Alex Masi Exclusive Interview (from "Burrn!" Magazine, July 1997) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MF - Masao Fujiki AM - Alex Masi Alex Masi is the Italian guitarist who lives in the USA and released his first album as Masi in 1987. The second one came out in 1988 and then Alex released 3 solo albums since 1989 until 1995. After that he decided to return to the former name of Masi project on the brand new album "The Watcher". On this album Alex Masi demonstrates the technical neoclassical and pure heavy metal music of course featuring vocals since it was issued under the name of his project. So everyone who likes Yngwie-Malmsteen-like sound can listen to "The Watcher". Let's see what Alex Masi has to say about it himself. MF: At first, tell us about your background, please. AM: OK. I was born in May 14, 1961 in Italia. I spent my childhood in Italia and moved to the USA at 25 years old. When I have free time I return to my mother country but still live in America. MF: When and how did you actually get interested in music? AM: I grew up with the records of Beethoven, Bach and Mozart which my parents liked very much. Most of the composers I listened to were of baroque-style and they all came from Venice like Vivaldi, Montverdi, Gabrielli and others. After that I occasinally heard Rolling Stones and The Beatles and liked rock music since that very time. MF: The first instrument you studied were drums. Why actually drums? AM: It seemed really cool to me. It looked great and I could hardly find any drummers around. (laughs) For example, I played at the school shows so when people saw me on that small stage they used to say, "Isn't he nice?" MF: After that you switched to the piano. What was the reason? AM: That was my parents decision. I already wanted to play guitar but they said, "You have to be able to play a more variful music so start with the piano. Guitar will come next." I had to study Tchaikowski and other famous composers. And now I can say that those piano lessions were really helpful to me. MF: Since when did you start playing guitar? AM: At the age of 11, I guess. Right at that time a friend of mine got a guitar on Christmas and he called me and played some major chords. It all sounded pretty cool and though that were major chords the impact in them was really great. Later he explained me those chords. I started with minor chords, then moved to major ones, then came solos and for some time I even studied classic guitar. MF: Was your first guitar acoustic or electric, or both? AM: The acoustic one with nylon strings 'cos the electric guitar cost too much at that time. So the first time I got the electric guitar was at the age of 13 or 14. MF: Were you a self-educated guitarist? AM: I took classic guitar lessions for a couple of years but studied the electric one myslef. At that time nobody around played in the style I wished to learn so I studied playing along with the records. Also when Deep Purple, Yes, Tempest, etc. came to tour Italy I went to their concerts and tried to remember the way they played. Also there were no video tapes around so the aura wasn't good but I did my best to learn. MF: Did you think about HM/HR music when started playing guitar? AM: No, I had no idea about heavy metal, only hard rock dreams. Ritchie Blackmore was my idol, I was like, "Wow! That's incredible, impossible! Never saw anybody like him!" Take "Burn", for example. That's when I made the final decision, "I don't want to be a drummer or a piano player. I have to play electric guitar just like Ritchie does." (laughs) So Ritchie was the best for me and Jimmy Page was also among my favorites. But speaking of songs, I tried to make something close to Yes, to Steve Howe. So the rock music was a big influence in my life back then. MF: Did you listen to any other music besides HM/HR? AM: Sure. Actually I'm a big fan of Alan Holtzwarth and John McLaughlin as well. I always listened to their music and when Alan played in Tempest, his style influenced me too much. But I never saw how he played all that stuff. I believe it was a hand-produced playing. MF: When did you first formed a band? AM: Around 17 years old. It's hard to believe but this band really played its own music. The main style was fussion rock but we also tried to mix it with jazz. Right at that time I stopped listening to the rock music and concentrated on the live sound. But still rock music was my ultimate dream. So the first hard rock band I ever played in was Dark Lord. We released 2 singles and the music style was in the vein of Iron Maiden and Saxon. MF: In the beginning of the 80's you spent a year in London... AM: Yeah, it was in 1982. MF: What was the reason for such decision? AM: At that time NWOBHM movement came to be with Saxon, Iron Maiden, etc. Before it were punk and new wave. I could never understand this music and felt quite disgusting. (laughs) I listened to NWOBHM, so I asked my parents to send me to Britain for a while. For that