Dan McAvinchey

As far as releasing independently - there`s really no other way. Instrumental music (other than `happy saxophone` music I suppose) doesn`t really get a lot of support from record labels, guitar magazines, radio, whatever. So, if you love doing this kind of thing, then you really have to accept that you`ve gotta do it yourself.

I believe that back in the 80`s it was a very novel thing to be an instrumental rock guitarist. I mean we`ve had rock instrumental songs since rock began, but the technical advances made by many of us were very charming and, for a while, in vogue. These are the very same qualities that almost killed the genre.

I find it hard to believe that some people have trouble getting press. It`s not really that difficult to do. I think the hardest part is letting go of the fear of a bad review. I`ve spoken to colleagues who don`t send their CD out because they`re afraid it`ll get trashed. Yeah, it might. But you have to take that chance.

The talented artists associated with Guitar Nine recall their mentors and heroes.

I have done interviews with quite a few leading Japanese and European magazines. My experience with them has been very positive. As far as US magazines are concerned, it is hard for me to say how they are handling guitar-oriented music, because I haven`t dealt with them much in the past. There just doesn`t seem to be that much of a market for insturmental music in the US as there is overseas.

The talented artists associated with Guitar Nine reveal offbeat and unusual ways to get noticed.

I think the stylistic variety comes from the fact that I love so many different kinds of music and I`ve played with a lot of different kinds of artists. I`ve played with a salsa band, a blues band, numerous pop bands, and an avant-garde jammy classical-jazz band.

I wanted to record this album as a band. The intensity and energy you get from recording as a band is far superior than to that of using hired guns. Being very influenced by bands like Dream Theater, Symphony X etc., I wanted the new material to be more aggressive and somewhat progressive, however still keeping everything very melodic.

The talented artists associated with Guitar Nine respond to the challenge: Put a million bucks to the best musical use.

All Latin or world music requires a very strong groove even if it is slow. That was a challenge since I am coming from a rock/fusion area. It helped my playing that way. Also when it came to soloing, I could not rely on my legato technique as much since it would not come out as well. Thus I worked on my alternate picking for a few months before the recording.

I have always played because I love the guitar and now since 1994, when I again started being in charge of the projects I was involved in I have felt the freedom to make the music I want to make and that I personally enjoy.

Well, this a great time for bands and independent record labels. The exposure is endless and the quality is so much better than even 10 years ago. I think bands will get smart and start to depend less on the company to put it in stores and see more of the future music listeners downloading the album. This would cost less for the buyer and give more to the band.