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Interview with Greg Rapaport
By Joe Florez |
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You would think it was the 80s all over again
with the countless deluge of guitar instrumentals that are arriving on
store shelves and hitting my mail box for review as well. A lot of
them are carbon copies of well established artists and many more that
just fail to entertain my ears. However, there are very few that are
far and in between that will grab hold of you and refuse to let go
until the end. One such case is New York’s Greg Rapaport. He’s a
guitarist that plays from the heart and adds some uniqueness to the
compositions that are anything but boring. Most importantly, they are
compelling and intriguing. My mere words of describing the tunes would
do the man no justice. He is on record number five titled “Homunculus”
which is a culmination of several genres meshed onto one disc and is a
must listen. Despite being out there plugging for a long time, he’s
still an unsigned artist just waiting to get his chance to spread the
music around to the masses.
On " Homunculus" the disc starts out with "The Sojourner" it begins
with aggressive guitar riffs which is very metal sounding, but then
just as you are about to get into it you switch the vibe which is very
funky. What were you thinking as you composed this? It seems to be a
little awkward in terms of flow when you hear this. Would you concur?
I like a lot of contrast in my music. The idea of combining funk/jazz
and progressive metal elements has always intrigued me. While it may
seem awkward because I’m moving between genres I feel the two parts
compliment each other well.
Are you a major jazz fan or heavily influenced
by it in your music because it shows all over this release? "The
Brawler" is a good example of this. There are some passages on there
when you slow things down a bit from the metal vibe and just bring out
another side of beauty in the music. I love the contrast. The best
part is that it doesn't really ruin the flow of the overall beat.
I am a major fusion fan. I do enjoy some traditional jazz but fusion
is my big influence. Jazz artists like Martino, Coltrane, Holdsworth,
Gambale and Bruno influence my writing and playing though not
directly.
The title of your new disc "Homunculus" is a
very intriguing title. Where did that come from?
Basically a homunculus is a myth. It’s a miniature human that was
believed to be grown underground like a plant. The title can be best
described by the following quote from the CD insert. “Popular belief
held that this plant grew where a hanged man expelled his semen during
the last convulsive spasms before death. Its roots vaguely resemble a
human form to varying degrees. The root was to be picked before dawn
on a Friday morning by a black dog, then washed and "fed" with milk
and honey and, in some prescriptions, blood, where upon it would fully
develop into a miniature human which would guard and protect its
owner." The idea behind title is that each song represents a facet of
one's personality. I personified each facet through graphic
representation, style and composition kind of creating a homunculus
for each song. So each song is its own character and has its own
paradoxes that are also expressed through the music.
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As you said, you have decided to create eleven
tracks based on different personalities. Best of all, no two tracks
are alike. Each instrumental has a lot going on. How hard was this to
put together as opposed to the other releases?
I strive for each song to have its own identity. I try not to write
with a formula in mind. I like to think that with each release I’ve
gotten a bit better at diversifying the music while still maintaining
a common thread that runs through the CD as a whole.
You recorded and played this all on your own. I
mean everything: the guitars, programming and bass lines. Could you
not find other musicians to be a part of this or was this a one man
show?
It is really REALLY tough to find musicians who would want to dedicate
the time necessary to put into a project like this and rightfully so.
Also I think that since this music is of such a personal nature that
it might be challenging for me to sacrifice ideas for the common good
of those involved. |
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I think that this is a very dangerous thing to
do sometimes because the results may not be that decent. Many folks
have tried and most end up with dismal results. Perfect example is
Lenny Wolf from Kingdom Come. He wrote all the music himself on his
later material and played all the instruments and it just sucked. I
think you should just focus on one or two things and do those well.
Interesting argument. Sometimes “one man shows” can be a result of a
vanity project or simply the fact that the artist had such a backlog
of material that they felt they needed to document it. In my case I
feel that a lot of the skills that are used to put together this type
of project overlap each other. Through teaching guitar and bass I feel
that things like rhythm, melody and composition have a tendency to get
refined through the sheer repetition of teaching it. Also as far as
the engineering and production goes that has always been a hobby of
mine since I find the technology fascinating. I own and run a media
company that specializes in sound design, graphics, web development
and animation so fortunately those skills can come into play as well.
