Working, touring and
writing music with one of the world's premiere vocalists is
nothing short of great! I feel very fortunate to be in a band
with Rob and I love every minute of it. We ( Rob, myself and the
other guitarist) started writing for the record "Resurrection"
September 1999 and the ideas just run quickly. Rob listens
extremely well to his musicians and he inspires us a lot. I
really love being in HALFORD!
Your playing is very
heavy and you believe in true Metal, but in your opinion, what
do you think about the lastest trend of guitar/techno music?
Well, I thought that
sooner or later this would happen. I don't mind it and there was
a point in my career that I have possibly wanted to do a heavy
guitar album with techno. I haven't heard Joe Satriani's new CD,
but if I did it it would have crushing rhythms, really, really
heavy. So, it's cool, But if I don't hear that type of music I
don't miss it too much either, so.
There is a great
difference between your current CD and your last one.
Well, there has to be a
progression, as I see no need to repeat the same album all over.
My style is the same though. When I released my "Grind
Textural Abstractions" CD in 1996, there still were intense
guitar records being released, so I sort of stayed away from
solos all the time. I wanted to make a statement that was
different. With my new CD "Territory: Guitar Kill!!!",
intense lead guitar in today's market is so bland, that I wanted
to shake everybody up and just rip, kill and God...isn't there a
lot of notes on that album...ha. But, at the same time you still
have the brutal rhythms approach from my first CD, so it feels
cohesive.
Is the future of music
business on the Internet?
Well, it sure does help
and it is possible to sell a good number of CD's via the
internet, you know? Internet is very important to today's music,
especially if you take independent artists, or artists tht are
doing something that is not "Hip" or "Popular".
I'd also like to encourage all readers to support guitar albums
and records in pure Metal tradition. I'll see you in Italy in
October/ November of this year!
Me too! (hehe) Yeah, i've
been working on this thing for well over a year now and a few
things keep holding me up. Mainly, i'm relying pretty heavily on
my friend/drummer/co engineer Greg Kalember to help with the
project and his time is very limited. We did basic tracks up at
Millbrook studios (where they did the Liquid Tension stuff) but
have since been working out of a studio down in NY City, where
Greg works as an engineer full time, for the rest of it. Problem
is, it's hard to get studio time and it's even harder to get
Greg's time. Also, money (specifically the lack thereof) has
been hold up. The songs call for a bunch of different
instruments and being that i don't play tabla or violin or cello,
i have to hire other people. All in all, so far so good. i think
it's gonna be pretty cool and i just want to get it done. i'm
hoping to finish in the next 6 months. As far as what to expect,
it's definitely guitar oriented, has a ton of odd time, and
ethnic percussion. Kinda like a Rush meets Meshuggah meets Kings
X meets Yngwie meets Shakti.
What do you think about
the new trend of Guitar with Techno music ...
Hmm... well from what i've
heard, it's kinda cool. i'm really fascinated by technology and
am a complete computer geek so it's interesting to see what
effect it all has on music. The way i see it, using the modern
stuff available to us is kinda like Pink Floyd back in the 70's.
Those guys were definitely experimenting with the technology of
the time. Most important, though, is not writing music because
of the technology. A good song needs to start with a good song
and no amount of synth gear and sampling is gonna make it good
by it's self. So i think, if that's what you're into, and the
song calls for it, then it can be a cool thing. i'd love to hear
Yngwie do a rap album (hehe).
Shred or not Shred ?
This is the problem for a modern guitarist ?
Ha, the infamous
"s" word. i say go for it. A good player is gonna
shine through whether he shreds or not. If you truly live for
that stuff and believe 100% in playing it, then that enthusiasm
is gonna come out in your playing, and that's the important
thing. To me, chops are even more effective when there's some
kinda contrast, meaning that if some guy comes out and plays as
fast as he can with all his best stuff in the first song he has
no where else to go, so by song 3 i'm bored. When i hear someone
like Holdsworth, now that to me is a good use of chops. He's got
amazing tone in his hands, chops up the wazoo, and obviously a
sense of harmony and melody that overshadows most anyone that
has ever taken up the instrument.
What do you use in
studio and live (instruments) ?
I use 1 guitar mainly for
most stuff; an 89 Jackson Randy Rhoads with obnoxious purple and
green stripes (seemed like a cool color in the 80's-hehe). It's
got 2 Duncan distortions in it. i had Jackson make me another,
recently, with a, uh, more subdued paint job.
Unfortunately the neck mysteriously cracked and it's back at the
factory getting looked at. i'm really bummed because it was cool
and was my first 24 fret guitar. Now i can't play with out the
extra 2 frets! i also have a strat i use for various stuff. On
the acoustic side i have 6 and 12 string Alverez/Yaris. As far
as amps, i use a VHT Pittbull Ultra lead for live stuff and for
recording heavy rhythm tracks. i have a Marshall JMP1 and power
amp that i use for more of the clinic/teaching thing, and i have
a little Boogie Studio 22 that i use for playing at home and
also some recording (recently used it on a Satriani tribute CD).
