Summary:
even though linkin park have merely been around for a dozen years or perfectly , flagitious they have already sold 50 million albums and earned a place at the
Even though linkin park have merely been around for a dozen years or perfectly , flagitious they have already sold 50 million albums and earned a place at the front of the nu metal line of bands.flagitious hybrid hypothesis , flagitious their debut record , flagitious sold a ton and brought them instant recognition and .flagitious the albums that followed - meteora and minutes to midnight - also scored great and they are correct now working upon fabric for their fourth cd.
Mike shinoda , flagitious linkin park�s rapper and multi-instrumentalist begin a few moments in a sedulous schedule to prate approximately the recent record and other projects.flagitious these varied other ventures include writing the "new partake , " the alias theme for the transformers film; a solo science show; music for video games; and added.
Ug: let�s ingenuous with the �the recent divide� unmarried � is there a different approach to writing a movie ballad versus a regular album track?
Mike shinoda: we don't generally scratch a ballad to appropriate with a falsehood like this one.flagitious trying to find a way to frame it our have was the challenge; to keep it constant to the spirit of the movie , flagitious but constant to our band's intentions as perfectly.flagitious it was a wary balance.
Does writing a movie ballad grant whatsoever unusual troubles not affiliated with album songs?
It's similar , flagitious but there's added of a time restraint and a focus upon added touching parts.
Do you consciously strive for a �bigger� or added �epic� quality in a movie song? a bigger refrain or a added memorable refrain perhaps?
I surmise the sound should be "epic , " at least for this movie.flagitious when we were looking through our existing demo fabric , flagitious in deciding how to approach this ballad , flagitious we had a lot of added complex stuff , flagitious and added introverted stuff.flagitious transformers isn't precisely an introverted film!
"we don't generally scratch a ballad to appropriate with a falsehood like this one."
Will the sound/direction of �new divide� liable be heard upon the next linkin park album?
The recent album actually doesn't sound a lot like "new partake , " but it sounds great.flagitious we've got approximately 40 ballad ideas perfectly far.flagitious we're trying to accomplish something different from our other albums , flagitious with a focus upon making a Great Deal Of stuff that's added experimental , flagitious and hopefully added cutting-edge.flagitious there actually potency be added rapping.flagitious i'm putting all my fort minor potency into the recent linkin park album.flagitious.flagitious.you never acknowledge which tracks volition frame the final cleave , flagitious but hopefully there volition be added rapping , flagitious and a Great Deal Of great beats upon the recent record.
Can you reference what a Great Deal Of of the pristine fabric for the recent lp album volition sound like? volition it include whatsoever of the elements of minutes to midnight?
One characteristic of hybrid hypothesis and meteora was their distinctive sound.flagitious it was a function of the writing; the gear we used; the way we recorded; the studio; the engineer and producer combination , flagitious and a Great Deal Of other crafty choices along the way.flagitious minutes to midnight was an crusade to shatter out of that "sound" and frame an album full of recent sounds.flagitious i surmise the recent album volition be a return to the idea of making "a sound , " but it volition be a sound unlike whatsoever of the other albums.
Please prate approximately how the band works up a track in the studio? is there a sort of blueprint by which the band records? or does it evolve and modify depending upon song/album?
We tend to record and scratch in one movement.flagitious we record every discern we scratch.flagitious our biggest challenge is keeping organized and making certain no good idea gets lost in the saunter.flagitious some people lack to play a installment upon every tool in the studio--guitars , flagitious keyboards , flagitious etc.flagitious we tend to scratch a installment upon an tool and impel upon.flagitious we constitution the ballad as we go , flagitious tweaking composition , flagitious functioning , flagitious lyrics , flagitious and sounds until it sounds correct to all six guys in the band.
Has the modify in studio gear/applications impacted the sound of the band? how has digital technology and infinite tracks allowed linkin park to added fully realize their sound?
There isn't actually a trajectory for us when it comes to gear.flagitious at times we keep it minimal; now And Then we lack to utilise all Things in the studio.flagitious but i may affirm definitively that we're children of the digital recording age.flagitious we've recorded to tape , flagitious but our writing rage definitely benefits from being capable to playlist lots of ideas in the computer , flagitious and put the best ideas together.flagitious the tricky installment is knowing which ideas are the good ones.flagitious to solve that problem , flagitious we have weekly band meetings to listen to--and vote on--all the changes to the songs.flagitious luckily , flagitious all our guys have a good ear for the songs , flagitious and a comely consistent leer of how they are advancing.
How much experimenting accomplish you accomplish in the studio? are you always looking for different vocal treatments/textures?
Lately , flagitious we're performing a ton of experimentation.flagitious i don't lack to grant too much of it absent , flagitious but we're having a lot of entertainment making recent sounds.
"the recent album actually doesn't sound a lot like "new partake , " but it sounds great."
Linkin park have been booming correct out of the gate � how did it feel to accomplish that contour of success perfectly early? did you ever have to stop up to your have celebrity?
In retrospect , flagitious it was comely weird.flagitious we had worked for a long time to frame an album and frame a alias for ourselves , flagitious and suddenly we were blowing up bigger than we had ever imagined.flagitious i feel like our guys have done a comely good job of keeping their heads upon perpendicular , flagitious in spite of all Things that's happened.flagitious
Can you plea a Great Deal Of of the added challenging moments for the band? in other words , flagitious if you had to elect a ballad or two that were most difficult to record in terms of translating the band�s ideas onto a record , flagitious what potency they be?
There are tons of examples of songs that were a challenge for one reason or another.flagitious each one seems to have its have complication! most recently , flagitious "new divide" was tough because , flagitious being a ballad for a great summer movie , flagitious it had a tight deadline.flagitious to be honest , flagitious the movie people had other bands they were considering in the beginning; all were booming bands worthy of having a ballad teamed with this movie.flagitious we were constantly under the time pressure to display michael bay and his team that our ballad would be the best one.flagitious once we delivered it and they came back with a positive repartee , flagitious it felt we had won a race.
Feelings approximately the projekt rebellion excursion � did you accomplish what you set out to accomplish?
It's been great perfectly far , flagitious and we see wayward to seeing where it goes.flagitious it was amazing to finally take it external the u.s.--and witness it flourish.flagitious a lot of tough labor from a lot of people goes into it , flagitious and we are appreciative of everyone involved.flagitious once we earn the next record done , flagitious we'll be looking to fetch scheme revoution out once again , flagitious hopefully better every year.
Closing comments: whatsoever other news? next tour? videos? game music?
We're always actually sedulous.flagitious chester's inanimate by sunrise solo album volition be coming out in september this year; i'll be performing a solo science display called glorious excess dies in august here in l.a.; we're performing a video game for the iphone; and in The Meantime performing tours and working upon the recent record.flagitious matters are always sedulous , flagitious but the best way to keep up with all Things is upon linkinpark.com and mikeshinoda.com.
Interview by steven rosen
Ultimate-guitar.com � 2009
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Steve Vai: 'Don't Worry About Anything, And Play No Matter What'
In its brief life thus far, Hit The Lights has been fortunate enough to interview respected virtuoso guitarists such as Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert. Yet again, the series can add another worthwhile addition to that list. Twenty-five years have elapsed since the issue of "Flex-Able" (1984), and since that time, the career of Steve Vai has ventured from strength to strength. Beyond the usual slew of interviews arranged to promote new material, having the opportunity to hear a respected musician share his opinions in such depth is a rare one. Indeed, Vai's feelings might supply food for thought to budding guitarists in pursuit of the next chapter within their musical career.
From 11th-14th June at the ExCel Exhibition Centre, the London International Music Show '09 will take place. Beginning at 11:00 GMT and concluding at 14:00 GMT on the 13th and 14th respectively, "Alien Guitar Secrets", a three-hour seminar from Steve Vai, will take place. Limited to one hundred and fifty places per seminar, both are sold out. As part of the seminar, Vai will introduce himself, and touch upon the importance of short and long term goals, as well as basic guitar playing concepts and music theory. Also, Vai will stress the merits of finding and cultivating your own uniqueness, and will engage in a discussion regarding the music business. Towards the seminar's conclusion, a few attendees will have the opportunity to jam with the axeman, "Alien Guitar Secrets" being rounded out by a question-and-answer session, as well as a meet and greet / autograph / photo session. Later in June, Vai's "Alien Guitar Secrets"' seminars will be conducted in Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany.
Other happenings in the world of Steve Vai include a forthcoming twenty-fifth anniversary edition release of debut solo album "Flex-Able" and forthcoming live DVD "Where The Wild Things Are", not to mention plans to record a seventh full length solo album.
On 13th May at 21:00 GMT, Hit The Lights' Robert Gray telephoned Steve Vai at his Los Angeles home to discuss the man's "Alien Guitar Secrets" seminar, as well as forthcoming solo career plans.
Steve Vai: Hello?
UG: Hello. Can I speak to Steve please?
This is Steve.
This is Robert Gray from Ultimate-Guitar.com. How are you Steve?
I'm fine.
Would it be ok if we began the interview?
Yeah.
You hope to record a follow-up to your 2005 album 'Real Illusions: Reflections'. Could you tell me about that?
Yes. 'Real Illusions' is an ongoing concept album which has three parts, and hopefully, that will eventually culminate in a complete three album set. 'Real Illusions' is a very eccentric, somewhat esoteric record set, though I don't plan to write each part one after another. I released 'Real Illusions: Reflections', and subsequently issued a double live CD entitled 'Sound Theories' (2007). I will also release a live DVD entitled 'Where the Wild Things Are', which was filmed during my last tour. Following that, I plan to record a new studio album, and once I've completed that new studio album, I'll likely write a follow up to 'Real Illusions: Reflections'.
When do you plan to begin writing material for a new studio album?
Likely, I won't work on material for a new studio album until the fall. Right now, I'm working upon 'Where the Wild Things Are'.
So no songs have been written for a new studio album, or anything of that nature?
I certainly have ideas, but that's it.
What can you reveal regarding your forthcoming live DVD 'Where the Wild Things Are'?
I had completed a live double-disc orchestra album entitled 'Sound Theories', but didn't feel ready to enter the studio. I wanted to tour, so I put together a group. My concept was to use violinists that were exceptional, though I didn't want to use these metal oriented violinists which shred. I needed violinists that were musical. I found these phenomenal musicians, Ann Marie Calhoun and Alex DePue, and conducted a full tour of Europe, America and South America. I filmed our concert in Minneapolis. The music performed is taken from my catalogue, though it's orchestrated by these amazing violinists. It's quite a wonderful show. I just completed 'Where the Wild Things Are', which'll be issued in July.
As I said, following that, I plan to enter the studio, and record a new studio album. I have an idea for an album which would be a little different than the albums I've recorded in the past. I want to write an album which is very melodic and very intense, yet is a throwback to the seventies where you would just group together a bunch of musicians, and record something. That's what I'm looking for. Also, my first solo album, which is called 'Flex-Able', has just reached its twenty-fifth anniversary. I'm remastering that album.
You said that you'd like to record an album which is a throwback to the seventies. What appeals to you regarding that?
I grew up in the seventies, and was exposed to all of that rich, progressive seventies rock like Queen, Jethro Tull, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Yes, and Led Zeppelin. That music is so different, and those musicians could really play their instruments. Also, they could write great, melodic songs. Obviously, I wouldn't record anything which sounded dated like the seventies, though the seventies approach is somewhat nice. You gather a group, have them in a room, make music, record that music, and subsequently release that music. There isn't much overdubs, and not a lot of big production. My records have a lot of production, so I'd like to tone that down a bit. After that, the next 'Real Illusions' album will likely arrive.
"Likely, I won't work on material for a new studio album until the fall."
