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Shred Talk !
(12 Aug 02)
The Past
EV: Letīs talk about your past a bit, about your development as a player. You did start playing the guitar at age 10, right ?
TK: I was 10, or 11. I donīt remember exactly.
Thorsten early in his career...
EV::When did you reach the point where you got serious about it ?
TK: Thatīs tough to answer. Iīd actually say that I was pretty serious about it ever since I started. I never was like "I have to be SERIOUS about it"... instead I tried to have fun... and I always had fun making music.
I actually did start out on keyboards. It was the late 70īs, and I was listening to stuff like Jean Michael Jarre and Tangerine Dream. That was before I got into rock music. A cousin of mine had a lot of punk records ( it was 1977 or 1978 ), and an electric guitar. So, one day I visited him and I picked up that guitar and tried to play for the whole afternoon.
And ever since that day, I was pretty serious about music and playing the guitar. I would like to point out that I started out on electric guitar, too. So I didnīt do it like many others did, starting on the acoustic, then switching to the electric. I got my first acoustic guitar after I had already been playing the electric guitar for a year or two. Even before that, I used to meet up with other guys from my school, and we took some cardboard guitars and used to play air guitar, listening to stuff like the "Live Killers" album by Queen.
And those were my early influences: bands like Queen and the Sex Pistols. One thing that I really liked, and that really made me play was "Now Iīm Here" from Queen. In school, we were listening to albums, and one of the guys in my class brought Queenīs "Sheer Heart Attack" album... and I heard the intro of "Now Iīm Here" and immediately was hooked. ( plays the infamous intro of that song)
That guitar sound, and the pure power of it... that attracted me.
EV: What I really would like to know: how come that you did this unconventional thing, just turning a right hand-guitar upside down and playing it with the bass-strings on the bottom ( the way Albert King does it ) ?
TK: Well, you know, I was 10. I just went by my gut-feeling and picked up this right hand guitar and immediately held it the way I do these days. Thatīs the most natural way to hold the guitar when youīre a leftie. I also never had a teacher who could have told me that what I was doing was wrong or rather unusual. And until someone told me that it was unusual that I didnīt put on the strings the other way, I had already learned the basics, so it was pretty much too late to learn it the other way. I had taught myself a bunch of chords. I did listen to a lot of music, transcribed stuff. I think that it is an extremely important process and can help every player. I certainly did watch a lot of other players, too. I never considered it difficult to adjust the stuff I picked up to my way of playing... I just heard something or watched something, and just played it on my guitar the way I do... it wasnīt difficult. And, looking back at it now, it was a good thing, actually. There arenīt a lot of players who play that way, and it also helped me to develop my own style.
EV: How about music theory ? I know that you never took any regular guitar-lessons. So, do you pick up the theory stuff any other way, or do you just play without caring what that and that chord is called... or do you even think itīs limiting that you didnīt take lessons ?
TK: First of all, Iīm not exactly proud of the fact that I never took lessons. I think that lessons can help your development tremendously. Like, some stuff I worked on for a very long time, and I am sure that a teacher could have showed it to me or explained it to me way faster.
On the other hand, I did develop my very own style, and I think I explored the guitar quite thoroughly on my own. So, instead of picking up anything from a teacher, I figured out stuff on my own and worked on my technique a lot. Actually, there was no one around who could have taught me a whole lot, mainly because of the way I play, with the guitar turned upside down. So I pretty much had no choice.
Regarding theory, I think I picked up quite a bit of that throughout the years. And today, you can get a lot of that stuff without a teacher... there are so many instructional books & videos, stuff on the internet etc.
I have a solid foundation regarding theory, I can do some sight-reading. Iīm not a perfect reader like those studio-cats, but I can work my way through a sheet.
EV: Did you get trapped in a lot of ruts, you know, reaching a plateau where you feel like you donīt know what to work on, where you kinda feel trapped in your playing etc. ?
TK: No, not really. Never really had that happening.
EV: So you constantly developed and kept progressing ?
TK: It is a constant development. You can only develop, go forward. Its not only about technique, you can develop by working on songwriting, recording techniques etc. Also, there are so many different styles on the guitar, itīs pretty much impossible to get to the point where thereīs nothing new.
If Iīd go to a school like the GIT, like you did, I think Iīd be buried by all the material you get there. At the end, you have enough material to work on for the rest of your life ( Agreed-EV )
So thereīs a lot of ground to explore. Take i.e. jazz, that still is an unexplored area to me. I could work on that one day in the future. Or look at all the classical music. I pretty much picked what I considered important and worked on that.
Thorsten a few years later, with the Dean-girls...
EV: OK, fess up-time. I would like to know: Who, despite of Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen and Ed Van Halen, who are some of your main influences, is a major influence to you ?
TK: The most important influence, my all time favorite would be Brian May, who just always plays the right notes... Heīs just so unique. He still is my favorite. Also, there certainly are the shred dudes ( Vinnie Moore etc. ).
EV:Did you listen to fusion players such as Larry Carlton or Lee Ritenour ?
TK: Well, usually you listen to the guitar players that play the kinda music you like. I listened to a lot of metal and rock music, so I kinda grew up with the players from that style of music. I donīt really listen to a lot of fusion. I do have some Jeff Berlin-records ( who also is Dean-endorser, by the way ), and I like that, but Iīm more into rock music, that always fascinated me. It really does have to rock.
EV: I hear ya. Thatīs something that bothers me too about certain fusion-albums. I mean, I am not gonna mention any names, but there are some records with some cool playing, but there just is no life in there, it all sounds very technical and clinical.
TK: Well, one thing that sometimes bothers me about certain fusion-players is... well, I do have a tremendous respect for them, for their theory-knowledge, all the "over that chord, you can play that scale", superimposition, voice leading etc. Thatīs difficult. But sometimes I just donīt hear a good tone. Itīs all like muddy or fuzzy, and just doesnīt rock...
EV: OK, well, then letīs talk gear...
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