Warwick man’s Vai experience

ADRIAN Ciuplea regards himself as a “privileged” man after playing alongside guitar virtuoso Steve Vai at two sold out European shows.

The Warwick endorser was given the opportunity to play shows in Bucharest (Romania) and Rimini (Italy) after being selected from Romania’s most elite bass players for Vai’s current string of special orchestral shows.

In this interview Adrian tells us all about his experience.

Adrian Ciuplea and Steve Vai

How did the gigs go?

The gigs were great, I have had a wonderful experience. Everything went fine except when Steve’s guitar cable came off the pedalboard during “For the Love of God” song on the Bucharest show.

The sound was great considering the fact that mixing orchestra and a band is usually quite a challenge.

The gear I used on those events were two of my Warwick basses - the Streamer Stage I and Thumb BO - and my Hellborg preamp.

What size were the audiences you played for?

The events took place in large sports arenas. The Bucharest venue can hold up to 6000 people, and the one in Rimini, Italy, up to 7000 people. Both performances were sold out!

What were your personal highlights from playing the shows?

I had a lot of fun with “The Crying Machine” song. This one was not in the original set, but Steve wanted to try it with the band on the soundcheck of the first show. He told us “we’ll try this song tomorrow during soundcheck, and if it sounds good we’ll add it to the set as an encore!”

Well, the next day we received the green light for “The Crying Machine” and I was very happy about it because I could take a break from the “orchestral style playing.”

From my point of view, the electric bass had a kind of double role in this project. There were songs when I played as if I was part of the orchestra, looking at the conductor all the time, following the tempo changes and musical interpretations, and there were other songs when a modern bass playing approach was needed, like funky slap stuff.

Adrian playing his Warwick Streamer

What is it like to play alongside Steve Vai?

 During the shows there were moments when I was hypnotized by Steve’s guitar. Two times I was on the verge of missing my bass lines because I was listening to him so much and no longer focusing on my playing.

The musical suggestions he offered were always precise and well explained, usually in the form of jokes. It was impossible to miss the point. The first time we played “The Crying Machine”, all Steve said was “Ok guys!  One, two, three, four…,” then we launched into it.

I really enjoyed his direct and spontaneous approach. Moreover, during solos, Steve randomly chose the musicians he wanted to improvise. Imagine being finger pointed to play a solo during a concert in front of 6000 people or more! It’s really the kind of test that reveals what you’re made of.

It has been a privilege for me to support Steve Vai, and the whole experience was transcendental.

http://www.vitadevie.ro 

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Warwick Interview: Nick Douglas of Doro

DORO’s recent success has earned them a current European tour with the mighty Motörhead.  

And this means the band’s man-mountain of a bassist Nick Douglas has added a few more achievements to his already prolific CV.

The proud Warwick endorser gave us an on-the-road update before Doro’s show in Munich, Germany.

“It’s been a blast you know, just having the ability and the opportunity to play in front of so many people and win some more fans over - all in all that’s the biggest pleasure out of this.

“Last night we had Phil Campbell from Motörhead on stage with us jamming ‘Breaking The Law’ with us which was really cool,” Nick told us.

Whilst Nick has been playing alongside invincible rock stars, the bassist is also quick to champion his unbeatable Warwick gear. 

“These basses are built like tanks and here I have a Buzzard. A slightly modified one, but I love it. I’m kinda tall - six foot four and a half inches - so this is a larger bass and it fits me better. I love it - It’s my big buddy and it’s very rock ‘n’ roll sounding,” he enthused.

Life after the Motörhead tour remains bright for Nick and the rest of Doro, who head out on their own headline European tour for the remainder of 2010 before gathering material for their next studio album.

The band will also play a special cruise ship show between Sweden and Finland, but as Nick amusingly reveals, playing at sea is not something new for him as he recalls a maritime tall tale.

“I did once years ago [play a show on a boat], but not with Doro. It was on the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey and I remember it being really wavy, so you were playing and doing this [rocks from side to side] and at some point I had to sit down but it was all fun, we were all laughing. 

“The drums were all like [rocks from side to side again] you know, you had to hold them to stop them falling over. But this one will be different. It’s a much, much bigger boat and so I think they’ll have a bit more stability going on so I think we should be OK!”

The Prince of Warwick basses

Prince, "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince", or simply "The Artist" is evidently an enigma of sorts. The man is also a master musician whose impressive technical proficiency has lead him to be one of the most critically and commercially successful solo musicians of the 20th Century.

He has produced 10 platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career as well as winning seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award. Prince can play every instrument sickeningly well, bass certainly being no exception. A listen to any of his early-’80s LPs, on which he played nearly all the parts, bears this out.

Prince playing his famous Warwick "Eye Bass"

Throughout his awesome career, Warwick basses have played a major part in Prince’s onstage and in-studio performances. In fact, according to his tech Takumi, anytime The Artist picked up a bass onstage he always favoured his white Warwick Thumb "Eye Bass" (so named because of the eye painted on the front).

