Artist: Iain Ashley Hersey  

Date:  25 February 2009 

The name Iain Ashley Hersey may not be one you instantly recognise but it sure is one you should check out as he's one of the most under-rated guitarists around.  Following on from the recent release of his fantastic new album 'Nomad' we catch up with the man himself to give us an insight into the man and his music.  

MM - Firstly Iain thanks for agreeing to take part in this interview, we really appreciate it.
IAH - On my end thanks for asking.

MM - Your latest album 'Nomad' again shows your confidence and ease with that classic rock feel while giving it a more modern edge, how would you describe your own musical style?
IAH - My main focus for many years now is to sound like myself and have my own style and identity. If I were to play ‘Giant Steps’ by Coltrane, the ‘Eruption’ solo by Eddie Van Halen or ‘Freeway Jam’ by Jeff Beck, as much as I appreciate what they have done…I want it to sound like myself doing it.

Bottom line for me is, it does not matter what style music, while I do try and ‘copy’ to the spirit of something, I also don’t want to impersonate anyone.

When I started hearing players like Allan Holdsworth, Scott Henderson, and Jeff Beck I realized that no matter what they played over, they did it their own way and sounded like themselves. So I blew off the chameleon thing and just tried to sound like myself regardless of genre.

Anyway, getting back to your question…I grew up with classic rock so yeah, I am pretty comfortable with it. Meanwhile, I am also very into the more modern fusion players. The focus on 'Nomad' was more for a classic rock vibe so I did hold back guitar wise a bit, but perhaps the fusion influence does give it a different edge.

MM - On your last album ‘The Holy Grail’ you used a trio of singers, whereas with this one you’ve focused more on having just the one main singer. What made you decide to use Carsten Schulz as the vocalist this time around and was he your first choice of singers?
IAH - Bottom line, Carsten not only having such a ‘Golden Voice’, he was also a person that was not afraid to work.  I’m sorry but most of the vocalists I have worked with … I’ve really had to pamper.  Carsten was not one of those, as well as that he also had a great work ethic.

He did three tracks for the 'Holy Grail' CD and not only did I enjoy working with him but I also love his voice, a little bit ‘Whisky’ sounding, but he also has a great range as well as being very creative. So for 'Nomad' I definitely wanted to present it more as a band.  Carsten was my first choice as well as he was really into it.

MM - Moving on to the rest of the band, how did you come to hook up with the rest of the guys, Doogie White, Paul Logue, Jochen Mayer, Thomas Bauer, Holger Seeger and Bernd Hermann?
IAH - That was all Carsten’s doing. You know, I’ve got keep an eye on him.  Honestly, Casten hooked up all the players for me and I was not disappointed in any of them.

MM - How long did the album take to put together from the first spark to the final product?
IAH - You did have to ask that didn’t you. Ok … I first started the writing on 'Nomad' when I was still living in Amsterdam. I was sending roughs to Carsten and Jochen for feedback.  I’m sorry my memory is not all that fresh … but to answer your question, I would probably say about a year from conception to final product.

MM - Of all the elements that go into creating a new composition, which do you find the most regarding? E.g. the writing, recording or playing?
IAH - For me the writing is always the most creative part of it.  From there, if one is co-collaborating as I was on this one … It’s like Solomon wanting to cut the kid in half, if you’re the Mom or the initial writer, it can be a bit painful.  Fortunately, we are only talking about song ideas and not a child.

Anyway, the recording part is a functional thing you need to do and hopefully after so many takes one still retains the magic and vibe.  That said and done Frank and Jochen knocked the bed tracks out tighter than a ‘Rats’ butt in only a couple of takes.

The performing part is … what can I say, that is why we creative people do this.  Be in the moment and express how you feel.  When the red light goes on … tune it out, be you and go for it.

MM - How did the music and song writing come about was it all you or did any of the others have any input into the songs and melodies?
IAH - As I mentioned earlier, I was working on rough ideas and then via the Internet sending them to Carsten, Jochen and Seegi.

They would butcher my basic ideas into something that was more commercially viable.  Which translates into more radio friendly as well as not too long.

They did a great job. Being the originator, it was much better to have other people do the chopping. Otherwise, you would have ended up with one very long tune for the whole CD.

MM - This album in particular has a very warm feel to it, a positive vibe so to speak. I’m not sure if this is down to the Hammond sounding keys or you and the band really gelling together. It sounds at times like a group of close friends having a jamming session and recording it live (and I mean this in a positive way!).
IAH - Linda, I really appreciate the warm comment as I do feel I have a warm vibe.  No, seriously as much as I love Hammond which Holger did a great job on … the keys were added after the fact.

Regardless, I am very much into creating music that even on a subliminal level inspires people. Definitely not into the demonic thing that brings people down.

As far as sounding like a group, I really wish we had all played together at the same time. Unfortunately, the reality of it is, the actual process was very sterile.  I had made a rough guide track of the tunes and I was in the studio when Jochen and Frank laid their parts down together.

When I came back to the States, I redid the guitars to the parts Jochen and Frank had done.  The only audience I had were neighbours a quarter mile away as well as perhaps some stupid moose that was wondering around in the backyard.

