From playing with Ozzy Osbourne’s band Firewind, to performing around the world as a member of Arch Enemy and Dream Evil, Gus G. has just about done it all … except release his own album … oh wait, yes he did!
Gus has spent the past decade making a name for himself as a renowned guitarist among metal heads everywhere.
After years of fan requests, Gus finally compiled a collection of music worthy enough to carry his name. He sat down with RockRevolt™Magazine’s guestwriter, guitar virtuoso Mike Martin, for a musician to musician interview to tell RR all about his new album, touring, and music plans.
Hey, Gus, thanks a lot for talking to RockRevolt Magazine. We appreciate it, man.
Well, thank you. It’s my pleasure.
Awesome. So, I am the Fire came out on in the States and in Europe with the first single “I Am The Fire” being a huge hit on Sirius XM and beyond. It’s a great sounding record, man. Kudos.
Oh, thank you very much. Thank you.
I’m curious, for your first solo record, what drove your decision to do a guest vocal record with only a couple of instrumentals vs. maybe an all instrumental record?
Um, yeah, well, I know probably most people would have expected me to do an instrumental record, but actually that idea did not appeal to me so much. I’m kind of bored with instrumental records. I don’t think I could have written 10 or 12 instrumentals, to be honest with you. I mean, I wouldn’t have liked that record myself: just to listen to, or go out there and promote it and play it. I’ve always liked songs that are simple and have a catchy chorus, and a catchy riff, and are just ya know – they get your attention with one listen and they’re memorable. This time, I just decided to do a bit more of a straightforward rock and roll record as opposed to the power metal stuff that I do with Firewind.
Right, very cool. When you started working with the vocalists (I’m a huge Jeff Scott Soto fan so, like that track’s really awesome to me), how much collaborative work did you do with them? Did you come to them with lyric and melody ideas already or did you invite them to come in and really work in with the music you’d already written?
It depended. Mostly I would have the music written. For example, speaking of Jeff, I had the music written. I just sent it to him, and I had the song title (which was basically a working title) and he just got inspired by that, and he wrote the lyrics around that. So it was like a co-write, with all those people on there. I would have the music and send it to them, and they would do the lyrics and the vocal melodies, y’know. And then, with Mats Levén, it was a little bit different. He was also writing/co-writing stuff with me. I would send him maybe a half-written song, that maybe didn’t have a chorus, and he would put a chorus to that, and then vice versa. I would change some of his lyrics and we would kind of go back and forth like that.
Yeah, very cool. So were you the sole producer on this record, or did you co-produce with anyone?
The only track that had a producer was “Long Way Down”, and it was produced by Kevin Churko. We wrote that together (Me, Kevin, and his son Cain, and also Alexia Rodriguez). But the rest of the record, I produced.
[embedplusvideo height=”300″ width=”600″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1qNwskC” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/BKw32epMEEM?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=BKw32epMEEM&width=600&height=300&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep8422″ /]
Ah, very cool, very cool. I guess I’ll ask about the instrumental tracks, too, since we kind of touched on that already. You got some heavy hitters to play bass. Dave Elefson on the track “Vengeance”, and the incredible Billy Sheehan on “Terrified”. What led you to work with those two on those two tracks?
That was Jay’s idea. Jay Ruston mixed the record. He knows those guys from working with them, and he suggested Billy Sheehan, and we sent him the track and he liked it, and it was as simple as that. And with Dave Elefson, it was a bit of a trade there, because I played a solo for his project with Fran Bello, Altitudes and Attitude . I did a solo for their EP and then, in return, they played on one of my songs. So, it was a fun thing like that.
That’s very cool. I was glad to see a couple of instrumentals. I know, as a guitar fan, I know a lot of people were probably anticipating, tons and tons of guitar work, but to me, listening to the whole sequence of the album, it really is like you described. It really sounds like a great rock record with plenty of great guitar playing.
Yeah, there’s a lot of guitar playing all over it as well. It’s not like the record has no solos or anything; I has a lot of riffs, a lot of guitars, a lot of acoustic guitar as well.
Yeah, really beautiful guitar production on this, man. Really, really sounds great. I should probably ask, this is your first time releasing with Century Media. How are they, as a label, to work with?