Prince reportedly owned three other Warwicks – a Thumb NT 4 string, everything on it was standard, except for the finish, which was a High Polish white including the front of the fretboard (this bass is displayed in the Hard Rock Café in Athens, Greece), a Thumb NT White 5-string, and a white Thumb NT fretless in high polish.

When it comes to his bass playing, he cites another Warwick fanatic as a grand influence. “Larry Graham is my teacher," the Artist says. He freely admits modelling his bass style after Graham’s.

Prince first briefly met the slap pioneer at a Warner Bros. company picnic in 1978, by which time Larry had moved on from Sly & the Family Stone and was a star in his own right fronting Graham Central Station. The two met again a few years later, this time at a Nashville jam but Graham and The Artist who he calls "Little Brother" didn’t develop a real relationship until the ’90s when they began performing together in the band New Power Generation.

Prince's Warwick Thumb in the Hard Rock Cafe, Athens

It should also be noted that since 2009 both Rhonda Smith and Sonny T, two honourary bass players in their own right, have been captured on video alongside Prince playing a Warwick Thumb and Warwick Dolphin in the New Power Generation band.

Prince immortalized his famous Warwick Thumb “Eye Bass” in the song Funky Design with his lyrical line of “If I didn't say I wanna take U higher, And hip U 2 the one-eyed bass.”

Check Prince and his Warwick in the vid below:

Prince performing with his Warwick "Eye Bass"

Exclusive studio update from Simple Plan

Framus endorser Sebastien Lefebvre’s band, Simple Plan, have finished recording their fourth studio album.

Mixing and artwork is all that remains to be completed before the album is unleashed on the eager ears of the Canadian pop-punk outfit’s fans.

Sébastien was kind enough to give us a personal update on things and how Framus always works best for him in the studio:

“We have just finished recording the band's fourth record. Ever since the 2nd record, in fact ever since I started playing Framus guitars, the main guitar for all the rhythms is my Tennessee hollow body guitar. It has that thick, punchy and focused sound that really applies to our genre of music. I never have to worry about the guitar going out of tune, and that goes for all Framus, live or in the studio.

“Our producer (Brian Howes) likes the hollow body so much that he wants to buy it off of me for his studio, but I'm keeping it for my own studio (the Man of the Hour Studio) and for future recordings.

“Jeff ( lead guitar) and I really go from one type of guitar to the other and from one amp to the other when it comes to playing all the textures and little riffs, but there's always Framus guitars and amps somewhere in there.

“We use this Framus Panthera that I've had for years for most of the octave parts, and I have in my collection one of the first Dragon amps that ever made it to North America. This is one of my all time favorite amps and I tour with it all the time,” Sebastien told us.

Warwick Interview: Mitch Harris from Napalm Death

In music, artists and trends come and go meaning very few withstand the test of time, especially in extreme metal – but 21 years on English outfit Napalm Death continue to wear the grindcore crown and tear up venues worldwide. However, it is an achievement that Napalm guitarist and Framus endorser Mitch Harris never anticipated when he initially joined the band.

MH: “I’ve always thought it would be like a kinda time bomb… But I think the track record between ourselves and other bands [in the grindcore genre] has meant that there has never been a shortage of material and we’re still here 21 years later. All you can do is take it one album at a time and see what happens. People may want to settle down or have time off but we’ve just kept on going.

It feels as though we’re still 14 and doing it even though we’re pushing 40 but the energy is still there and the crowd gives it back. There are a few generations that hold it close saying: ‘I remember when I’d listen to you and I had no commitments and living at home with no problems’. But now people have debts but they come to our shows and they’re really letting go [of their problems] to our music. People have a memory attached with those times of their youth. But you’ll always have people who’ll say ‘yeah I still prefer this album’ or ‘the snare isn’t as tight’ or ‘the guitar tone isn’t as good’. We still keep it extreme and we’re happy breaking new ground with it.”

Napalm show no signs of slowing down either as their current ‘Campaign for Musical Destruction’ tour sees them playing to 4 - 500 people per night, having tactically scheduled their shows so people can fully appreciate the full Napalm experience without exhausting familiar areas. 

MH: “You know we’ll go to France and play five shows then come back home then do 10 dates in Russia so we keep it fresh. It’s not like before when we would tour the world for six months and then do an album each year. There are thousands of flyers out there with different shows and if you’ve already played the same place twice in Germany or wherever then people will be like ‘oh, yeah we already caught them at the festival so I think I’ll give that a miss’. We try and hit different territories and keep ourselves busy. I’d like to go deeper into Russia, China, then places we’ve never been to before like Macedonia, Albania and Singapore where not that many shows happen so it’s still exciting [for us]. We’re not afraid of trying new things and holding onto our ground, no matter what the market or economy is like.”

