I wanted to get Stu in on the 7 Questions project from the beginning because he is such a great guy to work with and his playing is beyond comprehension. In between tours with guys like Joe Satriani, Frank Gambale and his incredibly busy clinic schedule, he was gracious enough to participate.
Describe your first experience playing music.
I got a drumset from Sears for Xmas when I was maybe 4…a bass drum with sailboats on it, a snare, triangle and woodblock.My parents woke me up to play at the stroke of midnight at their new Years Eve Party
What has been your most significant musical experience? Playing at the Oaklawn Illinois State Jazz Band competition with the Edison Middle School Stage band…a band director from another school came up to me after we played an told me that I had a special gift for the bass and to stick with it,,,that meant so much to me when I was 14 years old…
What is the best advice on pursuing a career in music you were ever given?
Practice a lot and be original
What is your favorite sound?
The sound of my wife and daughter laughing
Name some of your biggest non-musical influences. Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, Buddha, Larry Bird
What is the most memorable concert you ever attended?
When I heard Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) play when i lived in Germany in 1981….it activated something in my genes, and i realized that we all came from Africa long ago, and I remembered it.
Put your iPod on shuffle and name the first 5 songs that come up.
prelude 8 in D sharp..Glen Gould plays the well tempered clavier book 2
no9s Vamos Juntos by Jaguares
I get a kick out of you…Clifford Brown Fortune teller…the who live at Leeds
bass blues…Carole Kaye..the first lady on bass
There are musicians out there who really get to the heart of what it means to make music. It seems to just flow through them no matter what the setting. Several months ago I had the chance to finally see one of my all time guitar heroes up close. Pete Huttlinger is a National Champion Fingerstyle guitarist who just released a collection of Stevie Wonder songs arranged for solo guitar.
Pete was gracious enough to participate after just returning home from a tour of Germany.
Describe your first experience playing music.
The first place I played was Shakey’s Pizza in Walnut Creek, Ca. My mom would take me there and I’d sit in and play banjo on a few tunes. The first place I made money was playing square dances in Danville, Ca. Both gigs were on banjo. The square dances were great fun because it was all about community. The caller, the dancers, the band. We were all in it together. Even though I mostly play solo these days, my favorite thing is to play music with other people.
What has been your most significant musical experience?
There have been many but the biggest has to be playing solo at Carnegie Hall. I was opening for 1964 – The Tribute ( a Beatles tribute band). I had lots and lots of family and friends in the audience. It went well, I hit it out of the ball park, and now I’m returning on January 9, 2010 to do it again!
What is the best advice on pursuing a career in music you were ever given?
My mom grew up in the post-depression era and when I was 15 years old she said, “Pete, play music because when times are good people want it. And when times are bad, they need it. She’s been 100% right.
What is your favorite sound?
Two actually – water and birds.
Name some of your biggest non-musical influences.
My brothers, my mom, my brother-in-law and anyone one who has taken the time to show me the right way to do something. The new testament is pretty amazing too. I’m not deeply religious but when you read it, it’s really a no-brainer. It’s all good information.
What was the most memorable concert you ever attended?
That would probably be one of Bill Graham’s famous Day On The Green concerts in Oakland, Ca. I won 3 pair of tickets from the radio. My brother and his girlfriend drove me and three friends to see Steve Miller, Heart, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, The Eagles & Foreigner. All the groups were all over the radio at the time so it was an amazing day for a 15 year-old kid.
Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 5 songs that appear
The theme to Alfred Hitchcock Presents (From Television’s Greatest Hits), Mean Old Man (James Taylor), Just Friends (Amy Winehouse), Blues For TJ ( Larry Carlton), Sweet Lorraine (Joe Pass)
As one of the most influential guitarists in country music, Albert Lee needs no introduction. From his early years in Emmylou Harris’ band (replacing his hero James Burton, who left to play with Elvis Presley) to his time with Eric Clapton, Albert has spent time playing with some of the most well respected musicans around. Currently he is spending his time working on solo material and playing in Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings.
Describe your first experience playing music.
That would be thumping away at the piano at the age of 9, I took lessons shortly after but dropped them because I rarely practiced.
What has been your most significant musical experience?
Some memorable concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London playing with The Everly Bros, Concert for George and Spinal Tap.
What is the best advice on pursuing a career in music you were ever given?
That everyone has something to offer no matter how good a player they are.
What is your favorite sound?
50s/60s V12 Ferrari.
Name some of your biggest non-musical influences.
Mum and Dad.
What was the most memorable concert you ever attended?
Many, but a recent solo concert by Bruce Hornsby in Malibu springs to mind.
Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first five songs that appear.
Handel’s Messiah: The People that walked in darkness. Trevor Pinnock
Of course, Steve Vai hardly needs an introduction. As one of the leading guitar virtousos of his generation he has achieved a legendary place in mainstream guitar culture. We were lucky enough to have Steve as a guest this past summer at NGW and the feedback I heard from the students was amazing.
I am very lucky and thankful to have Steve participate in this project.
Steve is preparing to release his newest live DVD/CD entitled “Where the Wild Things Are “.Here is a short preview of the video:
Describe your first experience playing music.
I walked up to a little spinet organ and played the theme song for the horror flick with Bette Davis called “Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte”. The movie sacred me to death and the melody haunted me until I plucked it out and then I thought…”Hmmm, that’s not so scary”. I think I was 4 years old.
What has been your most significant musical experience?
The most significant musical experience I ever had was in astral projection dreams when I was younger. I’m not sure if that’s even a correct terminology for them. They started as long back as I can remember and would happen once every 4 years or so. The most profound one, and the last one, happened when I was around 22 years old and it lasted for as long as 4-5 seconds.
The sound I hear during these episodes is impossible to describe. It rages far beyond the dynamics and frequencies of the ability of the physical ears to hear. It has an intensity and weight to it that dwarfs your own being. It’s like a 10,000 piece orchestra of all different instruments, all playing different notes and rhythms, all tuned differently, but in perfect harmonious and melodic exhalation. It’s all encompassing and comes from all sides. It actually emanates from within and not from anyplace outside.
It permeates everything. The waking from it is akin to slamming the pavement of a 100 story jump. I awake to feel the limitations, (prison) of the physical body and the congested cloudiness of my own cognizant awareness.
The finest music ever created in this world is like a toilet compared to this celestial orchestra. There is no way to capture and reproduce it. In the world I am left grappling for melodic scabs of it’s magnificence, only to feel that my finest work is a feeble attempt at capturing even a glimmer of this glorious inner music. I’m ashamed at my explanation but then again, I did say it was impossible to explain.
I know I’m not the only one that has had this experience.
I believe this sound resonates within the core of every living thing.
What is the best advice on pursuing a career in music you were ever given?
You can tell from the moment you see Paul Gilbert pick up a guitar that he truly loves to play. I have been lucky enough to work with Paul a few times now and it is always great. When I came up with the idea for this project, Paul’s name was the first one on my list.
Around the time I was 5, my uncle let me hold a pick and strum while he fingered the chords on my cheap acoustic guitar. After that, I battled with the boredom of learning sightreading from a guitar teacher at a music store. I lost the battle and retired from guitar at the age of 6. At 9, the music teacher in my 4th grade class demonstrated the steps of the major scale on the blackboard. I wondered if those steps would correspond to the frets on my guitar. I went home and tried it, and a major scale came out of my guitar! I was so excited that I started playing by ear, and I haven’t stopped since.
What has been your most significant musical experience?
I auditioned for a band when I was 12 years old. The other guys in the band were 16-18 years old and played really well. It felt so good to jam with them and to make a sound that “sounded like a record”. They never actually told me that I didn’t get the gig, they just gave me a long list of difficult songs to learn to try to discourage me from calling back. The songs were beyond my ability at the time, but I tried hard to learn them, and I called them up daily to see if I could try out again. They stopped answering their phone, but I ended up learning a lot of good songs.
What is the best advice on pursuing a career in music you were ever given?
When I was 15, Mike Varney told me, “When your demos sound as good as your favorite records, then you’re ready to become professional.” This was scary advice!
What is your favorite sound?
A band that knows the songs. Jimmy Page bending a string in 1971. John Lennon singing in 1965. A real band that plays and sings well enough to not need to be chopped up, edited, and tuned with Pro-Tools.
Name some of your biggest non-musical influences.
My mom and dad.
Charles Schulz
Gary Larson
Carl Sagan
Ayn Rand
Roald Dahl
Thomas Jefferson
Richard Dawkins
The story of Ernest Shackleton and “Endurance”
The invention of e-mail and Google
Learning to cook
Living in Pennsylvania, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Japan and Being married
What is the most memorable concert you ever attended?
It’s a 3-way tie:
Van Halen in 1979
Ozzy with Randy Rhoads (with the original Def Leppard supporting!) 1981
Todd Rundgren in 1990
Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 5 songs that appear.
“This Will Be Our Year” – The Zombies
“Scarlatti Sonata in A minor L.241/K.54″ – Sergio and Odair Assad
“No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Required” – Yes
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“. Here is a short preview of the video:
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