Nowadays, do you feel much emphasis is placed upon production, and sometimes musicians lose focus of just recording a good song?
There's everything, I think, and it's always been the same. There have always been musicians very interested in production, as well as musicians interested in writing good songs. There've always been musicians interested in writing good songs with good production, as well. What I'm trying to emphasize is that within music, there's everything. Crap has been written which is over-produced, and under-produced. Some over-produced music sounds brilliant, whilst crap sounds like crap. Also, there's everything in between.
Does this forthcoming studio album have a working title?
Yes. 'The Abuse of Freedom', but that's just a working title.
As you mentioned, 'Flex-Able' has celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary, and an anniversary edition of the album will be issued. Could you tell me about that?
Yeah, sure. For the first time in twenty-five years, I'm actually remastering 'Flex-Able', and am hoping to make it a double-disc. The release will have 'Flex-Able' in its original track format, completely remastered, 'Flex-Able Leftovers' in its original guise, and bonus material that was released in the nineties through 'Flex-Able' and 'Flex-Able Leftovers'. Also, I'll go way, way back to the first recordings I ever laid down, which were made when I had my little four-track recorder. I lived in Hollywood, experimenting with really oddball songs, and really bizarre things. I was a totally different person than I am now. 'Flex-Able''s anniversary edition will be a special package, and will have liner notes where I talk about the album, and who I was at the time, as well as what I thought. Also, it'll have photos from that period. Most artists have a hardcore fanbase who are interested in everything they do. Some people either really dislike that little record, that weird, bizarre work called 'Flex-Able', or find the album very charming and touching.
What did 'Flex-Able' mean to you?
At the time I wrote 'Flex-Able', you have to remember I was working for Frank Zappa. Frank was a big inspiration, so much of the music and recording techniques were Zappa-esque. That's all I knew. Really though, it was a time of innocence, and time of naivety. A friend said "Why don't you try and make an album?". I had never thought about making an album, and had always felt nobody would be interested in my music. I thought I would just handle everything myself (laughs). I'm very resourceful, so I began my own label, and figured out the semantics behind releasing an album. I self-released, and made millions of dollars.
Do you possibly intend to conduct a tour which celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of 'Flex-Able', where you perform all of the album's tracks?
I'd love to, but unfortunately, I would never ever do that. 'Flex-Able''s songs aren't simple music, and aren't music where you find a bassist and a drummer, and then jam it out. It'd require rehearsals, and specialized musicians. I'd love to, though I just couldn't - maybe if I live long enough (laughs).
You guested upon Spinal Tap's forthcoming 2009 album 'Back From the Dead'. Could you tell me about that?
I know Christopher Guest, and I'm a huge fan of his film work. He's a guitar lover, and takes guitar playing very seriously. I just got an email from him, where he asked me if I'd like to guest. I said "Sure", so they sent me the track. It's real funny, as the track is a seven minute number called "Short and Sweet". I just did a little solo, which was fun.
Are there any moments featured in 'This Is Spinal Tap' (1984) which you can identify with?
You'd be surprised how close it is, since Christopher Guest has this unique way of blurring the lines. So many activities I was a part of during the eighties were like Spinal Tap. You'd be surprised. During every tour, at least once or twice I get lost going to the stage (laughs).
(Laughs). Currently, you're conducting a series of guitar clinics dubbed 'Alien Guitar Secrets'. Could you provide some background information regarding these series of clinics?
Yeah. I've always enjoyed speaking, and thought I would organize a guitar clinic one day, where I discuss topics that just aren't discussed in any other classes. I thought this would be a good time to conduct a series of clinics, as I'm in between albums. I organized a guitar class, and called that class 'Alien Guitar Secrets'. If you're a young musician, there are very many ways to learn academic guitar in music, such as all the scales, chords and so on. When I look back at my career though, I have a lifetime of experience. There were times where my most intense musical happenings came to fruition, and those happenings didn't really involve academic guitar. By identifying those intense happenings, I was able to discover my own unique playing. The class has many parts which musicians identify with, I think.
You cultivate, and voice. I talk about everything from visualization to setting goals and how to achieve those goals, as well as the music business. I'm an authority on the music business; when I was very young, I started my own label, and at one time or another, I've worked with every major label in the world. Also, I've dealt with every attorney in Los Angeles. I've learnt a lot. Many musicians ask how I record my songs, how I make an album, and how I release an album - I know all about all those things. These are some of the things I discuss during each clinic. Each clinic is very open, and very relaxed. People can ask questions at any time. I also perform a backing track, so the clinic is very well rounded. It's fun.
The first part of the clinic is dubbed 'When I Was A Little Boy'. Is that where you tell your own story?
Yeah. I try to make that part quick as most people know my background, so I only speak about aspects which I think people will personally identify with.
Is it good to make pupils aware that you know where they're coming from so to speak? That as an aspiring musician, you were in their position once?
In understanding people, people tend to resonate with others. I couldn't talk about things I don't understand. For the most part, I'm really aware of the challenges a musician faces. To this day, I still face some. I talk about those, as challenges always surface. As I'm very experienced, they're more willing to hear me I think.
As a budding musician, what were things like for you? Was attempting to get yourself known quite difficult, or quite easy?
To be perfectly honest with you, attempting to get myself known was very easy. In my life within the music business, I've never struggled. Everything was always handed on a silver platter, and with bars of gold. I never held any expectations, which is one of the reasons behind that I believe. Anything which came my way was icing on the cake. I had expectations from the way that I played, and the music I wrote. I channeled all my energy into realizing the musical vision which I held in my head. If you're able to discover what you're really good at, then then you exaggerate that, and come up with something that's inspiring. That's the way it is. If you attempt to do something that you aren't necessarily cut out to do, then you likely won't be very convincing at it, or very good. If you attempt what you're good at, and work at that, then much of the rest will follow. The only struggle I ever had was just in realizing the music that was in my head, but that was more of a pleasure than a struggle. I face other challenges in my life - I don't live in paradise. I'm not unlike other people, and face other challenges, though music has never been one of those challenges.
The second part of the clinic is dubbed 'Building the Church', where you discuss setting short and long term musical goals.
Being able to identify what your goals are is one of the things I always recommend, and is likely the most important. You may have a long term goal. For instance, if one of your goals happens to be to make an album, then that might be a long term goal which takes months, or a year, or whatever, to realize. That's a goal you can visualize, however. You then have to be able to thoroughly break that goal down into smaller, accomplishable steps before you can venture onto the next stage, and so each step becomes a short term goals. On the road to making an album, you need to write an album's worth of tracks. One short term goal would be writing a song, so as you'd write each song, you would've achieved a goal. You have to break that down into short steps.
Throughout your career, did that help you? Approaching each album song by song?
What my career is is a series of goals that were broken down, step by step. If you're a young musician, then the idea of making an album is sometimes overwhelming. Really, in making an album, you just take a vision, visualize, see yourself making an album, and then subsequently break that down into steps. That's how I achieve things.
"I wanted to tour, so I put together a group."
During your 'Alien Guitar Secrets' class, you also discuss guitar playing concepts and music theory as part of the third section, entitled 'Essence'.
To a degree. By the time I've finished everything, 'Alien Guitar Secrets' is more like an eight-hour course. Unfortunately, I don't get to discuss some topics in-depth. I can very well talk about music theory. What I talk about is not semantic as such, but more esoteric overviews of how to approach.
An official website post of yours states that 'Alien Guitar Secrets' is a three-hour course. So actually, 'Alien Guitar Secrets' spans much longer than three hours then?
No. 'Alien Guitar Secrets' does span three hours. In reality though, if I was to discuss every single topic that I would like to discuss, then the course would span across many hours.
I understand. You'd like to discuss these topics for many hours, but can only give a overview?
Yeah. I get very much in depth regarding some topics, such as musical meditation and setting goals, both of which I find to be vitally important.
As we clarified, 'Alien Guitar Secrets' is a three-hour class. In attempting to adhere to time restrictions, do you find timing yourself difficult? You might become really engaged in certain topics, and run over time.
That's one of the problems I have. When I begin talking, I'm very thorough, and I like to completely discuss a topic. The discussion goes on and on though, and the next thing I know, hours have passed (laughs).
You mentioned that your debut solo album in 'Flex-Able' was Zappa-esque. 'Alien Guitar Secrets'' fourth part, namely 'Under It All', touches upon discovering your own uniqueness upon the guitar. How did you come to discover your own uniqueness upon the guitar?
I made a conscious effort, and was very practical in my approach. I just told myself "I love Jimmy Page, and I love Jimi Hendrix, and I love listening to their music. When I sit down to play though, I need to discover my own identity". Through the years, I constantly tried to imagine melodies and techniques upon the guitar that I'd never heard. It wasn't difficult at all. It was just a matter of telling myself that discovering my own uniqueness was what I wanted to do, and once you tell yourself something, the brain has an uncanny way of visualizing. Everything just fell into place. When you pursue something that's very natural and very simple, you might sometimes suffer from a little heat as some might think that your music isn't good enough, or that your isn't what every other musician is writing, or that your music won't be accepted given the fact it's too weird or whatever. That's where you have to find the courage to not care, and have to attempt to be unique. Following that, you have to have the balls to show the world.
Listen to 'Flex-Able' - nothing like that album has been written. 'Flex-Able' may have some rock qualities and some Zappa qualities, and some sound like this or that at times, though really, the reason I was able to complete that album was because I didn't care. No-one breathed down my neck, telling me what I should do. I had absolutely no desire to hear 'Flex-Able''s songs being played through the radio, and never felt they would be. I didn't have to impress anyone, and didn't ever expect to release 'Flex-Able'. This gave me great freedom to pursue whatever I wanted, and that's usually when the greatest music surfaces. When it then came time to write tracks for 'Passion and Warfare' (1990), my second solo album, it was the same. I had just played with all these huge rock musicians, and had become famous. At some point, I had to start realizing what was important to me, and that was the music in my head. When I opted to make 'Passion and Warfare', I had resigned myself to the fact that; my payday was over, all the big rock star things were finished, and that I may never sell another album in my life. Once I accepted all of that, I was free to make the music that I really wanted. In turn, ironically, 'Passion and Warfare' was the most successful album I've ever recorded.
In feeling that way towards making albums, do you feel free and liberated?
It's a process. After experiencing all that success due to 'Passion and Warfare', I began to think that I needed to write songs that were more accessible, and that I needed my songs to be played through radio. I made an album (1993's 'Sex & Religion') that I thought would be very accessible, even though it was very esoteric. Ironically though, it wasn't, so that helped me to realize "Come on. Feel free to do what you want. Let everything go, and write the music that you want". That's what I do now, and to a greater or lesser degree, I make music that I know is somewhat accessible, though I enjoy that. Every time I make an album, I view it as an opportunity to play something different. I try to discover interesting things that I'm capable of playing, and as a result, the fans who've stayed with me through the years are the ones who enjoy my solo work. They haven't stayed due to what I recorded as part of Whitesnake.
So throughout your career, you've learnt a lot of lessons?
Yeah, just like anyone. I'm sure that you've learnt a lot too (laughs).
During your 'Alien Guitar Secrets' class, you also discuss the music business as part of the fifth section, entitled 'Midway Creatures'. What are your thoughts regarding the music business in 2009?
The music business is changing dramatically. Major record companies have shaped the way that we make, the way that we listen to, and the way that we purchase, music. The music business is very different, and will change again, and will continue to change. Two things will always be needed in the music business. One is the concept of artists making music. The other which'll always be needed is someone who knows how to sell music, and that's what labels do. It's very rare that a musician can do both - I don't know anyone who can.
How are you adapting to these changing conditions within 2009's music industry?
