MIKE CAMPESE
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 2nd December 2010.
Guitar virtuoso Mike Campese is a well respected performer and teacher in the New York area. With new release "Electric City" previewed on the Rock Realms site...and gleaning a lot of interest...we caught up with him to find out more.
Hi Mike, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Mike: No Problem!
What first inspired you to pick up a guitar?
Mike: I always loved the sound and energy of the guitar. I was heavily into Black Sabbath and always listening to guitar driven music. My brother used to play some great guitar music around the house, which helped to expand my listening. I used to hang out at the music store up at the mall, one day my sister and her husband at the time brought home a bass for me from a garage sale, the next day I went up to the music store and traded it for a guitar.
How long did it take to realise you had a real talent for it?
Mike: 6 months to a year, once I really started practicing a lot my playing began to take off. It was slow in the beginning, but the first year I became a very fast player and it felt natural.
Who were the early influences?
Mike: I was extremely into Black Sabbath when I was growing up, I was into Dio, Ozzy and Van Halen and then I started listening to Paganini, Jimi Hendrix, Al Di Meola and Yngwie etc.
Did you know what sort of sound you wanted as you developed, or have you let you style grow organically?
Mike: It just kind of happened from all the years of training and being open minded to many styles of music and always playing. I always strive to be versatile as possible, after a while your sound just develops.
When did you start work on “Electric City”, and was it hard work, pleasure or both to put the LP together?
Mike: A had a couple of songs from back in 08 that I was planning to use for "Electric City", in 2009 I did the main writing and recording. It can be time consuming because I do almost everything on the recordings myself. I would say it was both pleasure and hard work, It was fun, sometimes in can be a great surprise listening back to the recording after it is finished.
How does it compare to your other works in terms of style and quality?
Mike: "Electric City" is a little more heavy and aggressive than my previous releases. I didn't hold back on this one, there is some of my craziest guitar playing on this CD.
What sort of processes do you typically go through to write songs? Do you jam and look for moments of inspiration, or are you more methodical than that?
Mike: I don't have a set formula when writing, I use several approaches though. I will sometimes have a guitar idea and begin with that and build it from there. If I'm just jamming I might get an idea that will spark a new tune, or I will think of a tune I need and write it. There are times where I will write a tune or parts of a tune on an airplane with my laptop. I have written many tunes in new places that I might visit, a bunch of songs on "Electric City" where written in Hawaii or on the way.
Do you do or use anything special or unusual in the studio to get your sound?
Mike: No, I pretty much record old school, just a guitar and an amp, I record the guitar dry and I will add a little bit of effects after, like reverb or slight echo. Every once in a while I may record an effect to tape, like a wah or something. On "Electric City" I didn't do anything like that, I don't like relying on anything.
What’s your favourite track on the LP, and is it the sound of the song or the memories behind it that make you love it?
Mike: I love the song "Closer to The Sun", it is my favourite tune on the record. I think it is one of the best tunes I have ever written, it is very melodic, it has feel and some crazy guitar playing all in one song and it was written and recorded real quick. Originally, I first used the progression for a guitar lesson I was working on and then after I turned it into a complete song.
How is the album doing so far in terms of reviews, airplay and sales?
Mike: The album is doing really well, it is getting great reviews and several radio stations are playing it now and the sales are starting to increase. It takes time, especially with this type of music.
Do you enjoy the whole studio/creative experience, or do you prefer getting up on the live stage?
Mike: I prefer the live stage, the energy of the people really inspires me, I can just let go and let it happen. Sometimes in the studio I may over think and get too particular about stuff. It does balance itself out, a great live performance and a great studio recording.
What is one of your live performances like?
Mike: I always put a lot of energy into my live performances, my music tends to be a little heavier live than on my CDs. Live I'm more spontaneous and I like to improvise, if we are playing the whole evening I usually mix up the set so we cover different tunes off my CDs. Depending on the show, we could be playing a jazzy tune, then hit a bluesy tune and then into a heavy rock tune. I do acoustic sets live as well...
How is the guitar teaching going at present? Have any of your students gone on to be well known?
Mike: The teaching thing is going well, I have a lot of great students and I enjoy teaching them. I have been doing it for a while now and it has been always busy. Yes, there has been some students that were successful.
Do you have any other interesting projects on the go at present?
Mike: At the moment no, but I'm always doing everything at once, writing, recording, writing lesson articles, teaching, performing and it can be interesting at times. Sometimes you never know what is going to come up next.
Is there a master plan to your career or do you take each day as it comes?
Mike: I try to set up a plan as much as I can, I do take each day as it comes, however. The music business is always changing and full of surprises. I don't really play mainstream music, so it can be a little trickier. But, I do set goals for myself to finish projects etc.. You have to.
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Mike: People always ask me, weren't you a member of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra? Yes, I was...
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Mike: I'm about to go over some tunes and change strings on my guitar to get ready for a show coming up.
Anything else you would like to mention?
Mike: Yes, visit http://www.mikecampese.com/ and check out the "Electric City" CD and my other releases when you get a chance.
Thanks for your time...
Mike: You're welcome!
Thanks again to Mike for his time. Check out the preview of his latest album "Electric City" by clicking here.
Purchase link: CDBaby | Mike Campese Shop
Artist's website(s): Mike Campese | MySpace
