Jason Kelly is an instrumental rock guitarist from West Virginia. His melodic sensibilities have been praised countless times by listeners and fellow guitarists such as Dave Weiner, Joop Wolters, and Ty Oliver, as well as in the April 2007 issue of Guitar Player magazine and Guitar9.com’s June-July edition of The Undiscovered. Recently Jason has been promoting his 5-song demo CD, as well as recording new material for his first full-length album.  Now he's here for this exclusive interview...

 

 

 

 

 

IC: For the readers who may be unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your music?

Jason: I would describe it as being hard rock with melodies played on guitar rather than sung. It’s very melodic and it appeals to people that love instrumental guitar, people that don’t, and everyone in between.

IC: What inspired you to play the guitar, and how old were you when you first started? 

Jason: When I was in my early teens, I had a friend that listened to KISS and had a Les Paul copy and he showed me how to play a power chord. My first guitar was a strat-copy that I had to assemble myself! Naturally I had no idea what I was doing, or even how to tune it properly!

At one point, I (inexplicably) decided to take the frets out and try my hand at playing fretless. After my foray into sans-fret guitar was over with, I put the frets back in. However they weren’t put back in properly and some jutted out, making some areas of the neck dangerous! Talk about “note selection!” You had to really want the notes you were going for to risk getting cut by the frets.

When I turned 17 I got a Telecaster deluxe copy, and began to seriously study and practice. I would play for up to 16 hours a day at times, with my fingers sometimes becoming numb. I also studied theory a few hours a day.

IC: Who were your initial influences and how did that change over the years?

Jason: The first guitarist to really inspire me technique-wise was Yngwie. I first heard his “Trilogy” album and couldn’t believe it. Especially the title track, I literally sat there staring at the speakers! I immediately set out to learn to sweep arpeggios and run my scales. Shortly after that I discovered Satriani’s “Flying in a Blue Dream” and that really affected me also. Satriani’s approach to the instrument, and to music in general were unlike anything else I’ve heard. These two players inspired me and showed me what was really possible on the instrument.

Over the years I never really acquired more influences, insofar as trying to get any one player’s style down. I actually stopped playing electric guitar for a few years and played classical guitar.

IC: What led you to play instrumental music?

Jason: As far as playing electric guitar, I never really set out to do instrumental music. I suppose it came out of necessity. By playing instrumental music I’m not dependent on finding a band. I’m definitely open to a band situation, but I like the idea that I can make music when other people aren’t available.

IC: What projects are you working on currently?

Jason: I’m currently writing more material and plan to work on my debut CD in the near future. I’m also working with a talented vocalist named Zintek. She and I recently did a cover of the Twisted Sister tune “the Price”, which can be heard on my MySpace page. We’re putting together an original project and we’re going to begin recording some material soon.

IC: Could you tell us a little about your guitars?

Jason: Right now I only have 4 guitars. My main guitar is my Ibanez S470; I also have an EX Series Ibanez, an Alvarez electric, and a Tele. Ibanez has been my favorite brand for a few years but I’ve been keeping an eye out for other brands I’ve been hearing about such as Suhr and Caparison.

 

(Jason Kelly - Future is Now)

IC: What other gear do you use, and what kind of tone do you strive for?

Jason: Right now I’m using a BOSS DR880 for playing and recording. I also have Digitech and Zoom processors. Pick-wise I have some custom picks that I had made for me with my logo on them, they’re pretty much the same as the Fender heavy celluloid picks. I’m endorsed by Sfarzo strings.

Tone-wise I use a lot less gain than I used to. The ideal sound that I’m trying to get is a nice clear, sustain without sounding overly distorted. I also don’t go for the processed, reverbed-out sound that I would have liked in the past.

IC: What instructional material did you use to help develop your technique when you were younger? Did you have any favorite instructional books or videos, or a teacher?