I adapt, and keep on top of things. Things always change. You have to be aware of what those changes are, and you have to embrace those changes. These days, you have to figure out ways to cultivate your livelihood. For guys like me, the new age of digital awareness and technology has been a God send. Nowadays, I don't have to rely upon labels to release my music, and can upload something online. If you're internet savvy, and like what I do, then you can find me immediately. If you're interested, and want to keep updated with what I'm pursuing, then I have a website you can access. I embrace all these things, and they've worked to my benefit, just as they will to any.
Today, many young musicians bemoan illegal downloading. As a result of illegal downloading, do you feel that the current climate is tough for a beginning musician?
It's a blip somewhat. The problem is that kids who download music don't understand the importance of intellectual property. Artists are only capable of making music, touring and having a living by selling what they do, though I also know that the industry is changing. Artists will have to make their income and livelihood in different ways. For instance, I've issued music videos. How do you make income through releasing a music video? It's so difficult to sell anything, since whatever you record surfaces via Youtube, and everyone can view that. We worked out an arrangement with Youtube, where every time we receive a hit, we take a fraction of a percent in terms of profits, and Youtube earn a portion from advertising. I receive millions of hits, so that's one way of evolving through time. I conduct these master classes, which are relaxing and fun. Touring is better now than it's ever been. In terms of technology, there are many things out there. I look forward to the day I can throw it all away, and don't have to worry about anyone. I don't enjoy having to keep updated with everything, though it's just a part of my job. I don't like selling my own music. For me, it's uncomfortable. Making art is a very personal thing, and is a personal statement of who you are. It's difficult to sell your art. I have a much easier time selling music by artists signed to my record label, as I don't have much of an emotional connection to their music.
Are you happy with your deal with Youtube? Some artists and record labels aren't happy with Youtube, since they feel that the site doesn't offer a lucrative enough deal.
It's evolving, I think. Initially, Youtube didn't pay anyone. Some people will always fight, and some will always want more. I try to strike a balance between what's fair for everyone. The music industry is a changing market, and everything is continually changing. At times, I draw a line, and say "No. This is not good enough, and I don't accept". I'm very protective, and I have no desire to sell my music for anything less than what I think it's worth. You have to be practical.
"I wouldn't record anything which sounded dated like the seventies, though the seventies approach is somewhat nice."
During your 'Alien Guitar Secrets' class, you jam with a few attendees as part of the seventh section, entitled 'Head Cuttin' Duel'. When you jam with these attendees, what is that like?
It can vary. I have no idea what these musicians intend to play. You have everything, from musicians that have some little tricks up their sleeves and will pull a good melody out, to the guys that shred, and to those who are completely tone deaf and can't even play at all. They just love what they do though, and just love the guitar. I enjoy it all; I enjoy watching it all happen, and being a little part of it is fun. I've been fascinated though, and not necessarily by the brilliance of some attendees, but actually by how tone deaf some attendees are. They still really enjoy it though.
Is it difficult then? Do you actually tell tone deaf attendees that they're tone deaf, or are you more diplomatic?
Tone deaf is somewhat relative. If someone jams, can't find the key, and are just playing anything, then I join them in what they're playing. I try to bring them along into the centre, a little. I just give them the opportunity to play with Steve Vai, and make them feel comfortable that what they play is fun as well as ok. There was a time when I couldn't find the note either. It's all good.
Do some attendees actually pay to attend an 'Alien Guitar Secrets' seminar just to meet you, and hear you speak, as opposed to being guitarists?
Everyone attends, I think. Some who attend really want to learn something important for themselves in terms of the guitar, whilst people who don't play the guitar at all want to see what clothes I'm wearing. I don't know (laughs). I aim not to disappoint anyone.
During your 'Alien Guitar Secrets' class, the eighth section, entitled 'Answers', is where you conduct a question and answer session. During these question and answer sessions, what type of questions have you been asked?
What kind of strings do you use? What kind of pick-ups do you use? To me, these questions just seem like a waste of time for them to ask. These attendees are before Steve Vai who's sat in a chair, and who has all of this rich experience of the music business as well as playing the guitar. Why ask what kind of strings he has, knowing that only X amount of questions can be asked?
During these question and answer sessions, are there any particularly difficult questions you've been asked?
I have an answer for everything. With some questions though, I don't understand why people ask them, and don't understand where they're coming from.
Besides the projects we've discussed, do you have any other forthcoming projects?
I'm working on creating an internet delivery system. I have tons and tons of music which has never been released, and some of that music is very good. I want to make it where you're digitally delivered one song a month, along with perhaps video snippets taken from my 'Alien Guitar Secrets' seminars. If you subscribe, other benefits will also be available. That's a very new way that artists can secure an audience, and cultivate an audience. It's really great - if you're interested and sign up, you receive a song every month or whatever, and receive things that that artist has made. I'm working on that, though that project won't interfere with an actual, intentional CD release.
I also have another forthcoming project, and that I'm very excited about. I was approached by the Dutch Symphony Orchestra. In October 2010, they will host a Steve Vai festival, which'll boast five days of all these Steve Vai related things (laughs). One day will see small ensembles performing my music, while another day will possibly see me with my group. Also, another day will see various friends of mine that I've performed with and played with. Two days worth of compositions with the orchestra will occur. I'm so thrilled, and so honoured. It'll take a lot of work, so I'm blocking out four months of undisturbed time.
Will your collaboration with the Dutch Symphony Orchestra be recorded for a DVD release?
I'm hoping so.
If you had to give one piece of advice to an aspiring guitarist, what would that piece of advice be?
Really enjoy playing the guitar. Don't worry about anything, and play no matter what. Play regardless of what anyone says, regardless of any fears you have, regardless of whether you think you're good enough or not, and regardless of what the world thinks. None of that matters. Playing is a personal, cathartic process. It's our birthright.
Thank you for the interview Steve.
It's been really great.
All the best with your future projects.
The same to you, and thanks for your interest.
Take care, and goodbye.
Ok. So long.
Bye.
Bye.
Interview by Robert Gray
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2009
From 11th-14th June at the ExCel Exhibition Centre, the London International Music Show '09 will take place. Beginning at 11:00 GMT and concluding at 14:00 GMT on the 13th and 14th respectively, "Alien Guitar Secrets", a three-hour seminar from Steve Vai, will take place. Limited to one hundred and fifty places per seminar, both are sold out. As part of the seminar, Vai will introduce himself, and touch upon the importance of short and long term goals, as well as basic guitar playing concepts and music theory. Also, Vai will stress the merits of finding and cultivating your own uniqueness, and will engage in a discussion regarding the music business. Towards the seminar's conclusion, a few attendees will have the opportunity to jam with the axeman, "Alien Guitar Secrets" being rounded out by a question-and-answer session, as well as a meet and greet / autograph / photo session. Later in June, Vai's "Alien Guitar Secrets"' seminars will be conducted in Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany.
Other happenings in the world of Steve Vai include a forthcoming twenty-fifth anniversary edition release of debut solo album "Flex-Able" and forthcoming live DVD "Where The Wild Things Are", not to mention plans to record a seventh full length solo album.
On 13th May at 21:00 GMT, Hit The Lights' Robert Gray telephoned Steve Vai at his Los Angeles home to discuss the man's "Alien Guitar Secrets" seminar, as well as forthcoming solo career plans.
Steve Vai: Hello?
UG: Hello. Can I speak to Steve please?
This is Steve.
This is Robert Gray from Ultimate-Guitar.com. How are you Steve?
I'm fine.
Would it be ok if we began the interview?
Yeah.
You hope to record a follow-up to your 2005 album 'Real Illusions: Reflections'. Could you tell me about that?
Yes. 'Real Illusions' is an ongoing concept album which has three parts, and hopefully, that will eventually culminate in a complete three album set. 'Real Illusions' is a very eccentric, somewhat esoteric record set, though I don't plan to write each part one after another. I released 'Real Illusions: Reflections', and subsequently issued a double live CD entitled 'Sound Theories' (2007). I will also release a live DVD entitled 'Where the Wild Things Are', which was filmed during my last tour. Following that, I plan to record a new studio album, and once I've completed that new studio album, I'll likely write a follow up to 'Real Illusions: Reflections'.
When do you plan to begin writing material for a new studio album?
Likely, I won't work on material for a new studio album until the fall. Right now, I'm working upon 'Where the Wild Things Are'.
So no songs have been written for a new studio album, or anything of that nature?
I certainly have ideas, but that's it.
What can you reveal regarding your forthcoming live DVD 'Where the Wild Things Are'?
I had completed a live double-disc orchestra album entitled 'Sound Theories', but didn't feel ready to enter the studio. I wanted to tour, so I put together a group. My concept was to use violinists that were exceptional, though I didn't want to use these metal oriented violinists which shred. I needed violinists that were musical. I found these phenomenal musicians, Ann Marie Calhoun and Alex DePue, and conducted a full tour of Europe, America and South America. I filmed our concert in Minneapolis. The music performed is taken from my catalogue, though it's orchestrated by these amazing violinists. It's quite a wonderful show. I just completed 'Where the Wild Things Are', which'll be issued in July.
As I said, following that, I plan to enter the studio, and record a new studio album. I have an idea for an album which would be a little different than the albums I've recorded in the past. I want to write an album which is very melodic and very intense, yet is a throwback to the seventies where you would just group together a bunch of musicians, and record something. That's what I'm looking for. Also, my first solo album, which is called 'Flex-Able', has just reached its twenty-fifth anniversary. I'm remastering that album.
You said that you'd like to record an album which is a throwback to the seventies. What appeals to you regarding that?
I grew up in the seventies, and was exposed to all of that rich, progressive seventies rock like Queen, Jethro Tull, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Yes, and Led Zeppelin. That music is so different, and those musicians could really play their instruments. Also, they could write great, melodic songs. Obviously, I wouldn't record anything which sounded dated like the seventies, though the seventies approach is somewhat nice. You gather a group, have them in a room, make music, record that music, and subsequently release that music. There isn't much overdubs, and not a lot of big production. My records have a lot of production, so I'd like to tone that down a bit. After that, the next 'Real Illusions' album will likely arrive.
"Likely, I won't work on material for a new studio album until the fall."
Nowadays, do you feel much emphasis is placed upon production, and sometimes musicians lose focus of just recording a good song?
There's everything, I think, and it's always been the same. There have always been musicians very interested in production, as well as musicians interested in writing good songs. There've always been musicians interested in writing good songs with good production, as well. What I'm trying to emphasize is that within music, there's everything. Crap has been written which is over-produced, and under-produced. Some over-produced music sounds brilliant, whilst crap sounds like crap. Also, there's everything in between.
Does this forthcoming studio album have a working title?
Yes. 'The Abuse of Freedom', but that's just a working title.
As you mentioned, 'Flex-Able' has celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary, and an anniversary edition of the album will be issued. Could you tell me about that?
Yeah, sure. For the first time in twenty-five years, I'm actually remastering 'Flex-Able', and am hoping to make it a double-disc. The release will have 'Flex-Able' in its original track format, completely remastered, 'Flex-Able Leftovers' in its original guise, and bonus material that was released in the nineties through 'Flex-Able' and 'Flex-Able Leftovers'. Also, I'll go way, way back to the first recordings I ever laid down, which were made when I had my little four-track recorder. I lived in Hollywood, experimenting with really oddball songs, and really bizarre things. I was a totally different person than I am now. 'Flex-Able''s anniversary edition will be a special package, and will have liner notes where I talk about the album, and who I was at the time, as well as what I thought. Also, it'll have photos from that period. Most artists have a hardcore fanbase who are interested in everything they do. Some people either really dislike that little record, that weird, bizarre work called 'Flex-Able', or find the album very charming and touching.
