The Guardian’s Peter Robinson recently spoke with KISS bassist/singer Gene Simmons about touring, politics, the KISS Rocks Vegas concert film and more.

Asked why KISS haven’t had a platinum record since the 80s, Simmons responds: “It is what it is; the people speak. That’s the beginning and end of it. I will say that I think, in hindsight, we never spent enough time in the studio. We’ve always been more of a live band. Personally, I don’t have the patience to be in the studio. I admire bands like Pink Floyd and the Beatles who’d spend enormous amounts of time honing their craft, but I don’t have that DNA in my system. Some bands are more about being live. You want to get in there, bang it out and go out and play.”

Asked what happens in KISS Rocks Vegas, coming to cinemas later this month, Gene says: “We were going to try some new technology for our show and we planned to rehearse in Vegas and set up the stage, then we figured, if we have the place for 10 days, why don’t we do 10 concerts in front of a live audience? We tried descending on a flying saucer thing from the back of the hall. There was no net; if you fall, you die. We only did that once or twice. I still fly up to the top of the rafters and spit fire – there’s enough life-threatening stuff during the show without adding something else.”

Read the full interview at TheGuardian.com.

KISS fans around the world - prepare yourself for one crazy, crazy night as KISS Rocks Vegas hits up a cinema screen near you on May 25th for one night only! Expect sky high flames, ear-bursting volume and a few drops of blood! Includes exclusive interviews with the band and footage you will only see in the cinema. An extended movie trailer can be found below.

 

 

In November 2014 a helicopter landed at the infamous Hard Rock Hotel as KISS invaded Las Vegas for an historic nine-show run. Now, for one night only on May 25th, fans will be able to experience this spectacular night for themselves as KISS Rocks Vegas hits cinemas across the globe.

Book your tickets at KissMyCinema.com.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS frontman Anthony Kiedis "will be back better than ever," according to the band's drummer, Chad Smith. The singer was rushed to a hospital on Saturday night (May 14) with severe stomach pains, forcing the group to cancel that night's performance at a radio festival in Irvine, California as well as a show on Tuesday evening (May 17) in Burbank. They later announced that Kiedis was stricken with intestinal flu.

Smith spoke to Radio X about Kiedis's health and confirmed RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS will return to the stage for their scheduled gig at Ohio this weekend.

"His stomach was killing him [and] It was really scary," the drummer said. "So we went directly to the hospital and we were really upset we couldn't play for the fans, but also more worried about him.

"I really appreciate all the well wishes. People sent so much stuff."

Referring to all the tragic deaths the in the world of music this year, Smith added: "I know everyone's freaked out when they hear about another musician going into the hospital. It's been such a rough year.

"He's a very strong man and he"ll be back better than ever."

The CHILI PEPPERS are expected to perform this Sunday (May 22) at the Rock On The Range festival in Columbus, Ohio.

The quartet's new album, "The Getaway", arrives on June 17. The band issued the first single, "Dark Necessities", earlier this month.

Almanac, the symphonic metallers led by ex-Rage guitarist Victor Smolski, unleashed their debut album, Tsar, in March via Nuclear Blast. This was followed by their first successful European tour with Orden Ogan and Manimal.

Today the band present another song off that record in the form of a lyric video for “No More Shadows”. Watch it below:

Other things are also rapidly moving to the next stage for guitarist Smolski: Invited by motorsport legend Armin Schwarz and the Subaru Team, Victor will take part in ADAC Zurich 24h Race 2016 at Nurburgring, the legendary "Green Hell", next week. About 160 teams, more than 600 pilots and about 200,000 spectators are expected.

Victor: "After many weeks of hard training, I really look forward to take part in the 24h Race at Nurburgring for the tenth time! After special coaching by rallye legend Armin Schwarz, taking part in rallye and nascar events, a lot of sports in the mountains, on the water and on stage with Almanac, I'm ready for the next challenge."

Info:
Victor Smolski, Armin Schwarz, Lutz Richter, Ingo Bender
Subaru BRZ
No. 168
Box No. 21
Group - VLN Production Cars
Class - V 3

More info here.

Watch the race on German TV.