Jason: (Tries to remember back that far) I never really got into all the REH videos and everything, since back then I couldn’t afford to spend $50 each on them! (We didn’t have YouTube in those days!) Every month I bought Guitar World (back when they actually had more than 3 chord-song transcriptions), Guitar School, Guitar for the Practicing Musician (my favorite) and worked on the exercises and transcriptions. I would also pore over sheet music and transpose it onto guitar.

IC: How much time do you spend practicing and playing nowadays?

Jason: It varies. These days I pretty much play everyday and I’ve actually gone back to woodshedding again, and will still work on things for a few hours at a time. Other times I may work on certain sections of my songs if I’m about to record something. I’ll sometimes go a day or two without playing. I pretty much practice and record at night when my wife and stepson are asleep, so I keep pretty crazy hours.

IC: Could you describe how you typically go about practicing?

Jason: I did the metronome thing when I was younger, but I personally find it uninspiring. I do, however, love to play along to a drum machine and I constantly come up with new ideas when I practice with one.

Sometimes I’ll have the TV on in the background and I’ll pick up the guitar and kind of sit here at the computer and play while I’m online. If I’m in serious practice-mode though, I’ll single-mindedly work on new concepts, licks, etc. for hours. Or I may have a certain aspect of my playing in mind that I’d like to improve. That may involve improvising, or it could mean digging through some instructional books, etc.

IC: Are you a guitar instructor as well as a musician? If so, do you have any particular philosophies or approaches to teaching?

Jason: I’ve taught off and on for the past 14 years, but I’ve never done it full-time. I’ve always made sure to impart to my students the importance of really knowing the instrument. I really espouse the virtues of playing all over the neck. I really don’t get the whole idea that so many people have that it’s somehow “cooler” to not know what you’re doing on the guitar! That’s analogous to someone being a semi-literate author.

I find out what they’re into and I find ways of imparting some theory to them in a way that doesn’t seem overly pedantic. I make sure they enjoy what they’re learning.

IC: Have you previously released any instructional material, and do you have anything planned in that department?

Jason: I haven’t done anything yet, but I’ve been toying with the idea of eventually doing an instructional video. In the meantime I’m planning on writing out some licks to put online.

IC: I know this is kind of a though question to answer, but what is your creative process like, and what inspires your songwriting?

Jason: That IS a tough one! That’s a question that I never seem to know how to answer. I honestly don’t have any one identifiable process. One example is my song “Far Apart”: I’ve received messages from people all around the world about how much that song has touched them. It’s also well-received by people that tell me they don’t even listen to rock music at all, let alone instrumental guitar, and it was reviewed in Guitar Player magazine. I was just sitting on the couch one night and out of nowhere started playing this riff. Before I knew it I had the whole song pretty much sketched out. About a day later I refined the melody, wrote the solo, and had the whole song recorded.

At the other end of the spectrum we have my song “Until Tomorrow”: This song began back in ’95 as something which I began to write quickly but could never seem to finish. Finally, about two years ago I combined it with something else I’d written in the mid ‘90s and it fit together perfectly and it was finally finished.

 

(Jason Kelly - Until Tomorrow)

 

Insofar as inspiration, I don’t really say to myself “Let’s write something sad” or “Let’s write something about….”, etc., etc. The best I can do is to say, while looking back at my work after it’s written, that life itself, or aspects, events, etc. seem to come out in my playing. I can listen to some of my music and it can take me back to very specific places in time.

IC: Do you listen to your own music for personal enjoyment very much?

Jason: I tend to go for awhile without listening to my own music, then I’ll revisit it here and there. I’ll have heard something a million times by the time I’ve recorded it.

IC: How important a factor is improvisation in your music? Do you improvise the solos on your albums?

Jason: I’ve typically always preferred written out, thematic, memorable solos, but I’ve also had great ideas come to me through improv. I plan to incorporate it a bit more than I have in the past.

IC: Do you have a favorite song of yours to play live, and do you perform any covers?

