Do
you use a thimble for the high notes in "Guitars suck"? (if yes, who
is the manufacture of the thimble?)Yes, but I don't know the manufacturer - haha. I took it from my mom's sewing box in 1989 and still use the same one. I traveled around the world with it and never lost it. (I should probably get a second one, to be safe...) To use it properly, you must change how you look at the guitar. Don't look at the frets - look at the entire string. The notes don't end, just because the fretboard does. So you must start measuring distances with your eyes and you must understand the harmonic relations of a string.
An octave is a multiple of a frequency (the higher octave of A 440Hz is A 880Hz, double the frequency.) The higher octave of any note can be found at the center of the string's length (between the fretted note and the guitar's bridge). Put your finger on the A note (880Hz) at the 17th fret of the 1st (E) string. To hit the higher A note that is one octave above it, visualize the center of the distance between the active part of the string (between the 17th fret and the bridge.) When you touch the thimble to that point, you will have the higher A note (1760Hz). Having this metal cap on the finger of my picking hand allows me to tap all these higher notes - I use a metal thimble to get better sustain.
Do you have hobbies, besides music?
I used to have many art hobbies, but music has taken all my time. As a child I would draw and sculpt (wood and clay) and loved to paint. I'd make video games on my Commodore64 and I painted album covers on people's jackets to earn money to buy guitars. I was very into photography by age 20 and began to teach it in a school. The only art I've done for the past 10 years has been designing each new album cover - maybe someday I'll have time again, but I'd doubt it. I'm addicted to making music and when I have a free moment, I spend it making music...
Is music the sense and aim of your life?
I have a life outside music, but I would not have a life without music. Music gives us a constructive positive way to focus our energy, and a way to understand ourselves, express ourselves, and communicate beyond language/cultural barriers. It's also my medication. I've had problems with depression my whole life and making music has been a "magic pill" that kept me from being destructive. It's funny, people think hear my music and think I'm this happy clown 100% of the time, but the music is my "alter ego" - it balances me. As long as I make music, I have a good life. And by adding more music to the world instead of spreading negativity, I'm changing the lives of people around me, and hopefully this is contagious. This is the responsibility of musicians and has become a greater aim in my life. If you combined every face on Earth, the mouth would be somewhere between a smile and a frown. The goal of musicians should be to change this face closer to a smile. To do this is the greatest achievement possible.
Which song from your catalog do you consider the best and which one - the worst?
That's a tough question... a week after I release an album, I feel like I've changed and the album doesn't represent who I am anymore. I don't listen to my albums and feel awkward when I hear my own music playing. I have some horrible songs that never make it onto albums. I like the songs "R2", "Delilah" but most of my favorite music is unreleased. I've been writing alot of punk songs for TV/film this year and I think it's some of the best songs I've written. The last song I've written is called "Mafalda", exclusively on a guitar comp CD in the UK called "The Alchemists" - today it's one of my favorites. Tomorrow I'll probably hate it... :)
How long do you play guitar per day?
Sometimes for an hour, sometimes I go 3 days without touching a guitar. People don't need to practice for 8 hours a day - it's a waste of time and an excuse to not *live* your life to the fullest. The human body can only grow and repair a finite amount in any 24-hour period - once you pass 2 hours of technical practicing, nothing is really gained. The time you spend experiencing life is what makes your music more interesting the next time you pick up your guitar. Art is an expression and a reflection of the artist - what kind of art will you make if your life story consisted of practicing in an empty room?
What do you recommend to break limits, to free yourself from the habitual framework, style, number of scales, usual keys?
First thing to do is to build your mind to think as fast as your fingers are moving. Start slow. Take a 4-chord progression, set your metronome to 40bpm with each chord lasting 4 beats. Play *only 1 note* every 4 beats, 1 note per chord. You'll find that you need to choose carefully - the note is important and needs to work well with the chord. Think about the next note you can hit for the next chord. Once you're doing this well over any chords in any key changes, try 2-notes per chord. Then 4, 6, 8, 12... soon you're thinking about what you're playing, instead of just playing patterns.
How to "open" a mind to start composing music?
Remember that music theory explains why music works, but it doesn't need to be the foundation for making music. Use your ears. Turn on the radio and play along with the singer's melody of whichever song is on. When something sounds good, use music theory to understand why, *after* you've made the music.
Do you read books? Who are your favorite authors?
I don't have alot of time to read books. The last book I started to read (and never finished) was on J.S.Bach, artist M.C.Escher and mathematician Kurt Godel, showing how their ideas related to eachother in music, art and math. After that, I got a book on "Chaos" and still haven't read it yet. Now I have "Atlas Shrugged" sitting 3 feet from me as I type this. I might actually make time to read this book.
What album of Manowar would you take to the uninhabited island with you?
Definitely "Battle Hymns". If not, then "Hail To England"
What is your favorite beer or beverage?
Ginger Ale. When I was a year old I was very sick and my body would reject every food and drink except Ginger Ale. It kept me alive. Still my favorite drink.
Whom do you consider the most technical guitar player?
Probably Shawn Lane. But there are so many out there... it's all about what we play with the technique. And honestly, a guitarist only has to be good enough to play his own music well. :)
How can a player develop his own unique style (as a musician)? What are the important things, that have an influence on this develpment?
Playing cover songs and learning solos from other guitarists help mold how you will play, but it's too easy to become a clone of other people that way. Going the opposite direction and separating yourself from guitar music can be good because other guitarists' playing won't influence your ideas, but it's not good to deny yourself exposure to what other guitarists are offering. It's good to transcribe solos from other instruments, such as keyboard or trumpet solos. But the best thing is to play to please yourself, and not have other motives in your heart when you play. Don't try to be better than someone else, don't try to be famous, don't try to be perfect - just let the playing happen without trying to control it, and the *real you* will be heard.
Do you like animals? Do you have pets?
I love animals. I had a dog for many years, now I have 4 cats. One was found as a kitten walking along the side of a highway, the other wandered out of a forest, the other was going to be euthanized at an over-crowded animal shelter, the other belonged to a friend and needed a home. My wife is a veterinarian - she truly loves animals. She married me because I smell like one.
Drugs - is it a catalyst or an obstacle in composing music?
An obstacle. People think they're doing something special on drugs, because the simplest things *are* special in the eyes of a damaged brain. We've lost too many great people to drugs. For everything amazing they did on drugs, their potential was 10x greater *off* drugs.
How do you compose songs? What goes first - music or a text?
I write all the music in my head, the arrangements, instrumentation, usually with no instruments nearby. I listen to the music first in my head, and if I feel something from the music, then I play it. I hear the vocal melodies, but not the words. Sometimes it can take years to find the right words (the song "Heart Attack" was this way - had the music for 4 years before I could find the words...) Sometimes I'll write words without music, but most of the time the music comes first.
Do you improvise a lot on your concerts?Yes. There are some parts that are definitive parts of the song that should be played the same, but I like to be free on the rest.
You have strange untypical guitars. Why is it so?