www.insaneguitar.com

Interview by: Joel Wanasek

Hey Rusty, how's it going man?

It's going well bro, thanks for asking.

Rusty, you’ve established yourself over the years as a one of the world’s best players. I want to go back to the early part of your career and talk about your old band, “Revolution.” So why don’t you tell us some history about the band.

I joined Revolution in late 89 or early 90. I can't remember for sure. I remember I had just turned 21. I had a lot of fun in Revolution. Those guys were some of the most dedicated musicians I have ever played with still to this day. We practiced 5 to 6 days a week 3 to four hours a night. We practiced one time until the sun came up!! We were one of the top drawing bands in Houston, packed the clubs , and opened for some big bands at the time. We have a four song EP that I want to release. I'm going to try to get a hold of all of the guys and get it going. I have a ton of memories from those days, man if you only knew. We'll have to talk in private some time.

After listening to the Revolution EP, and I love it, it sounds very tame compared to the video footage that I’ve seen of the band. In the videos, you guys were ripping it up at all times. On the EP, it sounds like they put a leash on you guys. What is the deal with that?

Thanks, Yeah the music tamed down a little by them. We were under the guidance of this guy who was supposed to get us signed. Need I say more. Anyway early Revolution was my version of Racer X. Everyone in the band going mad. You should see the old video's it's like three songs then a guitar solo , three more songs a bass solo, three more , drum solo etc..

Now that sucks! How dare they cut out the insane solos!

Yeah I hear ya, I was young, and really believed in this person.

My favorite song on that disc was “Don’t give a damn.” It was hilarious! Makes me kinda miss the late 80s/early 90s. What’s the story behind the writing of that song? Those lyrics were great!

Well that song marked the new direction of Revolution. I was really into the Skid Row "Slave To The Grind" cd and wanted to go that direction while still having ripping solo's. Someone once said we sounded like Yngwie meets Skid Row. The song was about attitude, You know I don't give a damn!! I think we were one of the first band to really highlight the F word.

Now your playing with the band “Outworld.” Why don’t you give us some background about the band. I know that you relocated from Texas to Georgia over the last year. What did the band do about that? Is it the same line up, or did you find new guys to jam with?

Outworld was first put together in late 97 to perform my instrumental stuff, along the way we decided to make a band out of it instead of just a project. We added vocals toward the end of 2000 to broaden our fan base. Lets back up a little. After I quit Revolution I put a band together called Dominion . That's where I first met Brent , former Outworld bassist, and Kelly who is the singer in Outworld. So we all have a little history and past experience together. After Dominion broke up that's when I decided to do the instrumental thing. In 2001 Susan, (my wife) got a job offer that was to good to pass up, so that's why we moved to Atlanta. After I left Houston the band broke up for a while. We reformed in late 2002. I think that brings us up to date on that. I am putting a band together here in Atlanta to support the release of my cd and perform live.

The Outworld demo was pretty smokin’! There was some really great playing on that disc from everyone in the band! When did you guys record that demo? What went into the production? Got any good stories from the studio?

Thanks, two of the Outworld tracks are on my solo CD. "Dominion" and "The Butcher" those songs we're vocal songs to begin with. They were written in my old band Dominion. After I quit the band and started writing instrumental stuff I started with those. Anyway I thought it would be cool to release them both ways. "City Of The Dead" was recorded last October, the others we're recorded during the same sessions as my cd. "City Of The Dead" was kind of interesting the way we recorded that song. I sent a scratch rhythm guitar track to the guys in Texas to play to, and then flew in at a later date and played to the tracks that we're recorded as a result of my scratch tracks. I flew in with my guitar and plugged straight into a POD. Recorded all of my rhythms, improvised all of the solo's, and was done within a couple of hours. The funny thing is that I have still never played with the new drummer, I mean we're on the same recording but we have never jammed together in the same room.

How does Outworld usually write music? Is it one person in the band or do you all contribute?

It usually starts by me writing the riffs then we get together and arrange it, and exchange idea's or whatever else might need tweaking as a band. Kelly writes the vocal melodies and lyrics, and the other guys write there own parts and contributes to the song to make it what it is in the end.

