Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005
 
 
1. Could you tell me about your new cd Opus 2?  It is very progressive and
in the style sometimes of neoclassical rock/metal, but the over all feel is
more dramatic as what is typical in either genre.
 
2. What are you striving to achieve musically? Self expression in the
progressive and neoclassical genres with 19th century expressive influence
in a very progressive way.
 
3. How do you feel the music press, including the well known guitar
magazines, are currently dealing with guitar-oriented music, especially from
instrumental artists and bands?
Its still disappointing as all the major magazines are more interested in
selling magazines and putting lame guitar players in the mag instead of
educating its readers on what is much more artistic.
 
4 . How long did the album take to record, including writing the material? 3
years to write, 18 months to record.
 
5. When you started recording, did you have any ideas on how you were going
to distinguish this release from the last one?  Yes of course, the entire
picture was there before the recording in the writing process. Opus 2 is an
evolution of the Opus 1 CD.
 
6 . Did you try any new recording techniques or effects on Opus2?  Only in
that many instruments were recorded direct.
 
7. You've been incredibly successful at attracting reviews for your first
CD. Do you anticipate even better coverage for "Opus2" and to what do you
attribute your ability to get press? Opus 2 will eventually get a lot more
press than Opus 1.  I guess the music press just likes the band and the
music in many cases.
 
8. Tell us a little bit about your guitars and other musical gear, and how
you use it to get your sound?  I record with Carvin V220 guitars and use
Seymour Duncan Metal live wire pickups.  This is the heart of the tone. I
now use Randall cabinets and the X2 head, its great stuff!
 
9. How do you compare your style on this album with Opus1?  The style is
about the same as opus 1, but Opus 2 is just better in every way.
 
10. Let's turn the focus on the music itself. What is your strategy when
composing a song?  The answer to this question is so long that it would take
many many hours to fully explain in detail.  I have music degrees from
University (in Music Composition) the knowledge I gained there (and from
other sources) is deep and has given me so many different ways to approach
the multiple processes of composing music. I don't use a single strategy or
a single process to compose.  That can only lead to limited results in my
opinion.In most cases the process used was different for each track of the
CD. 
 
11. How do you feel about the current state of instrumental guitar?  In the
USA, its still not very good, but it has improved a lot in the last 5 years
mainly due to www.guitar9.com  In Japan the situation is better.
 
12. Anything else you want to add to this interview ?
In addition to playing in the HESS band, I am also playing in a new band
called Holyhell (which sounds more like Nightwish and nothing like HESS.)
Joe Stump is the other guitar player in this band. We are going on tour this
June and July in the US, Canada and Europe.