A Word : With Benjamin Teacher

Benjamin Teacher is a Guitarist,Singer and Producer.
He lives in the United Kingdom and is influenced by the greats such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci,Paul Gilbert,Yngwie Malmsteen, Michael Angelo Batio, Eddie Van Halen for example, quoting a few artists on what they think of his music (from his myspace)

"Benjamin is an inspiration to guitarists everywhere. Benjamin writes excellent songs and plays them with a feel and technique that is uniquely his own. I highly recommend listening to his music. He is a great guitar player"
- MICHAEL ANGELO BATIO

"Benjamin's passion and commitment to his music and his playing is second to none/ He's got great chops and a wonderful sense of melody for guitar and solos with solid structure to all of his work" - BILLY SHERWOOD (Circa:&Yes)

I wanted to know more about Benjamin so i decided to have "A Word" with him
heres how it went :

Buster: Which bands got you to play the guitar ?

Benjamin: I'd have to say it was a combination of various bands from various background, though the main bands/artists that spring to mind instinctively are Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Yes, Vince DiCola, Black Sabbath, Oasis, The Verve & Metallica. These bands all contributed in their own ways to inspire my interest in the Guitar to begin with for their own reasons, being their music & style.


Horns: What are you listening to nowadays ?

Benjamin: Alot of the same stuff, but more varied and highly versatile. I'm a fan of various genres, mainly Instrumental Rock, Indie Rock, Pop, Japanese Pop & Rock, some Alternative, Progressive Rock/Metal & Film Scores/Movie Soundtracks. I find that having such a wide range of musically cvatalogued artists and bands is only a good thing. You can never like enough music.


Horns: Are you a fan of extreme metal, like for example Arch Enemy,At The Gates,Cannibal Corpse etc ?

Benjamin: The most extreme metal band I would ever say I genuinely appreciate were Black Metal Immortal, and to a lesser extreme extent, bands like Mudvayne, Lamb of God, abit of Nile and some Death. I'll occasionally find myself listening to these bands out of sheer wanting to listen to them, though I personally don't take any influence from their music as the style and genre isn't all to my personal taste. To each is their own.


Horns: What advice do you have for a band thats just starting out ?

Benjamin: Do your own thing, you'll find that many, many bands aspire to be like their Idles and like the bands they take influence from. There's a difference between taking inflkuence from a band/artist and wanting to be THAT band/artist. Do your own thing, be your own people, work on your craft, and I mean WORK at it, not 3 hours a week on a Sunday when you're off work, any free time you've got outside of work and social related activities can be best spent working on your craft as opposed to sitting in front of the telly watching Seinfeld reruns (for example), because as great as Seinfeld is, nothing compares to having the knowledge and the confidence that what you do counts. If you strive to be the best you can be then you'll make yourself happier in the long run. The music industry is a fickle industry to get into, so keep your wits about you and work hard and don't become another band that thinks they're the bollocks, cos all it'll take is a another band who've worked at what they do, buillt up a solid rep and they'll blow you off stage and make you feel like right fucks. Walk before you can run.

xxx

Ben. x

I'd like to thank Benjamin for the taking the time to send me feedback !

Check out Benjamin Teacher on Myspace where you could purchase all his albums:

Myspace