want in a guitar.

It’s so well made, that anyone who’s a fan of guitars in general should buy it, even just as a collector’s piece, because they’re only going to go up in value. These guitars, five to ten years, you watch, they’re just going to be worth a shit load of money. They’re like little works of art. Ola [Strandberg] is not at that level of mass production. They’re still these refined little boutique-y handmade things that are stunning.

Part III

In the next segment, Paul opens up about his experience as a L.A. session musician. Check it out HERE.

[Special thanks to Jerome Abramovitch of chapter9photography.com for giving us permission to use his outstanding photo of Paul Masvidal.]

The post Paul Masvidal Interview – Cynic (2014): Part 2 appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

With that question in mind, I submit to you Cynic’s new album Kindly Bent to Free Us as an early front-runner for prog album the year. Extreme music fans across the globe have unanimously sung the praises of Cynic since their return with 2008’s Traced in Air, though the new album has proved to both confound and divide critics and fans alike.

While their 2011 EP Carbon-Based Anatomy teased lush soundscapes along with more worldly orchestration and percussion, the new release is unabashedly driven by Paul Masvidal’s guitar work of silk and sinew, Sean Malone’s unrelenting fretless bass riffs, and Sean Reinert’s deft drum work. Gone are the vocoder-drenched vocals that helped Cynic establish its unique voice amidst the Florida metal scene of the early ’90s. The psychedelic studio flourishes that helped redefine the band’s 21st century return have largely sobered up.

What remains is the very core of what kept the heart of Cynic’s music beating even through their fourteen year hibernation: fusion riffs flayed over equal parts jazz and metal rhythms and soaring vocal melodies. Denied the studio sleight of hand and removed from the present day, KBtFU sounds like an anachronism; a classic ’80s thrash album abducted and anointed by some cosmic intelligence. To its detractors it may sound like regression, but to any long-time fans that have followed Cynic into space over the years, they know that the most daring place the band could go would be down to earth.

Guitar Messenger’s Luke Dennis recently had the opportunity to speak with Paul Masvidal, Cynic’s guitarist, vocalist, and chief composer. Over the course of this four part interview series, Paul opened up about the new album, his compositional process, why he doesn’t want to do Cynic full time, and his life and projects outside of Cynic:

 Part II | Part III | Part IV

NEW ALBUM: Kindly Bent to Free Us

LD: When we last talked, you alluded to how Carbon-Based Anatomy came from a very dark place and how difficult a time it was for you and Sean [Reinert, drummer]. Can you set the stage for where you were coming from when you went into the studio to record Kindly Bent to Free Us?

PM: This is a record that we’ve been working on and off since post-Traced in Air. It’s something that was in the background when Carbon-Based Anatomy happened, even Re-Traced to a certain degree, so joining up in the studio was part of a bigger process. We knew that the drums and the basic arrangements were there in terms of having been fleshed during pre-productions. We went in last year, cut drums and some basic guitar stuff before we took off on the [Chuck Schuldiner tribute] Death To All tour. Then we finally had to come home and get back to it. The headspace was really just an accumulation of a lot of time to let this material gestate and see what happens in terms of our own lives.

I think with C-BA, the layering and the wall-of-sound ambience on that record was really about the headspace. It was kind of a mirror of where we were: murky, cloudy, kind of pissed. [laughs] There was a lot of stuff going on there. It’s one of those records that’s really dense in terms of the headphone experience. There were some songs that had twenty, thirty guitar tracks. It’s very subtle and hard to hear, but they’re in there.

Kindly Bent to Free Us – Album Cover. Click to enlarge.

I think that was more of a reflection of where we were psychologically at the time and now Kindly Bent to Free Us is stepping into something more vulnerable in a sense; not hiding behind the layered ambiance. It’s always easier to pack things in and hide behind them. We’ve been very good at that in various ways.

I feel like this record is definitely the biggest unpeeling of the onion in terms of honesty and transparency, trying to be naked, not only lyrically, but also musically. It’s a trio album. There’s not a lot of guitar layering. It’s pretty much just two guitars, double tracked. I went for this one pretty straight: one main dirty tone and one main clean tone, which is the opposite of how I’ve approached every other Cynic record. I did that on purpose, because I just wanted to see how this stuff held up without all of the icing and the decorative elements that I tend to get carried away with.

What I found was that everything seemed to count more. It’s the most it’s ever felt like a band, in terms of this interactive trio kind of thing, without getting so caught up in the studio. And then, of course, I got to layering with the vocals, keyboards, and whatnot. [laughs] Definitely in a much minor way, less than what happened on C-BA. This album just feels like stepping into our skin a bit more and having the courage to be a bit more honest about what we’re doing as artists. It’s just another step in Cynic’s sonic experience and it feels good. I’m happy about it.

LD: On the performance side of making such a stripped-down record, were you guys enjoying playing together more as a band?

PM: Yeah, definitely, especially with the rhythm section, I think Sean and [bassist Sean] Malone really got to stretch out, because Sean has a tendency to play a lot. He’s a busy drummer, but on this stuff he really just wanted to lay it down, which opened things up for Malone and me to not have to counter constant parts that are competing with each other. It just created a lot of space. Everyone seemed to have a voice on this record in a way that we’ve never had it before – independent, but completely cohesive and melding.