What did 'Flex-Able' mean to you?
At the time I wrote 'Flex-Able', you have to remember I was working for Frank Zappa. Frank was a big inspiration, so much of the music and recording techniques were Zappa-esque. That's all I knew. Really though, it was a time of innocence, and time of naivety. A friend said "Why don't you try and make an album?". I had never thought about making an album, and had always felt nobody would be interested in my music. I thought I would just handle everything myself (laughs). I'm very resourceful, so I began my own label, and figured out the semantics behind releasing an album. I self-released, and made millions of dollars.
Do you possibly intend to conduct a tour which celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of 'Flex-Able', where you perform all of the album's tracks?
I'd love to, but unfortunately, I would never ever do that. 'Flex-Able''s songs aren't simple music, and aren't music where you find a bassist and a drummer, and then jam it out. It'd require rehearsals, and specialized musicians. I'd love to, though I just couldn't - maybe if I live long enough (laughs).
You guested upon Spinal Tap's forthcoming 2009 album 'Back From the Dead'. Could you tell me about that?
I know Christopher Guest, and I'm a huge fan of his film work. He's a guitar lover, and takes guitar playing very seriously. I just got an email from him, where he asked me if I'd like to guest. I said "Sure", so they sent me the track. It's real funny, as the track is a seven minute number called "Short and Sweet". I just did a little solo, which was fun.
Are there any moments featured in 'This Is Spinal Tap' (1984) which you can identify with?
You'd be surprised how close it is, since Christopher Guest has this unique way of blurring the lines. So many activities I was a part of during the eighties were like Spinal Tap. You'd be surprised. During every tour, at least once or twice I get lost going to the stage (laughs).
(Laughs). Currently, you're conducting a series of guitar clinics dubbed 'Alien Guitar Secrets'. Could you provide some background information regarding these series of clinics?
Yeah. I've always enjoyed speaking, and thought I would organize a guitar clinic one day, where I discuss topics that just aren't discussed in any other classes. I thought this would be a good time to conduct a series of clinics, as I'm in between albums. I organized a guitar class, and called that class 'Alien Guitar Secrets'. If you're a young musician, there are very many ways to learn academic guitar in music, such as all the scales, chords and so on. When I look back at my career though, I have a lifetime of experience. There were times where my most intense musical happenings came to fruition, and those happenings didn't really involve academic guitar. By identifying those intense happenings, I was able to discover my own unique playing. The class has many parts which musicians identify with, I think.
You cultivate, and voice. I talk about everything from visualization to setting goals and how to achieve those goals, as well as the music business. I'm an authority on the music business; when I was very young, I started my own label, and at one time or another, I've worked with every major label in the world. Also, I've dealt with every attorney in Los Angeles. I've learnt a lot. Many musicians ask how I record my songs, how I make an album, and how I release an album - I know all about all those things. These are some of the things I discuss during each clinic. Each clinic is very open, and very relaxed. People can ask questions at any time. I also perform a backing track, so the clinic is very well rounded. It's fun.
The first part of the clinic is dubbed 'When I Was A Little Boy'. Is that where you tell your own story?
Yeah. I try to make that part quick as most people know my background, so I only speak about aspects which I think people will personally identify with.
Is it good to make pupils aware that you know where they're coming from so to speak? That as an aspiring musician, you were in their position once?
In understanding people, people tend to resonate with others. I couldn't talk about things I don't understand. For the most part, I'm really aware of the challenges a musician faces. To this day, I still face some. I talk about those, as challenges always surface. As I'm very experienced, they're more willing to hear me I think.
As a budding musician, what were things like for you? Was attempting to get yourself known quite difficult, or quite easy?
To be perfectly honest with you, attempting to get myself known was very easy. In my life within the music business, I've never struggled. Everything was always handed on a silver platter, and with bars of gold. I never held any expectations, which is one of the reasons behind that I believe. Anything which came my way was icing on the cake. I had expectations from the way that I played, and the music I wrote. I channeled all my energy into realizing the musical vision which I held in my head. If you're able to discover what you're really good at, then then you exaggerate that, and come up with something that's inspiring. That's the way it is. If you attempt to do something that you aren't necessarily cut out to do, then you likely won't be very convincing at it, or very good. If you attempt what you're good at, and work at that, then much of the rest will follow. The only struggle I ever had was just in realizing the music that was in my head, but that was more of a pleasure than a struggle. I face other challenges in my life - I don't live in paradise. I'm not unlike other people, and face other challenges, though music has never been one of those challenges.
The second part of the clinic is dubbed 'Building the Church', where you discuss setting short and long term musical goals.
Being able to identify what your goals are is one of the things I always recommend, and is likely the most important. You may have a long term goal. For instance, if one of your goals happens to be to make an album, then that might be a long term goal which takes months, or a year, or whatever, to realize. That's a goal you can visualize, however. You then have to be able to thoroughly break that goal down into smaller, accomplishable steps before you can venture onto the next stage, and so each step becomes a short term goals. On the road to making an album, you need to write an album's worth of tracks. One short term goal would be writing a song, so as you'd write each song, you would've achieved a goal. You have to break that down into short steps.
Throughout your career, did that help you? Approaching each album song by song?
What my career is is a series of goals that were broken down, step by step. If you're a young musician, then the idea of making an album is sometimes overwhelming. Really, in making an album, you just take a vision, visualize, see yourself making an album, and then subsequently break that down into steps. That's how I achieve things.
"I wanted to tour, so I put together a group."
During your 'Alien Guitar Secrets' class, you also discuss guitar playing concepts and music theory as part of the third section, entitled 'Essence'.
To a degree. By the time I've finished everything, 'Alien Guitar Secrets' is more like an eight-hour course. Unfortunately, I don't get to discuss some topics in-depth. I can very well talk about music theory. What I talk about is not semantic as such, but more esoteric overviews of how to approach.
An official website post of yours states that 'Alien Guitar Secrets' is a three-hour course. So actually, 'Alien Guitar Secrets' spans much longer than three hours then?
No. 'Alien Guitar Secrets' does span three hours. In reality though, if I was to discuss every single topic that I would like to discuss, then the course would span across many hours.
I understand. You'd like to discuss these topics for many hours, but can only give a overview?
Yeah. I get very much in depth regarding some topics, such as musical meditation and setting goals, both of which I find to be vitally important.
As we clarified, 'Alien Guitar Secrets' is a three-hour class. In attempting to adhere to time restrictions, do you find timing yourself difficult? You might become really engaged in certain topics, and run over time.
That's one of the problems I have. When I begin talking, I'm very thorough, and I like to completely discuss a topic. The discussion goes on and on though, and the next thing I know, hours have passed (laughs).
You mentioned that your debut solo album in 'Flex-Able' was Zappa-esque. 'Alien Guitar Secrets'' fourth part, namely 'Under It All', touches upon discovering your own uniqueness upon the guitar. How did you come to discover your own uniqueness upon the guitar?
I made a conscious effort, and was very practical in my approach. I just told myself "I love Jimmy Page, and I love Jimi Hendrix, and I love listening to their music. When I sit down to play though, I need to discover my own identity". Through the years, I constantly tried to imagine melodies and techniques upon the guitar that I'd never heard. It wasn't difficult at all. It was just a matter of telling myself that discovering my own uniqueness was what I wanted to do, and once you tell yourself something, the brain has an uncanny way of visualizing. Everything just fell into place. When you pursue something that's very natural and very simple, you might sometimes suffer from a little heat as some might think that your music isn't good enough, or that your isn't what every other musician is writing, or that your music won't be accepted given the fact it's too weird or whatever. That's where you have to find the courage to not care, and have to attempt to be unique. Following that, you have to have the balls to show the world.
Listen to 'Flex-Able' - nothing like that album has been written. 'Flex-Able' may have some rock qualities and some Zappa qualities, and some sound like this or that at times, though really, the reason I was able to complete that album was because I didn't care. No-one breathed down my neck, telling me what I should do. I had absolutely no desire to hear 'Flex-Able''s songs being played through the radio, and never felt they would be. I didn't have to impress anyone, and didn't ever expect to release 'Flex-Able'. This gave me great freedom to pursue whatever I wanted, and that's usually when the greatest music surfaces. When it then came time to write tracks for 'Passion and Warfare' (1990), my second solo album, it was the same. I had just played with all these huge rock musicians, and had become famous. At some point, I had to start realizing what was important to me, and that was the music in my head. When I opted to make 'Passion and Warfare', I had resigned myself to the fact that; my payday was over, all the big rock star things were finished, and that I may never sell another album in my life. Once I accepted all of that, I was free to make the music that I really wanted. In turn, ironically, 'Passion and Warfare' was the most successful album I've ever recorded.
In feeling that way towards making albums, do you feel free and liberated?
It's a process. After experiencing all that success due to 'Passion and Warfare', I began to think that I needed to write songs that were more accessible, and that I needed my songs to be played through radio. I made an album (1993's 'Sex & Religion') that I thought would be very accessible, even though it was very esoteric. Ironically though, it wasn't, so that helped me to realize "Come on. Feel free to do what you want. Let everything go, and write the music that you want". That's what I do now, and to a greater or lesser degree, I make music that I know is somewhat accessible, though I enjoy that. Every time I make an album, I view it as an opportunity to play something different. I try to discover interesting things that I'm capable of playing, and as a result, the fans who've stayed with me through the years are the ones who enjoy my solo work. They haven't stayed due to what I recorded as part of Whitesnake.
So throughout your career, you've learnt a lot of lessons?
Yeah, just like anyone. I'm sure that you've learnt a lot too (laughs).
During your 'Alien Guitar Secrets' class, you also discuss the music business as part of the fifth section, entitled 'Midway Creatures'. What are your thoughts regarding the music business in 2009?
The music business is changing dramatically. Major record companies have shaped the way that we make, the way that we listen to, and the way that we purchase, music. The music business is very different, and will change again, and will continue to change. Two things will always be needed in the music business. One is the concept of artists making music. The other which'll always be needed is someone who knows how to sell music, and that's what labels do. It's very rare that a musician can do both - I don't know anyone who can.
How are you adapting to these changing conditions within 2009's music industry?
I adapt, and keep on top of things. Things always change. You have to be aware of what those changes are, and you have to embrace those changes. These days, you have to figure out ways to cultivate your livelihood. For guys like me, the new age of digital awareness and technology has been a God send. Nowadays, I don't have to rely upon labels to release my music, and can upload something online. If you're internet savvy, and like what I do, then you can find me immediately. If you're interested, and want to keep updated with what I'm pursuing, then I have a website you can access. I embrace all these things, and they've worked to my benefit, just as they will to any.
Today, many young musicians bemoan illegal downloading. As a result of illegal downloading, do you feel that the current climate is tough for a beginning musician?
It's a blip somewhat. The problem is that kids who download music don't understand the importance of intellectual property. Artists are only capable of making music, touring and having a living by selling what they do, though I also know that the industry is changing. Artists will have to make their income and livelihood in different ways. For instance, I've issued music videos. How do you make income through releasing a music video? It's so difficult to sell anything, since whatever you record surfaces via Youtube, and everyone can view that. We worked out an arrangement with Youtube, where every time we receive a hit, we take a fraction of a percent in terms of profits, and Youtube earn a portion from advertising. I receive millions of hits, so that's one way of evolving through time. I conduct these master classes, which are relaxing and fun. Touring is better now than it's ever been. In terms of technology, there are many things out there. I look forward to the day I can throw it all away, and don't have to worry about anyone. I don't enjoy having to keep updated with everything, though it's just a part of my job. I don't like selling my own music. For me, it's uncomfortable. Making art is a very personal thing, and is a personal statement of who you are. It's difficult to sell your art. I have a much easier time selling music by artists signed to my record label, as I don't have much of an emotional connection to their music.