RTL NITRO:
Thursday, May 26th - 22-45 - 23.45 CET
Qualifying
Friday, May 27th - 19.30 - 21.10 CET
Top 30 Qualifying
Saturday/Sunday (May 28th/29th) - 15.00 - 16.50 CET + 01.00 CET
The Race

RTL:
Saturday, May 28th - from 15.25 CET
Race Start
Sunday, May 29th - from ca. 15.45 CET
Summary: Finish & Victory Ceremony

Legendary German guitarist Michael Schenker was interviewed by rock journalist Mitch Lafon for a recent edition of the "One On One With Mitch Lafon" podcast (Facebook page). You can now listen to the chat using the Spreaker widget below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On his current relationship with his brother, and former bandmate in the SCORPIONS, Rudolf Schenker:

"My generosity was very sadly abused, and I don't appreciate that. And so these days, I'm staying away from the SCORPIONS as far as I can, especially from Rudolf. I can't trust him anymore. I don't know what else he has in his 'trick box.'

"The last thing they did was 'Winds Of Change', [and] they cut Herman [Rarebell, former SCORPIONS drummer] out, they cut Francis [Buchholz, former SCORPIONS bassist] out… They were responsible with them for their commercial success; it wasn't those three… Klaus [Meine, vocals] is the only one with the real talent, but it wasn't those three that are calling themselves the SCORPIONS are proudly walking with the brand name. That brand name has become a brand new because of different eras and different components and different inputs from different people. And so it's very sad that they have become… [With] SCORPIONS, everything has become numb and dumb; it has nothing to do with music anymore. They milked what they could milk for the last 23 years with that manager who just died, and they haven't done anything since Herman and Francis left. So why they cut out these two guys who were their mates all this time? It's just sad that people can be so desperate to be in charge of everything that is success. And it probably ends up, if you have been very successful, it probably ends [with you] being very addicted to it too; it makes it even worse. Who knows what makes the world go around for that kind of attention-seeking people? I don't understand. Because one moment they're all friends and they're all mates, and the next moment they're fighting each other and they're fighting about money. It's crazy."

On Rudolf's comment in a July 2015 interview that there wasn't room for two Schenkers in the SCORPIONS:

"Rubbish! Absolutely rubbish! Rudolf cried on the phone, begging me back to the SCORPIONS when I left them. Because I went there to help the SCORPIONS out. I had just left UFO. I was 23 years old. I already had a hit in '76 with 'Lights Out' and then 'Too Hot To Handle' and 'Only You Can Rock Me', etc. etc. I had done it all [by] 23, while Rudolf was already 30 years old. Then they found out that I left UFO with 'Strangers In The Night'. And Matthias [Jabs] couldn't do the [SCORPIONS] album; he was not capable — he was too young and too inexperienced. So Rudolf, he asked me to help them out. I said 'okay,' and I helped them out. When I finished my work, they were so blown away, they wouldn't let me go. And by that time, it already went around the world that Michael Schenker, who just left UFO, had rejoined the SCORPIONS. So they got rid of Matthias because they needed me in the band. That's basically how it went. And then when I started touring with them, I put my black-and-white guitar on, my black-and-white outfit, and I started touring with them. After two weeks, I couldn't stand it; I couldn't stand playing Uli's [Jon Roth] songs. I was a guitarist with a focus on pure self expression. I wanted to purely express [myself] and develop as a guitarist; I did not want to be part of the artificial commercial world, and I didn't want to have to climb and go the same way again as I had just finished with UFO. I already experienced all of that and knew it wasn't for me. So Rudolf called me back after I went away, and he was crying on the phone, he was begging me to please come back and continue because they had a great future. I was embarrassed by his approach, and I came back again. And, again, I'm seven years younger than they. They very easily could talk me into anything. When I was 15, they were already over 20. When I was 23, they were already 30. So I never felt, especially also being a very shy person, that I was strong enough to stand my stand and talk to them directly in the face, so I went away again. And then they must have a big promise to Matthias to get him back, who probably was already very disappointed, and then they changed the story around to make it sound good, that, 'Well, I had to take my brother, because it's my brother.' Bullshit! They begged me into the SCORPIONS, and the fact is I did not want to be part of a commercial touring band anymore; I wanted to do and go my own way.

