Dan McAvinchey

I like to listen to players who take you on a journey and have a clear direction and build-up to their solos. Kind of like a composition within the composition.

I`ve never had a specific practice routine other than practicing everything out there! When I`m writing I tend to focus on any problems a song throws up, and I put a lot of work into melody and solo construction.

With this album I attempted to express all my musical influences throughout the years. I expected the album to go straight to the listener without being too simple.

My main aim with this album was to write songs that had really strong melodies and structure and that would be appreciated by a wide range of listeners other than just guitar players.

It was really important to me that all of the crazy shred guitar on the record be song driven and not the other way around. As a listener, I want to hear songs, not a brief melodic section and then eight minutes of jamming.

I tend to discover guitarists that have been there for a long time and have many records, but hadn`t catch my attention until recently, like Derek Trucks or Alex Machacek.

We often cannot pinpoint exactly what it is we like about a certain piece of instrumental music, but the music nonetheless resonates within us on a deep, personal level.

There is always something you don`t know. Thinking of the end result is a distraction and more importantly, there is no end result. You will be learning for the rest of your life.

Musician`s Institute (which was then GIT) was the best thing I could have done. I do well in competitive scenes. I progressed fast in those years.

This project is one that has 100% of all CD sales, no matter where purchased, going to support LilliansJourney.com, the foundation we began for my mother. LilliansJourney.com supports and donates all of its funds to Project ALS.

I have found that by recording and adding a few "cover tunes" to my CDs as well as my originals, has helped get folks online to discover me. After they`ve listened to my arrangements of their familiar pop tunes, they may decided to check out my original music, too.

I`ve been exposed to music throughout my whole life, basically because my parents were such fans of music. I`ve been a huge fan of the guitar since as far back as I can remember.