It has an old school kind of approach. It’s raw and imperfect and I like that. In the past we’ve gone to special lengths to get so neurotic about production stuff and I feel like this record has a certain crudeness to it, which I’m digging. It gives them a sense of urgency and authenticity. We were very much all about trying to engage and be a trio, letting ourselves be liberated without getting too caught up in what we thought about the arrangement. That’s why there are a lot of extended sections on this album. Cynic always edited that down and on this record we just went for it. We were like, ‘Let’s just play this riff out for a minute or two and see what happens.’ All those kinds of things were definitely more band-like than ever before.

LD: One thing that really stuck in my mind from our last conversation is how you likened the process of making music to ‘sculpting’ sound. Given the less production-driven nature of the new album, did it feel like you were working with a different raw material by putting so much more focus on just playing your instruments?

PM: Well, no. Every Cynic song starts on an acoustic guitar or a piano. The demos that I make before Sean or Malone even hear them, are just basically guitar and voice. They’re like these little prog-folk songs. I go to great lengths to realize those arrangements, before I even give them to the guys. These tunes always start with a really strong harmonic base and melodic foundation that can be taken anywhere. Once you have that, the sculpting part I think happens in the production side, when you start figuring out how this is going to be represented as an album.

The origins are really stark and minimal. That’s really how all these songs start. I’ve gone through some phases where I’ve composed using technology, where it’s a sound that inspires you and suddenly you’re led down a certain path. But for me, I found I’m definitely more of an old school guy. I want to be able to just play these tunes on acoustic guitar and sing and just hold them that way. It makes them intimate. A lot of times I start with just finger-picking on the acoustic as I figure out how to define it as a rock song. Sometimes the whole feel will change based on converting it to an electric and then figuring out what the grooves are. That’s really where the other guys first come in.

This whole process is extremely organic. As I see it, if you have a strong foundation, a tune that can hold up without all the extras and stuff, you can go anywhere. You have so much freedom at that point to produce it any way you like. You almost can’t do wrong, because at the root of this is a really strong melody and some good chord changes.

I see it like a jazz standard or something: you want it to work in a timeless kind of way as a song and then figure out what the hell it means to the production later. At the end of the day, everyone is trying to hum, bang or feel something, really trying to connect with another person. That’s the essence that you want to retain. I’m always trying to hold on to that pure kind of root when it turns into a production, which is a very delicate process, because it’s easy to get carried away in the studio and lose sight of what you originally intended.

I have a good friend who immediately records and produces songs as he writes them. If he has a little demo, he goes and cuts it immediately as the final version. It’s his way of keeping it in that pure first state, keeping the freshness of it. A lot of times if you accumulate stuff, you’re in a different place a few months down the road, and all of a sudden you hear that thing differently and you want to change it. I thought that was really interesting that he just wants to document it as it is, right when he feels it, and then move on. It’s a really cool way of making art, because it keeps you moving instead of coming back, mulling over it and getting neurotic about stuff, which I have a tendency to do, as well.

LD: How far away from those original acoustic demos do you feel like the songs have come?

PM: I feel like musically they’ve retained their shape, though a lot of the lyrics changed over time. There are certain songs on the record like ‘Moon Heart Sun Head’ that we just started gutting. There was that root kind of verse/chorus stuff, and then some new other extended sections that I had. But then in the studio it became this weird arrangement and it just shifted into this whole other thing and I went with it. Certain songs definitely went into different places, but they still all managed to retain their core – that essence which is really the most important thing for me.

Some are ridiculously close to the demo. I think about a song like ‘Infinite Shapes,’ and everything from the demo is right there. But I remember when we went to record it and I was playing around with the guitar parts. I had this weird arpeggiated swirly thing for the verses where the chords were being plucked, and then they were just expanding. It was really psychedelic and I was getting carried away. Then I remember Malone pulling me back and just going, ‘Don’t! Come back to those simple chord changes that you were just playing on the demo and let it just sit!’

I remember that was one of those moments where we took the leap, trusting in the nakedness. That verse of that song is so bare. I think it’s the most bare-bones we’ve ever been. At the same time, it’s so cool because when the chorus hits, it’s packed. It’s got a wall of vocals and these really big guitar chords that are going across all six strings. There was a nice contrast I didn’t even see and it took Malone to call that out and be like, ‘There’s a lot of density here. You don’t need it everywhere.’

I don’t really know what a record is going to sound like until we start making it. We can talk about it for days, but when you get down to doing, it just does itself and tells you as you go. I think it became clear to us with the demos that the more we started getting into this material, the more I realized I didn’t want to clutter it. It’s so easy for me to add a second guitar part or pack environments with layers. I just thought, ‘This is going to be all about reduction.’ It just felt more and more like it needed to do that. It was like stepping out of a cocoon and forcing me to grow in ways that I normally wouldn’t. It pushed me out of my safety zones.

LD: Are you guys planning a tour for this album?