"I would agree to that extent, 'there is no space for two Schenkers,' because if I would have stayed with the SCORPIONS, my brother would have never… he would have never experienced what he experienced; that's the only reason.'

On why he feels so betrayed by his brother Rudolf:

"I personally think it was meant to be like that [with me not being part of the SCORPIONS], but I would have never thought that 30 years later, I would discover and [be] disappointed [by] a misrepresentation of my art that was basically stolen. And then [Rudolf] dyed his hair blond, and then he started pushing further and further and further. And now he's become an addict, a fame addict. Now that I'm with Dean Guitars, he wants to even further make people aware [that] he is the guy with the Gibson black-and-white flying V and that it was his thing. I gave my brother, Rudolf Schenker, I allowed him to play and use a black-and-white flying V, and I gave him a song to make it his, and that was my word. And as a thanks I'm getting is that he, when he had big success with 'Holiday' and with 'Rock You Like A Hurricane' and then 'Winds Of Change', he made that whole black-and-white them, he made it his. In the biggest magazine in Germany called Stern, he built the whole interview, over several pages, all based on 'black and white.' It's unbelievable! He's just a con artist. He steals everything that I have done. I'm his younger brother, and thinks he can get away with it, which he did — until they approached me to be part of the SCORPIONS box [of the reissued 'Lovedrive' album]. And I said, 'This is unbelievable.'

"And let me tell you something else: The first time I got a little skeptical about this whole situation here was actually before the SCORPIONS box when my sister wrote me an e-mail and said, 'Our brother is a greedy wanker.' And I went, like, 'What? That comes from my sister. You must be joking.' That was the first time I had goose pimples. I went, 'Whoah! What's going on here?'

"I have been playing the bloody… what do you call it?... 'sündenbock.' It's a German word, sündenbock. It means the person you can put all the blame to. That's what I basically have been for him. All the bad things go to me and all the good things go to Rudolf. And he's a junkie. He wants to earn and own all the good things. He wants to be the one that gets recognized for it. It's too crazy. It's actually sick already. Then, when the 'Lovedrive' box came together, then I realized what [my sister] Barbara said was absolutely true: that guy is lost. Sorry, but that's the way it is."

Rob Zombie’s new album, "The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser", is out today (Friday, April 29), via UMe/T-Boy Records. In a video clip from Rolling Stone (see below), Rob explains how he arrived at the album title and how the record got made.

On the making of "The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser":

Rob: "The new album I made actually before the last movie. I moved the studio into my house. We have a farm out in Connecticut and just sort of sequestered ourselves there and cranked through this record. It actually took a whole year to make the record, because we'd work for a couple of weeks and then we'd go out on tour and then we'd take a break. 'Cause recording can be kind of a drag. If you go in there and you're, like, 'Okay, for the next six weeks, we'll just hammer out every song,' by the time you get to, like, track eleven, twelve, thirteen, you know they're not the best songs on the record; they're just not. But if you keep taking breaks and coming back, it's always new and exciting again. So it kept it, like, 'Oh, now these two are my favorites. No, no. These two are my favorites.'"

On the new album title:

Rob: "I didn't title the record 'till it was done, and then I called it 'The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser', 'cause, to me, that's what the record sounded like."

On keeping the new album and songs short:

Rob: "I live in such a fear of being boring. So that's why I'll watch bands and I'm, like, 'They're so awesome. Man, they should have quit, like, a half an hour ago.' Unless you're Bruce Springsteen, let's wrap it up, kids."

"With this record, one thing I tried to do is keep it… It sounds so ridiculous, but it's short. It's a short record, and the songs are short. 'Cause whenever I go through records that I love and I listen to over and over and over, I go, 'Man, this record's short. That's why I loved it so much.' It's, like, thirty minutes, so I've listened to it nine thousand times, whereas you have other records where you go, 'Yeah, I know that record's great, but it's, like, seventy-five minutes long, or the tracks are, like, six minutes long.' Like, I'd go back and look at BEATLES records and go, like, 'These songs are like a minute-and-a-half long. They don't feel a minute-and-a-half long.' Even when… Later, on 'Magical Mystery Tour', I used to think, 'Oh, well, these songs are much longer.' But they're not really; they're still short songs, but they seem epic. I love long songs, but if you're gonna write a song that long, it's better be 'Freebird' or 'Stairway To Heaven' or something. It'd better be worth my time."