Will you continue to work like this or would you
like to find other people to join in on the future?
Right now I’m playing in an original band and I find that that really
helps me to communicate musically and work ideas and arrangements out
with others. As far as my solo stuff I would like to work with others
who are somewhat like-minded. Also I’d really enjoy being a part of
someone else’s project who may be into my style, possibly infusing
some ideas of my own.
Most of your discs are instrumentals. Wouldn't
you agree that this is very difficult to do because there are numerous
discs out there devoted to this field? I have been receiving many
instrumentals lately and some are good while others aren't as
appealing. It's hard to try and shine among the many great guitar
heroes out there.
You better believe it! There is an enormous amount of talent out
there. And with the internet making the world smaller everyday it does
create a lot of competition for attention. I just hope I can create a
bit of a niche for myself that some people find appealing.
How long did it take for you to craft each song
on "Homunculus"?
The whole disk took about 2.5 years start to finish. That’s a long
time, even for me. As far as each song goes it really varied. Some
songs were more involved then others as far as composition goes so
they took a bit longer. I guess maybe start to finish per song on
average was around a month and a half.
This disc is refreshing and what
I like is that you aren't pretentious about your playing
unlike Yngwie. As much as I love his music, it's always
based around his riffing and shredding and sometimes it
gets boring after a while. On this offering, it's all
about the music.
Thanks for the compliment. Yngwie is a great player. He
almost single handedly commercialized neo-classical
guitar. A great many players have followed in his
footsteps. It’s not my bag though. |
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Do you feel that some of your
songs drag on a little too long? I feel that you
accomplish your task in under five minutes because after
a while it seems that you just repeat your music.
Ever hear “Hey Jude”? Just kidding. When I finish a tune
and listen back sometimes I feel that maybe some time
could be trimmed off, but generally I feel each part is
integral and links the song together. Also I try to
create a theme that carries through the tune. Since a
lot of the parts in my songs are really varied in style
I feel that sometimes a recurring theme helps glue the
song together making it coherent.
Having built your own studio is
probably the best thing to do because you can take as
much time needed to perfect each recording.
That was probably one of the smartest things I’ve done.
The CD I cut with Nero was done the traditional route in
a commercial studio and it cost a nice chunk of change.
Since the technology has progressed as far as it has I
think musicians can get comparable results with their
own project studios. I’ve been upgrading my studio for
the past year so I’m excited to start recording with it. |
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You had your first band in 1998
with Nero. You said it was a good experience, but very
hard to keep the line up because there were numerous
changes. Were you happy with the end result of the disc?
Would you like to revisit it and re-record it one day?
I think I was reasonably happy with the end result of
the CD. A tremendous amount of work went into it on
everybody’s part and I’m proud of it in that respect. I
probably won’t revisit the material because so much time
has passed and I’ve changed too much as a player.
"Waiting For Darker Skies" was
your first foray into singing. What was that like for
you?
Absolutely frightening. Singing is hard, period. Through
that experiment I developed a lot of respect for
vocalists and find it fascinating how vocalists develop
their own vocal melody and style.
What are your next plans for you
solo future?
I’m starting to write some new music and put together a
theme for the next CD. I’m hoping that it won’t take as
long as Homunculus but one never knows.
Do you think you could ever take
this on the road to small gigs?
I’ve played some of my material in conjunction with the
music school I work at and it was a lot of fun. As far
as taking it on the road that would be tough. I think in
the United States there really isn’t much demand for
this type of music. I might fare better overseas but the
musicians I would need to recruit would rightfully want
compensation and I’m not in a position to finance a
situation like that.
You said that you have been
playing for numerous years now and that you teach. Do
you still give lessons to those that want them? If so,
want to plug your services here?
Sure. Thanks for the opportunity. I teach out of UMusic
music school in Buchanan NY, which is in northern
Westchester County just south of Peekskill. You can
reach us at (914) 736-7777. I’ve been teaching both
guitar and bass for some years now and it has made me a
MUCH better player. I get a chance to teach many
different styles of music and also I’ve learned quite a
lot from my students as well. You’re never old enough to
learn!
www.splinterhead.com/indexg.htm
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