PM: We’re planning on it. We haven’t been as aggressive this time around, just because I think for us, we’re working musicians and we don’t want to just tour to tour. We want to do it right. Right now the plan is these shorter little runs. I think there’s going to be a California or a west coast run happening, from Vancouver all the way down to San Diego. Then we’re doing this festival opening for Metallica in Montreal and we might turn that into a northeast run leading to that show.

There are little things like that, but a big tour hasn’t hit us. We’ve had a few support opportunities appear, but we’re just hesitant. We’re taking it one moment at a time and seeing what unfolds. I’m sure there will be some touring and opportunities for us to be seen, but we’re not in the biggest hurry to run out there. I think we just want to do it right. We’ve done a lot of touring over the years and we’re just trying to mix it up.

Part II

In the second part of our interview, Paul takes us inside his current guitar set up. Check it out HERE.

[Special thanks to Metallic @ Psychopathia Melomania for allowing us to use a few of his outstanding live photos of Paul Masvidal]. 

The post Paul Masvidal Interview – Cynic (2014): Part 1 appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

At the 2014 Frankfurt Musikmesse, Freshman Guitars have revealed the new Songwriter Series – an inspiring range of guitars featuring new AER systems and designed with the aspiring musician in mind. 

The Songwriter Series is built using solid ‘AA’ Grade Sitka Spruce for the tops, with a choice of either mahogany or rosewood back and sides. Mahogany necks, rosewood fingerboards and bone nuts and saddles compliment the tone of these woods perfectly. Available in a beautiful natural finish or powerful matte sunburst, these instruments inspire as soon as you look at them. Hear them, and you’ll never look back.

‘Since the beginning of Freshman Guitars, when introducing any new models, I have always considered as a guitarist myself, what is it I would look for?’ asks Sean Kelly of Freshman Guitars. ‘And for me it is always quality of sound and, especially these days, value for money. The Songwriter Series is, I feel, almost perfect in every way, and I personally believe we have achieved something quite special in the end product – high grade all solid timbers and a quality of tone and value for money that leaves you smiling every time. Whatever your stage is you will not be disappointed, and with the partnership of AER electronics, these guitars will inspire you to write that perfect song.’

Prices will start at £399.95 RRP, with the inclusion of AER pickups making the electric-acoustic models all the more tempting. The quality of components on offer at these prices is unprecedented, cementing our commitment to value for money. The release date for this range is forthcoming.

About Freshman Guitars

Placing quality above all else, Freshman Guitars are designed in the UK, with all materials sourced by ourselves from only the best renewable resources across the world. Our commitment to supporting music also motivates our affordable prices, allowing us to simultaneously assist globally successful artists as well as the stars of the future. Please see our website for a comprehensive list of endorsees. Our full range of products includes acoustic guitars, electro-acoustic guitars, ukuleles, and accessories.

WHAT THE PRESS SAY

• 9 ‘Best Buys’ from TOTAL GUITAR MAGAZINE
• The highest ever rating (96/100) for an electro acoustic from ACOUSTIC magazine
• Guitar of the Year, Guitar & Bass Magazine
• Numerous other accolades and awards

More information available at:

• FreshmanGuitars.net
• Facebook.com/FreshmanGuitars
• Twitter.com/FreshmanGuitars

The post FRESHMAN GUITARS Reveal Songwriter Series, Featuring AER appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

ANIMALS AS LEADERS have officially set March 25th as the release date for their much-anticipated new album, The Joy of Motion. This offering is quickly going to be hailed by fans and media alike as the group’s career defining release that will ultimately redefine the progressive world as we know it. This third full-length release is a bombastic, dynamic and innovative explosion incorporates elements spanning across the entire musical spectrum. It also marks the recording debut of drummer Matthew Garstka, whose technical proficiency and unique style allows Abasi and guitarist Javier Reyes the room to push their boundaries to previously unthinkable heights.

Track Listing

Tooth And Claw

Lippincott

ANIMALS AS LEADERS w/After The Burial, Navene K. and CHON

The post Animals As Leaders: The Joy Of Motion (Updated 3/4) appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

At this year’s NAMM, Guitar Messenger’s Ivan Chopik had a chance to hear from John Pirruccello of Chicago-based Hanson Guitars and Lakland Basses about the careful craftsmanship that’s made Lakland’s basses so well-received, and the years of experience in pickup-wiring and luthiery that prepared Hanson Guitars for developing their own line of instruments. In the process, John filled us in on two exciting new models: Hanson’s Ravenswood 12 electric 12-string and Lakland’s Geezer Butler Signature Bass.

Ravenswood 12

From HansonGuitars.com

The “Ravenswood 12″ by Ravenswood Guitars (a new specialty brand by Hanson Guitars) is a solid Mahogany, set-neck designed electric 12 string featuring a full 12-saddle tuneomatic bridge, compact headstock, and 3, ’60s era specific single-coil pickups with a 5-way selector switch. The neck width is 1-11/16”  at the nut  providing a familiar but un-crowded string spacing, making it one of the most comfortable playing electric 12-strings on the market today.