Are you happy with your deal with Youtube? Some artists and record labels aren't happy with Youtube, since they feel that the site doesn't offer a lucrative enough deal.
It's evolving, I think. Initially, Youtube didn't pay anyone. Some people will always fight, and some will always want more. I try to strike a balance between what's fair for everyone. The music industry is a changing market, and everything is continually changing. At times, I draw a line, and say "No. This is not good enough, and I don't accept". I'm very protective, and I have no desire to sell my music for anything less than what I think it's worth. You have to be practical.
"I wouldn't record anything which sounded dated like the seventies, though the seventies approach is somewhat nice."
During your 'Alien Guitar Secrets' class, you jam with a few attendees as part of the seventh section, entitled 'Head Cuttin' Duel'. When you jam with these attendees, what is that like?
It can vary. I have no idea what these musicians intend to play. You have everything, from musicians that have some little tricks up their sleeves and will pull a good melody out, to the guys that shred, and to those who are completely tone deaf and can't even play at all. They just love what they do though, and just love the guitar. I enjoy it all; I enjoy watching it all happen, and being a little part of it is fun. I've been fascinated though, and not necessarily by the brilliance of some attendees, but actually by how tone deaf some attendees are. They still really enjoy it though.
Is it difficult then? Do you actually tell tone deaf attendees that they're tone deaf, or are you more diplomatic?
Tone deaf is somewhat relative. If someone jams, can't find the key, and are just playing anything, then I join them in what they're playing. I try to bring them along into the centre, a little. I just give them the opportunity to play with Steve Vai, and make them feel comfortable that what they play is fun as well as ok. There was a time when I couldn't find the note either. It's all good.
Do some attendees actually pay to attend an 'Alien Guitar Secrets' seminar just to meet you, and hear you speak, as opposed to being guitarists?
Everyone attends, I think. Some who attend really want to learn something important for themselves in terms of the guitar, whilst people who don't play the guitar at all want to see what clothes I'm wearing. I don't know (laughs). I aim not to disappoint anyone.
During your 'Alien Guitar Secrets' class, the eighth section, entitled 'Answers', is where you conduct a question and answer session. During these question and answer sessions, what type of questions have you been asked?
What kind of strings do you use? What kind of pick-ups do you use? To me, these questions just seem like a waste of time for them to ask. These attendees are before Steve Vai who's sat in a chair, and who has all of this rich experience of the music business as well as playing the guitar. Why ask what kind of strings he has, knowing that only X amount of questions can be asked?
During these question and answer sessions, are there any particularly difficult questions you've been asked?
I have an answer for everything. With some questions though, I don't understand why people ask them, and don't understand where they're coming from.
Besides the projects we've discussed, do you have any other forthcoming projects?
I'm working on creating an internet delivery system. I have tons and tons of music which has never been released, and some of that music is very good. I want to make it where you're digitally delivered one song a month, along with perhaps video snippets taken from my 'Alien Guitar Secrets' seminars. If you subscribe, other benefits will also be available. That's a very new way that artists can secure an audience, and cultivate an audience. It's really great - if you're interested and sign up, you receive a song every month or whatever, and receive things that that artist has made. I'm working on that, though that project won't interfere with an actual, intentional CD release.
I also have another forthcoming project, and that I'm very excited about. I was approached by the Dutch Symphony Orchestra. In October 2010, they will host a Steve Vai festival, which'll boast five days of all these Steve Vai related things (laughs). One day will see small ensembles performing my music, while another day will possibly see me with my group. Also, another day will see various friends of mine that I've performed with and played with. Two days worth of compositions with the orchestra will occur. I'm so thrilled, and so honoured. It'll take a lot of work, so I'm blocking out four months of undisturbed time.
Will your collaboration with the Dutch Symphony Orchestra be recorded for a DVD release?
I'm hoping so.
If you had to give one piece of advice to an aspiring guitarist, what would that piece of advice be?
Really enjoy playing the guitar. Don't worry about anything, and play no matter what. Play regardless of what anyone says, regardless of any fears you have, regardless of whether you think you're good enough or not, and regardless of what the world thinks. None of that matters. Playing is a personal, cathartic process. It's our birthright.
Thank you for the interview Steve.
It's been really great.
All the best with your future projects.
The same to you, and thanks for your interest.
Take care, and goodbye.
Ok. So long.
Bye.
Bye.
Interview by Robert Gray
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2009
Friday, February 22, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Bullet For My Valentine: 'We Just Wanted To Write A Harder Record'
After being named “Best British Newcomer” by Kerrang and earning the Metal Hammer Golden God Award, you might think that Bullet For My Valentine would be feeling fairly confident going into its 2nd full-length release, Scream Aim Fire.
But even with all of the accolades received since 2005’s The Poison, guitarist Michael “Padge” Padget said that his band has often been the target of criticism. And talk about hitting them where it hurts – apparently some have claimed that the band is more emo than metal. For a quartet with strong metal influences, being told you’re closer to Fall Out Boy’s genre than Metallica’s is not an easy pill to swallow.
But despite all of the jabs, Padge has reason to be feeling good right about now. Aside from landing a coveted slot on the successful Taste Of Chaos Tour, Padge is also premiering 2 new custom ESP models this year. The MP-600 and the Michael Padget V are directly inspired from Dave Mustaine’s DV8 model, but they now have Padge’s own graphic interpretation. When Padge talked with Ultimate-Guitar, he said that he was blown away by being endorsed by ESP, let alone creating his own models. So how does the MP-600 and MP V sound? Well, Padge had not actually played his new ESPs at the time of the interview, but he was counting down the minutes until he could bring them onstage.
UG: You spent a good deal of time touring in support of The Poison. Did you write the bulk of material from Scream Aim Fire during that tour?
Padge: Maybe a third of the songs’ riffs and ideas and random stuff came on the road. Another third or maybe half was completed in a real studio in London. We wrote 6 track in London, so that was the majority. The rest of it was kind of written on the road from playing around, past and present.
I recall reading a quote from Matt stating that the band wanted to be more metal all the way across the board. Did you approach the album in the same way?
I think so, yeah. I think a few bodies wouldn’t agree, and those sorts of things do kind of get to you and gets under your skin slightly. You just kind of want to prove them sort of wrong and prove that we are metal in a way. We just wanted to write a harder record.
Do you get pretty fired up when you hear negative comments?
Yeah! We’ve had our fair share of really, really bad and cruel gigs. There’s no need in moaning about it, and we just kind of get on with it. It does kind of lead to thicker skin. At the end of the day, we are quite a new band and we’ve only put our 2nd full-length album. We’ve had to learn quite a bit in the last few years.
Considering that you are in a fairly new band, it’s pretty impressive that you have 2 custom ESP models already.
When ESP approached me, I was totally blown away. We’re new to this sort of thing. For someone to say they want to put your name on a guitar, that’s just ridiculous for a young guy from Wales! I’m still totally blown away. I’ve seen it in photos, but I haven’t actually played on it yet. My guitar tech is saying tomorrow.
What kind of specifications did you ask for on your ESPs?
Because ESP had given me the endorsement, they have given me loads of guitars and I’ve been able to check out a lot of guitars. I was able to find out what I sort of like and what is comfortable to my style of playing. They had given me the DV8 Dave Mustaine, I believe. I think that was about a year and a half ago, and I just kind of jammed with that ever since. It was just really comfortable to play, fully equipped with EMGs as well. It’s a flying V, which is totally metal. I just kind of stuck with that one.
It was amazing that they approached me because they had said that Dave had left, and they wanted to offer me that sort of model. So the work was kind of done, but it was kind of wiping Dave’s graphics off it and adding my own touches to it.
Was Megadeth a big influence for you?
Yeah, I would say in the last 3 or 4 years. Especially the older stuff – the older stuff tends to be my cup of tea more than the newer stuff. But back in the day, I wouldn’t say that I was a big Megadeth fan. I was more of a Metallica fan back years ago.
You have some incredible dual guitar work on the new record, particular on “Waking The Demon.” How did you and Matt work out the parts on that track?
I believe on that one, we were searching for a really heavy track for the album. Matt sort of came up with this really hardcore, downpicking shreddy riff. It actually took me a couple weeks to get my downpicking up to speed! It was interesting because it was a challenge as well. That song was kind of born from that riff. We kind of worked on a load of harmonies, which come in late in the song. Matt adds in the lyrics once everyone is happy with the music.
Is “Waking The Demon” the primary song that you’ve had to downpick on?
It was really that one riff in particular. It is just furious downpicking.
The new record marks the 2nd time you’ve worked with producer Colin Richardson. What is it about him that has worked so well with the band?
Ultimately, it was Burn My Eyes by Machine Head that totally blew everyone in the band away years ago when they released that album. The production just sort of blew our minds. We’re all big fans of Colin’s work and we have been for years. When we actually landed a deal, he was kind of the obvious choice – our only sort of choice. He was well within our range, so that was kind of cool. He came in and he’s pretty much stuck with us ever since. He did The Poison, and he’s now done Scream Aim Fire. He’s like the 5th member of the band. He really nails it and he knows exactly what we’re after. He doesn’t mess with anything, which is great.
So he never offered advice on the actual songwriting or arrangements?
No, as far as production is concerned, there is always one of the band there monitoring it. But Colin would never do anything before asking us first. He’s more of a real producer, and he saves the effects more for vocals.
Did you try out any new guitars or amps on Scream Aim Fire?
We used a Bogner on this album, which is pretty cool. We used a Bogner on one side of the rhythm guitars, and that worked out well. We used a different guitar, too. I think the main guitar was an ESP Eclipse during The Poison, but this time around was a Gibson Les Paul Raw Power with EMGs. That was like the main tracking guitar. I did all my solos on that, too, because we couldn’t find another guitar to beat that tone.
I had no idea that you played Les Pauls.
Only in the studio!
Do you think you’ll take the Bogner on the road?
Maybe. We haven’t actually played them live, so there is always a possibility. We were lucky enough to keep the one that we used in the studio, so maybe. At the moment, I’m with Mesa. Maybe, I can’t say.
There is some really nice acoustic work on the song “Say Goodnight.” Did you and Matt share acoustic duties on the album?
No. I think Matt is really big fan of the acoustic. I’m definitely an electric guy! I let Matt get on with his creativity, so to speak. He’s really good. He’s got a great rhythm to him.
I understand that you made 2 videos for “Scream Aim Fire,” but the first one ended up being scrapped. What happened?
The original concept was to do a war video. There wasn’t a tiny budget, but it was a small budget. It wasn’t enough to reach the other war videos that have been released by other bands. My Chemical Romance released a big one, and Green Day released a big one. They spent millions of dollars doing their videos. Our budget was just so tiny that we couldn’t really compare to these other videos. We just decided to go with something a little bit more real and raw, I guess.
Do you ever get nervous when your album is about to be released?
No, I just go with the flow. We’re just going to have a little drink with the crew tonight. We’ll all get together before the tour starts. The album is released, but it’s been so long waiting for it to be released that we’re just so happy for it to be out there now.
Do you thrive being on the road?
I do, yeah. But it is tough because we’re all human and we’ve got lives back at home, families, friends. It does get hard, but once you’re away you just sort of go with the flow. You’re among friends, so you feel safe and confident anyway.
Will one of the new ESPs be the main guitar you use on the tour?
Yeah. I’ve been informed that it’s arriving tomorrow, so it’s going to make the whole tour. It’s great because we have a video shoot on Friday. I can’t wait. It looked really good in the photos at NAMM. It looked brilliant.
Do you look forward to multi-bill tours like Taste Of Chaos?
