THE AXEMEN SERIES Barry D Anderson /Barrun/Runes

1 Tell us your name and the band you play for

My name is Barry D Anderson, and I’m the Guitar Player, Producer, Songwriter and Singer for the band Barrun/Runes.

2 Who made you want to pick up the guitar

Wow Great Question. I would say my mom. She was a great song writer and pianist. I remember sitting on the piano bench as a very young boy. I would listen to her play and write songs. Music would pour out of her like a river. The crazy thing is she never practiced. She just had that much natural talent.

As far as Rock and Metal guitar players and song writers go. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and of course Randy Rhodes of Ozzy Osbourne. Those are my favorite guitar players. There are a lot great guitar players out there. The sad part of the music biz is we will never hear of a lot of the greatest guitar players.

3 Are yourself taught or did you take lessons?

Both really. I’ve had Music and Music Theory in school. I also went to Song U in Nashville for song writing. So yes I have had a formal music education.

Like my mom, writing music comes pretty easy. That I do more by the seat of my pants. I do use Theory for arranging the songs.

4 Can you read music, Can you read tabs?

 

Yes I can. Truth is for me it’s easier to listen to the song and just play it.

5 Do you feel like you have your sound / tone?

Yes I believe I do. To make an impact the listener has to identify your style and sound in 5 to 10 seconds into the song. If they can’t pick you or your band out of a 1000 bands in that time frame no one will ever remember you. That’s a hard cold truth. One of the most important things you can do is to create an Original, Identifiable sound and style.

6 Tell us about your guitar (brand ,model, year ,color)

I use Kramers, Gibsons, and Yamaha guitars. When I look for a guitar. I’m looking for the Magic. I can feel it when I pick it up and start to play it. A great guitar can almost play its self. I really don’t look at brands or at price range that much. I’ve played guitars that cost just a few hundred dollars that have the magic. I’ve also played Custom Shop Guitars that cost more then a few thousand dollars that don’t. Most of my guitars are shade of Red.

7 What about pickups? Passive or active ? Tell us about them

I use EMG and Seymour Duncan passive pickups.

8 Lets get into amplification, Same drill brand , model ,speakers etc

I use Marshall JVM Series Amps with Celestion Vintage 30 Speakers. There are a lot bands and guitar players who are using preamps today. Like Line 6, Helix or the Kemper Profiler with ear buds. No real stage volume. I hate that but it does make it easier to mix the band out front. Much less gear to move. But I still don’t like the feel of it. It just feels fake to me.

9 Do you have a pedal board? Tell us about that bad boy

I’ve used almost all the pedals out there at one time or other. I like the Line 6 stuff.I have used Line 6 pods and other pedals for a lot of years. I like Line 6 pedals and I know how to get my sound from them.

10 Now tell us your Dream Rig in detail ….

That’s a tough question to answer. There are so many great amps today. Again for me it’s my original style and sound that’s the most important. In the studio I can control things. Playing live there are so many variables, things we as musicians and bands can’t control. I’m always looking for the just right setup. So far I haven’t found anything else, but Marshall and Line 6, that can do a better job.

12 Is tone more important or is technique?

For me technique and tone are really one. Again I’m going to sound like a broken record, but technique and tone are 2 of the most important elements in that original and identifiable sound, style that set successful guitar players and bands apart from everyone else. There is a long list of successful bands who have good guitar players and musicians in them. But no one in the band is a world class musician, just very disciplined and original. We can all name a ton of commercially successful bands that fit that paradigm.

13 Name your top 5 guitarist

Every genre has a ton of great guitar players. Other than the 3 I talked about in question # 3.

1) Andy James

2) Steve Vai

3) Yngwie Malmsteen

4) Eddie Van Halen

5) Jimi Hendrix

14 Who is the most overrated guitarist

 

For me anyone who can connect to the listening public should get respect. There are so many great guitar players no one will ever hear of. I guess Me. We as band get a lot of flack about being a bunch old fat guys from the Northwoods of Wisconsin. LOL !!!!!!! Really, there are bands and guitar players who say they are much better than us. Of course younger and cuter !!!!!! LMAO !!!!!! We’ve won 14 International Awards and were ranked number 1 for 200 plus weeks, over a 5 year period on ReverbNation Global and USA Metal Charts. I guess that doesn’t count !!!!!! So I must be the most overrated guitarist.

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

Wow, Wes you ask tough questions. I would have to say Lester William Polsfuss. Better known as Les Paul. He made a major impact on modern music by building and playing one of the first useable solid body guitars. He was a great guitar player and inventor. Again someone who thought out of the box. It would be pretty cool listening and watching Les play. Trying to connect the dots on how we all got from where Les started and where we are today. For me that would a major Learning Experience !!!!

Thanks for an awesome Interview Barry!

Wes