The pickups contain 44 gauge wire coated with heavy formvar wound to a 7.5K & 7.8K Ohm vintage spec; reproducing the classic “chimey” and “jangley” tone heard on so many great recordings from the ’60s through today. Tonally, this guitar occupies a sonic range that most electric 6-string guitars can’t reproduce, making it a very welcome and pleasing addition at a gig or recording session.

Since it’s a compact solid instrument with a non-extended headstock, the Ravenswood 12 will fit into a traditional gig bag or double gig bag so you’ll no longer have to decide whether or not to take it along. Behold, your new secret weapon! Play it clean, compress it, overdrive it, fuzz it up, crank it, no feedback issues here!

Ravenswood 12

Specifications

• Body: Bound Mahogany
• Neck: Set bound Mahogany
• Fingerboard: Rosewood with Pearl Block markers
• Scale: 24.75”
• Neck width at nut: 1-11/16″
• Profile: Vintage Slim
• Frets: Vintage Mediums
• Pickups: Single-coil 44 AWG 7.5K & 7.8K ohms
• Bridge: Tune-o-matic 12 saddle fixed bridge, large posts
• Controls: Vol, Master Tone, 5-way Toggle

Geezer Butler Signature Bass

After more than 10 years of exclusively playing Lakland basses, Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler teamed with the company to design his very first signature model bass guitar. Inspired by his favorite instruments of the ’70s, Geezer’s signature bass features an alder body, custom inlays, a  black and gray striped anodized aluminum pick guard, and his signature vintage split coil GZR-P EMG pickups and the GZR-PJ Vintage J pickups in the PJ version of the bass.

 

Lakland Geezer Butler Signature Bass

 

Specifications

• Body Wood: Alder
• Neck: Quarter sawn Maple
• Neck Width: 1.75″ or 1.5″ at nut
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Inlays: Geezer Butler custom inlays
• Bonus: Custom Geezer Butler signature engraving on back of headstock
• Pickups: EMG vintage split coil and EMG Vintage J pickup (on P&J model)
• Pick Guard: Black and Gray striped anodized aluminum pick guard
• Bridge: Lakland dual access bridge
• Color: Black of course!

 

Lakland endorser and Guitar Messenger cameraman Alexander Pierce jamming at NAMM 2014!

 

[Special thanks to Chris Dingman and Alexander Pierce for their fantastic video work, and Chris’ additional editing assistance!]

The post NAMM 2014: Hanson Guitars & Lakland Basses appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

Marco Sfogli has been blowing the minds of industry veterans like James Labrie for a decade now with his trademark blend of soulful, inflective rock stylings and stunning technique. We first spoke to Marco around the release of his first solo album, There’s Hope, back in 2008, but over the years had never been able to meet up in person – until now! At this year’s NAMM, Guitar Messenger’s Ivan Chopik managed to track down the incredible axeman at the DV Mark Amplifiers booth, where he described and demonstrated the terrific tones of the new Triple Six III head that he helped develop:

IC: Tell me a little about this brand new amp that you’ve got coming out on the market.

MS: We actually worked a lot on this new Triple Six III head. I wanted to have a really good crunch channel to be used as a main lead tone, so it’s very… I think we got to a point where the crunch channel became my actual lead tone, so I’m quite happy with it. It has a lot of harmonics, a lot of singing qualities. I think we came out with some cool lead tones. It’s kind of different from what I used in the past, because I’m looking for a different kind of tone, and I love the way it came out. I really can’t wait to use it.

IC: What’s going on in your world? I know you like to keep busy with a lot of different projects.

MS: You know, recording a lot, doing a lot of sessions, a lot of studio work. I’m done with the latest Virgil Donati record, and then I hope I’m going to tour with James Labrie in the summer whenever he’s done with Dream Theater. This is pretty much it. I have a lot of sessions going on when I come back to Italy, so I try to keep it busy.

IC: Have you been working on writing any new solo material?

MS: Not yet. I decided to take a break from the solo things to concentrate on other things like collaborations and sessions and stuff, but I will surely do another solo record in the future. I’ve got to sit down and write some music. It will take time, it will be fun. It’s going to be a cool 2014. NAMM has been great, I’ve met a lot of people, I met you, and it’s been great. So thanks for having me for this interview.

IC: Thanks for doing it, man. Glad we finally got to meet in person after all these years. We had our first interview, what, maybe four years ago or something at this point?

MS: Yeah, maybe more. There’s Hope came out in 2008. So it’s maybe six years!

DV Mark Triple Six III

120W, 3 channels, all-tube head, 26.67 lbs/12.1 Kg. Like the previous version, the Triple Six III offers three completely independent channels and 120 watts of pure tube tone from two massive KT88 tubes. A new setting of channels gives you greater control of the crunch sound.

[Special thanks to Chris Dingman and Alexander Pierce for their fantastic video work, and Chris’ additional editing assistance!]

The post NAMM 2014: Marco Sfogli Interview @ DV Mark Amplifiers appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

You’ve never seen slide guitar like this. Grammy Award-winning producer, engineer, and guitarist extraordinaire  Larry Mitchell gives us a funk-filled demonstration of Samson’s Hotone Skyline effects pedals that includes his highly unorthodox approach to slide playing.

