3. We all know Edward Van Halen has had a major impact on you musically, so can you take a second and tell us about his influence on you, and other influences other guitarists
have had on you.
My brother Tom was probably the biggest influence on me…not that he showed me how to play….he bought a guitar and wouldn’t let me play it! I would sneak into his room and play his guitar when he wasn’t home. Within six months I was better than him and his jamming buddies….he was really pissed at me for that!!
I think the first song I heard by the Mighty VH was “Runnin' with the Devil” in 1979 and bought the album…..I was blown away…. Eddie’s guitar work at the time time didn’t influence me too much cause I couldn’t figure out what the heck he was doing, as with most guitarists I knew at the time. He really did blow everybody away at the time and was doing things to the guitar that nobody else was doing…. today just about everyone is doing what he was doing back then. It wasn’t until a few years after I was playing did I try to tackle some of Van Halen’s tunes and of course with HOT FOR TEACHER.
I started playing in 1978. I listened to Jimmy Page, Dave Meniketti (Y&T), Black Sabbath, Scorpions, Pat Travers, Carlos Santana, Neal Schon, Randy Rhoads, Michael Schenker, Robin Trower, Joaquin Lievano, Peter Frampton, Black Oak Arkansas, Ted Nugent, Montrose, Jimi Hendrix, MSG and just about anything I could get my hands on!
I would get a hold of an album and learn the songs from beginning to end and then move on to another record…lots of Zep, Y&T, old Scorpions, UFO’s “Strangers in the night” live album……I was obsessed with “The Song Remains the Same”, the live Led Zeppelin record and movie. I use to drive my parents crazy playing the same songs over and over again! I took up classical guitar in high school as well and after school I would go rehearse with my rock band “Black Pearl”. We did covers…..UFO, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Y&T, AC/DC….stuff like that. We played at house parties and at our high school lunches. The second guitarist in the band was Jon Torres who went on to form ULYSESS SIREN and went on to tour with ANGEL WITCH. After that, I formed a band called THE FORCE….our drummer Marco Villalobos went on to play with Noel Redding’s band and the keyboardist Keith Hilldebrandt is now working with NINE INCH NAILS.
By the time I was 18, I was playing in the clubs with Sabotage. I was the youngster in the band…. the rest of the guys were 21-25 years old.
We opened for Johnny Winter once……Carlos Santana was in the audience and complimented me on my playing after the show….that was amazing to me! I also formed the thrash band DIE SIEGER and CHAMPION in the mid Eighties. DIE SIEGER was part of the Bay Area thrash scene at the time. We had Bob Clic from THE LEWD on guitar and the drummer Carl Socco went on to play with HEATHEN. The band opened for Metallica and Spinal Tap in 1984.
Dave Meniketti of Y&T was a HUGE influence on me in the early years. His playing had so much passion and fire that I wanted to learn as much as I could from him. I would go to their shows at the Old Waldorf here in the Bay Area and sit in front of the stage and watch every move he made on the fret board. Dave Meniketti and Joey Alves (Y&T rhythm guitarist) were unbeatable at the time with their heavy guitar work. Joey and I talk on the phone these days. Eventually I got a chance to open for Y&T with my band Sabotage in 1982…that was so cool for me!
Uli Jon Roth was also a huge influence on me as well. His playing is so hauntingly beautiful to me. I recently got to see Uli Roth and Michael Schenker play together. That was one great show….Uli did this amazing show with a video back drop and him playing along with a pre-recorded orchestra and a keyboardist…..somebody held up a sign that read “Tonight the Master comes”….that pretty much said it all!
Of course Yngwie Malmsteen brought the fret board to new heights. I saw him play at NAMM this year and he was just amazing!
