Interviews

I`d really like to develop into a good composer. I`m not a Greg Howe or an Allan Holdsworth when it comes to soloing, so I have no choice but to work on developing my compositional skills so that people will have a reason to listen! To me, the ideal is someone like Scott Henderson, or Shawn Lane, who are not only amazing players, but equally strong, if not better, composers. That`s the pinnacle, to me.

I can`t ever remember deciding to release a CD, it`s just something I always dreamed of. I think every musician would like to, deep down. I did it for myself, and I suggest others do the same. Don`t put out your first CD and expect to get rich, because it just doesn`t happen that way.

Be prepared do a lot of work promoting and marketing. I strongly suggest people make a plan detailing how they will be selling and marketing their record. Rather than trying to sell one CD at a time, shop it for licensing and other types of deals, since ultimately, that is where a large number of sales will come from.

I decided to do the independent route because that is the only route that is available to me at the present time. I have had releases on A&M Canada and Legato Records but I can`t wait for the "grown ups" to decide whether or not to release the music. I want to have my music out there like anybody else and if I have to do it all myself--so be it!

I just released my first CD after 27 years of playing. For me it represents the end of a struggle to accept my influences, yet still feel I have a voice of my own. I also wanted to express the fact that I just love to play, and that I love music without borders. Most importantly, I want to create music that expresses my true heart, and that inspires the listener to do the same.

The best marketing tip though, is not to think of the market when you are composing or playing your music. Play only what is true to you--as an independent musician, you have that luxury.

I am trying to reach into the heart of the listener and make him or her feel what I am putting out emotionally. I just want young people to become emotionally attached to music again. I want to enlighten a younger audience.

In the last few years I`ve made a record for a major label that didn`t get released. Then I signed with a indie label. I thought the majors were the bad guys, and this label would give me more attention. WRONG! To make a long story longer, the small label had bad distribution and never paid a bill, let alone the tour support and promo budget.

I knew what I wanted to do but there were no labels dedicated to the guitarist as the artist, but only to the guitarist as a shred meister. I read an interview with guitarist Glenn Phillips, who has released ten albums independently. I realized from his comments (about the music industry) that the only way to reach my goal was to follow his example.

For Europe my music is not aggressive enough and in the US I didn`t have anybody to present it to. So rather than making so-called industry contacts and "wait until it happens" I decided to do it myself, which turned out to be much faster and got me and my music much more respect. I highly recommend a musical statement such as this to all musicians who intend to be a part of this complex industry.

I hope my music, although there are no words, communicates and reaches people on an emotional, spiritual and entertaining level. I try to incorporate various instrumentation, and contemporary compositional influences.

We have tried to record as much of our playing as we possibly can, both in practice and "jamming" sessions, and when we perform live, to give ourselves some feedback. When playing it`s very difficult to listen to yourself because you`re too busy thinking about what`s going to happen next, while in critical listening you concentrate on the blend of what has just happened. By listening to recordings of ourselves we can pick out the improvisational parts that work well, sound great, or have promise, then try to concentrate on developing them.