Do you have some
suggestions for young guitarists?
Yup, 2 things: First, you
absolutely MUST love what you do. The things that will come
against you in the music industry are truly unimaginable at a
young age. Most of us figured all we had to do was practice 12
hours a day and by age 20, we'd be on a world tour with Ozzy
hanging out with famous people and living the rest of the time
in a castle in Europe. i must pause here to laugh uncontrollably
at my own naiveté. i also thought that by spending that much
time doing music i truly did love it. But i had no idea. Being a
musician is a long and hard road sometimes, but it's also very
cool; i love it and it gets deeper every year. If you can
imagine yourself doing something else in life, do that instead .
And Secondly, learn to schmooze. If you want to do the guitar
virtuoso thing, you have to spend ALOT of time playing and
practicing and basically giving up alot of your life. However,
it all means nothing if you don't play anywhere and with anyone.
So, take some time, get out there and meet people. i'll say this,
the people i know that are doing big stuff in the industry are
all guys that were obviously good on their respective
instruments but also had this ability to go out to clubs and
bars and hang out and talk to people and were just fun to be
around. If all you do is spend 15 hours a day in your room
perfecting your 8 finger sweep/tapping technique of devastation,
it's gonna sound great but you'll have no social skills and it's
gonna be hard to meet the people that will be able to help you.
And believe me, success has alot to do with who you know.
I have been playing guitar
for 18 years but I'm still quite young (I was born on 28th July
the same year Jimi Hendrix died)!
Tell me about your last
CD, "Fantasy" . Is this is a concept, concert album?
"Fantasy" is my
debut album which was published in 1996 only in Yugoslavia (my
homeland). That is also the album that I sent to Mike Varney of
Shrapnel Records as my presentation while I was still in
Yugoslavia and that album lead to my contract with Shrapnel.
"Fantasy" is an instrumental guitar album featuring my
arrangements of some of my favorite classical pieces by Paganini,
Bach, Handel. There are also my own original compositions on
that album which are more hard rock/metal oriented and also a
few electric and acoustic ballads-which are maybe my strongest
musical points. In my opinion I displayed some of my technically
most challenging playing on "Fantasy". This 2000
re-release version is remastered and the cover artwork is new.
It's available through my WebPage and some online distributors
like Guitar 9.
Why is your "Fantasy"
CD not distributed through Shrapnel?
The idea to re-release it
came to me because a lot of my fans were asking where and how
they could find and buy "Fantasy"-because they liked
my first Shrapnel album. So it's more like an "in between"
album between two Shrapnel albums made available for people who
would like to have my previous work. So that's why I did it on
my own -at least for now. Perhaps it will appear on Shrapnel
later on but I'm not 100% sure about that.
In your opinion, is Mr.
Varney ready for a new Neoclassical Invasion or his he a 'trender'?
In my opinion Mike Varney
is a guy who is to be regarded as somebody who presented to the
world some of the best guitar talents. It all started when he
discovered Yngwie Malmsteen and brought him to US to record (Steeler)
and made Yngwie's introduction to the music world. That is
exactly the thing that ignited the "neoclassical
instrumental guitar" fire and opened the doors to many
guitar talents that appeared after that. Shrapnel always brought
great and also- stylistically different guitar players: Yngwie
Malmsteen, Greg Howe, Jason Becker, Michael Lee Firkins, Vinnie
Moore, Ron Thal, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, Borislav Mitic,.
Shrapnel also has artists like: Frank Gambale, John Norum, Scott
Henderson, Michael Schenker, Jerry Goodmann, Steve Smith, Larry
Coryell, Glenn Hughes,.and many others recording for them. So
Shrapnel were always very diverse. And as far as "following
Trends" - one just has to look at the latest guitar
magazines to realize that virtuoso -guitar doesn't seem to be
"in trend" right now (which is something that I hope
will change soon).
For me, Malmsteen is
different from the other Neoclassical guitarists in that the
others are mega fast but play without feeling and Yngwie's
vibrato...to die for!
Personally, Yngwie is one
of my favorite players and a big influence but I guess it's all
a matter of taste. Every guitar player has something of his own
that is unique. So everybody is special in his own way. For me
there is usually something new and interesting to discover in
almost anybody's style. I personally find that the composition
and the way a musician is projecting his emotions through his
music to the listener is the most important. Speed in playing
doesn't mean much if it's not accompanied by a skillfully and
tastefully crafted song. I also like music to have a melodic
quality to it. As for vibrato-it's a very personal thing and it
shows well how passionate and experienced the player is. But it
mainly shows the personality of a player. For example: Yngwie
Malmsteen, Santana, Django Reinhardt, Eric Clapton, Mike
Oldfield, Angus Young (AC/DC), B.B.King, Eric Johnson, SRV, or
Steve Morse-all have very different but great vibratos.