Hotone Skyline Effects Pedals

Samson’s Derek Ash shows us their high-quality, small footprint Hotone Skyline effects pedals – including the EKO delay pedal, VERB reverb pedal, KOMP compression pedal, LIFTUP boost pedal, WALLY looper, and an array of rich overdrive and distortion pedals that cover the tonal range from BLUES to high-gain metal tones with the WHIP.

Hotone Skyline Effects Pedals

Synth 7 UHF Wireless System

Samson’s new Synth 7 UHG Wireless System is available in handheld, headset, lavalier and guitar configurations. It features a rugged all-metal, rack mountable design and uses professional quality components for seamless operation. These components, combined with Samson’s state-of-the-art engineering, equip the Synth 7 with an excellent signal-to-noise ratio, a wireless range of up to 300 feet, as well as an increased dynamic range to handle the hottest inputs from line level devices.

[Special thanks to Chris Dingman and Alexander Pierce for their fantastic video work, and Chris’ additional editing assistance!]

The post NAMM 2014: Samson Technologies (Hotone Skyline Pedals & UHF Wireless System) appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

IC: I’d love to talk to you about some of the new stuff that’s come out, like the [Randall] Satan amplifier. If you had to describe in a few words what you were looking for in that amp, what would they be?

OE: I wanted it to be modern, brutal as fuck, and like… brutal as fuck, again. [laughs] No, but basically I’ve been playing a lot of amps, and there’s always going to be this part where you need to make the amp sound more metal or modern. Usually you use a Tube Screamer [overdrive pedal] or something like that to boost your amp. I’m kind of sick and tired of… you’re buying a $2,000 amp and you shove a $100 pedal in front of it, in a way. When I tried a Mike Fortin Natas the first time, I was like, ‘I never played anything like this before. It’s so clear, but still so saturated.’ That was before the Randall deal, so I bought one from him and we designed one together, which we called the Satan – Fortin Satan.

That’s when Randall came along; they made me a signature model and I got a chance to go to Toronto and spend four days with Mike just designing the insides of the amp and character, tone, tone stacks… I learned so much about amps in those four days – about chokes, transformers, and we tried out all different kinds of power tubes and preamp tubes. It’s just been a super awesome experience. It really feels that I’ve had my saying in this amp and that’s why I’m so proud of it. I really love the outcome. It’s really the most brutal amp out there – right now, at least. I wouldn’t settle for less, since I’ve been trying all the amps, right?

[Click HERE to check out our NAMM 2014 feature with Randall Amplifiers, including Ola’s demo of the Satan!]

IC: So ‘brutal’ is kind of still a very broad term, though. If you can find a more specific description of what you look for… I know you like a bit more of a scooped sound – not so much a vintage-y, spongy kind of sound. Very modern, like you said.

Randall Satan Amplifier

OE: Yeah, very modern, very tight. Aggressive is probably a better word than brutal. Really in-your-face hitting, with a fast attack the more you crank it. With a lot of amps you kind of lose the attack – it compresses the sound when you turn it up, but this amp stays punchy. You pull up the master volume, it gets even more in-your-face. That’s what I want, and it sounds… while it’s still aggressive and scooped, it really cuts through when playing in a band, and that’s something I’ve never had before.

I’ve played Engls. They sound awesome when you play them on your own, but when you’re live with a band, they’re gone. The [Peavey] 5150s, they really cut through really well in a mix, but I kind of still like a scooped sound. So the Satan is all about that and I’m so proud of that amp. It works so well when I play live, and it really blends well with other amps, also. It’s awesome.

IC: So it’s actually interesting: you like the scooped sound, but to cut through in a live mix – the guitar kind of lives in the mids. So you take some of that away, but you’re still heard in the mix…

OE: Right, right. I’m not meaning like really scooped, but scooped enough. A lot of people are always saying like, ‘Oh, you scoop your mids? That’s bad, and you won’t get heard when recording.’ But who the hell cares? I mean, scoop the mids. If it sounds good, who cares?

IC: If it sounds good, it is good.

OE: Yeah, exactly.

IC: What about your [Washburn Solar signature] guitar? Tell me some of the unique features of that guitar.

OE: Well, there are a couple of the Solar models from Washburn. One of them has the Evertune bridge, which is basically a bridge that keeps your guitar in tune under any circumstances. For instance, if the wood expands or shrinks; you know guitars change in different climates, and if you go from a warm backstage out to a cold festival stage, most of your guitars go flat or sharp. But the Evertune counteracts that with tension, so it stays in tune all the time. So it’s a really great innovation. I’ve never seen anything like that before, and I’m just happy that it’s something new and I think it will stay. It’s something really unique.

The guitar also has Seymour Duncan pickups, an ebony fretboard, I think alder body wood, and a maple neck. There are a couple of models out there for every wallet – I think they start from $599. The USA Custom Shop models are $3,299.

IC: I know you like to tune down and you use a couple of different tunings, like Drop-A. What kind of string gauges do you like to use?