Yeah, it’s going to be amazing. We’ve probably got the best slot of the whole tour. We should be offstage technically by 8 or 9 o’clock, so expect the band to be drunk by then! We get to watch 2 bands, and it’s going to be good. It’s going to be 2 months of partying.
Expect some of the crew from Ultimate-Guitar to make an appearance at a few of the dates.
Yeah, Ultimate-Guitar.com – I use Ultimate-Guitar! I’ve got it as a bookmark in my computer!
Interview by Amy Kelly
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2008
Stream the entire "Scream Aim Fire" album on the band's UG Profile.
But even with all of the accolades received since 2005’s The Poison, guitarist Michael “Padge” Padget said that his band has often been the target of criticism. And talk about hitting them where it hurts – apparently some have claimed that the band is more emo than metal. For a quartet with strong metal influences, being told you’re closer to Fall Out Boy’s genre than Metallica’s is not an easy pill to swallow.
But despite all of the jabs, Padge has reason to be feeling good right about now. Aside from landing a coveted slot on the successful Taste Of Chaos Tour, Padge is also premiering 2 new custom ESP models this year. The MP-600 and the Michael Padget V are directly inspired from Dave Mustaine’s DV8 model, but they now have Padge’s own graphic interpretation. When Padge talked with Ultimate-Guitar, he said that he was blown away by being endorsed by ESP, let alone creating his own models. So how does the MP-600 and MP V sound? Well, Padge had not actually played his new ESPs at the time of the interview, but he was counting down the minutes until he could bring them onstage.
UG: You spent a good deal of time touring in support of The Poison. Did you write the bulk of material from Scream Aim Fire during that tour?
Padge: Maybe a third of the songs’ riffs and ideas and random stuff came on the road. Another third or maybe half was completed in a real studio in London. We wrote 6 track in London, so that was the majority. The rest of it was kind of written on the road from playing around, past and present.
I recall reading a quote from Matt stating that the band wanted to be more metal all the way across the board. Did you approach the album in the same way?
I think so, yeah. I think a few bodies wouldn’t agree, and those sorts of things do kind of get to you and gets under your skin slightly. You just kind of want to prove them sort of wrong and prove that we are metal in a way. We just wanted to write a harder record.
Do you get pretty fired up when you hear negative comments?
Yeah! We’ve had our fair share of really, really bad and cruel gigs. There’s no need in moaning about it, and we just kind of get on with it. It does kind of lead to thicker skin. At the end of the day, we are quite a new band and we’ve only put our 2nd full-length album. We’ve had to learn quite a bit in the last few years.
Considering that you are in a fairly new band, it’s pretty impressive that you have 2 custom ESP models already.
When ESP approached me, I was totally blown away. We’re new to this sort of thing. For someone to say they want to put your name on a guitar, that’s just ridiculous for a young guy from Wales! I’m still totally blown away. I’ve seen it in photos, but I haven’t actually played on it yet. My guitar tech is saying tomorrow.
What kind of specifications did you ask for on your ESPs?
Because ESP had given me the endorsement, they have given me loads of guitars and I’ve been able to check out a lot of guitars. I was able to find out what I sort of like and what is comfortable to my style of playing. They had given me the DV8 Dave Mustaine, I believe. I think that was about a year and a half ago, and I just kind of jammed with that ever since. It was just really comfortable to play, fully equipped with EMGs as well. It’s a flying V, which is totally metal. I just kind of stuck with that one.
It was amazing that they approached me because they had said that Dave had left, and they wanted to offer me that sort of model. So the work was kind of done, but it was kind of wiping Dave’s graphics off it and adding my own touches to it.
Was Megadeth a big influence for you?
Yeah, I would say in the last 3 or 4 years. Especially the older stuff – the older stuff tends to be my cup of tea more than the newer stuff. But back in the day, I wouldn’t say that I was a big Megadeth fan. I was more of a Metallica fan back years ago.
You have some incredible dual guitar work on the new record, particular on “Waking The Demon.” How did you and Matt work out the parts on that track?
I believe on that one, we were searching for a really heavy track for the album. Matt sort of came up with this really hardcore, downpicking shreddy riff. It actually took me a couple weeks to get my downpicking up to speed! It was interesting because it was a challenge as well. That song was kind of born from that riff. We kind of worked on a load of harmonies, which come in late in the song. Matt adds in the lyrics once everyone is happy with the music.
Is “Waking The Demon” the primary song that you’ve had to downpick on?
It was really that one riff in particular. It is just furious downpicking.
The new record marks the 2nd time you’ve worked with producer Colin Richardson. What is it about him that has worked so well with the band?
Ultimately, it was Burn My Eyes by Machine Head that totally blew everyone in the band away years ago when they released that album. The production just sort of blew our minds. We’re all big fans of Colin’s work and we have been for years. When we actually landed a deal, he was kind of the obvious choice – our only sort of choice. He was well within our range, so that was kind of cool. He came in and he’s pretty much stuck with us ever since. He did The Poison, and he’s now done Scream Aim Fire. He’s like the 5th member of the band. He really nails it and he knows exactly what we’re after. He doesn’t mess with anything, which is great.
So he never offered advice on the actual songwriting or arrangements?
No, as far as production is concerned, there is always one of the band there monitoring it. But Colin would never do anything before asking us first. He’s more of a real producer, and he saves the effects more for vocals.
Did you try out any new guitars or amps on Scream Aim Fire?
We used a Bogner on this album, which is pretty cool. We used a Bogner on one side of the rhythm guitars, and that worked out well. We used a different guitar, too. I think the main guitar was an ESP Eclipse during The Poison, but this time around was a Gibson Les Paul Raw Power with EMGs. That was like the main tracking guitar. I did all my solos on that, too, because we couldn’t find another guitar to beat that tone.
I had no idea that you played Les Pauls.
Only in the studio!
Do you think you’ll take the Bogner on the road?
Maybe. We haven’t actually played them live, so there is always a possibility. We were lucky enough to keep the one that we used in the studio, so maybe. At the moment, I’m with Mesa. Maybe, I can’t say.
There is some really nice acoustic work on the song “Say Goodnight.” Did you and Matt share acoustic duties on the album?
No. I think Matt is really big fan of the acoustic. I’m definitely an electric guy! I let Matt get on with his creativity, so to speak. He’s really good. He’s got a great rhythm to him.
I understand that you made 2 videos for “Scream Aim Fire,” but the first one ended up being scrapped. What happened?
The original concept was to do a war video. There wasn’t a tiny budget, but it was a small budget. It wasn’t enough to reach the other war videos that have been released by other bands. My Chemical Romance released a big one, and Green Day released a big one. They spent millions of dollars doing their videos. Our budget was just so tiny that we couldn’t really compare to these other videos. We just decided to go with something a little bit more real and raw, I guess.
Do you ever get nervous when your album is about to be released?
No, I just go with the flow. We’re just going to have a little drink with the crew tonight. We’ll all get together before the tour starts. The album is released, but it’s been so long waiting for it to be released that we’re just so happy for it to be out there now.
Do you thrive being on the road?
I do, yeah. But it is tough because we’re all human and we’ve got lives back at home, families, friends. It does get hard, but once you’re away you just sort of go with the flow. You’re among friends, so you feel safe and confident anyway.
Will one of the new ESPs be the main guitar you use on the tour?
Yeah. I’ve been informed that it’s arriving tomorrow, so it’s going to make the whole tour. It’s great because we have a video shoot on Friday. I can’t wait. It looked really good in the photos at NAMM. It looked brilliant.
Do you look forward to multi-bill tours like Taste Of Chaos?
Yeah, it’s going to be amazing. We’ve probably got the best slot of the whole tour. We should be offstage technically by 8 or 9 o’clock, so expect the band to be drunk by then! We get to watch 2 bands, and it’s going to be good. It’s going to be 2 months of partying.
Expect some of the crew from Ultimate-Guitar to make an appearance at a few of the dates.
Yeah, Ultimate-Guitar.com – I use Ultimate-Guitar! I’ve got it as a bookmark in my computer!
Interview by Amy Kelly
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2008
Stream the entire "Scream Aim Fire" album on the band's UG Profile.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Hellyeah: We're Here 'To Bring Good Time Rock And Roll Back To Music'
For hard rock supergroup Hellyeah bringing back the fun and good times into rock and roll is their mission statement. And with such an illustrious pedigree within its ranks - Vinnie Paul and Bob Villa (Pantera, Damageplan), Chad Gray, Greg Tribbett (Mudvayne) and Tom Maxwell (Nothingface), and the success of the band’s self-titled debut, Hellyeah are right on track to reaching their goal.
Recently Hellyeah guitarist Tom Maxwell took some time out while on tour to talk to Joe Matera. In the following interview Maxwell discusses Hellyeah’s current tour, his other band Nothingface, his new relationship with Dean guitars and that now infamous incident with former Hellyeah band mate Jerry Montana.
In the wake of the success of the album and the ensuing tour, are you looking at Hellyeah as something that will be more long term in scope?
Yes. At the very beginning of the band before we got together, it was like more of a project kind of mentality. But once we had recorded the record, we knew there was something special there. And it became more than just a project, it became a band. And then once we got out and started touring we started seeing the results of the record and the reaction from the fans and so we knew we definitely had something special going on. It has definitely taken a major role in all of our lives now.
Have you commenced the writing process for the next album yet?
No. We’re just going to do the next record much the same way as we did this record. We are not going to have anything prepared, we’re going to just go into the studio cold turkey and write and record the record on the fly, which is exactly how we did the first record. For the first record the first eight days we were in the studio we wrote seven songs and all of them on the fly. And all of those songs ended up on the record. There will be no pretensions or premeditated idea of what we’re going to be doing. We’re just going to do it.
The whole Hellyeah thing evolved from your initial sessions for the next Nothingface album?
Yeah I was working on another Nothingface record for over a year but I had an idea of doing what was to become Hellyeah for a long, long time. When Chad [Gray] and I first met it was back in 2000 on a tour we had done together with Nothingface and Mudvayne. At the time, we talked about putting together a band that was going to be this full-on extreme band. And years later when we had the time to do it, it evolved into what it is now. The whole thing wasn’t that we had this idea it would be specifically this kind of record, it was just the way things eventually unfolded. I think that with the style and energy that both Gregg and Vinnie Paul brought in, it really turned us into the band that we now are. This honest and straight up rock/metal meets southern rock kind of band. And it is something that we’re all very happy about and content with.
"At the very beginning of the band, it was like more of a project kind of mentality."
How do you now feel about that whole incident that went down between you and Jerry Montana and of which, led to Jerry’s dismissal from the band?
I think it was meant to happen. It went the course the way it was suppose to go. After we initially all got together there were some personality conflicts and when it comes down to it, a band is a marriage. And it’s the same like a football team. If one person or ingredient isn’t giving to the program, you then need to move onto something else. You have to cut that part of the team out. You’re only as a strong as the weakest link. Every link has to be equal, has to be strong and has to be ready to go. I believe he’s better off where he is and we’re better off where we are. It was a tough thing to do at the time but because since then we’ve fast forwarded, it shows that it was definitely the right decision to make. So are happy to be where we are.
Having Bob Zilla from Vinnie’s previous band Damageplan come onboard to replace Montana has obviously been very beneficial?
When Bob came in, his mentality and personality and ability was more than what we could ever have expected. It was a perfect blend. Now we’re a much stronger and more solid unit than what it was or what it could have been before with Jerry.
How does it feel to be playing with such a hugely respected and influential figure as Vinnie Paul?
