Page 14 - BiTS_10_OCTOBER_2022

Music was always around and everybody in my family appreciated music. As a result, I was
exposed to all kinds of artists and styles from an early age and that has helped me have a wide
range of styles in my own music.
LL: You started playing guitar professionally at age 14. What drew you to the
instrument? Did you study or were you self-taught?

ET: I’m not totally sure what drew me to the guitar. I suppose it’s a bit like why you find
someone attractive. Sometimes there’s just a spark and for me a guitar has that spark-
especially electric guitar! I liked a lot of music that featured guitar and I listened to a lot of
guitar playing on the radio and on records. A guitar just looks cool. When you sling one over
your shoulder and hit a power chord
through a gritty amplifier it just kind of
instantly gives anybody in a position of
authority a big middle finger and that still
appeals to me to this day.

I started taking guitar lessons when I was
6 years old but stopped after a while.
Then, when I was 12, I got an electric
guitar, and I was both feet in from that
time on. I played every day and I still play
almost every day. I took guitar lessons for
a few months in junior high school and
learned some fundamentals of blues and
rock. In high school I took some classical
guitar lessons which improved my
reading skills and also my ability to play
using my fingers instead of a pick. I am
comfortable playing either way now
depending on the style I am playing.

I also studied jazz piano for a while to
learn more about harmony. That study
helped me really understand how music
is put together and helped me feel
confident in most musical settings.

Most of what I learned, though, was in the
streets and on the stage.
LL: Please tell us about your first band, your first recordings and such.

ET: I joined my first band when I was 14 and in the 9th grade. We played classic rock and roll
and R&B- Chuck Berry, The Kinks, Eddie Cochran. That music was all before my time, but I had
heard it because my parents had a lot of 45rpm records around when I was a kid, and I was
always listening to music.

The great thing about that band was that we played parties and dances and I was getting
professional experience at a very your age. I played in that band until around the time I
graduated from high school.
LL: What about playing in other bands?