What would you say is important for having a good band? You have to put down something that suits the song well. "It depends on what the progression is and what the mood of the song is. When you write a lead, do you focus on the melody or go for more of a technical, dazzle-type thing? They had been together a long time – 14 years or something like that." That’s probably why I get along with Ozzy – we’re different and come from different musical backgrounds."ĭoes he ever talk to you about why he left Black Sabbath? "I didn’t know too much about Black Sabbath when I met Ozzy. You have to put down something that suits the song well "Angus Young? I think what he does, he does great. Everybody used to say we all sounded very much the same." was a lead guitar player, and we all played very similarly.
"Well, we’re both from the same town and we were both in local bands. There are critics who accuse you of copying Eddie Van Halen. Eddie Van Halen is fantastic, Ritchie Blackmore…"
I mean, everybody who’s out there is really good at what they do. He’s very melodic and he plays with lots of feeling."Īre there any other players you’d put in that category? "I think Michael Schenker is excellent, a great rock player. What do you think of other guitarists, like Michael Schenker? When I was young I took lessons – basic folk and classical training - then I started playing rock. But now, I don’t have a favorite- I just like anybody who plays guitar."ĭid you take lessons or were you self taught? "One of my favorites was Mountain and Leslie West – those harmonics and that sustain. I had to listen to the radio, and I liked whoever was good. I never had a phonograph ’til I was, I think, 16, so I couldn’t just sit and copy my favorite players. "I get asked that all the time: 'Who’s your favorite?' 'What are your influences?' If you play long enough, your influences are bound to change. Later on I just started playing anything I heard on the radio: Gloria or Louie Louie or whatever." One of the early things I remember was strumming Malagueñia on an old Spanish guitar. "I’m 25 now, so I don’t remember what I was playing when I was seven. What kind of music did you play when you first picked up the guitar? I have another Flying-V, the polka-dotted one, but it isn’t a Charvel, and I do have tuning problems with it all the time." Influences There’s no perfect tremolo, except for maybe a Floyd Rose, but Grovers are very good. "Grover Jackson, who owns Charvel, builds the guitars himself for me, and I use his tremolo units. I’ve gotten used to playing that way."ĭo you have a special tremolo unit on your Charvel Flying V? If I don’t want to do something quiet, I have to either use the volume pedal or click off the fuzz – otherwise my guitar will squeal. You’ve got to play so that you’re covering your pickup. For example, if you let go of the guitar for a second, it will feed back. I found that Celestion speakers are pretty dirty, and if you add a fuzz box to them they’ll sound terrible." I prefer those to Celestions because they’re very bright, clean speakers. What speakers do you use in your cabinets? "No, I just have the Distortion + on the board, and I just keep that on all the time. I never use echoes or anything for leads."ĭo you have a preamp built into your guitar? Sometimes I use them more for quiet rhythm parts, just to enhance the sound. "I used them much more in the past than I do nowadays, but now our sound man is starting to add a lot more up front.
"I have a pedalboard that’s got an MXR Distortion +, an MXR 10-band equalizer, a chorus, an MXR stereo chorus, an MXR flanger, a Cry Baby wah pedal and a Roland volume pedal. What effects do you use when you play live? I’ll do anything I can to help you out.” Gear
And as his opening statement to the audience reveals, he was modest and humble, qualities that, as much as his guitar playing, endeared him to his fans: “This is only the second time I’ve ever done this, so please don’t expect me to just come out and handle things real well I’m very nervous about speaking in front of people, so you’ll have to give me a hand by asking a lot of questions.