Displaying items by tag: Exclusive Interview

In the dynamic world of rock and metal, there are a few names that demonstrate an unparalleled synergy of technical mastery and raw passion as Nick Z Marino, a powerhouse vocalist and keyboardist known for his work with Yngwie Malmsteen and his solo project NZM, and John Ivan Belousov, an internationally acclaimed progressive and thrash metal guitarist and songwriter, a member of the Michael Vescera Project, and co-founder of The Voices of Metal Project. 

In this exclusive interview, we explore their musical journeys, their life experiences and stories, and what drives them to continue evolving. Nick and John talk about the roots of their friendship, the commonality of their backgrounds and fate, and share the history of their collaboration, offering a rare glimpse into the minds of two artists who live and breathe music of the highest level of creativity, drive, and multi-layered complexity.

In the modern guitar world, few names resonate as profoundly as Grammy-winning producer, engineer, virtuoso guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist Larry Mitchell. Renowned for his spellbinding techniques, soulful compositions, and eponymous signature sound, Mitchell has carved out a niche that defies genre boundaries, seamlessly blending rock, jazz, blues, and world music influences.

During his star-studded journey, Larry recorded and toured with icons such as Tracy Chapman, Ric Ocasek, Billy Squier, Miguel Bosé, and Nile Rodgers. He collaborates with Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, George Lynch, and Doug Doppler, among many others, produced award-winning records for a variety of artists, and released several solo albums since emerging on the scene in the late 1980s.

Interview by Yuliya Suleymanova. Seattle, WA – Sun Valley ID.

I have been planning an interview with Carole McClellan, an American designer noted for using leather and repurposed fur for quite a while. I was trying to remember how long we’ve known each other. I believe it has been 15 years. Time flies! I have experienced the luxury of having Carole design several unique pieces.

Carole has been an incredible mentor for me. I would always seek advice from Carole on either producing a fashion show, consulting on the teaching material for my fashion marketing and branding courses, working with local fashion designers, or asking her to share fashion industry knowledge and expertise on the fashion discussion panel at the Fashion Group International, Seattle Chapter.

Interview by Gene Aaron. Taken on May 10, 2022. Seattle, WA – Riga, Latvia.

JSA Europe / Stage Company specializes in stage setup and construction for live events and managing the production of live music concerts and festivals. It has been well known in Eastern Europe since its foundation in 1996 in Moscow, Russia. In 2014 JSA closed its Russian operation for political reasons and moved its headquarters to Riga, Latvia and since then focused on Baltic States and Ukrainian markets.

In its 25 plus years of history, JSA worked with the world-renowned artists, such as Michael Jackson, Jean Michel Jarre, Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, KISS, Korn, Madonna, Roger Waters, Joe Cocker, Ozzy Osbourne, Rammstein, George Michael, Julio Iglesias, Metallica, Montserrat Caballe, Muse, Liza Minnelli, Whitesnake, and many others. 

Interview by Vsevolod Baronin
Taken on 06/27/2019. Originally published in Russian by Soyuz Records Publication. 

Guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani is not one of those characters of the world rock scene who make bold statements and put on the eccentric shows — he just works hard, endowing humanity with not only excellent instrumental albums, but also entertaining fun concerts as part of the guitar super project G3, and sometimes G4... But the musician's next marketing ploy cannot be called trivial — demo recordings of the truly legendary 80s pop-rock trio Squares has finally become available to a wide audience in the form of the album Squares — Best Of The Early 80's Demos, where the future star played in 1979–1981... Hearing something yet unheard of, there was no way to shirk the opportunity to talk to Joe.

The Tacoma Guitar & Drum Festival at the Tacoma Dome is the biggest guitar event and the largest gathering of the musician community in the Pacific Northwest. We met there with a special guest Paul Reed Smith – a founder and owner of PRS Guitars, a modern guitar legend.

Modern because PRS Guitars is a newer name compared to other sharks of the guitar world, like Gibson, Fender, Rickenbacker, and others. We talked about music industry, guitar making, and branding because PRS has become a big worldwide brand in the last few decades.

Exclusive interview by Vsevolod Baronin with Royal Hunt leader, André Andersen
Taken on 12/10/2020, Moscow, Russia. Originally published in Russian.

There is a serious suspicion that Dystopia — Part I, the fifteenth studio album by Royal Hunt, an international act from Copenhagen, released in December 2020, went relatively unnoticed, not only because of the newfangled contempt of listeners for the physical media (records and CD’s), but mainly due to socio-economic perturbations around the fancy coronavirus pandemic.

Interview by Vsevolod Baronin. 
Taken on 10/25/2008, Moscow, Russia. Originally published in Russian.

What is eccentricity for a world-class rock musician? Play 20 notes per second? To patent a seven-string electric guitar? To record a live album with an unheard-of and unimaginable creative concept? Or, finally, go on tour with master classes in Russia, not excluding cities like Ryazan that are quite unique for a musician of such level? Well, since Steve Vai, who does not need the introduction as the electric guitar maestro, did all of the above, we can award him the title of rock eccentric #1. Surprisingly, when communicating in person, Steve turned out to be not at all the character that his music and stage shows represent, but a very polite interlocutor who answers even the trickiest questions in great detail. Steve's answers, of course, sometimes radiate hints of the aforementioned eccentricity and that's why they are good: they allow you to look at familiar concepts from a completely unexpected side, which, perhaps, would never have occurred to a person who is not a rock guitarist of a truly galactic level.