FAQs 

What kind of string gauge do you use?

Do you warm up before the show and if so, what’s your routine?

Barely. I would say if there are some difficult parts that I have to play that night and if there’s a new arrangement like some weird transitions and stuff, then I go through it a few times before, but doing some warm up exercises just for technical reason is not my thing. I like when my fingers don’t allow me to go with too much playing and they get on a working temperature after a few songs. It’s good for the dynamic I would say. It also could be cause I’m playing whenever there is a guitar next to me and I’m pretty much all the time surrounded with some of them. When I have time I like to warm up my voice which is way more sensitive than my fingers.

Do you still remember your first guitar and do you still have it? 

Yes. My first guitar was a white Fender Stratocaster called Contemporary Strat made in Japan from ‘86 with a maple neck and some weird fine tuning tremolo system. It was a mix of Floyd Rose and a standard tremolo systems, kind of a break through system at that time. I still own this guitar and it’s in a really mint condition. The fretboard looks burned out, but it’s been in use for a long time, so it’s just worn out. I recorded quite a lot of songs on my first album in 2008 with this guitar. Back in 1986 my dad bought this guitar in Italy cause he was actively performing with his band, so he changed guitars often and I started playing when he brought that one. Before this Strat he had Gibson Les Paul sunburst, but I was just staring at it :))

Where does “tone” come from?

From anywhere but mainly from the fingers! I believe that my mind visualise the shape of a tone and in combination with my hands/fingers it results in sound. Tone in combination with chosen notes gives us our signature, something unique. There are two different things: tone and sound. Tone is what your mind and body produces (natural thing) and sound is what you get from technique, gear and tools as a support to your tone like amps, pedals, speakers, pickups etc. We all have seen amazing live performances of great players that didn’t sound well that night. This can happen when the tone and sound are not talking to each other, but as long as you find your small bubble on stage or room where the connection is, you are able to tickle something good out of your instrument. No need to say that with the same guitar and set up, two individuals can sounds completely different.

Do musicians have to be able to read sheet music to develop skills?

I don’t think so. It’s a bonus but as far as you have good ears, you can do a lot in order to be skilled. There are some killer musicians I’ve been working with who relied on sheets and couldn’t do anything outside the box, like improvisations or changing the parts of the song on the spot. They are able to play anything you give them in written right away, which takes some time for me personally,  cause I have to learn it by ears and memorise however I can. Once I got it down, I can do twists and turns and even surprise myself with different moments sometimes. In this case I rely on nature and whatever happens, happens now and maybe never will happen again. This is more enjoyable for me, even if I’m struggling reading sheet music. As far as we have a basic knowledge about the harmony and rhythmic measures, we are good to dive into the unknown. In my opinion it’s just making things easier to memorize, giving you advanced education and opportunity to write a big band or orchestra structure. In a “small” classic band, we are mainly talking to each other instead of sending written letters 🙂

What does mainly define the sound of a guitar? Wood, pick ups, strings, cable or amp?

All of it – It’s like a chain reaction. If you can improve a few percentages with each of these qualities, the better the sound will be. It’s not the rule that it has to be expensive, not at all, but a certain kind of quality should be given. I would put the wood out of this list cause wood is not a tool. It’s the main construction of a guitar. Pickups, hardware, cables and amps are tools  which channel the sound out in to the air. I find interesting how plectrums can change the sound and how much you can discover when trying out a few different ones, especially on acoustic guitars. I’m always using 2.0 mm picks. It helps me to control the dynamic, attack on the strings and gives me more sustain when I turn the pick to the non sharp point (side), I can deliver a smoother rhythm including the brilliance in high frequencies for nice strumming or sparkling arpeggios. Going back to the wood, there are some non wooden guitars and they sound great. It’s a matter of taste, I guess. When we are talking just wood, then it’s a well known fact that wood has to resonate. If you use a bolt on neck, for example the resonance between neck wood and body should match somehow in order for the guitar to sound good. Somehow all the parts of a guitar have to match each other, otherwise you have a good wood but you kill the resonance with some nut or bridge or whatever else. What we didn’t mention here are frets: They don’t just give you a feel when playing, but also due to different size, shape and materials, they better the intonation as well as the action, lower string action vs. higher and so on. It’s like cars, classy limo or race car…it all has to work well together and be tuned, in order to drive.