period I also played in some local bands there. For instance, for 2 weeks I was a memeber of Tygers Of Pan Tang before John Sykes came. Another band was called Chinatown. But anyway, it was a kind of research-trip. MF: Did you go to almost every audition in the city? AM: No, I was a kind of in-door person and my English wasn't good also. (laughs) MF: After you returned to Italy you moved to California really soon, right? AM: Yeah. I played for 2-3 years with Dark Lord after returning to Italy. Then I recorded a 4-track demo tape where all the instruments were played by myself and then sent it all over the world. The answers came from Austria and Holland but when I got a phone call from the USA I finally decided to go there. At that time Yngwie was a big star in America so I thought I had a chance. Also I always liked Californian girls. (laughs) MF: Was it "Metal Blade" that called you from America? AM: Yes, they suggested me to join the band called Sound Barrier. 2-3 months after I joined the band "Metal Blade" suddenly changed the band's name to Masi and I still don't know the reasons for it. So the first Masi "Fire In The Rain" album was recorded by me together with that Sound Barrier band. But only the singer and the drummer from the band were there. MF: You moved overseas from Italy. Did you feel the limitations you had there being already in the USA? AM: That's right, I did. Italy was the perfect place to learn ancient things. (laughs) The food was better also. You know, Venice has a lot of places which remind of its renaissance and gothic history and the inspiration there was really huge. But concerning modern rock music Italy wasn't a good place at all. No one wanted to play anything new, everything was in ancient traditions. So I got quite tired of Italian life. Well, I still love the country and its people but the music situation there is awful. That's why getting a phone call from America was a kind of fresh air for me. MF: What's the reaction on your albums in Italy? AM: Well, my albums were released in Europe. In fact, when I came back for a while from America many people wanted to get my sigh or photos with me, I was invited to record shops and clubs. It was very cool. So staying away from Italy I became a big star for them. (laughs) MF: (laughs) ...In 1989 you released the first solo album entitled "Attack Of The Neon Shark" which came out in Japan as well. Do you think you became much more famous around the world with this very album? AM: That's right. Thanks to this album I got a chance to meet many people. For example, I met Alan Holtzwarth who is my all-time idol. We met, had a drink, went to his house, wrote some music and did many other interesting things. Also I had a chance to sing on the album was wasn't satisfied with the result. But anyway, it was a perfect experience for me and the outcome was really awesome. Japanese guitarist Kuni also participated there and he's very cool person. MF: How did you come to the idea of becoming a solo artist? AM: The "Downtown Dreamers" album was quite a pop-souding one. I had nothing against it but I wanted to use more guitars and play not only pop-music but something else. That's why the next album became the first solo one. But telling the truth I don't feel like doing solo albums anymore 'cos there's not so many ideas for them. So you see, I changed a while since that time. But I might make a solo album later this year. MF: On those "Attack Of The Neon Shark" and "Vertical Invader" (1990) you played some kind of avantguard instrumental music. Sometimes people call this style fusion. Did you want to separate from the traditional heavy metal music? AM: Yeah, I really wanted to do this. You know, Alan Holtzwarth is a big fusion star and when I met him in the end of the 80's and in the beginning of the 90's he influenced me too much. And so John Leven did. He's also one of my 3 favorite guitarists in the world, he always makes something new. Of course, I like classical and neo-classical baroque style music. But I'm also fond of other kinds of music, for example, I like Myles Davis songs. I don't want to limit myself and would like to make different music. MF: Your next "Tales From The North" album came out only in 1995. What did you do in between? AM: I played in varous projects and bands, i. e. with MSG members or with the reunited Angel... There were too many projects. Also the scene was covered with grunge and alternative bands so it was impossible to simply try to do anything. Bands like Soundgarden and Nirvana became very popular and I had to wait. So maybe I lost some time. MF: You said you would like to play various types of music so what about that very grunge or alternative? AM: No, never in life. I like many types of music but they must be good for me. Do you understand what I mean? I don't see any positive things in those types of music. They're all quite famous but there're so few giants in this music. Well... still I think it's no good, I can't