Jason: Actually, I’ve only had the opportunity to perform my instrumental material live a couple times so far. In my area there’s really no outlet for original music, and definitely not for instrumental guitar.

IC: Is there anyone you’d especially like to play or collaborate with someday?

Jason: I’ve never actually thought much about it. Probably Satriani, Vai, and Frank Gambale.

IC: Since this is an instrumental guitar website, what instrumental albums have you heard recently, and which are your all-time favorites?

Jason: The instrumental albums to have a big impact on me recently are Andy Timmons’ Resolution and Erotic Cakes by Guthrie Govan. Those are two phenomenal players and great albums. I’ve also recently discovered Kiko Loureira and I really like his new album “Universo Inverso.” I’ve also recently started listening to Greg Howe.

 

My all-time favorites in no particular order are; Joe Satriani – Flying in a Blue Dream, Steve Vai – Passion and Warfare, Frank Gambale – Live!, and the aforementioned albums by Andy Timmons and Guthrie Govan.

IC: Do you have any advice for aspiring young guitarists who want to pursue a career in music or just better themselves as players?

Jason: I’m afraid I can’t give much advice career-wise just yet, as I’m still trying to get a foot in the door, so to speak! I would say to definitely have a backup plan since the music business is unpredictable.

I would also advise young guitarists to practice and become as proficient as you can but also be careful to make sure you write MUSIC and don’t end up sounding like you’re just playing a bunch of exercises. You want to create memorable songs, and not just vehicles for your technique. Technique is meant to allow you to play without limitations, but it is not a substitute for writing songs.

Don’t get me wrong; it is great to see so many younger players interested in technique after all these years of hearing 2 chord, out of tune playing!

IC: For someone at your level of musicianship, what are your technical and musical aspirations?

Jason: My aspirations are to take both of them to a higher level, to be able to imagine anything and convey it musically.

 

I also want to explore more styles; I’ve been working on my jazz playing and I’ve also started to delve deeper into theory. I’ve even begun working on some country guitar just to give myself a new approach to the fretboard. I’m also going to get back into fingerstyle playing and finally work on the jazz-classical hybrid I’ve had in mind for years.

IC: Are there any guitarists who you still look up to?

Jason: Besides the guitarists I mentioned in my favorite album category, I’d also include Scotty Anderson and Eric Johnson.

 

IC: Which newer guitarists have caught your attention?

Jason: Guthrie Govan and Kiko Loureiro.

IC: Do you listen to any non-guitar oriented music? If so, which artists, bands or genres do you like?

Jason: Tons. My music collection is very eclectic. I still like all the pop music from the ‘80s, such as Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Prince, etc. There’s a rapper from Germany named Bushido that I listen to a lot, and a German R&B singer named Xavier Naidoo. I also listen to jazz. I haven’t listened to classical music very much these days, but my favorites are Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. I’m leaving a lot out but this would be a very long list.

 
IC: If you could visit any musician or group in history, who would it be?

Jason: I’d go back and talk to the younger version of myself, and teach him what I know now!

IC: Do you play any other instruments besides guitar?

Jason: There are other instruments out there?

IC: What are some of your hobbies outside of guitar and music in general?

Jason: I’m an avid reader and I’m also into computers. I also plan to get back into working out (which I used to do but I’ve now become the stereotypical middle-aged guy that keeps making New Year’s resolutions to do so!) These days most of my free time involves guitar/music.

IC: And finally, what’s the one thing you want people to know about you?

Jason: That they can check out my MySpace page and YouTube channel to see what I’ve been up to lately and to hear new music!

IC: Thanks for the interview, Jason.  It's been fun talking to you and listening to your demos!

Jason: Thank you Dave! And I thank your readers for checking out this interview.

 

 

 

 

 

www.myspace.com/jasonsnewmusic

 

 

... and don't forget to buy "Where is the Sky" at Jason's Myspace!