Well, I’ve been with Century Media, actually, since 2002. I’ve been doing records for them with various bands. My first work with Century Media was with a band from Sweden called Dream Evil. Then I did a couple of records with a band called Nitrate, and then, obviously, the whole Firewind back catalogue came out on Century Media. So, I’ve been there for a long time. So, it made sense for me to keep everything there, and they really did believe in me, and support all the projects I’ve done through the years. So, they really wanted to put the record out. It was a good feeling, too. It was a no-brainer to actually put it out through them.
Yeah, they really are one of the hit labels for the last several years, man. They’ve got a great catalogue of bands.
Well, there’s not many of them left these days either, y’know, many of them that are proper, and have proper distribution, and a proper set up. Y’know, on a worldwide basis, labels are a dying thing.
With the state of both what streaming and downloading has done to album sales and how people are consuming music, where do you kind of see stuff going, and how is working with a label like Century Media, how do you feel like that relationship is working and moving forward and evolving in a very changing market?
Well, I think you definitely have to adapt, y’know. That’s for sure. And Century also has to adapt to the situation, and they know what’s up, what’s going on out there. The thing is, you mention people who want to support the record, and those people, that core fan base, I think will always exist, and they will support no matter what. They will actually buy the limited edition, and they will buy the CD, and they will buy the vinyl. The question is, how do you reach the mass? And the bigger, the masses, they probably don’t do that these days.
Right.
Um, there’s not much you can do about that, really. Y’know, that’s what people do these days and, obviously there’s not a lot of money for the musicians in back. It’s, I don’t know, whatever you get per stream…that’s kind of funny these days, how they work it all out, but on the other hand, you have all these platforms that give instant accessibility of your music to the audience, to everybody out there. So, uh, it kind of has its pros and its cons. There’s not much you can do about it, really.
That leads me to my next few questions. I get asked a lot, what’s the best way to support artists? Is it through buying merch through the official website, going to the record shop, if there’s still a record shop in the town that they live in, or just downloading off of iTunes, or any of the big download aggregates, and going to see the bands on tour? What do you recommend for fans to most support the bands that they love the most?
I think it’s both. Obviously, streaming is not the way to go. I’m not saying it’s bad, I think streaming’s very cool for if you want to check out stuff, but if you really like something, I think you should buy it. Whether that’s iTunes, or a physical product, I don’t care, because it’s the same really, and probably even if you buy digitally, you’re probably giving more income in that because you cut out, maybe, like distributors, and people like that. Then again, if you have also like a little local record store and you want to support that, go for it by all means. Me personally, I don’t really listen to CDs anymore, but I buy on iTunes all the time. But, obviously, buying the music, that’s what it is, y’know? And I think that’s where it’s at, whether it’s digital or physical, I don’t care. It’s the right thing to do. And, of course, the next step is to support your artist whenever they come through town, and really keep on track with them, see where they’re at, and if they’re in town. I mean, you’re a musician as well yourself, y’know, it’s like you play somewhere, you play…I don’t know, you’re somewhere in Paris or something, or you’re playing somewhere in Germany, or you just played Paris, and then the minute you leave town you get all these messages “So, when are you coming to France?” (laughs)
Yeah, definitely people’s attention is at a premium. If you can get them for a second, y’know, you’re doing really well.
Yeah, that’s the thing, y’know? But, I don’t think that applies to the really hard core fan. I think those people; they know where their favorite band is at all times. They keep up, they check in regularly, they follow them and they support them.
Yeah, because obviously, with social media, Twitter, and Facebook, and the like, it’s great for just constant engagement, whether it’s just telling people what you’re working on, or keep… like almost keeping a journal when you’re on the road, just letting everybody know how the day’s going, and all that stuff. It’s really cool.
It is, yeah. Yeah, I like all that. I’m definitely a fan of all that, and I myself, I keep in touch with a lot of my supporters and fans online like that, with Twitter, and stuff like that. And Instagram. I think that’s cool. I’d say that’s one of the good things of technology today. I mean, you can spread your message directly to your fans without too much hassle, y’know? You can go direct to the fans that way.
[embedplusvideo height=”300″ width=”600″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1qNxs8j” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/C__hEo697-s?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=C__hEo697-s&width=600&height=300&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep7317″ /]
Very cool, and I know depending on when things start winding back up with Ozzy, obviously that starts taking up some of your time as well. Anything going on there?