Do you have your favourite guitar?

I’m back to my Jackson guitars and they are all I need and luckily this brand is under Fender so I can switch sometimes to my old Strats or even Charvel. I have a lot of guitars and I love them all but some of them are super close to my heart like my old and very rare Larrivee guitars, RS4 and LT from the 80’s. 

What’s your favourite food?

As I get older I’m easier with food. I’m not picky and can get almost anything so I don’t have something specific. It makes my life easier on tour as well.

In the morning, what’s the first thing you do when you get up?

Well, coffee and then more coffee. I live close to the Italian border and they are known for a good coffee so it’s a culture there.

If you won 1 mio in the lottery, what would be your first thing to do/buy?

I feel like Miss Universe now! :)) I would probably start doing a list of people who I wanna help however I can. The rest, I would invest into something I like to do: Might be establishing a small rock bar, where I can sit, enjoy a cup of coffee in peace with some nice music in the background and in the evening have live music to present a chance  to other musicians for performing.

Cat or dog?

All animals but since I have a cat, then cat. 

If you could pick 5 bands for your own festival billing, who would you pick?

Oh, this is not easy. If you would  have asked me that when I was in my 20’s I could have told you right away , but now I don’t know. Sounds weird, but at the moment I don’t have any fav band on my mind.  Today I might be in to Richard Marx and tomorrow into Megadeth or something else…

What does make a great frontman in your opinion?

No 1: charisma. Without charisma there’s nothing to do on the stage as a frontman. It’s a circus and it has to be like that. Besides being a skilled musician, a frontman has to be the entertainer, creating a connection and showing the audience respect because without the audience, we all are nothing in this business.

You can create your own dream band – who would you pick on drums, bass and vocals?

I would definitely like to have 2 drummers because I have weird experiences with them… So just to make sure that I have one showing up, I’d need two. To pick one for instance, Steve Jordan. On bass, the first one that came to my mind is Nathan East, he is a classy beast! Lead vocals by Robert Plant or the guy who sang on Jason Bonham’s first album “The disregard of timekeeping” (1989), Daniel MacMaster (Rip)

What was the best show you ever played and why?

The best show was the one I played on a cruise called MSC Orchestra at the Garden Theatre with my dad. Why? Because it was with my dad and it was magical. The room was packed and we got standing ovations for almost every song that we performed during the  two and a half hour set.

When you are on tour, which is your favourite venue and where else would you like to perform one day?

I was lucky enough to play at some historic venues from KKL in Switzerland, Golden Hall in Berlin, Odeon Theater in Vienna and much more. Maybe Madison Square Garden, Grand Ole Opry or Budokan Tokyo … nice dreams haha 

What do you think about the modern way of live performances with using backing tracks?

Honestly I don’t support that. First of all, your band sounds min 50% fake, the next thing is, that it doesn’t allow you to be creative on the spot and the final issue is that people who come to see your live show don’t get any different musical experience than the one they heard on your record. I can add even another reason, you see it once and you don’t go see it again because it’s the same every time. I understand that it sounds massive and gives the feeling of fullness but this is not natural. Using backing tracks for specific intros or special effects, yes but having rhythm guitars, keys, loops, backing vocals and even lead vocal, no. Let your computer do the show and you can stay at home… When you are performing for people who pay ticket prices then you should be able to deliver it naturally the best way you can without faking it. In the end it doesn’t need to be 1 on 1 like on the record at all, even better if it’s not, so the audience can get different experiences each time and will eventually come see you again.

How do you deal with inspiration for your own music? Where does inspiration comes from?

What are the plans for the future?

Well, the plan is to survive as a professional musician which is quite a challenge in this modern times. That’s my only plan.