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Back in June I reviewed an excellent online video guitar lesson site called Infinite Guitar. I was really impressed with the line up of guitar tutors and in particular the lessons by Rick Graham, so much so that I looked him up on YouTube and discovered his YouTube Channel to which I instantly subscribed. Well Rick recently took time out from playing and teaching to do a quick interview with me.

What age did you start playing?
I was 17 when I started.

You seem to be proficient in just about every style imaginable, did you study music at college?
Yes, I decided to take the steps to study music after I began playing classical around 1995. I wasn’t able to read music at that time and after getting some books from the library and teaching myself I decided to enrol in a music theory night class which really helped. Following that I studied music A level and then headed off to London to study Classical guitar. I primarily played Rock before picking up the classical guitar and after I did that the floodgates opened and I realised how beneficial it was to be open minded about learning.

You have a very efficient left and right hand technique, you’re fingers barely seem to move. Is this something you have focussed on?
Not really, although in the past few years I have tried to make myself more aware of how much energy I am exerting whilst playing. I can assure you that it doesn’t feel effortless from my perspective!

How and when did you become involved with InfiniteGuitar.com?
Actually, one of my students sent me a link to the original IG website and mentioned how good Sean’s videos were. I was very impressed with what I saw and when I discovered Sean was looking for instructors I knew it was something I would like to be involved with.

Do you record your lessons at home? What is your setup?
Yeah, I record all my stuff at home. I have a sony camera which I use to record the vids with the essential lighting setup to increase the quality. Actually, I have just bought another camera so that should open up a new world of possibilities for the new lessons. I do a mix of spoken lessons which use the mic from the camera to record the audio but for the other lessons I record via the line in on the pc and sync’ up the audio with the video. Gearwise I am using a Flaxwood liekki guitar into a pod xt live and then direct to Sonar. Sometimes I use my Yamaha AW16G as a mixer depending on what I want. Amp wise I have a switchblade 100 bead into a marshall 1960a 4x12 which is what I use for gigs.

How do you get your ideas for lessons, have you had teaching experience?
It varies really depending on what kind of lesson I do. A lot of ideas come when I’m doing something totally unrelated to music. Some of the guys on the IG forums give great ideas to the instructors and that kills two birds with one stone so to speak. My latest tutorial in the style of Andy Mckee for instance was requested by a number of people so I went with it. I really enjoyed doing that one as I love that particular style of playing and I really like the music of Andy Mckee. I began teaching around 2 years after I started playing which does seem a bit crazy to me now! However, it really forced me to understand myself and what it was that I was actually doing and because of that, I have learned so much over the years which has helped me grow as a musician and teacher.

Your transcription skills are amazing, Andromeda (by Mark Sfogli) for instance! Have you worked as a transcriber for guitar mags?
Thanks! No I have never done any work for magazines but it is definitely something I would love to do. I love transcribing; I find it a wonderful way improving one’s overall musicianship and it is something that I always do. Just as a mechanic tends to learn by taking things apart and putting them back together the musician does with music. The important thing though is what happens inside the mind and ears of the musician during the transcribing process. I feel it is the best way to develop you overall musicianship and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

Edit: Here is the link to Rick playing the Andromeda solo on YouTube

In your IG videos you have a champagne coloured Ibanez JS Series, what made you switch to Flaxwood guitars?
Yeah, it’s an Ibanez JS2000CG  (Satch champagne gold model) and is a great guitar. I particularly love the fact that it is as light as a feather and the shape of the body is so comfortable for me. I got involved with Flaxwood through Richard Lundmark, a Flaxwood endorsee who is a phenomenal guitar player and an instructor at IG. I had seen some footage of Richard on YouTube and had always loved the tones he was coaxing from the guitars, so we spoke at length and an endorsement deal was arranged. I received my endorsement guitar at the London Guitar Show in June of this year and have been blown away by the versatility and tones. It’s a fantastic guitar!

Is it a standard model or a signature model?
It’s Flaxwood’s flagship model the ‘liekki’. Hopefully a signature model will be a possibility in the not too distant future!

They look kind of similar to my old Patrick Eggle, how do they compare to your old Ibanez JS?
I have owned a Patrick Eggle actually but I feel that the Flaxwood is an entirely different beast. The JS 2000 is a great guitar but I think the fact that I have rarely played the JS since I got the Flaxwood speaks volumes!

I have yet to hear your EP but do you have any future releases planned? Surely record companies must be knocking at your door by now!
Haha, maybe I was out that day then! I have been working on a full length solo album for some time but what with other commitments it has been put on the back burner.  I am hoping to complete the recording by next year with a view to releasing it at the end of that year.

Are you a gear head? If so what are your favourite guitars, amps and effects that you own?
I’m not a gear head at all really when it comes to guitars and amps. I am much more interested in synths and drums. My favourite piece of gear has to be my Roland XV5050 sound module. I spend far too much time editing sounds on that thing!

I’d like to thank Rick for taking the time out to answer my questions, check out Rick’s site for details including personal tuition: Rick Graham’s Website
Also check out Rick’s MySpace page.
Infinite Guitar Online guitar lessons with Rick Graham
For more information on Flaxwood Guitars as endorsed by Rick.