OE: With Feared I play in Drop-A, that’s true. On the Solars, I’m using 25 1/2″ scale length. I’ve always been playing longer scale lengths, like 27 1/2″ and all that, but I just felt that 25 1/2″ still works for Drop-A. Right now I’m using a .64 for the low A, and it’s still really chunky. I don’t have any problems with detuning it when I pick. I think I have .09 to .64. So it’s a standard-tuned guitar with a dropped A on the seventh string.

IC: How did you come up with the name Solar for the guitar?

OE: Actually it wasn’t my idea. It was a guy called Nick Cetrone that came up with the name for the first Solar that we had with Strictly 7. I don’t know, it makes sense – my name is in there and it’s an S and an R… but yeah, it’s very neutral.

IC: The Satan is less neutral. [laughs]

OE: It’s less neutral; it’s probably more in your face. You know, I didn’t think that Randall would go with the name. But then again, I think they saw the value in it, because I did a lot of demos with the Fortin Satan before Randall came along, and a lot of people heard about the Satan like… ‘Wow, the Satan.’ So I thought that if you changed the name it would kind of remove the fact that it actually is based on the Fortin Satan. They eventually went with the name and I’m happy with that name. I mean for me Satan is just a name. I think it’s rather funny that they actually went there. It’s kind of ironic in a way. There are always going to be people that don’t like the brutality of the name, but who cares? [laughs]

IC: For a lot of people, when their hobby becomes their job, they have to find another hobby for their off-time. Is there anything you like to do in particular?

OE: When I have downtime, I like to play videogames a lot. I’m playing the Playstation 4 right now. That’s not really a hobby, it’s just something for downtime, just sitting and doing nothing. It’s perfect if you’ve been writing all day and you’re only thinking about notes and shit like that – you just go and play some videogames and it clears up your mind. You can go back, check out your riffs and see if they’re still good. That’s usually what I do.

I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m recording this awesome riff here. Yeah, it’s awesome.’ Then I go play videogames for a while – like 15 minutes, nothing more than that – go back, listen to it, ‘Oh, this riff sucks. I’d better do something else.’ I also like photography. My wife is a photographer, as well, so we like to do stuff like that. Yeah, I might have to pick up another instrument maybe as a hobby. I don’t know. Harmonica?

IC: I could see that.

OE: Yeah, me too.

IC: Pretty brutal.

OE: Yeah, pretty. [laughs]

IC: For aspiring guitarists looking to get into the industry, make their mark, and find a way to make it a living – what’s a piece of advice that you could offer them?

OE: My piece of advice would be to start yesterday. I know a lot of people are kind of anxious about releasing their own songs and having people hear them. Like, ‘Okay, I’m not really executing this video really well, I don’t really want to put it out.’ Just put it out there and get people to listen to it, before it’s too late. I mean, if you’re just hogging it to yourself, nothing’s going to happen. There are a lot of people asking, ‘How do you get famous on YouTube?’ It’s like, ‘Be the nicest guy ever.’ It’s not hard to be a nice guy. Give people compliments, help people. That’s what I like to do.

A long time ago, I went to forums and helped people with recording; like the Andy Sneap forum – I was there a lot helping people with production, and people came to me with questions and I tried to answer them as well as I could. I still do on Facebook. People send me messages asking about pickups, I try to answer as many of them as possible, and I try to really give a good answer. I think it’s really important, because word gets around and who wants to be a shitty guy? You want to be a kind guy. Give compliments, be nice, and it will work out – and also, of course, have fun while doing it.

Check out part one!

Don’t miss PART ONE of our interview with Ola, where he tells us how he built his own music career from the ground up, and this lesson, where he teaches us to play The Haunted’s ‘Eye Of The Storm!’

Ola Englund, Ivan Chopik, and Stéphan Forté being all wild and crazy at NAMM 2014!

[Special thanks to Chris Dingman and Alexander Pierce for their fantastic video work, and Chris’ additional editing assistance!]

The post NAMM 2014: Ola Englund Interview – Part 2 appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

IC: How’s the NAMM show been treating you?

OE: It’s been very busy. We’re launching both my signature amplifier with Randall, The Satan, and also my Washburn Solar series, so it’s two things at the same time. But at least they’re in the same booth, so I don’t really need to jump around that much. But it’s been busy – meetings and interviews, and just hanging around shaking people’s hands. Sanitizer, shaking people’s hands… [laughter]

IC: You’ve got quite a busy year ahead of you. You’ve got a new release with The Haunted, you’re doing stuff with Feared, and of course you’re running your YouTube channel – which I don’t know how you manage, because I do a lot of video work as well, and I know it takes a lot of time.

OE: It does. It does.

IC: So how do you balance everything?

OE: I mean, I have a pretty good work ethic. I quit my job two years ago, and before that I was working as an accountant. So I had a lot of responsibilities, and working 8 to 5 – that work ethic, I brought that into what I do now. So I try to keep myself disciplined. I start at 8, I walk my son to daycare, and at 4:30 I pick him up.

In between that [time] I work my ass off, and then after 4:30 I just have family time. I think it’s really important for results that I have this time everyday, and don’t really overwork on weekends and stuff like that. I’m very good at planning. I think it’s all about planning, really, and time management. But it’s hard. But nowadays you really need to work your ass off if you want to be able to support your family with it. And there’s no room for fuck ups. [laughs]

IC: I liked the fact that you mentioned that it’s also important that you don’t overwork on weekends. Finding that time off is almost as important as the time when you’re working hard.