Next projects:
Right now I am working on
compositions for my next album for Shrapnel scheduled for 2001.
Musically it will cover even more ground and present more of my
various influences than even the previous one did (ethno, metal,
blues, techno,.) blending it all into something new. I will also
try to push the technical side of playing further (but never
neglecting the melodic side). It should surpass everything I've
done so far and it should also include a few vocal oriented
songs. Stay tuned for that one! My best regards to you Matt and
all the readers of this interview!!!
OK…hmmm…where to begin.
As you know, the new band is called THE CRASH POETS, and it's
really always been the ultimate goal of mine to have an amazing
band of players with similar tastes in music and energy. This
band rocks! I've always liked music that had funky beats and
soulful lyrics and there's no better feeling than surrounding
yourself with talented, creative musicians. The band's debut CD,
"Big Bang theory" will be available in January
on our website www.thecrashpoets.com and people who are
interested in the music can come to the website now and listen
to some FREE advance tracks from the CD. Many people say they
hear hints of Lenny Kravitz, David Bowie, and Prince in the
music. All I know is that it sounds like me…and it makes the
girls dance, baby! It's being produced by myself and my good
friend Michael James. Michael has mixed Cd's for Hole, Janes
Addiction, New Radicals, and lot of other bands. He's a great
co-producer and we're having a blast recording the music. We've
been working at Westlake studios in L.A. where everyone from
Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson, to Limp Bizkit and NIN
have recorded. Very cool. As for the name change…it really no
big deal. My friends all call me "ashen" - so I
decided to go only by my last name. I like the way it sounds and
it feels right to me. I figure I'm in good company…Bono, Sting,
Prince….Ashen…ha ha!
When will the Crash
Poets be on MTV?
Ahhh…the mighty MTV. I'd
love to get on the air with The Crash Poets. We just played to
6,000 people at Universal Studios in LA and had tons of people
singing and dancing to the grooves. I think if we keep spreading
the word on this band…it's just a matter of time. It would be
a lot of fun.
Your first solo album
is a great album comprised of beautiful songs...do you have
other solo projects in mind?
Thank you! That's a very
nice thing to say. Over the years I've realized that the most
important thing about music is the opportunity to share emotions
and experiences that people can relate to. I love writing lyrics
that can connect with hearts and souls and my first solo CD
"A Little Drop of Something Not Quite Blood" was
my chance to begin that process. We actually sold out of the
first pressing of the CD and I'm planning to make it available
through www.thecrashpoets.com early next year for our new fans.
Because I write the songs for The Crash Poets - it really gives
me a great amount of room to express myself. But I'm sure there
will be another solo album in the future sometime. Maybe a film
soundtrack, too. But this band is really my passion and I can't
wait for people to hear the new CD. Lots of funky guitar, some
cool textures and the songs are some of the best I've written.
I don't see any
information on your site about the "A Little
Drop Of Something" album...
We'll be adding the info
on ordering the Solo cd very soon! If people come to the site -
they can sign our "mailing list" and we'll keep them
updated on tours, CD's and more.
Your style has changed
in these years...no more Shred and hyper-tapping.
Yes, that's true. For me -
my guitar playing is a reflection of my life and my emotions.
When I was 18 years old…I really didn't have a lot to say with
my lyrics and my songs. So I put all my energy into my guitar
playing and had a lot of fun seeing how far I could push myself
as a player. But along the way - if you're living your life and
falling in love and connecting with the world….you realize
that there are LOTS of ways to communicate feelings and emotions.
And that's why I started to develop my singing, songwriting,
lyrics, etc. Most people go through big changes between the ages
of 18 and 26. You start to decide what you want your life to be.
And you hopefull can grow as a writer, producer, singer, and
guitarist. My big influences were always bands…so this is
really the right direction for me. I have friends who always
wanted to be like Steve Vai, which is great. But I always wanted
to be more like..say, Prince. He's a great player, but more
importantly a great singer and songwriter, too.
G.I.T. ... is it an old memory?
I had a lot of fun at the
school. So it's a good memory. It was a good way for me to get
from Texas to Los Angeles. And I made some good friends and
learned that there are many different reasons people become
musicians. Some just want to be players…some want to write…some
want to just be famous…some just want to be in band to meet
girls…ha! But life is about change…and moving forward, right!
