With a hot new instrumental album When the Aliens Come, Dave Martone is starting to be recognized as one of the most talented players in the new breed of guitar heroes. Recently, Sea of Tranquility's Richard Barnes had a chance to speak with Martone about the new album and what makes him tick as a player.
Read on for the interview!
Sea of Tranquility: How many guitars do you own and do you have a favorite?
Dave Martone: None-I hate guitar! (laughs) Actually, I really don't know. Over 10 I can answer. My favorite electric is probably "blackie" my Parker Fly Deluxe.
SoT: What were you looking for in the people who played with you on the new album When the Aliens Come?
Dave: I love P R O people. They have to be able to keep up to me drinking tons of beer, and put their ideas into the mix for the creation process! This is a must! A good, no, great sense of humor is quite important also. IF we cannot laugh at each other and keep each other humble, then screw it!
SoT: Which of the pieces on the album are the guest guitarists playing on as distinct from
multi-tracking your own guitars?
Dave: I had guests on "The 4 Horsemen" and "Fumble Fingers". They all brought their own attitude and color to the song. That is ultimately what it was about. Plus they are all cool people and like beer! These guests were Terry Syrek, James Hogan, Chris Buono and Gene Hoglan.
SoT: Its hard to define obvious influences as your work is so varied in style but do you have a particular guitar player whose work you enjoy?
Dave: Man, that is a tough question, Samuel Adams, I think hey played guitar! Seriously, there are so many…. Gary Moore, SRV etc.
SoT: What were your influences in your early years that first got you to take up music?
Dave: First off was my dad Janous (John Martone). He got me going really young and I hated it. After a few years and some good beatings, I actually started to like it! At that point I was listening to Julian Bream, John Williams, Carlos Montoya, etc. Then Black Sabbath was introduced to me, which lead to Van Halen, Gary Moore, Tony Macalpine, and Steve Vai.
SoT: You seem to make a lot of use of different sounds, fuzz and distorted effects. Do you ever worry that you are trying to cram too much development into a piece?
Dave: Live like there is no tomorrow! Let it fly and see what happens! There are songs however that I will keep more simplistic, like "Tap Thang", "Missed Birthday", and "Tone of Darkness", which stick with one sound.
SoT: How do you get that rather startling 3-dimensional sound in the "Doppler Drum" ?
Dave: I am not sure what part you are referring… The only drums used are real Pearl Master Custom Kit, Tablas and there are some loops on the disk also. A big part of the drum sounds were a very "punch you in the face" sound with a subtle room compressed to hell around it!!!
SoT: Do you play live often? If so, is that with a band, mixed projects or as a solo artist.
Dave: I do all actually. Martone does perform live, not as much as I would like, I also have another group called Kadabra which is a Nuevo Flamenco band, and also solo guitar. They each have their own satisfaction!
Richard Barnes
(Click here to read our review of When the Aliens Come)
|
Print
Send to a Friend