"The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser" was produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris and features Zombie alongside guitarist John 5, bassist Piggy D and drummer Ginger Fish.

A source close to RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE has told Rolling Stone that the ProphetsOfRage.com web site does not have to do with an announcement of the band's return.

After RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE directed fans to the web site earlier in the week along with the hashtag #TakeThePowerBack, a serious of posters cropped up around Los Angeles that read: "Clear the way for the Prophets of Rage. The Party's Over. Summer 2016." The rumors were further fueled by a countdown clock on the cryptic site that expires on May 31, along with an image of a broken slash through a red circle with silhouettes of five people, each extending their arms with clenched fists.

PUBLIC ENEMY's Chuck D also fanned the flames of rampant RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE reunion speculation by tweeting links to videos of the latter band performing live in London in 2010.

However, it appears that fans are wrong. "This is not a RAGE-specific reunion," a source close to the group told Rolling Stone. "There's a lot more to it. There are a lot of moving parts, a lot of exciting news to be revealed."

The project will include "some of the members of RAGE" and there will be live performances. "Whether that's one show, or five shows, I don't know," said the source. "There are more announcements to come."

Amplify reported earlier today that PROPHETS OF RAGE will consist of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk alongside Chuck D and CYPRESS HILL's B-Real. Ken Levitan of Vector Management is said to be representing the new band, which will perform songs by all three of the members' respective groups. There is no word yet on whether a new album is being planned.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE has not played live since headlining its own L.A. Rising festival show in Los Angeles in the summer of 2011.

The band recorded three original studio albums and one set of covers before breaking up in 2000. The group reformed in 2007 but only played sporadic gigs and never a full tour. Guitarist Tom Morello said in 2012, "We'd have to agree to go on one. Once a year, the band meets and very seriously discusses and turns down awesome offers to tour the world."

Wilk played drums on BLACK SABBATH's 2013 reunion album, "13", and joined a new rock outfit called THE LAST INTERNATIONALE.

Singer Zack de la Rocha and bassist Tim Commerford have been less visible, although de la Rocha showed up at the recording sessions for rap duo RUN THE JEWELS' second album.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler has listed his gated estate in Beverly Hills, California for $3.22 million.

The five-bedroom, five-bathroom contemporary Mediterranean house is one of multiple homes owned by the British musician.

You can see photos of the property at this location.

A founding member of SABBATH, Butler is also the lyricist of such SABBATH classics as "War Pigs", "Paranoid", "Iron Man" and many others.

Butler, SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Tony Iommi reunited in 2011 and released their first album together in 35 years, "13", in June 2013.

SABBATH's farewell tour, dubbed "The End", finished up a North American leg on March 7 in Vancouver.

Butler admitted in an interview with Rolling Stone that the tour is "bittersweet," saying, "I'm glad we're finishing on a high note but sad that it's the end of what I've known for most of my life."

The band has made an EP featuring four songs left over from the "13" sessions available at the shows.

Although SABBATH will not tour again after this run, Butler, Osbourne and Iommi have not ruled out recording together again.

Greek label No Remorse Records has announced reissues of five studio albums of the German thrash metal legends Accuser. Each CD will include thick booklet and bonus tracks, and each LP will be limited to 500 copies, where 350 copies will be available on black vinyl, 100 copies on coloured vinyl, and 50 available as part of the special limited edition box set with all five albums inside. 
 
Out on May 27th: The Conviction CD/LP, Experimental Errors CD/LP and Who Dominates Who? LP.

Out on June 27th: Double Talk CD/LP and Repent CD/LP.

 Accuser recently promote new studio album titled The Forlorn Divide, which has been released by Metal Blade Records on March 11th.

“Black Suicide” from Experimental Errors:

Even though AEROSMITH and Steven Tyler resolved the issues that almost broke them up a few years ago, there is still talk about bringing in a guest vocalist while Tyler is busy with his solo country career.