Being true to yourself and your dreams… So - for anyone
reading this, I'll leave you with a quote by Albert Einstein (I
have it on the wall of my studio) The definition of Insanity:
"Doing the exact same thing over and over again but
expecting different results" The definition of Genius:
"carrying the sprit of childhood into maturity"
Hi, MATT, well "OUT
OF NOWHERE" is my 1st instrumental cd ( autoproduction )
available in NEW CALEDONIA. I composed 10 songs, then my friend
DAVID CHUVAN did all the programmations ( drums, bass, keyboards
)with all the parts I told him, then we recorded them, and I
just had to play all the guitar parts( rythm, solos etc...). For
a 1st product that we recorded in a bedroom, we think production
is Okay, and we'll do better next time ! When I composed
"OUT OF NOWHERE", I wanted to explore different styles,
that's why you can hear METAL with different influences ( HEAVY,
SPEED, Medieval, HARD ROCK,epic oriental songs ),FUSION (Jazz_Rock
taste),and a ballad with acoustic on it. I think it's a good
vision of the styles I like.
The experience at the
GIT Institute ... in your opinion, is a great school or is only
a trend for modern guitarists?
When I joined G.I.T, the
level I had at that time was perfect to enroll the school.I
learned a lot in theory, and in technique too. G.I.T is not a
METAL oriented school, as many people could think (it was not
when I joined it), but more kind of fusion-jazz-rock approach.
Of course there are Rock and Metal classes, but the program
gives you more an analysis of styles and the tools to adaptate
any situations for improvisation of solos, and getting rythm
parts fitting all style songs,which is very good to compose too
!!!! my private teacher then was PAUL HANSON and I could
concentrate on my technique to improve my playing !!! So G.I.T
is a good school in general for the intermediate guitarist.
What do you think about
the new Guitar/Techno music from Satch , Buckethead , Jeff Beck,
etc?
I didn't listen to those
CDs yet, but I can say I'm not so much into electronical sounds.
Let's say it can add a good effect in a song if it's well used.
But most of all, I can say I love Joe Satriani,for the genius he
has brought to the world of guitar,his creativity. A new
generations of guitarists was born after he shooked the guitar
foundations !!!
What's the guitar scene
like in your nation? Is it happining or not?
my island is a small one (
200 000 inhabitants !!) the music scene is very poor, we don't
have a lot of musicians, but we play some lives in the main town
of NEW CALEDONIA which is NOUMEA.But today, the passion for the
guitar seems to develop, as we see young kids starting playing
guitar, taking lessons and work hard to improve their level. It's
stiil difficult to make a living with music. The good thing is
that AUSTRALIA is very close to us, so we can exchange music,
contact etc...
Pascal , tell us some
suggestions for young guitarists!
A good thing is to play
regularly ( daily basis ). The more you have the instrument in
your hands, the better you'll be able to adaptate in different
situations ( live playing, exploring different styles...).
Remember that thechnique is good and powerful, but its better
allied is theory and harmony. Thechnique must serve the
knowledge!!!!
Work hard, it will pay, results will come for sure!!!!
Guitarapalooza started in
1997 as a newsletter and website. We had about 5 or 6
guitarists involved at the beginning and the idea was to share
our fans & mailing lists by putting out one newsletter that
featured all of us and mailing it to our fans. That way we
could market ourselves to a large group of guitar fans and share
the costs. It worked so well that lots of people wanted to
join. But it was getting too expensive to put out a paper
version, and it would have been impossible to handle a lot of
artists being involved, so we decided to make it just a website.
Since then we've grown enormously...I think we have about 30
guitarists involved now and more ask to join every week.
Frankly, I didn't even know there were that many guitarists out
there doing instrumental music!!! Last year we decided to
put out a compilation CD featuring 16 of the Guitarapalooza
artists, and that was released in January 2000. We weren't
able to sell the CD because of legal restrictions, but we gave
out free copies at the NAMM show and at the Guitarapalooza
Concert we had in Los Angeles in early February during the NAMM
show, and Guitar 9's website gave away about 100 with purchases
of Guitarapalooza artist CDs. We've got a couple of copies
left and we're using those for contest giveaways on the website
right now. But we're in the process of putting together a
volume 2 of the compilation CD, with 16 more artists. We're
planning to do the same thing...offer them for free at the NAMM
show and through Guitar 9's website, and give some away in
contests on the website.
Do you live with music
and with your fanzine? (Editor's note: I think the
interviewer meant, 'Do you live FOR your music and your fanzine'?)
I'm not really sure what
you're asking here. Do I live in the same place that I
practice and run the fanzine? Yes. The band actually
rehearses at my drummer's house but everything else is done here
where I live. (Or are you asking something else?)
What are the next
projects for your solo career and Guitarapalooza?
I'm working on writing new
songs for another instrumental album. I'd like to record
that sometime next year, but a lot depends on how much I get
written by then and when my producer is available.
As for Guitarapalooza, as I mentioned above we're working on
releasing a second compilation CD and we're also planning a big
concert out at the winter NAMM show in Anaheim California this
coming January 2001.