understand it and don't want to play something average. So no grunge ever! MF: After 5 years of silence you returned with "Tales From The North" and it featured a good old heavy metal music with vocals again... AM: Well, what can I say... Some years passed and suddenly I felt the need to play this music again. During the 80's I saw Yngwie Malmsteen and Tony MacAlpine and they impressed me much. So I remembered those years and thought that that kind of music was really great. That's why I formed the new band and started making albums... But you see, there's a little story behind that "Tales From The North" album. In fact, the situation with its recording is disasterous. The mastertape was lost in the studio and all I had were demos so I had nothing to do but put them on the final record. MF: You mean you couldn't find the mastertape anywhere? AM: That's right. The studio in which the album was recorded was the brand new one and the owners had to pay back the money. That's why I think they got hold on our mastertape. We didn't know a thing about it and the only thing they had to sell was out mastertape. MF: That's so disgusting! OK, the new "The Watcher" album features not only the "Tales From The North" album singer Kyle Michaels and traditional heavy metal music but the name MASI instead of ALEX MASI on it. What's the reason for such decision? AM: Well, I wanted to do it as Masi this time. Also it was not only mine but our corporate decision. I didn't write the songs alone so it's a kind of band's album. I wanted to do it since Karl wrote the songs as well and composed the vocal melody himself. That's when the entire idea came to be. And MASI is not my only name, that's the band's name. MF: "The Watcher" represents the traditional 80's heavy metal. Didn't you have any ideas to include something different in your album again this time? AM: You don't miss a word of my story, do you? (laughs) I really enjoyed this album while listening to it. The songs are really wonderful. And it might seem strange but that's the first time I truly like the whole album after its production process is over. Listening to my albums before I always thought that I had better excluded some unnecessary parts from it. I wasn't satisfied with them. MF: You know, "The Watcher" seems to be in the Yngwie Malmsteen vein. Do you agree with this statement? AM: See what I think of it. Many guitarists don't like when anyone questions them about it, thay say, "No, we're no Yngwie Malmsteens! We don't sound like him!" Well, the thing is that Yngwie Malmsteen developed the special style and even if they don't like him he anyway influenced them. So I'd like to answer "Yes." Alan Holtzwarth and Ritchie Blackmore are also among my influences but Yngwie wasn't apart from it. So I won't say foolish things like, "I never listen to Yngwie!" I like Malmsteen as a person and as musician very much. There's only one difference between us, I prefer more jazz and fusion types of music. Though I have an idea about making a brilliant neo-classical album. And probably it would be the next one! MF: This time you recorded two cover-tracks, "Easy Livin'" of Uriah Heep and "Living For The City" of Stevie Wonder. Why did you choose these very songs? AM: It's a good question. In fact, I like Uriah Heep since my childhood days especially the singing of David Byron. "Easy Livin'" and "Stealin'" are my favorite ones. Also I'm a good friend of their former keyboardist Ken Hensley and always wanted to make a kind of tribute to his genius. So finally it came true. Concerning Stevie Wonder, he's one of my favorite singers. He's the brilliant singer and composer, his songs are really awesome. He reminds me of Glenn Hughes who's also a big fan of Stevie. You see, I'd like to work with Stevie Wonder and discuss it with his management right now. MF: "Living For The City" was already covered by Ian Gillan on his "Magic" album. Did you hear it? AM: Oh yeah, it was it 1982, right? Ian is a great singer but his version seems to be quite fast, isn't it? MF: You already told about the new solo album and what about the band, will you continue under the name of Masi? AM: Well, I'd like to try working with both projects. One of them is Alex Masi. (laughs) You see, if you hear only guitar and piano that's me alone. I have so many ideas about the band's career. I can't say to my band members, "OK guys, it's time for classic. Next we'll make rock. And tomorrow it would be fusion." That's absolutely wrong. I don't want to be another Frank Zappa. He managed to get many really great musicians for his band but I can't be a different person tomorrow... (laughs) MF: What are your plans for the future? A solo album? AM: I'll make a solo album but before it I need to work with other two guitarists on the acoustic album. That's what I'd working on right now. Concerning the style, that's the classical music with some flamenco elements. ------------------------------------------------------------------------