Shred Talk 2 - Code Of Perfection
(24 Jun 06)
Page 3
EV: Listening back to the CD now that it's done and in stores, are you completely happy with the results? Or are there parts that, by now, you wish you had done differently?
TK: No, I am completely happy with the result. What was weird was: prior to the mastering, I listened to the CD, and at that point, I had heard the early demos and rough mixes so often... well, those demos and rough mixes had way more guitar solos on them, so when I was listening to the final mixes prior to mastering, I felt almost disappointed that some of the solos were gone.
It was just force of habit, though. It was a good decision to cut some of the stuff. I'll have you listen to some outtakes later on, parts where Jochen said "Man, we can't keep this in". For example, there was this wacky 32nd note string-skipping shred-lick in the break of "Hearts In Atlantis".
It was a cool lick, but it definitely would have ruined the song big time.
We also had the "normal" listener in mind, and therefore some parts were cut.
EV: OK, how did you get in touch with Michael Angelo?
TK: Met him first time in LA, at the NAMM. Back then, he wasn't with Dean Guitars yet (the guitar company Thorsten is endorsed by). He dropped by at my workshops / showcases every day and was watching me. So we started talking.
A few years later, he was in Germany, at the Musikmesse, playing workshops for Dean. So I asked him whether he'd like to contribute some solos to my album. He referred me to his manager, as he doesn't like to worry too much about the business-side of things at all.
Two shred-masters: Michael Angelo and Thorsten K.
EV: So you sent him a backing track, and he sent you back his solos?
TK: Yes. And I had no work with his tracks at all. Everyone who was asked to play on the CD had complete freedom, and we knew that none of them would send anything that was crappy or anything... just awesome musicians.
We spent some thought regarding what song we'd like Michael to play on. Then, we sent him a backing track of "Psychotic Nightmare". He went into a studio in LA, recorded something and sent that back to me.
EV: So how did it feel to have him play on the CD?
TK: It was awesome, a dream come true. Back in the 80s, I used to religiously watch his Star Licks video. I don't know how often I have watched it, and he soon became a hero of mine. So to have him on my record was awesome.
EV: K, let's talk licks. Regarding "Shred It"... that song almost sounds like a "Best Of Shrapnel" type thing, with a passage that seems to be an obvious tribute to Jason Becker, and the sweeps that sound a bit like the hammered-on arps in Satch's "Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing" (check out "Shred Talk" for a walkthrough of that passage!)... Was that the intention, or did it just happen like that?
TK: OK, first of all, the sweep part... that obviously was inspired by Satch. I heard him use those arps, hammering on the notes. I then figured out you could sweep-pick those too, so I started with that min11-arp, and made up a major-version of it (which actually is a maj add9 with a third on top- EV).
The Jason Becker-part is an obvious tribute and was meant to be one too, I mentioned that in the liner-notes. That happened in the studio... we only had the arps in the background, and I remembered some of Jason's songs, so I played the melody that you hear on there. I tried to play the way I thought Jason would play it.
EV: Regarding the harmonies... do you plan on those in advance, or is that something you just try when you have recorded the original voice?
TK: No, that usually is intended right from the beginning. What I do experiment with is what intervals I use... whether it's thirds or fifths or whatever. I try different things and then see what I like the most.
Thorsten and his ibreathemusic-t-shirt
EV: When you decide what you will try to play (as a harmony), and you figure that a certain interval will result in an extremely tough to play part, to a point where it's pretty much impossible without using an unusual technique or even some effect unit or whatever, does that influence your decision?
TK: You have to find the best way to play stuff. Sometimes that may result in using a weird technique or trick, but in general, you have to find a compromise.
EV: Like, when you i.e. Play a line, and you hear in your head a harmony that's like, say, 2 octaves below that, and you notice that you couldn't play that without tuning down a lot, or using a harmonizer or something...
TK: Then I'd probably just see whether there's something else I could play instead. I always try to keep in mind that I also have to play the stuff live as well, thinking practical. That's my way of thinking... "Could I play this live, maybe with a second guitarist?". I want it to stay organical.
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