What is in the future for Outworld?

I'm not sure at this point. I would like to see it work out, but I'm not sure that it's going to last.

Now I’d like to talk about your new solo CD. Let me tell you, the playing on it is AWESOME!! I’m going to ask you some questions about a few tracks. I’m going to start with “Under the influence.” The video you have on your site, playing that song, is freakin’ insane! Some of the playing in that song reminds me of being severely drunk, as it’s really chaotic and wild. So what is the song really about? Did you drink a 24 pack and start jamming on guitar when you wrote it, or is it about something else? *Laughs*

Thanks man. That song is definitely not about getting drunk, I could never play like that being loaded. If I drank a 24 pack man I would be puking. It's my tribute to three of my biggest influences Yngwie, Paul, and Jason. I felt like there we're times on that song where my playing was sounding a bit too much like my influences and I didn't feel to good about that, so I decided that the best thing was to give credit where credit was due.

“Dark Matter” has a very evil vibe to it. Some of the tapping reminds me of a Michael Angelo CD. What compositional elements did you use in that song.

Dark Matter is the non luminous matter that scientist's try to use to measure the size of the Universe. If the Dark Matter continues to expand so will the Universe if it doesn't it will start to implode causing the Big Crunch!! ouch!! As far as the playing the only tapping in that song is in the solo, the chorus has some very wide intervallic ideas that probably should have been tapped but where not. The song structure it self uses an odd time section, key changes, modal interchange and a ton of chords and inversions. I like to see how many chords I can play using the same note in the bass. Like E minor/E Aminor/E, Cmajor/E. I find idea's like that to be very useful in writing.

“Dominion” has some great arpeggio melodies! When you write melodies with arpeggios, how do you approach them? Do you usually start with the rhythm parts first and work you way up, or do you start with the arpeggio lick and work off that?

9 times out of 10 I start with the rhythm. I don't like to write to guitar licks. That's the kind of stuff that gets you into trouble. I love using arpeggio's. I always have even before I new what they were. I remember hearing Al Di Meola, and Yngwie using them, and saying "man when I figure out what that is I'm going to do that stuff all day" Jason Becker was a huge influence on my arpeggio usage. Love ya man!!

Man that picking lick at 2:42 in “E.B.E” is awesome! Do you keep a fire extinguisher in the studio with you? Cuz man I saw smoke coming off my speakers just listening to it!

Thanks man! No fire extinguisher. I should probably get one though. I have always been an alternate picker from day one. So believe it or not that kind of stuff is pretty easy for me, and I don't mean that in an arrogant way at all. I have just been doing it for so long I don't really even have to practice that kind of stuff any more. In April it will be 20 years that I have been playing now.

The rhythm guitars In “Hillbilly Militia” have a very twangy neck pick up sound to them. I think that every rhythm guitar part on earth in a metal song has been done on the bridge pick up. What prompted you to use that kind of sound for the rhythm tone? I think it is really cool and quite different!

Your right it does. I'm a huge fan of the telecaster, and strat neck position tone. I had to get that redneck tone going to fit the song. Hell man I'm from Texas, that's the Texas Asswhuppin' tone!!

Why did you use a drum machine as oppose to having a real drummer play on the disc?

I used the drum machine as a last resort. I went through 4 drummers, and finally out of frustration said forget it. So Bobby and I started programming the songs. The drum parts are an amalgamation of all of the drummers we had. We took our favorite parts from each drummer and programmed them into the drum machine. We also created our own kits and tuned them as well. We recorded like it was a real kit too, putting the kicks, snare, toms etc.. on there own tracks so we had complete control of it in the mix.

Lets talk about the making of the album. What went into it? Where did you record it at? How long did it take to record? Any good studio stories?

I recorded 97% of the cd in Houston. When I got to Atlanta I had to finish the solo's on three tunes. The cd it self took about 2 years too long to record.

Give us a run down of your gear.