Guitarist Brad Whitford tells Metal Rules: "Absolutely, we have considered it — but whether it will happen, I don't know. I think it would be great." Asked who he thinks would be a good fit, he says, "A lot of people, everybody from Myles Kennedy [ALTER BRIDGE] to Axl [Rose, GUNS N' ROSES]. [Laughs] We had a bunch of people a while ago like Sammy Hagar. It would be a lot of fun."

Classic Rock magazine reported a few years ago that AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry had approached Paul Rodgers, Chris Cornell and Billy Idol about singing with the band, while representatives for Sammy Hagar denied that he had been offered the gig.

The rest of AEROSMITH fell out with Tyler in 2009 after a canceled tour and Tyler's stated intention to work for two years on a solo project. Tyler subsequently entered rehab for an addiction to painkillers.

Both sides maintained that Tyler never officially left AEROSMITH, and his management and attorneys threatened legal action if the band went forward with finding a new singer for touring purposes.

Asked by Metal Rules if all the turmoil with AEROSMITH ever gets old, Whitford said: "There is still a lot of turmoil and it can be frustrating. It should be easy. The whole thing started because of the music. If the focus was right there, everything would be fine, but we don't. [Laughs] Let the drivers drive and let the music happen, [and] everything will fall into place. We get caught up into a lot of silly stuff."

Los Angeles federal judge R. Gary Klausner recently delayed the trial of a copyright-infringement lawsuit involving Led Zeppelin’s iconic rock anthem “Stairway To Heaven” until June 14th. Led Zeppelin are accused of ripping off Randy California’s 1968 instrumental "Taurus" to create their hit song.

According to Billboard, with time ticking towards the June 14 trial in a California federal courthouse, the plaintiff is demanding that a judge order Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant show up to testify.

On Tuesday, plaintiff's attorney Francis Alexander brought a motion to compel attendance with the penalty for a no-show being a default and the jury being instructed to draw a negative inference from their failure to appear. According to Alexander, Page and Plant's "refusal to specify if they will appear is causing havoc."

Page and Plant may indeed be showing up voluntarily anyway. In an email to Alexander sent on May 6th, Led Zeppelin's attorneys wrote, "We have previously made it clear that Messrs. Page and Plant will attend the trial, but with them coming from England we cannot guarantee the day they will arrive."

Read the full story at Billboard.com.

Finnish hellraisers Santa Cruz have premiered their brand new single "Skydiving Without A Parachute”, streaming below (restricted to certain territories). The song is an advance taste of what's to come from Santa Cruz. Buy the single here.

"We wanted to release a little bit different new single than a kick ass, super fast rock song with shitloads of shredding," the band said about the new track. "Even though we've got the screaming guitar leads and bigger-than life chorus, we slowed the tempo down a bit and played some beautiful chords and lovely notes for you, with acoustic guitar and piano."

They continued, "The lyrics are about how life feels when you don't know where you're going, what's gonna happen next, or how you're supposed to feel when you're living on the edge all the time. In that moment, it feels like you're skydiving without a parachute."

Hide your booze (and your wives, daughters, or significant others) because the Cruz are currently on tour with Sebastian Bach. They're playing 29 shows in six weeks because that's how they roll. Dates listed on the flyer below.

Members of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, TRIVIUM and KVELERTAK took part in The Rock Reel's "Stronger Than All" challenge. Each musician was asked to hold a five-kiogram solid steel hammer with his arm stretched out to the fullest and hold it as long as he could. You can now watch the results below.

In a February 2015 interview with Amherst Wire, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach said that he spent the downtime from on-the-road life by indulging himself in the pleasantries that he missed while on tour. According to the frontman, he would average 30 to 40 miles a day on his bicycle so he can maintain a top physical shape before their next tour, and continued perfecting his culinary prowess by making homemade meals for him and his wife.

TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy recently spoke to Full Metal Jackie about how he stays in shape on the road. He said: "Every day, I time myself and make sure [that I do] hopefully a minimum of an hour of guitar drilling and an hour of vocal drilling in addition to jiu-jitsu or yoga or weightlifting. I just find it really important.