Mitch and Co have stayed true to their word despite taking a few cutbacks for tour expenses to keep the Napalm ball rolling.

MH: “We keep it really basic you know. There’s us, a sound guy and a t-shirt guy. And our backline is really simple too so we can play some of the biggest stages in the world to small little shithole clubs… we can fit in just about anywhere. You’ll have American bands who can only do something like five dates because of expenses with tour buses and things like that so they have to move on. We’re at an advantage because we can go in and out of the UK and we can do 17 dates or weekend dates and just enjoy it.”

After their ‘Campaign for Destruction’ tour the band plan on hitting the studio next year to create their latest slice of grind action with a few extras for fans.

MH: “We’re in the studio in May next year for an October release, which is a three year gap since we were last in the studio and that’s the longest gap we’ve ever had. We used to write an album every year. I want to put a video to it as well because I’ve been teaching media at a place in Birmingham, keeping busy doing things and enjoying life.” 

But for Mitch the buck doesn’t stop there as the American revealed a number of tasty side-projects he’s been working on which may come to fruition soon.

MH: “I’ve got other projects in the line like computer-based music that not many people will be into but I’ve also been writing other music that didn’t fit the Napalm Death style that I haven’t released in three years. I’ve also got a couple of people lined up who I’m going to work with but I’m not going to mention any names because otherwise it’s all talk until somebody says they’ve paid for their flights and they’re coming over.”

Not content to stop for anyone, the Napalm Death juggernaut blazes a trail that far younger bands would struggle to match.

The Warwick busking life

TORONTO busker and bassist Aiden Keeley describes himself as "kind of a funk-jazz guy." 

Using the local subway stations as his sounding ground, Aiden has become quite a popular feature for the everyday commuters of his city.

It is not a usual sight to see a busker playing bass, nevermind a Warwick bass and boy can the guy crank out a mean riff.

Below is an excerpt from an interview conducted with Aiden recently:

Tell me a bit about yourself. Who is Aiden Keeley?

Aiden Keeley is a musician. I was actually born in Toronto, and I grew up in Stratford. Both of my parents are artists -- my mom's a pianist and my dad's an actor. They both worked at the Stratford Festival, so I think that probably helped with my artistic growth.

Aiden Keeley with his Warwick Streamer Pro M

How long have you been playing the bass?

I've been playing bass for about three years now, but I've played piano since I was a kid. I'm self-taught on the bass, but when I was a kid I had some piano lessons. I've always been interested in music.

How long have you been a TTC (Toronto Transit Commision) busker? How did you get into it?

I only got my license this year, so I've been busking since October. I'd heard that you can make pretty decent money at it. I just thought it'd be a great opportunity to get a job, and I wanted to move to the city.

Where do you usually busk?

I've been going to Ossington Station quite a lot lately. Usually there's no one there, so I'll just set up camp. But I went there a couple days ago and there were somebody busking there, so it's kind of hard to gauge whether or not I'll be somewhere. Sometimes I'm at Osgoode and Yorkdale, too. 

Do you know of any other bassists on the TTC? 

No, actually. A lot of the time I get people coming up to me saying that I'm the first bassist they've seen. It's nice because I think I'm giving people something that they're not used to hearing. Most of the time, it's an acoustic guitar player.

...read more and see Aiden in action here

Check out the Warwick Streamer

John 5 and the Framus Dragon

JOHN 5 has played on a hell-of-a-lot of gear throughout his career so far and when it comes to the music he is creating at any given time he is a serious artist who seeks out the best tool for the job. “I want to use the best amps in the world,” John 5 says.

 

The guitar prodigy first published his use of the Framus Dragon head and Dragon 4x12 cab while recording for Marilyn Manson’s 2003 release ‘The Golden Age of Grotesque’. He claimed on his website at the time that he used the Framus Dragon extensively throughout the record, which saw Manson mix up 1920’s era Swing music with some very catchy, hook-laden heaviness. The guitar sound on this album was very Rob Zombie-esque, super chunky ‘n crunchy, the kind of sound that gives you goose-bumps every time a power chord is palm-muted.

The Dragon is designed to be played at high volumes, where it delivers its full spectrum of sound, making it the ultimate live amp, but as John 5 has proven it is also perfect for studio conditions. With the amount of variables involved in studio recording, the Dragon’s super sensitive and ultra responsive controls mean things can be tweaked to perfection so much easier.

While a lot of amps these days can sound over compressed and digital, a Framus is more boutique and natural – the real deal. Framus amps follow the guiding principles of the much loved cabinets of yesteryear. They are hand crafted from poplar ply and covered in a European "rubber/leather" covering that is as beautiful as it is durable. The highest quality hardware and removable castors are used throughout. They are fitted with genuine V30 Celestion speakers and offer stereo or mono switching in most models. 

All this adds up to make some of the finest quality heads and cabinets available on the market today and Framus amps are fast appearing as standard equipment with many leading artists.

Check out the Dragon: www.framus.de