You’ve just finished a European tour with Firewind – how was it?
It was great! Lots of people came out to see us and Leaves Eyes, we had a blast!
What’s your favourite song to play live?
The one called Guitar Solo… Haha! No, seriously, I like playing some of our newer stuff like Losing My Mind and Few Against Man – these are the tracks that are heavier and work well in a live situation. I also like playing Falling To Pieces, which we always end our shows with. That’s the part where the whole crowd jumps with us, it’s always a good feeling playing that one.
Who are your ultimate icons and how have they influenced you?
I’d say Rudolf Schenker, Tony Iommi & Yngwie Malmsteen. I wasn’t only influenced by their music and playing, but also because of the “drive” these guys have in them to keep going through the ups and downs in their careers. I guess every musician has had that, but somehow these guys are very special to me.
What made you get into music?
It was the Frampton Comes Alive record by Peter Frampton. After I heard him play the talkbox I asked my Dad to buy me a guitar, because I wanted to do that too. I must have been nine years old when that happened. Also, my Dad used to play Hotel California by the Eagles a lot at home, so I kinda grew up with that album.
What’s your favourite guitar? What’s in your usual rig?
My favourite is my ESP Random Star signature model. I’ve got a few of those. ESP just makes great guitars and I’ve been playing these for almost 10 years now. My rig is simple; I use Blackstar amps and that’s where my main tone comes from. I also have a couple of pedals – I use a BBE green screamer Overdrive, Morley wah and a Providence chorus pedal. That’s about it.
Your guitar solos are legendary – how long do you take crafting each solo?
Sometimes I’ll just jam and within a couple of takes I’ll have it down, but sometimes it takes hours and hours (or even days). I could walk away from the recording and come back another day and revisit the solo. It just depends on the mood, how inspired you’re feeling and all that.
Does it feel different being on stage with Ozzy than it does being on stage with Firewind?
Obviously it’s two very different situations, but the stress is still there – it’s just different things that I get stressed about. Ozzy’s shows are huge arena shows and I concentrate on putting on the big rock show next to the Boss and trying to be as excellent as possible, whereas with Firewind we do smaller venues but my mind’s on ten different things. From the light show, to the PA sound mix, to the merchandise and basically making sure that the team’s running smoothly – AND I’ve gotta play my ass off as well, haha! So although it’s on a smaller scale the challenges are still there with Firewind.
Do you prefer big festival stages or small, intimate venues?
Festivals are never ideal from a preparation point of view. They’re just awesome because you get to play in front of massive crowds and you can crossover to different types of fans all at once. The intimate venues is something we do most of the time because we like to be close to our fans as much as possible and that’s where you really see your dynamic as a band and it’s also how you build a really solid fanbase. Actually, I cannot choose. I need both in my life!
What’s the weirdest thing that’s happened to the band – it could be on tour, in the studio, anything!
Lots of people might think we’re a band full of low key kinda guys, but even though we’ve presented ourselves in a professional way it doesn’t mean we haven’t had rough times. We’ve had lots of line-up changes through the years, what with singers walking out on us, some of us battling addictions, a bus crash… The craziest thing of all is that the band’s guitarist is also in Ozzy Osbourne’s band!
Describe yourself in three words?
Leader, perfectionist, fair.