The eighty-four-year-old folks, I had to bribe by sending them to the movies so I could blast the Marshall. At first they didn’t get it but when one day they did come back early … they did.

Hope I didn’t disappoint you and as much as I really would have liked to have played with the guys together in the studio … this is how it happens as well as how it comes together with seasoned players.

MM - This is now the second album Carsten has appeared on, will you be working with him in the future on more projects/releases?
IAH - Time will tell.  Trust me I would have no issue with working or doing something again with Carsten. Absolutely I would love to some live stuff or a tour together.  Anyway aside from that, I really would welcome the opportunity of working with Carsten live. 

For my next CD I‘m honestly leaning more towards an instrumental direction. Something I have wanted to do for a long time.  Nothing against vocalists but for me it might be refreshing to just let the guitar be the voice.

MM - Who’s idea was it to bring in Doogie White to sing the final track Rainbow’s ‘LA Connection’?
IAH - Again Carsten. You really have to watch out for this guy. This time he ‘blind sighted me’ with this Doogie character.

Honestly, he not only got Doogie involved but also had Marc Storace of Krokus to do a track as well as Ian Paice.  Bottom line, I just bottomed out on the funds.

Regardless, Carsten as much as he hates the business side of this, which I understand as so do I, he really could be a great manager.

MM - Before ‘The Holy Grail’ album did you know anything about Carsten or his vocal style? How did you come upon him?
IAH - Interesting story. I first became familiar with Carsten via Stuart Smith from ‘Heaven and Earth’ and now in the band ‘Sweet’. Not sure how they became acquainted whether it was Carsten being resourceful and sought out Stuart or Stuart solicited him.

Regardless, Stuart, who is good friend of mine, was in the middle of recording his first CD, he knew that I was looking for a vocalist so gave me a recording of Carsten and told me to check him out. I really liked his voice so I contacted him.

We kept in touch and when I was working on the 'Holy Grail' CD asked him if he would be interested in doing some tracks.  

But then you can ask Carsten and get his version …

I was just blown away with just how fast he finished stuff and got tracks back to me.  Once again, not only a great work ethic but also an amazing vocalist and lyricists.

MM - This is your third solo album have you considered putting together a full time band so we can see Ian Ashley Hersey on the road more?
IAH - I have had full time bands and am currently looking into putting one together now. The issue is putting a band together in LA with quality players is not easy.

While yes, I can get the players together, the much bigger issue is to find places to play or more realistically actually finding a club promoter that will actually do their job and promote in LA.  Yes I can book gigs here in LA without the infamous pay to play syndrome, it's still a matter of me having to do all the promotion to get people down.  Excuse me, but shouldn’t I be focused on the band and having the band tight?

Even thought I currently live here, that’s why I don’t play in LA.

MM - Your guitar playing is just classic Strat from the off, what do you feel the Stratocaster brings to the sound that other guitars don’t?
IAH - The ‘Strat’ is a very unique instrument. I equated it to a very fine violin.

Give any kid a guitar with humbucking pick-ups and with the right amount of distortion they will sound great. 
Basically humbucking pick-ups are very forgiving as they are very mid rangy and cover a lot more of a frequency range.

Single coil pick-ups as on a ‘Strat’ are not so forgiving. But at the same time they will cut through a big mix, as they are more in the higher frequency range.

While there are some ‘Cats’ that can really make the humbucker thing jump out as Billy Gibbons or Eddie Van Halen, there's just something about single coil pickups that cut through.

Put it this way, if you ‘Fuck Up’ on a ‘Start’ it’s very obvious but if you can control, master it, again it is like playing a fine violin. The amateurs will only make it sound like ‘crap’; but in the hands of someone that knows the instrument it is like Isaac Perlman playing his Stratovarius which can bring tears to ones eyes.

Bottom line, not only do I love the tone of a ‘Strat’ when played right, I also feel it is much more of a challenge.

MM - Can you remember what your first guitar was and what song you mastered first on it?
IAH - The first guitar was my Mom’s acoustic. A no-name brand, which I would bang on.  After that I bought an electric ‘Howard’ from my cousin in Boston.  It was a piece of crap with four pick-ups and four buttons but at least by this time I had at least graduated to bar chords.

Of interest as well as a story I have never shared. While staying with my cousin in Boston to buy this useless guitar for one hundred dollars, I did visit a local music store and they had this solid body Gibson guitar with a Sunburst finish.

It was a long time ago as well and I had no clue as to what I was looking at, but now considering the time frame believe it was a late 50’s Tobacco Sunburst Les Paul and probably for the same amount I had just paid for the ‘Howard’.  Hey what did I know at the time?

MM - You’ve studied at Berklee in Boston and the Musicians Institute in LA, how important is it to you as a guitarist to embrace different guitar styles and sounds and does this make for a better guitarist in you’re opinion?
IAH - Absolutely. I don’t care what genre one gets into, excluding the speed metal type bands that as long one can bar a finger across the fingerboard … it is definitely valuable.

If I play through a Coltrane, Charlie Parker or a James Brown tune I feel confident with what I am doing.  If you can do that, then the rock stuff is a cakewalk.

