ZAGORO MOJA
Ante Tešija
Hrvoje Bubić: TREY GUNN INTERVIEW
Hrvoje Bubić
Trey Gunn je američki glazbenik, najpoznatiji po suradnji s imenima poput King Crimson, Tool, John Paul Jones. Za Solin Live govori o tim suradnjima, svojim instrumentima s kojima svira, kao i ostalim svojim projektima
1.To begin with, could you introduce yourself to us and tell us something about yourself?
Hello there. I am from Texas and have lived all over the USA. From New York City to Seattle and now I am living in the high desert in Northern New Mexico. My weekly life and practices include playing my two main instruments (the Warr Guitar and the Baritone Ukulele), doing business with my record label ( www.7dmedia.com ), coaching musicians in the creative process ( www.originalvoice.coach ) and practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I got my black belt in Aikido a few years ago and then transitioned to Jiu-Jitsu where I am currently a purple belt. Martial arts are a huge part of my life and pair perfectly with being a musician. Both practices feed off of each other.
2. What motivated you to pursue music? As far as I can see, you started out in music as a pianist.
I have no idea. Music just captivated me from my earliest memories. I talked my parents into getting me piano lessons when I was 6. I kept that going for 6 years, then transitioned to playing guitar, then bass, then….the tapping guitars that I now play.
3. You are best known for your collaboration with King Crimson (whose members P. Mastolotto and T. Levin I have already introduced to the local audience), on the album THAK which was nominated for a Grammy. Please tell us how you got into the band, as well as about the album itself?
I had already been working with Robert Fripp in several different project before he asked me to join King Crimson. We had the band Sunday All Over The World, the Robert Fripp String Quintet and then a multi-year collaboration with David Sylvian that led right into the double-trio Crimson that made the record THRAK.
The THRAK band was a monster with double drummers, double Stick players and double guitarist. It was giant electronic chamber ensemble. We had to work very careful in order to get all the sounds to coordinate and make the best impact.
4. The instruments you play with, Chapman Stick and Warr Guitar, are not known to the general public, so I would like to ask you if you could tell us something about these instruments?
These are both “tapped guitars.” Meaning you don’t fret the string with one hand and pluck it with the other. You tap directly on the fretboard with the fingers of both hands at the same time.
Additionally, both instruments have two groups of strings; a group of bass strings and a groups of guitar strings, so you can play two different sounds and two different parts at the same time. A bit like a piano. Though this instrument is more like playing the inside of a piano with your hands.
5. Along with King Crimson, you collaborated with various names such as Tool, John Paul Jones, Robert Fripp, Puscifer, but you also had a solo career that you started with the album One Thousand Years.
Yes, I have something like 15 solo albums at this point. And several more on the way. I’ve had to squeeze my solo work in in between the bigger works that you mentioned along with King Crimson. I love doing both.
6. In addition to music, you practice Aikido, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, have a degree in psychology, run your own label 7d Media and you are a vocal coach.
Yes. I referred to all of this in the first quest.
The biggest part of my week is coaching musicians, what I totally love doing. I don’t teach in the normal way, with me showing other musicians the “secrets of the trade”. I approach coaching more as an inquiry into where this other musician wants to go. So, we dig deep into their aims and then find solutions and pathways to get them there.
I also run a series of coaching programs into the study of pitch and listening that I call “Modes Courses”.
The next one begins on October 9 and runs for 9 weeks. This will be the 5th years running this course and it has changed how people approach music. It has also radically changed how I listen and play.
Link here for more info: https://www.originalvoice.coach/modes-course-2022
7. Finally, what would you like to recommend to our readers? Will we have the opportunity to see you in Split, Croatia?
I would love to come and perform there. It looks very likely that I will be doing show with Pat Mastelotto and Markus Reuter (of Stickmen) nexts year as a trio. So maybe we will see you then!
Cheers, Trey
1. Možete li nam se za početak predstaviti i reći nešto o sebi?
Pozdrav. Ja sam iz Texasa i živio sam diljem SAD-a — od New Yorka do Seattlea, a trenutno živim u predjelu Visoke pustinje na sjeveru Novoga Meksika. Moj tjedni život i praksa uključuju sviranje moja dva glavna instrumenta (Warr gitara i bariton ukulele), poslovanje sa svojom izdavačkom kućom (www.7dmedia.com), podučavanje glazbenika u kreativnom procesu (www.originalvoice.coach) i vježbanje Brazilskog Jiu-Jitsu. Dobio sam svoj crni pojas u Aikidu prije nekoliko godina, a zatim sam prešao na Jiu-Jitsu gdje trenutno nosim ljubičasti pojas. Borilačke vještine čine veliki dio mog života i savršeno se slažu s poslom glazbenika. Obje prakse nadopunjuju jedna drugu.
