NIGHTMARE TOYS

Saturday, December 21, 2019

AXEMEN SERIES GUITAR INTERVIEW : Brian Worth / Genus

1. Tell us your name and the band you play for.
My name is Brian Worth, though I am usually known by the name Brell.  I played guitar in the band Genus from 2002 to 2014. Before that I played guitar in a Thrash band called Open Cage.  These days I sing for a Death Metal band called Acts of Swine.  
   

2. Who made you want to pick up the guitar?
I started playing at age 13, at that time I was mostly listening to Dimebag Darrell, Andreas Kisser, Chuck Schuldiner, and Kirk Hammett.  

3. Are you self-taught or did you take lessons?
I took lessons for about 2 years, plus taking numerous music classes in high school and college. 

4. Can you read music, Can you read tab?
I can read both.  I have an easier time with tab, as I’m sure most people do.  

5. Do you feel like you have your own sound / tone?
Not really, I never thought of my tone as particularly unique.  It’s a pretty standard metal guitar tone in my opinion. I always tried to be more unique in my playing and writing. 
   

6. Tell us about your guitar (brand, model, year, color).
I have a sunburst Epiphone Les Paul that I got in 2007, with Zakk Wylde Pickups, which was a wedding gift from my Genus bandmates.  Then I also have a black Schecter 7-string, I think I got that around 2010. Both guitars are left-handed.

7. What about pickups? Passive or active? Tell us about them
The pickups on my Epiphone are active, and I have passive on my Schecter.  I like the active pickups more, it picks up the signal better, has better sustain, etc…

8. Let’s get into amplification, same drill, brand, model, speakers etc
For years I had a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier.  The cabinet just had the stock speakers. I switched to a Line 6 Spider Valve HD100 MKII with the Bogner 12AX7 Preamp around 2011, because I wanted to simplify my rig.  
   

9. Do you have a pedal board? Tell us about that bad boy.
I used to, when I had the Mesa Boogie.  I had a plethora of pedals and effects on my board.  But the downside was having too much opportunity for things to go wrong during live shows.  It didn’t matter how much I tested everything before a show, something ALWAYS went wrong during shows.  So that’s why I switched to the Line 6. Sure, the Mesa sounded better, but the Line 6 made my life so much easier.  Now I just have the standard Line 6 pedal board.  

10. Now tell us your Dream Rig in detail…..
I don’t think I really have one.  Being a left-handed guitarist on a budget, my choices of guitars were often limited, and I’ve never been much of a gear head.  

11. What guitarist can you not stand?
I honestly can’t really think of any.  Even guitarists whose music I don’t like, I can usually appreciate the talent that went into it. Seems like there should be an answer to this question, but I’m drawing a blank right now. 

12. Is tone more important or is technique?
I’ve never been great at tone or technique, so I’m going to say neither.  I always felt that my strengths as a guitarist were my knowledge of music theory, being able to play multiple genres of metal/rock, and playing with feeling and passion.  Out of those three, I would choose playing with feeling and passion, because that is where you can really put your own personality into your music.

13. Name your top 5 guitarists
Esa Holopainen (Amorphis), Chuck Schuldiner (Death), Dimebag (Pantera), Tom G. Warrior (Celtic Frost, Triptykon), and Paige Hamilton (Helmet).
   

14. Who is the most overrated guitarist?
Jack White from the White Stripes.  Rolling Stone put him their top 10 guitarists of all time.  The guy is good, but he’s not THAT good.  

15. Who would you like a one hour private sit down lessons with anyone dead or alive?

Frank Zappa.  I wouldn’t want it to be just a guitar lesson though, it would cover all musical topics.

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