Guitar Nine Columns: Interviews

Plans for the future? Play more gigs in front of larger audiences! Playing live is the greatest thing to do as a guitar player.

In order to increase your visibility and gain a position in the mind of your listener or target audience, I feel it's important to invest in a public relations firm that specializes in the entertainment industry.

Nothing beats being in a recording studio with professionals. It’s one of those moments you dream about as a kid learning to play.

In my opinion, having a booking agent is more important than any other traditional aspect. Independent artists need to take their music to the people and having more opportunities to perform live is paramount.

I`ve just released my seventh instrumental album, which is now available on all web platforms, as are my six previous releases.

I'm trying do more to get the music exposure and the radio airplay is doing that for me, since I get listeners from every country in the world.

This time I tried a crowdfunding approach and was able to finance a significant part of the production costs through pre-orders placed through the respective campaign.

I hear themes in my mind and somehow it goes on paper. Some songs on "Untold Stories" took years to get written and recorded.

But there is a risk with being an independent musician, and that is that you get so lost in your own freedom that you end up with a career that isn`t going anywhere.

Knowing I would fund the project myself, I felt that I would demonstrate more credibility to labels and other industry heavy-weights by investing in myself prior to asking them to invest.

The music I write and record under my own name is just the kind of music I`d like to listen to and therefore has no commercial consideration whatsoever, which means it`s a bonus if other people like it!

I love creating things, so putting my project together myself, while it was a lot of work, was very rewarding and also a good learning experience.

The main reason I started to play the guitar was Randy Rhoads. He had the biggest influence on me and my playing. When I first listened to him I couldn`t believe what I`d heard.

When I started playing guitar I was very fortunate to have all the great guitar players in the prime of their career to look to for inspiration.

I was a typical Sixties kid. We always had Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley records, because my sister was into that. Then, along came the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, and that changed everything.

My favorite bands were AC/DC, Motorhead, The Stray Cats, The Sex Pistols and so on, so mainly hard rock, heavy metal, punk rock, and rockabilly/psychobilly stuff.

It`s much more difficult to attract the audience without vocals. For that reason, it`s very important to build some nice and attractive themes and melodies in instrumental music.

Music is the only thing that transcends this realm. It`s the one form of communication that does transcend everything else in the material world. That`s probably why everybody loves music so much.

My music a mix between the aggression of metal and the madness and extravagance of prog-instrumental-rock, I don`t close myself in within just a single genre.

I run a small production company and we are learning the ropes as we go. Someone once said you`re either learning or dying. I prefer to learn.

I`m always looking to better myself as guitarist, not so much the speed or technique but more the touch and sound that I try to achieve.

My latest CD "And So It Goes..." is self released through CD Baby. It was always my intention to release it myself as the thought of trying to pitch it to people was just too depressing!

I owe my entire career to the internet and social media sites. If Mark Zuckerberg knows how much Facebook developed my career I probably need to pay royalties to him!

I first picked up the guitar when I was around 7, then became hooked from the age of about 12 onwards. I used to wake up in the middle of the night to play as I was just so excited by it!

I really want to hear these songs live. I have many plans for this album, and I would love to play festivals and do guitar clinics. It would be a lot of fun.

I`d like to do something with Eddie Van Halen. His ideas seem to transcend what we know about music theory and chord progressions and scales. He just has his own way of seeing things.

(An advantage of being independent is) you can be true to yourself and not compromise musically, artistically, or morally. I really see no downside to being independent.

I`m getting an audience that want to hear my original compositions as opposed to seeing me play covers which has been flattering! All with no manager, no agent, no label, no representation, no producer - nothing!

I am using every form of social media to promote myself and my music. I use everything from my YouTube guitar lessons and live videos, to CD Baby, MySpace, and Facebook.

It`s always difficult to label your own music, but I think of it as instrumental classic rock. I like to compose actual songs, not guitar exercises or improvisations which will only appeal to other guitar players.

People tell me that my music sounds unique for this day and age. I don`t know if that`s actually the case; but I will tell you that I`ll try to sound as differently as I can, for as long as I can.

I find that you must have constant activity to create and maintain the interest of people. Facebook is a great way to share new projects with friends and fellow musicians but it doesn`t reach people outside your circle.

I decided to release these EPs of 5 songs every 6-8 months - it`s a big enough body of work to allow the listener to get involved in, and it keeps the people interested in my music always engaged in new songs.

I have been getting great feedback and a huge growth on social media, though. To me this proves quality is still the most important thing and can go a long way on its own.

I use a lot of variety. I swap between acoustic and electric, alternate tunings, slide, and various techniques. This CD features dobro, eBow, talkbox, even a cigar box guitar!

I strive to be the best I can, and I do that by incorporating everything I know into my music and I never stop learning.

I didn`t want that DIY vibe for the artwork, or the sound/production. I wanted a quality product that will stand the test of time, and that meant really deciding what I could do myself, and what would be better left to a dedicated professional.

There was no goal or idea to create an album initially. The music on the album was gathered from many musical ideas that I had had over the last two years or so and were composed in many different places.

My vision and formal concept of an album is always a full length CD. And I´m surprised at how many people actually order my physical CD album. Actually I´m selling quite a few more CDs than downloads.

RadioAirplay.com - there is nothing like getting your stuff heard and getting new fans. It costs but it works and does generate interested fans who like your music.

I`ve found Youtube to be a great platform for exposure. It`s awesome what you can do in a home studio with a GoPro, software and a few days.

I personally think that since everything is in HD today, it gets too clear sometimes, and then, the enchanted atmosphere is not there.