2. Što Vas je motiviralo da se bavite glazbom? Koliko vidim, počeli ste se baviti glazbom kao pijanist.
Nemam pojma. Glazba me jednostavno osvojila od najranijih sjećanja. Nagovorao sam svoje roditelje da dobivam sam satove klavira kad sam imao 6 godina. To sam nastavio 6 godina, a onda sam prešao na sviranjegitara, pa bas, pa….tapping gitare koje sada sviram.
3. Najpoznatiji ste po suradnji s King Crimsonom (čije sam članove P. Mastolotto i T.Levina sam već predstavio domaćoj publici), na albumu THAK koji je nominiran za Grammy. Recite nam kako ste dospijeli u bend, kao i o samom albumu?
Već sam radio s Robertom Frippom na nekoliko različitih projekata prije nego što me je zamolio da se pridružim King Crimsonu. Imali smo bend Sunday All Over The World, Robert Fripp String Quinteta potom i višegodišnja suradnja s Davidom Sylvianom koja je dovela ravno do dvostrukog trija Crimsonkoji je napravio rekord THRAK.Bend THRAK bio je čudovište s dvostrukim bubnjarima, duplim Stick sviračima i duplim sviračima-gitaristima. Bio je to ogroman elektronički komorni ansambl. Morali smo vrlo pažljivo raditi da bismo to uspjeli sve zvukove za koordinaciju i postizanje najboljeg učinka.
4. Instrumenti koje svirate, Chapman Stick i Warr Guitar, nisu poznati široj javnosti, pa bih vas zamolio da li nam možete nešto reći o tim instrumentima?
Obje su “tockane gitare”. Što znači da ne trzate žicu jednom rukom i trzate je s drugim. Istodobno lupkate prstima obje ruke izravno po pragu.Dodatno, oba instrumenta imaju dvije skupine žica; grupa bas žica i grupe žica za gitaru. Tako možete svirati dva različita zvuka i dva različita dijela u isto vrijeme. A pomalo poput klavira. Iako je ovaj instrument više poput sviranja unutar klavira rukama.
5. Uz King Crimsona, surađivali ste s raznim imenima kao što su Tool, John Paul Jones, Robert Fripp, Puscifer, ali imali ste i solo karijeru koju ste započeli albumom One Thousand Years.
Da, trenutno imam oko 15 solo albuma. I još nekoliko na putu. Morao sam ugurati moj solo rad između većih radova koje ste spomenuli zajedno s King Crimsonom. Volim raditi oboje.
6. Osim glazbe bavite se aikidom, brazilskim jiu-jitsom, diplomirali ste psihologiju, vodite vlastitu diskografsku kuću 7d Media, te ste vokalni trener.
Najveći dio mog tjedna je posvećen podučavanju glazbenika, što potpuno volim raditi. Ne predajem unormalan način, pri čemu ja drugim glazbenicima pokazujem “tajne zanata”. Približavam se treniranju više kao upit kamo ovaj drugi glazbenik želi ići. Dakle, kopamo duboko u njihove ciljeve a zatim pronađite rješenja i putove kako ih tamo dovesti. Također vodim niz programa podučavanja u proučavanju visine tona i slušanja koje nazivam “ Modes Courses ” (Načini Tečajeva, op.prev.) . Sljedeći počinje 9. listopada i traje 9 tjedana. Ovo će biti peta godina zaredom naravno i promijenio je način na koji ljudi pristupaju glazbi. Također je radikalno promijenio način na koji slušam i sviram. Link ovdje za više informacija: https://www.originalvoice.coach/modes-course-2022
7. Za kraj, što biste željeli preporučiti našim čitateljima? Hoćemo li imati prilike vidjeti Vas u Splitu?
Volio bih tamo doći i nastupiti. Čini se vrlo vjerojatnim da ću raditi emisiju s Patom Mastelotto i Markus Reuter (iz Stickmen-a) sljedeće godine kao trio, pa možda se tada vidimo!
Živjeli, Trey