OE: Definitely. I mean, a big source of my inspiration is my family – my wife and my son. Having that downtime on the weekends and in the evenings is very important for me to be productive during the weekdays. They keep me going and they keep my spirits up, and they’re my biggest fans and it’s so easy in a way. I have it very easy, because my life outside of my work is so awesome, and my work is also awesome. So it might sound like it’s hard work, but it’s not for me, because I’m really having a good time doing it. I don’t want to show off, but my life is pretty awesome.

IC: [You’re] living the dream, man; playing guitar, making videos and having that be your living, and having a family, too.

OE: Yeah. I definitely recommend trying it at least once in a lifetime.

IC: Talk to me a little bit about your workflow. On a typical day when you sit down to work, how do you plan out some of your videos?

OE: A typical workday would start with me grabbing my cup of coffee, checking Facebook, making sure I read all the messages, answer all the people I can (my fans and followers that ask me questions), and just make sure that everyone’s happy. That’s something I consider really important, just to answer quickly with emails, because I want to show that I’m a professional and I’m sincere with what I do. I don’t really want to keep anyone waiting. Then after that, on a Monday for instance, I try to plan the whole week. Like ‘Okay, I’ve got a new product coming from Company A on Tuesday – I’ll dedicate my whole Wednesday for doing the video, recording, and video editing.’ I do have a problem doing several things in a day, so I usually pick out days where I do the video editing, I pick out another day to practice guitar, practice the Haunted, or I’ll have a day for mainly just writing songs. That’s basically how I do it, and that’s what I do every week – when I’m not touring that is.

IC: I think you brought up an interesting point that you’re not really multitasking ever.

OE: I think so, because at least for writing, for me, I get into a kind of flow and I want to keep up the momentum. So I start my day with writing, because it kind of sucks if I’ve been playing guitar all day, just practicing and I try to [start] writing songs at 2:00, and I get into a really cool flow, get some really awesome riffs, and then at 4:30 I need to go and pick up my son. So I kind of like being focused on one thing everyday. It’s easier for me.

IC: How did you first get into [your line of work]? Because not all of us can just say, ‘I’m going to hit up a company and see if they can pay me to talk about my gear.’ How did you get started with it?

OE: Well, it was actually right after my first NAMM two years ago, because before that I hadn’t really been out and I hadn’t really met any of my followers. I didn’t even know how big I was. Facebook isn’t real, it’s just a bunch of names on a screen. You have no idea who these people are.

So at NAMM 2012 was my first time being out amongst people, and I was kind of blown away by how many people recognized me, and wanted to come hang with me and take pictures and all that. So I was like, ‘Whoa, I might be on to something’ and apparently people like what I do. So basically, when I got home I already had plans to cut down on my accounting job – to do both really, but after that I decided I would quit my job entirely and just focus on this.

Pretty funny – just after that, Chris Barnes gave me a call and asked me to join Six Feet Under, so I got off pretty easy. It was a pretty perfect opportunity for me to go out on tour for a year. That was basically my first year, just touring and playing with Six Feet Under and recording albums and all that. It didn’t really end up the way I planned; I planned to do videos, but it became more of a touring thing, which is cool. I got kind of a crash course in touring. I did a couple of US tours, a couple of European tours in 2012 and it was a really fun experience, especially for me. I hadn’t toured before, so staying on a tour bus and smelling disgusting… all that. Yeah, I’m never looking back. At least right now, I can’t go back to a desk job.

IC: I don’t blame you.

OE: I’ll try and do this as long as I can. But times change. You’ve got to adapt to whatever situation you’re in.

IC: Do you see more touring in your near future?

OE: I see not as much as with Six Feet Under, but with The Haunted – when I joined The Haunted, they made pretty clear to me that they were not after long tours. They’re all older, they have day jobs, so they’re doing more like exclusive festivals, fly-in shows, and to be honest that’s perfectly fine with me, because the hard part about touring is being away from my son and my family. Now I guess, it’s even more perfect. We go away on weekends, play a couple shows here and there, and it’s basically a better, more fitting band for me in that way. Now I will also start doing clinics this year for Randall and Washburn, so I will travel a lot, but mainly just shorter runs so I don’t have to be apart from my son that much. I’m very happy with the outcome as it is right now.

IC:  I’m curious about the business model [with regards to demoing gear], because I think people are more familiar with how typical record and publishing deals work, for example, but this is something a little bit different that I don’t think has been discussed as much. So what are these relationships like with the gear companies, and how does that work? Did you first decide, ‘I’m going to review some things and see what happens?’

