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"I started playing the guitar at age 9. I played the drums first but I switched to guitar because my grandfather made me hold the drum sticks properly and I just wanted to hit the drums. " |
CKY - GUITARIST CHAD I GINSBERG
How old were you when you first start playing the guitar?
I started playing the guitar at age 9. I played the drums first but I switched to guitar because my grandfather made me hold the drum sticks properly and I just wanted to hit the drums.
Tell us about your first guitar - did you buy it or steal it? Do you still have it?
It was a Decca short scale that I won from a radio station. I sold it and bought an Ibanez 1983 Phil Collin (Def Leppard) model. I lent it to somebody and they broke it with out telling me. They tried to fix it by soldering it with rubber cement. I saw it 4 years later in the window of a local cigar shop and I wanted to buy it but I didn’t have any money on me. When I came back it was gone. It was the only guitar the shop had, they didn’t normally sell guitars at all.
Tell us about your musical training. Did you take lessons or are you self-taught? Do you read music?
I took lessons at the start but my guitar teacher was dorky, he resigned and was replaced by local rock star. I took lessons with him until I was better than he was but then he kicked me out for trying to teach him. I stopped taking lessons for about 5 years then I started studying again with Ritchie Kotzen. I used to know how to read music, but then I realized that reading music doesn’t mean anything in rock and roll. I wish I knew how to read music for times when I am alone.
Where you in any bands prior to CKY?
Yeah, bands like Rudy and Blitz and several other bands I could care less about. Rudy was signed by Roughhouse Columbia in 1995, but the record was never released.
How did CKY get together?
Deron and Jess went to the local studio that I was working at as an engineer. That’s how we met.
How many guitars do you own? What are kind are they? Do you have a favorite?
I own 12 guitars. My favorite is the 1976 Ibanez artist. I have a 1984 BC Rich Bitch loaded with switches and knobs and many random stock and custom Ibanez guitars.
 Who are your musical influences? Was there a guitarist in particular that inspired your songwriting and playing?
In the realm of guitar my influences are Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Ritchie Kotzen, Paul Gilbert, and Yngwie Malmsteen, though I can hardly play as well as them. The only cover song I know how to play is Paranoid by Black Sabbath and I probably can’t play it all the way to the end.
Tell us about your songwriting process. Do you compose CKY tunes on your own and then bring them to the band or do you and Deron write together?
Deron writes the main riffs that inspire all the CKY songs. Being the producer and mixer of the band, I come in at the studio stage were the majority of the song is finished.
Can you describe your pre-show warm up/practice routine?
I don’t touch a guitar before the show, unless my tech screws up.
Tell us what guitars and amps you have with you on the road. What effects pedals are you using?
On the road I have Ibanez guitars, a Mesa Boogie head, Prophecy preamp, a crybaby rack, and random floor stomp pedals.
What new bands are you currently listening to?
Queens of the Stone Age.What advice can you give to beginning guitar players?
Learn the basics, listen to yourself a lot, record yourself. Make the sound that you like to hear with the instrument. The guitar does more than just play notes.
In addition to being CKY's guitarist, you also produce and record your band's music. What systems did you use to record this record? Do you record as a band or overdub your parts separately?
We do a ton of tracking. It is all based on sonics and mix possibilities. We recorded on 2 inch analog tape, a neve board, and mixed on ssl. The tapes traveled through three or four different studios. There is a varying amount of gear used depending on what the studio had. We also used Juno’s and mini moogs.
You have a very distinct guitar tone - it sounds like you use a harmonizer - how do you get that tone?
Figure it out on your own, have fun. |
