By: Dr. Matt Warnock
You would think that being a member of two extremely successful metal bands, Soulfly and the Cavalera Conspiracy, would be enough to keep any guitarist busy. But Marc Rizzo isn’t your average guitarist. Between touring and recording with his regular bands, Rizzo has recently released his third solo album, featuring a wide-variety of songs written in the instrumental-rock guitar vein.
Legionnaire, which took two years to produce from start to finish, showcases Rizzo’s diversity as a guitarist and the variety of genres, including metal, rock, blues and Brazilian music, that have influenced him as a player and songwriter. The result is one of the strongest instrumental guitar records of the new millennium.
Rock-guitar virtuoso Marc Rizzo recently sat down with Guitar International Magazine to discuss his latest release, the importance of keeping up his daily practice routine and the variety of music that has influenced his playing and writing.
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Matt Warnock: Several of the bands that you tour and record with regularly, including Soulfly, feature vocalists, yet your solo albums are instrumental. What draws you to the instrumental rock-guitar genre and why do you prefer to record in that vein under your own name?
Marc Rizzo: As much as I love metal, thrash metal and hardcore, I’ve always been a huge fan of Vai, Satriani, Malmsteen, all of the guys on Shrapnel, even flamenco players and fusion-jazz guitarists. Those are really the guys that I listen to. I love guitar music. I’m obsessed with anything that’s based around virtuoso guitar playing.
I’ve always wanted to put out a solo guitar record along those lines, and I got that chance back in 2004 when I signed with Mike Varney at Shrapnel Records. It’s always been a dream of mine and it’s turned into something bigger than I ever could have imagined. I never thought I would be out on the road touring with an all instrumental set, but here I am, out on the road right now with my solo stuff and it’s just been a great experience all around.
Matt: After guys like Vai and Malmsteen really created that whole genre of solo rock-guitar music in the ’80s, that style of music took a big hit in the ’90s after grunge and alternative rock took over. As you’re going out on the road and getting feedback from fans, do you notice a resurgence in the popularity of instrumental rock guitar music?
Marc: Absolutely. There are so many great bands out there with amazing guitar players. It’s exciting. Every band we share a bill with the guitar player rips. A couple of years back I was really bummed out with the lack of musicianship in metal. But now, it’s really a great time in metal because of the musicality and virtuosity that the players are bringing to the genre. So things are definitely picking up and headed in the right direction.
Matt: When you went into the studio to record your last album, how much of the soloing was just improvised right then and there, and how much was planned out ahead before laying down those tracks?
Marc: I’d say that seventy percent of the solos are planned out in the studio. I write them and perfect them in the studio, along with any harmony lines. The rest is pretty much improvised on the spot. I like to work out as much as I can ahead of time, for obvious reasons, but then there are times when I just let the tape go and I let it rip and it works. If I nail something and I like the feel of it then I’ll keep it. Then when we take these songs live there’s a lot of improvising involved.
Matt: Yeah, it seems like the songs lend themselves to be opened up on stage for you and the other guys in the band to extend your solos. How much do you guys jam when you get up on stage with these tunes?
Marc: There’s a lot of improvising live, but obviously I like to keep the melodies and themes where they should be, but we open up the solo sections and stretch more than on the record. We definitely give a lot more across the board live, we indulge on certain parts, leave some sections out, whatever works on that night.
Matt: Apart from guys like Satriani and Vai influencing your playing, your love of the blues jumps out on almost every song on the album. How much of an influence did the blues have on your playing as you were coming up?
Marc: If you play metal or rock guitar most everybody starts with the blues. For me, I started playing back in ‘86 at eight years of age, and guys like Jimmy Page inspired me to pick up the guitar. The blues-rock guys from that era were very important to me, but so were the older guys like Hendrix and Clapton. The blues is a big part of my background and I’m always trying to get into that bluesy vibe with my records.
Matt: On songs like “Peaks and Valleys” and “Legionnaire” you use the acoustic guitar very effectively, which is kind of unexpected given your rock, metal background. One of the things that stood out the most with your acoustic playing was your tone. Are you using your pick on the acoustic or do you switch to your fingers to get that nice, round sound?
Marc: It depends on what I’m playing at the time. Most of the leads on the acoustic were done with a pick because I’m more comfortable soloing with a pick on any guitar. For the rhythm stuff I use my fingers because I can get that warmer tone, just an overall better sound for the rhythm parts.
Matt: Do you bring the acoustic guitar up on stage and mix it into your live shows?
Marc: Yeah, live I use a solid-body, nylon-string acoustic and we throw a lot of the acoustic songs into the set. It depends on the crowd. There have been shows when it was a chill night so we ended up doing an all acoustic set because it fit the mood perfectly. I’ll even throw in some Flamenco or classical pieces, that aren’t on my records, if the mood’s right.
This tour is more metal than some of the other ones we’ve done, and the audiences seem to be more into the harder stuff we do. So we’ll work in some of the acoustic songs when we can, but a lot of the times it’s up to the audience and the vibe of the room.
Matt: It seems like a lot of metal bands these days are one-trick ponies. They do one thing, like the blast-beat drums, on every tune and it all sounds the same after a while. Since you mix in the acoustic guitar, different tempos, Latin rhythms and percussion, do you find that your audience has a wider range of people in it then what other metal bands typically get?
Marc: Definitely, there are people who come to the show just to hear the acoustic stuff, but most of the audience are metalheads. Because we get such a wide variety of listeners in the audience sometimes it’s hard to know how we should arrange the set list, and what songs we should play. It’s a bit of a challenge that way, but I think it’s great that all of these different people can come out and enjoy our music. It’s one of the things that’s helped stand us apart from the other metal bands out there today.
Matt: You’re touring all the time, with your solo projects and with other bands like Soulfly, and your chops sound like they’re in great shape on the record and in concert. Do you still find time everyday to practice, or are all of these concerts enough to keep your chops in top shape?
Marc: That’s the most important part of it all to me, practicing. Even with all the touring and the stuff that goes along with that part of my career I still find time everyday to practice. I feel guilty if I’m not practicing, so I try my hardest to get a guitar in my hand and practice as much as I can everyday.
And it’s not just about practicing, I really focus on learning new things everyday and then try and bring those new ideas to the shows every night. Practicing on a regular basis is definitely important to me and to my success as a guitarist.
Matt: Are there any particular exercises that you do on a daily basis, or does your practice routine seem to change all the time depending on what projects your working on?
Marc: Yeah, as soon as I get the guitar in my hands I run through all my scales and arpeggios to a metronome, then try and speed it up to a good click. That takes about an hour to an hour and a half. Then I’ll run through all my backing tracks, which are the instrumental tracks that I use in my clinics. This helps me keep me on top of those songs and keeps my creativity flowing on those tunes, which are a big part of my performance and clinic schedule.
I also like to flick around YouTube to find lessons by my favorite players and work through that material as well. I try and learn something new everyday, even if it’s something very simple. If you can learn one new thing everyday and incorporate it into your playing then you just got that much better and are heading in the right direction.
Matt: It took you two years to write and record your latest solo album, because of your other commitments and projects. Are you already starting to work on your next solo album as far as writing and laying down some tracks?
Marc: This tour is going to run until the end of February and then I’m out on the road with Soulfly in March. Hopefully by this summer I’ll be gearing up for a new solo album and by this time next year it’ll be recorded and out in stores. I definitely don’t want to take another two years to record my next album. Laughs
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Links
Marc Rizzo Homepage
Metal Guitar Modern, Speed & Shred DVD on Amazon
BC Rich Stealth Pro Marc Rizzo 7 string Electric Guitar