Yeah, I mean, y’know, I don’t know really. I mean, I know there’s been talks, about it, eventually going back and doing another one, but you never know ‘cause he’s still in the middle of the Black Sabbath reunion. So let’s see when that winds down, and then, what’s gonna happen to that. I don’t know, really. I don’t know his schedules, to be honest, so I can’t really say something for sure.
Very cool. Alright, well, I’ve just got a few more questions for you. These are sort of, at least this one is, kind of expansive. If someone were just coming to you for the first time, didn’t know your work from Firewind, or your work with Ozzy, or anything, and this was the record they were presented with and they had one song to listen to, what do you feel is the number one song or the number one moment that really kind of encapsulates where you are as both a writer, artist, guitar player right now?
Oh, man, that’s a very tough one because this is not a record that has, like, one sound. It’s a lot of variety on this record. It’s so many different types of tracks. I guess I would kind of like, play… depending on my mood at the time, if I wanted to play him something more radio-friendly, I’d probably play him “I am the Fire” or “Long Way Down”, or if I wanted to play him something more classic rock I’d probably play him “Eyes Wide Open” or “My Will Be Done”, something like that.
Yeah. I mean, everything really on this record stands out as its own. It has its own life, its own vibe.
Yeah, it’s not like you can pick up one song and say, “Oh, this is what the record’s like”, because it’s not. It has songs like “My Will Be Done”, which has instrumentals that feature completely different elements, like shredding, as well as songs like “Dreamkeeper” which is a slow, open, epic song with a big melody. There are so many different sides and sounds on this record. It’s very hard to pick just one. (Laughing) You mentioned the wrong record to show to somebody for the first time. I don’t know, maybe not! Maybe it’d be a great record to actually showcase to somebody for the first time; to introduce him to my playing, but maybe not just pick up one track, but the whole record, as a whole. I think it’s a great body of work, in my opinion.
Ok, so last couple of things. You stay very busy. Seems like you’re always working on music, whether you’re working on records, touring, clinics, all kinds of stuff. What kinds of other things, do you get into to decompress or express, other creative outlets?
Not a lot, man. I mean, it takes up all of my time. There’s no time left for other hobbies, really. (Laugh) I just like to work out, whenever I find the time. When I’m at home, I try to keep up some kind of workout schedule, but that’s just to stay healthy. Obviously, there’s not much time left.
What kind of stuff have you been listening to lately? Any new bands popping up on your radar that you’re really just diggin’ on right now?
Yeah, I mean, y’know, I actually think that the whole idea with the collaborations was that it introduced me to a lot of new artists. Like Devour the Day for example, I thought these guys were pretty great, and I’ve been listening to them a lot now. And then, they just put out a debut album, as well. I also like Eyes Set to Kill. I didn’t know them before we did the collaborations. So, y’know, I got hooked on those bands too, now.
Very cool. Any favorite new, up-and-coming guitar players or more standby guitar players that are more established?
Um, I think Rich Faulkner, from Judas Priest, he’s the new guy; I think he’s a pretty kick-ass guitar player.
Yeah, he’s great.
Yeah, I like Richie.
Well, very cool, man. This has been great talking to you, man. I’m so glad we got a chance to catch up.
Yeah, thanks a lot, brother. Good luck with your music in the future. What kind of stuff do you do?
I do all kinds of stuff. Like, people probably know me from playing in Chris Jericho’s band Fozzy, and another band called Stuck Mojo. I played with them for a while.
Oh yeah? I didn’t know you were in Fozzy. Cool, man.
Yeah, and I had put out an instrumental record myself, and Steve Vai had done this Digital Nation record label and they distributed it for a while. So, I do a lot of different things. Now, I’m playing with an Atlanta band called The Dreaded Marco, and Mike Froedge, who used to play with Black Label Society, is drumming and producing for that band. It’s a pretty cool project. We’re doing a bunch of new stuff, working on a record right now, hoping for a release later this year.
Oh, cool, man. So you’re a busy dude, as well. That’s great.
I try to keep busy.
Yeah, well good luck with everything, man, and say hi to Chris next time you speak to him.
Yeah, man, absolutely, and again, kudos on the new record, man. It’s an exciting release, and I look forward to it hitting next week, and thanks again for taking the time to talk.
Thank you, thanks, brother. All the best.
Awesome, you too, man. Take care.