OE: Right. The demoing started as a hobby. I was recording amps because I like gear – I love gear, to even say that. So I recorded amps, and then people wanted me to record their amps, and I live in Stockholm, which is a pretty big town. There are a lot of guitar players there and they all had the amps, so I kind of drove around Stockholm in the suburbs picking up amps, and leaving amps and recording them. That was just for fun. But eventually brands picked it up and like, ‘Whoa, this guy got a lot of hits, and he kind of makes our stuff sound good.’ So they started to say ‘Hey, man. We can send you this amp, and you can tell us what you think and do a demo or something like that.’ So eventually it kicked in where all the brands would send me their amps, so I didn’t really have to drive around anymore. So that was pretty cool.

But about the model: I guess yeah, it’s a new business model, but you make your own business model, I would say. In my case, I’m my own boss and I decide what I do, so if I don’t really want to do demos anymore I can stop it right now and just do music, and go tour and all that. The freedom I have is worth so much, and the same goes with record deals. Feared, for instance, isn’t on any label – it’s just me doing everything. I’m printing everything, I’m marketing everything, and it leaves me with such freedom to do whatever I want.

I have my own time limits, and I can just see that ‘the month of November to December I don’t have any tours or anything like that, so okay, I can try to write my own album now and release it a bit later.’ I just take it as it comes at the time, and I’m really liking the way I have it right now – I have both bands that I work with. The Haunted is on Century Media, so I’m glad that I have that and can get an insight of how it really works with a record label. But I also have the freedom with Feared to do whatever I want.

IC: What are you listening to these days?

OE: This past year I’ve been listening a lot to David Maxim Micic, and Bilo 3.0, his album.

IC: It’s amazing.

OE: It’s amazing, and that’s just one guy from Serbia, I think. I mean, just the production and all his songwriting, it’s all just perfect. That’s so inspiring for a guy like me. I kind of see where he’s coming from. He’s doing it all by himself, he releases the album for himself. It’s so inspiring to see someone else do the exact same thing and do it so well. That’s mainly what I’ve been listening to the past year since it’s been released. I’m also listening to the latest Carcass, which I think is a really good comeback album. I really hope The Haunted could do a comeback album like that. So that’s also something really awesome that I’m really impressed by – how you can really come back with such an awesome album after all these years. That’s basically it. It’s both the metal and the djent kind-of instrumental stuff that Bilo is about. That’s it.

PART TWO

Click HERE to check out PART TWO of our interview with Ola, where he gives us the lowdown on his latest gear and offers some advice for aspiring musicians, and this lesson, where he teaches us to play The Haunted’s ‘Eye Of The Storm!’

[Special thanks to Chris Dingman and Alexander Pierce for their fantastic video work, and Chris’ additional editing assistance!]

The post NAMM 2014: Ola Englund Interview – Part 1 appeared first on Guitar Messenger.

Ivan Chopik talks with Ola Strandberg of Strandberg Guitarworks and Astral EXR Systems at NAMM 2014 in Anaheim, CA. Check out the video above and then click on the image thumbnails below to see full-size pictures from our gallery.

From Guitarworks.theStrandbergs.com

Strandberg Guitarworks is committed to innovation. We continuously strive towards new solutions that address the needs of guitarists today. The global musician community is engaged in the design process. The process is public and documented on-line. The results are licensed under Creative Commons Share-And-Share-Alike 3.0 Licensing.

Ola Strandberg built about a dozen instruments (guitars and basses) between 1984 and 1993 and worked at Uppsala Musikverkstad and HBL (the Swedish Charvel/Jackson distributor) as a guitar technician for several years. He also played in a number of local bands. He originally trained to become a mechanical engineer and worked as such for several years, acquiring CAD/CAM skills, as well as extensive experience of product development and prototype machining of components, but has since moved on to the software industry. Development of the Ergonomic Guitar System started in 2007.

From Astral EXR Systems:

Astral EXR Systems is a company founded by experienced, like minded individuals with the intent of significantly pushing the envelope of innovation in guitar, bass & signal processing. As we pass our first 6 months of operations and prepare for 2014, AES is ready to continue on the path we started on and accelerate our pace of innovation.

AES is the coming together of Ola Strandberg, Allan Marcus and Paul De Maio. Three great friends who all share a passion for music, no compromise design and constant innovation. Together we have set out to establish ourselves as a leading manufacturer of next generation, ergonomic and purpose designed guitars and basses for modern musicians. AES is the global distributor of the .strandberg* production instrument series, as well their manufacturing in alliance with the second longest established guitar company in the world… Washburn Guitars USA.

For 2014, we are pleased to announce updated specs for the Boden7 & Boden8 series, as well as the addition of the Boden6 series. All Boden series guitars now feature flame maple tops and have several optional stain finishes available. In addition, we are thrilled to announce a new signature series designed in collaboration with our good friend, Per Nilsson of Scar Symmetry, resulting in the first .strandberg* production instrument to feature a non-chambered body, a custom pickguard, unique pickup configuration, 27 frets, optional True Temperament, and also an amazing swirl finish done in collaboration with Livewire Guitars.

We are also very proud to announce the launch of a new partnership with True Temperament becoming the first company to offer the True Temperament Fretting System in production series guitars in the world.

Gallery

Click thumbnails to view full-size pictures:

[Special thanks to Chris Dingman and Alexander Pierce for their fantastic video work!]

The post NAMM 2014: Strandberg Guitarworks appeared first on Guitar Messenger.