I'm currently using my custom Jackson 7 string, a custom 8 string Conklin, and my Ibanez Universe. I run a Fender M-80 preamp into a DBX Dual stereo gate them into a Rocktron Intellifex into a Rocktron Intellipitch out of that into 4 Marshall 4X12 cabinets. On the floor I use a GCX Ground Control Pro, Rocktron Austin Gold overdrive, Vox and or Crybaby wah-wah , MXR Phase 90, and a Whammy pedal.

What gauge strings and what kind of pick do ya use?

I use GHS Strings 9 to 58. For picks I have been using this custom pick that Darryn from www.tuskbuffer.com custom made for me, it's made out of Mammoth Ivory. The thickness is extra heavy.

What kind of specs went into the making of your 7 string monster Jackson guitar (Pick up selection, neck scale, etc)?

The first thing is the depth and width of the cutaway. I need to be able to have access to all frets, and be able to do wide stretching without my wrist hitting the body of the guitar. Ebony fingerboard is a must. I don't like grainy fretboards. 24 frets. They are the biggest frets on the planet it's almost like playing a scalloped fretboard, my fingers never touch the wood. EMG 707 pickups, and a Low Pro Edge vibrato bar. The neck is also the thinnest 7 string neck I have ever played, it's great!!

I see you just got a new 8 string guitar! I bet it sounds pretty terrifying! How does she feel? That beast looks like it would take a while to get used to.

The Conklin is awesome, it's literally a work of art. I'm having EMG's put in as we speak. I love it and look forward to going into uncharted territory. With that guitar I'm finally able to hit all of the high notes at the very beginning of the 5th Caprice by Paganini.

I've heard pretty much every shredder out there at one point or another from running Insane Guitar and I must say that I don't think I've ever seen anyone with such ridiculously insane chops as you! What kind of practice did you put in to obtain that kind of technical mastery?

Thanks. I have definitely done my share of practicing. There were times when I would practice up to 8 hours or more. I was always very focused in my practicing. I would sit down and on paper write down goals that I wanted to achieve, then I would come up with a practice schedule that would get me to my goals. When I was just getting started I use to live guitar. I would play guitar everyday, I would take my instructional books to school and study them instead of doing my class work, I would sit in the back of the class and put my music books inside of my school books so it looked like I was studying. I would sleep with my instructional cassettes playing over and over all night in my headphones, I actually sleep with my guitar in my bed at times. There is nothing more that I have ever wanted , guitar, guitar, guitar, aahhh the insanity!!!

If a guitar player was starting out and wanted to play guitar like you, what would your recommend they do for a practice routine?

Try to find a good teacher, study theory, and learn your chords,scales, arps etc.. Study all techniques Alternate picking, sweep picking, economy picking, hybrid picking, legato using all four fingers on your left hand and all four fingers of your right hand. Listen to and seek out Rock, Metal, Prog, Jazz, Fusion, Classical, Blues, and Funk cd's. Practice, Practice, Practice!!!

I've had a chance to check out your latest CFH Instructional ROMS. Killer stuff man! I highly recommend them to anyone who is into shred guitar playing. What went into making those videos?

Making the cd roms on my end is pretty easy. All I have to do is tab out the stuff and then shoot video for it. CFH gets all of the hard work. As far as the content I just try to show my approach to things , sort of the method to the madness.

Are you going to do any touring to support for your new album? Are you making any special live performances in 2003?

I'm putting a band together to support the release of my cd, no dates have been set to play though. I think I'm going to be playing Jemfest again in Florida this year.

What is your next project going to be?

I'm not sure. I have a lot of material just waiting to be used, probably enough for another cd.

Is there anything else that you wanted to add?

Yeah buy my cd!! please I'm begging you!!! I'm poor and starving, my children need to be fed!! Nah just kidding, I think we covered everything bro. I have to say this has been one hell of an interview.

Thanks for your time Rusty. I'm looking forward to getting you in to do another guest column for the site sometime in the coming months. Good luck in 2003 man! Keep ripping' it up!

Thank you, It's been my pleasure.