"When we were doing [the latest TRIVIUM album] 'Silence In The Snow', we had a lot of time off tour. So I said to myself, I want to make sure I'm doing everything I love in life well. So I took some cooking lessons, singing lessons with Ron Anderson, guitar lessons… classical guitar lessons with a guitar teacher in town who is an amazing guitarist. Jiu-jitsu and yoga classes, personal training classes… [I] make sure I'm lifting weights right. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right, so as I keep pursuing these things that I keep getting better at it, [and that] I'm on the right path.

"I think it's real important that people set impossibly high goals for themselves. My goal in life as a singer is to be as good as Bruce Dickinson and Ronnie James Dio and Freddie Mercury, and I know that will never happen, but I'm always going to work for it. I feel everyone should set goals that are that difficult for themselves."

Guitar icon Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) has released a new custom emoji set available starting today via Emoji Fame, the go-to company specializing in making emoji sets for musicians. Thus far, the artist emoji space has been dominated by hip-hop and EDM acts, Zakk Wylde's set is one of the first on the rock/metal side of things, and the first for a guitar god.

"Many members of the Emoji Fame team are secretly guitar nerds, so when Zakk Wylde agreed to do an emoji set with us we were beyond excited," says Gavin Rhodes, co-founder of Emoji Fame. "Zakk is arguably one of the top-ten most influential guitar players of all time and we're immensely proud of the set that we put together with him. His emojis are hilarious with a double dose of SHRED thrown in for good measure.”

The emoji set is available starting today.

Wylde recently announced new U.S. and Canadian tour dates in continued support of his new LP, "Book Of Shadows II". Wylde will hit over 40 cities spread out across the U.S. and Canada this summer including a performance at Heavy Montreal festival in Montreal on August 7, a first for him as a solo artist.

"Book Of Shadows II" was released on April 8 via Entertainment One Music (eOne Music). Zakk's first solo release in 20 years is the follow-up to 1996's "Book Of Shadows", a classic album Wylde released between his work with Ozzy Osbourne that has since become a fan favorite.

On April 8, Fret12 released the latest installment of the "The Sound And The Story" instructional-documentary guitar DVD series starring Grammy Award-winning guitarist and songwriter Jim Root of SLIPKNOT.

"The Sound And The Story" DVD series is quickly becoming known for featuring comprehensive guitar lessons taught by the artist — featuring fan-favorite songs. In "Jim Root: The Sound And The Story - .5: The Gray Chapter", Jim teaches you exactly how he plays the songs on SLIPKNOT's latest album, 2014's ".5: The Gray Chapter".

A clip of Jim showing you how to play the track "The Devil In I" can be seen below.

Since 1999, Jim Root has been cultivating a guitar sound and songwriting style that is markedly original and deeply influential. Entire musical movements have formed in the wake of the band's sound. A profusion of impassioned fans, noteworthy musicians, and signature products all take inspiration from Jim Root's approach to music, and Fret12 will be taking you even further into his creative persona.

"When Jim joined, it really became something very special, and I can remember being so excited for the future; because we had someone who could really play anything," said Corey Taylor, lead singer of SLIPKNOT.

".5: The Gray Chapter" sold 132,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The CD was released in October 2014 following a six-year hiatus during which founding SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray died and original drummer Joey Jordison was dismissed.

In a 2011 interview with Roadrunner Records, Root stated about when he first start playing guitar: "My parents had an old nylon string acoustic guitar that I would mess around on, which, I think, had like two stings on it when I was, like, 12-13 years old and then I begged them from the time I was 12 until I was probably 14 or 15 for a guitar and they got me this Memphis — not any brand name or anything — like a Les Paul Jr. copy, like a double cut away. That was alright. Then I begged and begged and begged for a nice guitar and I got a bass, 'cause the person at the guitar shop told them that if I wanna learn guitar, that I gotta start with bass. I got a Cort bass it looked like a Fender P Bass and I did one bass lesson with that and Paul Wilson, the guy I did the bass lessons with, saw I had good dexterity and a good ear and I pretty much schooled the lesson so I went right out from the lesson, and was like, 'Eh, Dad... [laughs] I don't wanna play bass, I wanna play guitar, 'cause all my favorite guys play guitar. And then I got a Takamine electric guitar, so that was kind of, like, my first real quick guitar. My first real real guitar I had was a Charvel, model 1 and that was when I was 15, I think, I got that."