Interviews: Interview with Guitarist Marco Sfogli (axeman for James LaBrie)
Posted on Monday, March 31 @ 06:55:12 EDT
Topic: Interviews
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Marco Sfogli:
The Hope & The Persuasion
by Tommy "Hashman" Hash
While most guitarists try to shred for the sake of shredding, there is a guitarist who can play some of the most fluid line you will hear; his name is Marco Sfogli. You have heard him burn the axe before, as he was the six string burner on James LaBrie's Elements of Persuasion record. But the question remained, when would we hear something from him on either a personal level or even something from a new band of his. Our 'hopes' were answered with his release There?s Hope (Lion Music), a record of high melodic and metallic proportions which showcases many different sides to the axeman.
Having grown up in a musical family, it was natural for him to become a musician himself (as he would in his teenage years), and even though he came from a family with such a musical background by his own admittance, it wasn't until recently the '90% self-taught' musician actually received some formal musical training. Nevertheless, you don't hear too many players out there like Sfogli who provides the perfect balance of both the technical and the soulful. The guitarist explains his musical career, the new record, and his current endeavors.
"I decided to put a solo record out as soon as I came back home from the Elements of Persuasion tour back in 2005," begins Sfogli, "I had some material to work on, some riffs and melodies you know?I even used stuff that I recorded 6-7 years ago as demos. It took a good couple of years to get 11 songs together; hopefully I didn?t have to rush and didn?t have any pressure about the release date so I took advantage of it."
Each song on There?s Hope has it's own identity and personality, almost being part of a spontaneous process when recording, and luckily all who played on the record was readily available to contribute, "Nothing (about the record) was preconceived. The goal was just to make it sounding right and various enough to enjoy even the average listener," elaborates Sfogli, "I didn't want to show just one side of myself so I tried to incorporate all the influences I absorbed through the years, from pop to fusion to prog for example. (As far as) all the musicians who played on the record, they are first and foremost friends. It's been just a matter of calling and see who was ?lock and load? to make it. I luckily didn't get any "no thanks!""
And of course working with Dream Theater vocalist James Labrie on Elements of Persuasion, it was Sfogli?s personal touch that helped make it the record it was, as he hints that a follow up is in the works at this time. "It was and it's still great," says Sfogli, "I think the story about that call is well known, I got in touch with Matt Guillory through a mutual friend. We became friends and when James was searching for a replacement to Andy Timmons on the guitar spot, so Matt was kind enough to suggest my name. I was auditioned and got the gig. We're working on the follow up to Elements of Persuasion and it will be great once again! Working with James verses my solo stuff, It?s a different animal of course, but I always preferred playing in a band with a singer than going solo. I can't see myself as a 'stage animal' you know."
Sfogli also appeared on drummer John Macaluso's latest record The Radio Waves Goodbye and that experience came out of the LaBrie connection as he states, "I knew John during the Labrie solo tour. Lately he called me to ask if I was interested to record some guitars on his upcoming solo record. We hooked up together here and had a lot of laughs and fun during that time."
Besides his playing, his tone is also unique, and how is it that he gets this sound? "I use and endorse Rash guitars, to me the best guitars I ever played so far," explains Sfogli, "Ruggero at Rash is a special guy, very supportive. We came up with a signature model which is absolutely fantastic. As far as the amps go, I fell in love with Mesa Boogies ten years ago and never looked back since. I'm very proud to be part of the Mesa Boogie family and I will never stop talking good about their products. I use a Triaxis and a Studio Preamp live, both wired to a Simul Class 2:90 power amp and occasionally a Lonestar. Amazing amps and amazing company!"
Aside from working on bringing There's Hope to life on the road as well as a new record with LaBrie, at this time Sfogli tries to stay in focus with those two things, although in the future he mentions that he would like to produce and work on other projects, but the main two, are keeping him busy. Concluding, Sfogli, makes one simple comment on his playing philosophy, "I hope to play as much as I can, especially live. I love that environment!" And who could argue with that.
Copyright & Publishing: 2008 Tommy Hash for Ytsejam.com
CLICK HERE to Read a Review of There?s Hope.
Please Visit:
Marco Sfogli Website
Marco Sfogli at MySpace
Lion Music Website
Lion Music at MySpace
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