The challenge is to play for the genre of music and with rock oriented material not to over play. Bebop lines don’t exactly work well in rock, if you know what I mean.

MM - How long have you as an individual been performing and can you remember the first time you ever played to a live audience?
IAH - Not trying to give my age away here but I have honestly been playing live in front of people for at least 30 plus years.

The first gigs I can barley remember. I think at some community functions. When I go back to visit the folks, people that I played with at that time for some reason seem remember all this stuff in vivid detail.

They could give you more information on that than I could.

MM - Do you think that young guitar players sometimes rely more on effects nowadays than actually getting the guitar to do more of the work?
IAH - To be honest, I’m not the one to ask concerning what is now current as I am really out of the loop.

The death metal, thrash metal guys are just playing bar chords on a guitar not only in a drop D tuning but now a drop C tuning. The more technical speed, shred cats are just playing sixteenth notes as fast as they can in one mode without a pause.

I much prefer guys like Scott Henderson or Jeff Beck that can actually phrase, play with the time as well as play through changes. I don’t won’t to piss anyone off here but you can get a ‘Fuckin’ monkey to pedal a bike as fast as you want, but when it comes to making a turn of direction …

MM - Making a living from music does not seem to be as 'easy' perhaps as it was in the past. How do you predict your future as a musician?
IAH - While I love music and for me it has always been and still is a real passion for me as well as a craft one strives to perfect ... to be honest as far as making a living at it … I don’t want to steer any up and coming players the wrong way but yeah back in the day playing cover material at clubs six nights a week … I made a good living.

At this point in my life and since I have pursued being an original artist… Let's just say for every CD I’ve made, it has cost me more to make than I have ever got back.  

So at this point in life, I basically consider it an expensive hobby.  Word to the wise, have a back up to fall back on, which is unfortunately the reality that I am now having to deal with.

MM - Are you still involved with the teaching side of music?
IAH - I haven’t taught for years and currently have no interest. While one can make some good money per hour you can never count on it.

The problem for me, while I love to share what I know with people, it was basically one out of ten that actually got it.  The end of the day, teaching was more of a burn out than anything else.

MM - When your working on a new album do you have a nucleus of an idea or do the ideas come first and you build the album around it?
IAH - I always have stuff floating around in my head. For some reason I don’t know if it is a blessing or a curse but I can’t shake this creative gene inside me.

Anyway, in terms of working on an album, I do try to focus on a certain direction so that it will have continuity.

MM - You started playing guitar at an early age, what moment inspired you to pick up a guitar and learn to play as opposed to another instrument such as the drums or bass?
IAH - Actually, my first instrument was the piano, which I still love.  I got a bit board of the piano as my Mom still tells me … my piano instructor told her that I was just memorizing the pieces by ear while I was suppose to be reading the notes.

Embarrassing as it might sound, seeing the Monkee’s TV show got me inspired to start playing the guitar, so Mom set me up for lessons.  The teacher was very old school and we basically play out of a ‘Beatles’ songbook.  If nothing else I did start reading at a very early age.

It wasn’t till I heard Cream and Michael Bloomfield that I really started to try and figure soloing out.  It took some time but again this was back in the day there wasn’t any books or DVD’s.  It was all learned by slowing down the LP to 78 rpms.

MM - Given that we almost missed this album and if it wasn’t for Carsten sending us a copy for review, what has been the reaction from those in the media who have heard the album?
IAH - I very much appreciate Carsten turning you on to this as we worked very hard on it.  As far the feedback I have gotten, the upside is that it’s been very good. The downside for me personally is that I now seem to be pigeonholed as this ‘70s rocker guy.

The other side of the coin is any press is good especially if it is good press.  It’s just for me, while I did grow up with this genre of music … I am definitely not limited by it.

MM - With all the great musicians involved in this new album I’m sure there would be some interest in the band, if you were offered a live tour would you take it?
IAH - I guess I would really have to think very hard about that one. Of course … you wouldn’t have to ask me twice about that one! To me it is all about playing live!

So when is the flight?

MM - Finally what does the rest of 2009 have in store for Iain Ashley Hersey? Is there anything we should keep an eye out for in the near future?
IAH - Unfortunately at the moment Mr. Iain regardless of what he has done, is now going to school for Post Production so that he may be able to finance his next CD.  Did I say something about a back up plan or music being and expensive hobby?

Actually, I have been talking to some good friends as well as great players about doing some shows around the LA area.  From there who knows.  I also think there is a Nashville move coming up very soon.  Great people and great city!

MM - Thanks again for taking the time out to chat with us today and fingers crossed we’ll catch you live in action some day!
IAH - Linda thank you so much for interview as well, it was my pleasure to talk with you.

MM - We'd like to wish Iain all the very best with his future endeavors and hope it's not too long before he gets those live shows sorted out.  If you haven't already picked up a copy of 'Nomad' then I'd highly recommend you do yourself a favour and buy a copy.  This album is without a doubt one of my favourites releases of the year and I'd wholeheartedly recommend it without reserve to all the real rock fans out there who favour quality over fads.

 

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