Allen Hinds Interview.docx

Hi Allen. Happy New Year! Thanks for taking the time do this interview for Shredknowledge. How are you doing? great, thanks 2. As a guitarist, you have done it all. Your CV is as impressive as your phenomenal style. When you first picked up the guitar, did you imagine things turning out as well as they did?
 Nothing about my playing,style, or career, was every a forethought….things just happened. I was initially just having fun with friends in hi-school, that turned into, “wow,I can make a living doing this?”….then along the way, wanting to know more about playing guitar, I went to Berklee, then M.I. in 1985…and I started getting gigs….I live in the moment to some extent….but no, never planned that I would have 4 cds….and would have toured with so many fun bands for so many years.. I watched a clinic of yours on Youtube and many times you mentioned the fact that you wish you had released original music when you were much younger. In light of that, do you feel there is something to be said for allowing yourself to mature as a player before releasing original music? Sure,…and things happen when and the way they do for some reason…and I am content with doing it just now……but throughout the whole process of completing a cd, nurturing an idea, finishing a track, , choosing and working with other creative people, mixing, or choosing the artwork.all of it, is such a theraputic, fulfilling event , I just wish I had started earlier..not to mention the financial perk of , for instance, getting something placed on a t.v. show. It just opens up so many avenues I wish I had started 20 years ago or so. Can you talk a bit about your duties at the Musicians Institute and what your experience has been teaching there over the years?

I mainly do a class called “open Counseling”…I sit in a room 8 or 10 hours a week and jam with students…they can come in whenever their schedule allow….its kind of a mentoring process that I enjoy. Also since its not a locked “class” in scheduling, the school is cool with me leaving for tours….We do everything from playing Giant Steps, to jamming on a funky groove in one key…..I bring in loop boxes, and we jam, I try to help student become aware of what they might try to get better quicker……I hope I help them bring more musicality out of themselves, whether that means improving time, tone, building motifs,learning some theory…. constructing good solos….i often learn as much from the students as they do me…I hear good stuff in most all players no matter the level How important has teaching been in helping you understand and develop your own style through self analysis? It always helps one’s self to learn to verbalize and demonstrate even the simplest concept….it is tricky to figure a way to explain theory so that different students can get it. And it is really rewarding to see a student “get it”……i initially took the job at M.I. to make some extra money, having just graduated before I started teaching…..but it became something much bigger than that to me as time went on…….and it definitely keeps me pushing myself to be the best I can be.As a teacher or as a player…… Let’s play a one word game. I will give you a subject related to guitar playing and you can give me your views and opinions on the subject, if you please. Technique - secondary in importance to making music, but a necessary tool to expand new areas of the creative process….I never

had the technique many other players do…I ended up with my legatto approach to make up for the lack of alternating picking chops… Rhythm –..95% of your gigs will be playing with other musicians in a band. playing good rhythm is an often overlooked art. Seems these days I gravitate towards players who make a song come alive with their comping ideas Playing Changes (OK I cheated, that’s two words!) – A fun mental exercise with great rewards…personally. I love the obstacle course and challenge of playing through changes…Its all about working the muscle in your brain that allows you to see the upcoming scales or ideas, before they get there…. Tone – so much is in your fingers and heart…..I mean it helps to have good amps, guitars, etc….but I think if you truly love the instrument enough, you become “one” with it, to an extent, where you learn to “sing” with it find your voice on it. No matter what particular guitar you are playing….. Listening – I have always loved a “songsmith”….Led Zepelin, Steve Winwood, Lowell George, Joni Mitchel, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Jonatha Brooke….as I get older I think maybe I have come full circle in that I dont really listen to guitar based instrumental much any more. I want melodies, and I love production and placement of interesting tones and parts….I have learned to listen and appreciate that more than ever Time –

most guitarist tend to rush…..but it can be improved, recording and listening back to your self is the fastest way to improve your time….and working with good musicians….. but time is everything….a big turn off for me to hear some one rushing….and its often how long they hold notes out too….I have sometimes noticed many student sound choppy when they dont hold notes of phrases out long enough…I often get students to sing along with themselves when they solo….this seems to work and help more often than not… What is your advice to players who are searching for their own sound? This grey area is where all the practice culminates in some sort of unique statement yet it seems to be the hardest topic to cover. I think if the love and commitment is there it will happen by itself. But also, writing, arranging, and recording songs will definitely help players find themselves. It puts their playing in a frame up on a mantlepiece…so to speak,….they can sit back and look and listen from different points. Make changes, mold it,make it really represent who they are….. You have covered lots in your career, but is there anything you have not done musically that you are excited about doing in the future? i just did my first independent film….only 30 minutes long, but it was so rewarding to hear what the simplest guitar nuance could do to a scene. i hope and could see me doing more of that in the future… Thank you Allen for taking the time to do this interview and for the wonderful music.