It is awesome especially, as all of us in Nothingface were very much so, influenced by Pantera, a band which has influenced all of us. Just being able to get on tour with Pantera was always a dream for us and when we did that it was awesome. But I could never have thought that one day I’d be playing in a band with him. When I’m onstage and we’re looking back at each other and then seeing Vinnie up there with us, it is just a trip. It is definitely eye opening and enlightening and is a true honor to be playing with somebody who has contributed so much to the music that we play already. And to be able to play in a band with him and to have him contribute his art to what we do is also incredible. I don’t think there is a word to describe how kick ass that is.
What’s it like being out on the road with Hellyeah?
It’s a very much a party like atmosphere. The one cool thing about Hellyeah is that we really wanted to bring good time rock and roll back to music. We’re in a scene right now where everybody is so serious. Everybody seems to have some kind of position to hold or some kind of statement to make. For almost a decade now the whole scene has been very stagnant. It’s been nothing but nu-metal, rap-metal, the hardcore scene, the screamers and all that crap. But we just want to have a good time and live a full blown rock and roll lifestyle. We want party really hard, we want to hang out and we want to drink really hard and it is what it is. Every day there is something going on whether that would be a backstage party or going to everyday strip clubs.
"I could never have thought that one day I'd be playing in a band with Vinnie Paul."
What has been the most insane moment you’ve experienced on tour?
It would have to be flying to Australia during an 18 hour trip. And to deal with that long trip all of us drank every bottle of wine and liqueur that was on that flight. I thought for sure they were going to kick us off or have us arrested by the time we got to New Zealand. We consumed so much alcohol on that trip that it took about three days for us to just recover from it!
Let’s move on to your gear. You recently switched from Gibson to Dean guitars?
Yeah I recently did an exclusive deal with Dean guitars. Before that, I was a Gibson guitar player for ever and have always said that I’d rather buy a Gibson than be given something for free that may not be nearly as half as good. But then I checked out the Dean Soltero and found that the action was so amazing and the playability was great and easy. And they did some special things for me too like putting in Seymour Duncan JBs and having the back of the neck completely shaved down to raw wood. The guitar is nothing but amazing and it plays great and sounds great. And I’m also working with Marshall. I’ve been playing through Kerry King Signature Heads which are pretty much old JCM800 2203 models. But the only difference is they’ve got a noise gain and overdrive built into the heads. One flick of the switch and you can go from the classic 2203 sound, that classic AC/DC crunch to an overdrive sound which sounds so vicious. Between both of those companies, Dean and Marshall, there is not much more I could ask for.
So you picked up the Dean after the recording for the record was done?
Yes, on the record I actually used a Les Paul Deluxe that was fitted with DiMarzio pickups and my trusty old Marshall JCM800 2203.
What about effect pedals, what do you use?
I use a Dunlop Wah pedal, a Boss DD-3 Digital Delay and a Boss Super Chorus and that is it. I’m very plain and don’t use a lot. And I don’t any kind of processed effects or anything like that. It is basically a simple setup.
Playing with Greg Tribbett in Hellyeah and you having been the sole guitarist in Nothingface, how has this facet affected your overall guitar approach?
It is great because you finally have a right and left side guitar sound and the cool thing about Greg and me, is our styles are very similar. Yet at the same time I’m more of a riff and rhythmic kind of guy than Greg is. Playing that sort of stuff really blends in beautifully and really compliments each others style really well. With both of us coming from single guitar player bands, we have found it has been a real easy and smooth process. And writing with him is equally as easy too.
"A band is a marriage. And it's the same like a football team."
In your evolution as a musician what qualities has being in Hellyeah brought to your playing?
I think it has become a lot more relaxed. The one thing that has changed being in this band for me as a guitar player is that nothing is busy. With Nothingface everything is very busy and it is very heavy and there is a lot going on. But with Hellyeah I’ve calmed down. We all have though. Even for Greg, Mudvayne is very busy and has a lot going on too. So for both my self and Greg, it has enabled us to just sit back a little bit and just play hooks and grooves and not be so frantic and maniacal all the time. So what I have definitely got from all of this is a little bit more relaxation.
Will we see another Nothingface record eventually surface?
Yes, there will be another Nothingface record. We still have a lot of unfinished music we have to do because I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to go home. I’ve been on the road with Hellyeah since April without any kind of time off. And then when I have had time off, I’ve gone home just to spend some time with my family. The other guys are also doing a bunch of different stuff too, but there isn’t any sort of break for those guys as well. I do think though that we really needed this time off away from the band so that when I do get back home next year from touring Hellyeah, we’re going to get together back into the studio and just write everything fresh. I’m now in a totally different head space that I was two years ago. So people will definitely see another Nothingface release. It is not a matter of if it is just a matter of when.
Interview by Joe Matera
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2008
Recently Hellyeah guitarist Tom Maxwell took some time out while on tour to talk to Joe Matera. In the following interview Maxwell discusses Hellyeah’s current tour, his other band Nothingface, his new relationship with Dean guitars and that now infamous incident with former Hellyeah band mate Jerry Montana.
In the wake of the success of the album and the ensuing tour, are you looking at Hellyeah as something that will be more long term in scope?
Yes. At the very beginning of the band before we got together, it was like more of a project kind of mentality. But once we had recorded the record, we knew there was something special there. And it became more than just a project, it became a band. And then once we got out and started touring we started seeing the results of the record and the reaction from the fans and so we knew we definitely had something special going on. It has definitely taken a major role in all of our lives now.
Have you commenced the writing process for the next album yet?
No. We’re just going to do the next record much the same way as we did this record. We are not going to have anything prepared, we’re going to just go into the studio cold turkey and write and record the record on the fly, which is exactly how we did the first record. For the first record the first eight days we were in the studio we wrote seven songs and all of them on the fly. And all of those songs ended up on the record. There will be no pretensions or premeditated idea of what we’re going to be doing. We’re just going to do it.
The whole Hellyeah thing evolved from your initial sessions for the next Nothingface album?
Yeah I was working on another Nothingface record for over a year but I had an idea of doing what was to become Hellyeah for a long, long time. When Chad [Gray] and I first met it was back in 2000 on a tour we had done together with Nothingface and Mudvayne. At the time, we talked about putting together a band that was going to be this full-on extreme band. And years later when we had the time to do it, it evolved into what it is now. The whole thing wasn’t that we had this idea it would be specifically this kind of record, it was just the way things eventually unfolded. I think that with the style and energy that both Gregg and Vinnie Paul brought in, it really turned us into the band that we now are. This honest and straight up rock/metal meets southern rock kind of band. And it is something that we’re all very happy about and content with.
"At the very beginning of the band, it was like more of a project kind of mentality."
How do you now feel about that whole incident that went down between you and Jerry Montana and of which, led to Jerry’s dismissal from the band?
I think it was meant to happen. It went the course the way it was suppose to go. After we initially all got together there were some personality conflicts and when it comes down to it, a band is a marriage. And it’s the same like a football team. If one person or ingredient isn’t giving to the program, you then need to move onto something else. You have to cut that part of the team out. You’re only as a strong as the weakest link. Every link has to be equal, has to be strong and has to be ready to go. I believe he’s better off where he is and we’re better off where we are. It was a tough thing to do at the time but because since then we’ve fast forwarded, it shows that it was definitely the right decision to make. So are happy to be where we are.
Having Bob Zilla from Vinnie’s previous band Damageplan come onboard to replace Montana has obviously been very beneficial?
When Bob came in, his mentality and personality and ability was more than what we could ever have expected. It was a perfect blend. Now we’re a much stronger and more solid unit than what it was or what it could have been before with Jerry.
How does it feel to be playing with such a hugely respected and influential figure as Vinnie Paul?
It is awesome especially, as all of us in Nothingface were very much so, influenced by Pantera, a band which has influenced all of us. Just being able to get on tour with Pantera was always a dream for us and when we did that it was awesome. But I could never have thought that one day I’d be playing in a band with him. When I’m onstage and we’re looking back at each other and then seeing Vinnie up there with us, it is just a trip. It is definitely eye opening and enlightening and is a true honor to be playing with somebody who has contributed so much to the music that we play already. And to be able to play in a band with him and to have him contribute his art to what we do is also incredible. I don’t think there is a word to describe how kick ass that is.
What’s it like being out on the road with Hellyeah?
It’s a very much a party like atmosphere. The one cool thing about Hellyeah is that we really wanted to bring good time rock and roll back to music. We’re in a scene right now where everybody is so serious. Everybody seems to have some kind of position to hold or some kind of statement to make. For almost a decade now the whole scene has been very stagnant. It’s been nothing but nu-metal, rap-metal, the hardcore scene, the screamers and all that crap. But we just want to have a good time and live a full blown rock and roll lifestyle. We want party really hard, we want to hang out and we want to drink really hard and it is what it is. Every day there is something going on whether that would be a backstage party or going to everyday strip clubs.
"I could never have thought that one day I'd be playing in a band with Vinnie Paul."
What has been the most insane moment you’ve experienced on tour?
It would have to be flying to Australia during an 18 hour trip. And to deal with that long trip all of us drank every bottle of wine and liqueur that was on that flight. I thought for sure they were going to kick us off or have us arrested by the time we got to New Zealand. We consumed so much alcohol on that trip that it took about three days for us to just recover from it!
Let’s move on to your gear. You recently switched from Gibson to Dean guitars?
Yeah I recently did an exclusive deal with Dean guitars. Before that, I was a Gibson guitar player for ever and have always said that I’d rather buy a Gibson than be given something for free that may not be nearly as half as good. But then I checked out the Dean Soltero and found that the action was so amazing and the playability was great and easy. And they did some special things for me too like putting in Seymour Duncan JBs and having the back of the neck completely shaved down to raw wood. The guitar is nothing but amazing and it plays great and sounds great. And I’m also working with Marshall. I’ve been playing through Kerry King Signature Heads which are pretty much old JCM800 2203 models. But the only difference is they’ve got a noise gain and overdrive built into the heads. One flick of the switch and you can go from the classic 2203 sound, that classic AC/DC crunch to an overdrive sound which sounds so vicious. Between both of those companies, Dean and Marshall, there is not much more I could ask for.
So you picked up the Dean after the recording for the record was done?
Yes, on the record I actually used a Les Paul Deluxe that was fitted with DiMarzio pickups and my trusty old Marshall JCM800 2203.
What about effect pedals, what do you use?
I use a Dunlop Wah pedal, a Boss DD-3 Digital Delay and a Boss Super Chorus and that is it. I’m very plain and don’t use a lot. And I don’t any kind of processed effects or anything like that. It is basically a simple setup.
Playing with Greg Tribbett in Hellyeah and you having been the sole guitarist in Nothingface, how has this facet affected your overall guitar approach?
It is great because you finally have a right and left side guitar sound and the cool thing about Greg and me, is our styles are very similar. Yet at the same time I’m more of a riff and rhythmic kind of guy than Greg is. Playing that sort of stuff really blends in beautifully and really compliments each others style really well. With both of us coming from single guitar player bands, we have found it has been a real easy and smooth process. And writing with him is equally as easy too.
"A band is a marriage. And it's the same like a football team."
In your evolution as a musician what qualities has being in Hellyeah brought to your playing?
I think it has become a lot more relaxed. The one thing that has changed being in this band for me as a guitar player is that nothing is busy. With Nothingface everything is very busy and it is very heavy and there is a lot going on. But with Hellyeah I’ve calmed down. We all have though. Even for Greg, Mudvayne is very busy and has a lot going on too. So for both my self and Greg, it has enabled us to just sit back a little bit and just play hooks and grooves and not be so frantic and maniacal all the time. So what I have definitely got from all of this is a little bit more relaxation.
Will we see another Nothingface record eventually surface?
