AN UNEXPECTED SURPRISE

Last night I received an unexpected surprise: a review of an album I did almost four years ago.

Four years?!

Mark Huettmann reviews many cds, mostly instrumental works, and is an avid fan of shred guitar. I’ve seen his reviews and he’s always very direct, blunt, never condescending, but if he likes or dislikes something, you know it. And as I was breezing through my Facebook newsfeed, I stumbled upon the review above.

He is definitely spot-on with what he said about MOOD SWINGS. I don’t think you need me to reiterate what he said, as it’s posted above. But I will chime in with my own observations about the music I’ve done over the past 20 years…

For me, the song comes first. Always. Yes I love to shred but while I don’t do “a wall of 32nd notes” as Mark said (I proved that I can with the Apathy session), if you’re not tapping your foot or banging your head, then I didn’t do my job right. Lots of shred guitarists cannot write a song. There, I said it. There are players who smoke me, no question, but I write catchy melodies and strong grooves. And when someone says “I wish you had a singer”, then they sing my melodies back to me, that’s all the proof that I need. I’ve been doing it right all along.

No compromise.

Ever.

Back in 2003 when I started doing my own music for real, and not just homemade demos, I thought back to something a drummer said to me years ago. “It HAS to groove, man!” And for me, the groove is essential. I’ve done speed metal-ish stuff like “Walk Through Lightning” which was a lot of fun, but if I do that mile-wide headbang with a song like “Neurotic Bliss” or “Marblehead”, then I’ve got something cookin’.

My songwriting influences are apparent but never a rip-off. Even when I did the first cd TWISTED METAL, I leaned on such artists as Joe Satriani (obviously), Living Colour, and if you can believe it, PiL’s ALBUM and Robert Palmer’s RIPTIDE. How’s that for diverse? And with the second cd ALL WIRED UP, I turned up the heaviness because of Meshuggah, Bleeding Through, Pantera, and the like. But the grooves or any melodies were never forsaken. And as many people would deny that I write cool material, they couldn’t help but crack a smile and nod their heads in approval.

So Mark’s review hit the nail on the head.

Almost like he knows me…

(Cue Twilight Zone music…)