Interview: Mike Milan Dedic

Mike Milan Dedic: When I started playing guitar I was very fortunate to have all the great guitar players in the prime of their career to look to for inspiration. When I saw Eddie Van Halen back in 1981 with front row seats, I knew I wanted to play lead guitar. From there, players like Ritchie Blackmore, Uli Jon Roth, Randy Rhodes and Malmsteen inspired with with their classical influence.

Mike Milan Dedic: My latest self-titled EP was self-released. That was completely my intention from the beginning because I just wanted to have full creativity with what I wanted to put out there. The funding of course is limiting which obviously can affect the production of the overall sound but I strongly feel that capturing the right feeling is more important than all of that!

Mike Milan Dedic: It's difficult to pin yourself to one player to represent your sound but it appears that many people who have listened to my EP hear a (Malmsteen and Satriani) style of playing.

Mike Milan Dedic: I completely worked alone on this one. The way I approach writing a song is very simple. I try to come up with a very strong main melody and then work around it. I find that once I have the main foundation of the song to work with, everything else falls into place rather quickly.

Mike Milan Dedic: My gear set-up is so simplified, that it is quite funny!

I use early seventies Fender Stratocastors with humbucker stack single coils through a 1watt (yes, that's right) a 1watt Hughes and Kettner Cream Machine mini amp. From there I just use the cabinet simulator in the back of the amp and play through whatever venue speakers are available! That's it!

Mike Milan Dedic: This is my third record release but actually the first that I had complete control over so I would have to say that my current self-titled EP is my greatest musical achievement.

Mike Milan Dedic: It is very difficult to say what is working and what is not working. The "Guitar Instrumental Rock" genre is so small and limiting that it is very challenging to garner any major attention as other popular music genres receive. I have been very humbled by the kind words given to me by music journalists and magazines from around the globe on my EP. I think all those reviews have had a significant impact on promoting my music.

Mike Milan Dedic: I think certain music fans prefer instrumental music over traditional vocal oriented music because they prefer listening to just the sound of performed instruments. Classical music for example has been enjoyed for hundreds of years with no singing. The audience for this might be much smaller than mainstream music but the fan base might consist of more musical purists!

Mike Milan Dedic: I listen to almost anything! I think all music genres have something to offer. There is a lot of good music to be found in any genre. If it catches my attention, I am listening!

Mike Milan Dedic: I'm just going to continue drawing inspiration from all sorts of music and come up with new guitar instrumental songs to record. I have been in contact with many accomplished musicians from around the globe so collaborating might also be on the agenda. We'll see. I'm just having fun!