Yes, there will be another Nothingface record. We still have a lot of unfinished music we have to do because I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to go home. I’ve been on the road with Hellyeah since April without any kind of time off. And then when I have had time off, I’ve gone home just to spend some time with my family. The other guys are also doing a bunch of different stuff too, but there isn’t any sort of break for those guys as well. I do think though that we really needed this time off away from the band so that when I do get back home next year from touring Hellyeah, we’re going to get together back into the studio and just write everything fresh. I’m now in a totally different head space that I was two years ago. So people will definitely see another Nothingface release. It is not a matter of if it is just a matter of when.
Interview by Joe Matera
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
"My Name Is Cuomo"
Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo hopes his new solo album will be the first in a series of releases that unearths material left off his band's albums.
"Alone -- The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo," released December 18 via Geffen Records, boasts 18 demos drawn from 1992 to 2007, including an early version of the Weezer hit "Buddy Holly."
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"I would love to put out at least one more," he says. "I'm talking with the record company (now) to figure out what's the best way for me to get more of this stuff out, and if they're gonna be involved or not. But it's certainly my hope to put out as much of this stuff as I can."
For the moment, however, future vault-raiding will have to wait in line behind Weezer's sixth album, which Cuomo says is "almost done" and that he hopes to release in April or May.
"I'm listening to the songs every day, trying to figure out which order they go in and understand what the spirit is behind this album ... It's still evolving."
Cuomo describes the new songs, which are being co-produced by Rick Rubin, as "dark and deep and beautiful," and "definitely more sophisticated and adventurous. You'll hear very long songs ... and non-traditional structures."
Cuomo says Weezer fans will also hear more from Weezer's other band members, who also wrote songs and even sing lead on some tracks. On one unnamed cut, drummer Pat Wilson sings and plays lead guitar while Cuomo takes over the drum stool.
"It was a blast," Cuomo says of the all-in approach. "It definitely feels like there's a lot more of our energy that over the years has been kind of pent-up and now has been released and is flowing freely between the four of us. It's really exciting."
Cuomo's other major project is a "deep and detailed" memoir tracing the period from Weezer's formation in 1992 to the release of its self-titled debut in 1994. He anticipates another year of writing before he's ready to turn it over to a publisher.
Thanks for the info to Yahoo! News
"Alone -- The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo," released December 18 via Geffen Records, boasts 18 demos drawn from 1992 to 2007, including an early version of the Weezer hit "Buddy Holly."
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"I would love to put out at least one more," he says. "I'm talking with the record company (now) to figure out what's the best way for me to get more of this stuff out, and if they're gonna be involved or not. But it's certainly my hope to put out as much of this stuff as I can."
For the moment, however, future vault-raiding will have to wait in line behind Weezer's sixth album, which Cuomo says is "almost done" and that he hopes to release in April or May.
"I'm listening to the songs every day, trying to figure out which order they go in and understand what the spirit is behind this album ... It's still evolving."
Cuomo describes the new songs, which are being co-produced by Rick Rubin, as "dark and deep and beautiful," and "definitely more sophisticated and adventurous. You'll hear very long songs ... and non-traditional structures."
Cuomo says Weezer fans will also hear more from Weezer's other band members, who also wrote songs and even sing lead on some tracks. On one unnamed cut, drummer Pat Wilson sings and plays lead guitar while Cuomo takes over the drum stool.
"It was a blast," Cuomo says of the all-in approach. "It definitely feels like there's a lot more of our energy that over the years has been kind of pent-up and now has been released and is flowing freely between the four of us. It's really exciting."
Cuomo's other major project is a "deep and detailed" memoir tracing the period from Weezer's formation in 1992 to the release of its self-titled debut in 1994. He anticipates another year of writing before he's ready to turn it over to a publisher.
Thanks for the info to Yahoo! News
Interview: Lamb Of God (from Ultimate-guitar.com)
Lamb Of God: 'The Next Album Is Just One More Step Forward For Us'
artist: lamb of god
date: 12/20/2007
category: interviews
New American metal merchants, Lamb Of God have come a long way since their humble beginnings in Richmond, Virginia. The past few years especially, through non-stop touring and a fistful of successful album releases, particularly has seen the five piece rise to the top of the metal heap.
Their metal supremacy was further set in stone when the Los Angeles Times recently wrote, on the band’s blistering performance on Ozzfest 2007, “…Lamb of God rule the American wing of modern metal”. In November, the band will head off on one more tour for the current touring cycle behind their acclaimed album Sacrament, before taking time off to prepare for the next album. In between tour preparations, Joe Matera caught up with Willie Adler for this interview for Ultimate-Guitar.
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Ultimate-Guitar: Come November 28, Lamb of God will be kicking off its final tour behind Sacrament before taking a well earned break to start working on the next album.
Willie Adler: Yeah this upcoming tour is going to be a co-headlining tour between us and Killswitch Engage. Since it is going to be our last tour for us, we’re hoping to hit some pretty big places so we can go out with a bang.
Have you begun the writing process for the next album?
We really haven’t got much material written as yet for the next album. And though I’m always playing guitar, I really haven’t sat down at all and put myself in that writing mode.
Do you think with the enormous success you’ve had with the last album - Sacrament - there will be a lot more pressure placed on your shoulders by the record label to continue that success?
No, because it was the same thing on every album we’ve had. Every album has taken us to a different level from New American Gospel to As The Palaces Burn to Ashes of The Wake and on to Sacrament. So this next album is just one more step forward for us. We’ve never had pressure put on us from the outside unless it has been just us pressuring ourselves to be better musicians and to write better songs. So we’re not really looking at it as an obstacle as far as the success of Sacrament is concerned.
Have you any firm ideas to what the musical direction on the next album will go in?
Not as of yet. Like every album we do, we don’t want to make the same album twice. It will probably have some new things on there but I’m sure that the Lamb of God fans won’t be disappointed.
You’ve spent the last 18 months or so, on the road. With the hardships involved in such a heavy touring schedule, how do you all manage to keep your sanity intact?
It is really hard to say, man. I suppose we do a lot of different things. We certainly miss home of course and we all miss our families but each day is a new day and so we try to take it as a new day and just cope with each other. We’ve grown up pretty much together and we all know each other’s likes and dislikes and differences and so we try and not to step on anybody’s toes and kind of relax when we can.
Though Lamb of God is more of a live act, do you enjoy the environment of the studio?
They both have their own great qualities. Of course, being on road can get lonely at times because you miss being at home but playing shows is really a great thing. And funnily it is something that I totally miss once I’m home. Being in the studio is equally as fun too because you’re in the process of writing and creating and because you never know what is going to happen until the end result.
"We really haven't got much material written as yet for the next album."You’ve toured with countless bands so I want to ask you about a couple of them. First up, what was touring with Slayer like?
Slayer was a good tour. When we first did a couple shows with them in London, it was the first time we ever did any shows with them and that was really something because we all grew up listening to Slayer. Then as time went on we did all these other tours with Slayer and it started becoming sort of old hat, you know, it’ll always be us and Slayer on the bill together. But we became good friends with those guys, played video games with Kerry, drank with them and always had a great time. Tom even had his family out for one of the tours we did throughout the US so we hung out with his kids. The Slayer guys are really good dudes.
And what about touring with Megadeth?
Megadeth were also fun. Dave is a trip, man. When we first got asked to do the Gigantour we didn’t know what to expect because we had heard all kinds of stories about Dave Mustaine. But once we got out there, we quickly became friends with Dave and hung out a lot with him and also found out a lot about his little quirks and had a great time with him. You know, Dave is a really nice guy and really funny too.
What about the parties while on tour, have things ever gotten really debauched, you know whole the sex, drugs and rock and roll…
(laughs) I don’t know, it is hard to say man. I think the entirety of Ozzfest was pretty much like that all the time. It had all those things combined. It may be a very organized fest but if you ever get a chance to get a backstage pass to second stage, you’ll definitely see what I’m talking about.
You were originally with Framus but now you are endorsed by ESP Guitars. Why the switch?
It was on the Sounds of the Underground tour when I met Allen Steelgrave from ESP Guitars and who put that idea in my ear. But at the time I was fairly happy with Framus but it came a point in time where I started thinking more and more about it. So I gave a shout out to Allen to see what would happen and it has been smooth sailing from there on. He has been nothing but the best and recently put out my signature model. And that has been great. The guitar is based on the Eclipse body style, which basically like a Les Paul and I’ve made a quarter inch thicker for resonance and it’s an alder body, has the Seymour Duncan ‘59 pickups in it and I do different inlays for the different guitars like for the frets from the ninth to the 12th, it has the Lamb of God flag. The color scheme is like a green camo[flague] finish. I’m working on doing different colors for the next lot like a black on black camo and a white on white camo.
Since we last spoke, has there been any change in your backline too?
There have been no changes in that department. I’ve been using the Mesa Boogie Mark IV for probably the past four or five years and I’ve been happy with that. Recently I did try combining the Roadstar from Mesa-Boogie with that head to run in stereo but I still haven’t worked out the chinks in that department.
In what ways do you think you’ve evolved as a musician from the early days of the band?
Good question. I don’t know, every day is different and every day, something else will sound interesting to me. I’m just happy that my mind is still open and it is not jaded in playing the same stuff. And that I can still be inspired by different stuff. I’m happy that I can take that and just run with it in my own kind of style of writing and playing.
Because there is so much down time when touring, do you tend to work on tweaking your sound?
Yes definitely, as there are always guys coming out on the road wanting you to try certain stuff. And though I’ll never switch from my Mark IV, there will always be stuff to implement in my configuration, like little things here and there. And on the road is the best time to do that stuff. We could do not do that when we were doing Ozzfest because it was such a time table to get on and off. But hopefully in this next tour with the co-headlining thing, we’ll have a little bit more time throughout the day setting up and whatnot and so I’ll be able to implement some different stuff.
Is there much difference between your studio rig to that which you use live?
Really there is not that much different between both as we really go for trying to make it sound live as comfortable to the studio sound as much as we can. The only real difference that sometimes does come across in a live setting is with the overdub sections of recording, where we have added layers of different effects pedals and stuff like that. But as far as all the sounds of the guitars go, it is pretty similar.
"I'm just happy that my mind is still open and it is not jaded in playing the same stuff."Have your goals for the band changed in any way in the wake of the success you’ve achieved?
I just want us to remain doing what we’re doing and be happy with what we’re doing. We’ve been doing this for more than ten years now. The only objective we have right now is to remain happy with each other and to keep making music with each other. Though we’ve done so much in the metal genre, I don’t imagine us breaking out into the mainstream. For being in our genre, all I can hope for right now is that we all remain friends and are happy with what we’re doing.
You have a new DVD scheduled for release in 2008 that documents the Sacrament process from recording sessions to the tour cycle. What can fans expect?
Fans can expect a little of the same and some different stuff too. There will be concert footage, backstage stuff as well as some studio footage which we have compiled. It’s going to be a document of all these tours that we’ve done. It will be a compilation of all that stuff. If you’ve seen our last DVD, we’re not ones for making the same kind of rock and roll DVDs that a lot of bands do where you see normal stuff. We’re pretty honest and gritty with what we decide to put on tape and hopefully that helps the fans to relate to us as human beings and as just normal guys.
Finally, if I was to ask you to tell me one thing that would surprise fans, what would that be?
That we listen to a lot of hip-hop and that we really listen to almost everything except for metal. Chris is definitely the purist metal head as he’s always bringing in all the new metals bands worth checking out. He’s metal all the way. Don’t get me wrong, we all still listen to metal and love it, but there is other stuff out there that kind of keeps us fresh and on our toes. And incorporating that into what we do is I think the key to what we’re doing. We’re not narrow-minded about one genre. You know I can’t just play metal for one hour on stage and then get off and go sit on the bus and crank up the metal…
2007 © Joe Matera
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