I’ve not posted about an interview for a while but this one was posted around by various people so I thought I’d add to the mix. Be aware that it’s a link to a digital magazine so it can be challenging to read. Here’s a excerpt:

“Will My Screen Door Stop Neptune” begins with a badass line that sounds a little like what Ralph Macchio’s character played in the duel at the end of Crossroads. And then you rip out some jaw-dropping muted licks that sound like they might be hybrid picked. Are you using your picking-hand fingers there at all, or is it all pick?

I’m not so familiar with that movie, but I’ve heard great things about it. My inspiration for this one is kind of unusual. I wanted to write a song with my favorite tempo. What is my favorite tempo? “Neon Knights” by Black Sabbath, with Ronnie James Dio on vocals, of course! So I listened to that song and tapped away at my drum machine to get a number for the tempo. Then I played some drums at that tempo, recorded it, and switched to guitar. I jammed along and came up with that riff. Then I listened to it and realized that my riff would sound better if the drums were played in half time. So, in the end, I discarded my tempo – or at least cut it in half – but I got a good riff out of it. And hopefully the spirit of Ronnie James Dio resides in the music just a little bit. [...]

For the rest of the interview, head over to Premier Guitar