Interviews: Interview with Guitarist JOE STUMP
Posted on Sunday, August 16 @ 13:08:24 EDT
Topic: Interviews
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Joe Stump:
Shredlord's Vendetta!
by Tommy “Hashman” Hash
Guitarist Joe Stump is a shredder to the most intense degree; a style that melds the neo-classical style with the metal edge. His playing is so fast that Guitar One Magazine ranked him number 6 as one of the fastest shredders of all time, not to mention that he is in Guitarist Magazine's Top Twenty. Playing with bands Reign of Terror, HolyHell, and Shooting Hemlock as well as releasing a multitude of solo albums, fore which he has recently unleashed his finest hour with his latest Virtuostic Vendetta (Lion Music). The record spans through the classic sound of Shrapnel-era speed to 'Rising Force' symphonies to the Blackmore influence, making the record a collection of tunes rather than a big mass of fast notes.
But his passion for music isn't just shared upon making records, he is a teacher at the Berklee College of Music in Boston as the 'metal specialist/shred guru', having taught members of Firewind, Anthrax, and Killswitch Engage how to run the motions across the fretboard. Having just got off tour with Holy Hell and in active mode at Berklee, Joe Stump speaks about the new record, his teaching endeavors, and what holds the future for other musical happenings he will be embarking on.
"Virtuostic Vendetta is within the mold and framework of some of my past recordings especially my first 3 solo albums in that it's fairly diverse," begins Stump, "There's of course all the classically influenced speed metal/shred things ("Chasing The Dragon," "Fire And Brimstone," "Allegro #2 in A minor," & "Symphonic Pandemonium") some cool old school Blackmore and Hendrix inspired tracks, a really nice guitar ballad as well as some heavier, darker more evil sounding tunes. However on Virtuostic Vendetta I think I really managed to put it all together on this one and really hit the mark in that the tunes, the playing and the guitar tones are 'head and shoulders' above anything I’ve done in the past. The entire record is filled with nice melodies, killer hooky riffs and a very musical blend of technical shredding and emotionally drenched playing. I also strived to get many different guitar tones to capture the character of each track."
Stump worked with longtime collaborators Jay Rigney & Jay Gates on this record, and still, this camaraderie between everybody works after all these years, as he elaborates, "Jay Rigney has been playing bass with me for 10 years, he’s a monster player, he can throw down bad-ass retro hard type of grooves and has more than enough technique to handle the faster speed metal we do. He’s also with me in HolyHell and Joe Stump`s Reign of Terror, so I never go anywhere without him. Jay Gates was the drummer in Trash Broadway, a metal band I played with back in 89-91; we released one record. He was playing with me for the last 5 years but I’ve got a new guy on drums currently. But both those guys are excellent players and good friends as well."
And then you have his teaching, when it comes to studying music in the United States, The Berklee School of Music is one of the places to go to when it comes to anything from jazz to classical to metal, the school has produced an unbelievable list of alumni. Stump is part of the faculty, and when it comes to studying the technique of metal, he is the man to go to, "It’s a great gig, I don’t go into work until noon, I play and teach the style of guitar I love and it's never a problem as far as taking time out of my Berklee schedule to tour (and between HolyHell and my solo thing I tour quite a bit), not to mention I get paid very nicely for it, I couldn’t be happier, I get to spend everyday with a guitar in my hands."
As a teacher, he has one thing that he gets through to his students; it's showing the devotion to he has to playing his guitar and as a teacher, he understands that everyone has a different level of dedication, "One thing all my students get from me is that I love to play, I’m the same obsessed kid I was when I started out 35 years ago and I'm always living, eating, breathing and sleeping guitar," says Stump, "I have been for as long as I can remember, always practicing, playing and trying to get better and that’s what it takes if you want to become a serious monster player and musician. But I put that across to them in a very positive way that most of them find very inspiring. That comes across very strongly to anyone that studies with me. While I’m extremely dedicated and very intense about playing, that level of drive and dedication isn’t for everyone. I don’t beat guys with a stick like an old headmaster at some private school, I’m quite a bit more laid back but at the same time more than happy to help developing players that share level of dedication."
Boston is known of having a big music scene, it's a melting pot for all types of music being a big college/university town. The northeast is also known as being a breeding ground and a hotspot for metal and progressive bands - Boston always tends to be the center of it all, nevertheless, all types of music tends to rule the roost in the city, "There's over 1,200 guitar students at Berklee during the school year, so of course there’s quite a few of the students that are aspiring metal players," explains Stump, "As far as a big metal scene in Boston while there are metal fans there it’s much more of a trendy hipster kind of scene. Worcester (Massachusetts) is about an hour outside of Boston and that’s where a good portion of the touring metal shows that come thru, but I play shows both in town and out in Worcester from time to time depending on my touring schedule."
With Virtuostic Vendetta having just hit the racks and the tour with HolyHell having just ended, there are some immediate plans for the release of that band's record worldwide as well as some hopes to do some more material with Reign of Terror soon, "The HolyHell debut album was released in parts of Europe back at the start of July and should be out in worldwide release in the upcoming months," says Stump, "It’s a kick ass record full of great tunes and killer musicianship as well as sounding pristine production-wise. It’s doing nice biz in the territories it’s been out in thus far and is getting very positive reviews press-wise. They’ll be quite a bit more touring in the pipes for HolyHell in the near future so I’ll be out with those guys for awhile when it starts back up. Since I’ve been busy with HolyHell and my solo thing I haven’t had a chance to do another Reign of Terror record but I do have all the tunes for the next record written so hopefully I’ll get to it next year sometime. Not sure who I’ll have on board vocal-wise this next time around so we’ll see how that shakes out."
Within his busy schedule, he does find time to collaborate with other artists, as a couple of guest appearances have been yielded with fellow axe shredders, "Two of my shred guitar buddies Michael Orlando and Matt Mills. Both serious players and great guys as well so that’ll be a pleasure to guest on their next records. The most recent being a solo on the new Sean Baker Orchestra album out now on Lion Music, I’ll do guest solos from time to time if I’m asked but I’m too busy doing my thing so I don’t really do much session work."
Of course, more gigs are on the horizon, he is someone to check out on the road - not to mention that if you want to spark up your chops he does an instructional book that he is working on for future publication via- Berklee press you might want to keep your eye out for, plus a couple instructional DVDs with hopes record one in the future as he concludes, "I’ve got a European solo tour coming up in September playing both shows and clinics, after that some solo shows in the states, then HolyHell starts back up touring after the holidays. So lots of live playing in the future which is always great, nothing beats playing live."
Copyright & Publishing: 2008 Tommy Hash for Ytsejam.com
CLICK HERE to Read a Review of Virtuostic Vendetta.
Please Visit:
Joe Stump Website
Joe Stump at MySpace
Holy Hell at MySpace
Lion Music
Lion Music at MySpace
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