auad Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Alison Richter, the Music Industry Examiner, conducted an interview with the guitarist from Guns N 'Roses / Sixx: AM, DJ Ashba. Some excerpts from the chat follow:Music Industry Examiner: You were raised in a religious family. Your faith has an important role in your life?DJ Ashba: He has a very important role. I do not go to church every Sunday, only at Christmas, but I still pray every night and thank God for everything I have, because it can all end tomorrow. I'm lucky. I work very hard and I'm very lucky to have two arms, two legs, two hands. I could be hit by a car and everything was over. I thank God every night, it makes me feel good. I'm not very attached to a Bible, but at the same time, it settled on me when I was young, that's what helped me go through several barriers.Industry Music Examiner: How did you become interested in graphic design?DJ Ashba: I did cartoons for a newspaper for four years when I was young. I was always drawing, and then I started working with Photoshop. Ashbaland is my world, into my music. Ashba Media is my graphic design agency for desktops and wallpapers for cell phones. I love film soundtracks, and while we were doing "The Heroin Diaries" (album by SIXX: AM's), I knew I could make orchestral music. My mother is a teacher of classical piano and I grew up listening to this song. My influences are John Williams and Danny Elfman. I listened to film music as a child, and now I'm starting to do this kind of music. I am building the Ashba Media with good clients, with my brand Ashbaland Ashba and Music.Music Industry Review: What led you to work as a producer?DJ Ashba: I had worked with it before the Sixx: AM, but not much. I've always done things alone. I think it's super important to learn the gear you use every day in your business, so every day since I was little, I recorded a guitar riff's on my tape recorder and then played the recording at this in another deck. I was terrible, but I was young and learning. So I started recording 4 tracks. I got to know the equipment, and when invented the Pro Tools, I learned more. I do not know, but I was becoming a producer. I had to learn to produce what I wrote.Music Industry Examiner: What is the difference between playing guitar and being a guitarist?DJ Ashba: I think the difference is to be mature in what you do and the choices you make. Put everything into a song and know when to go and when to withdraw. I respect anyone who wants to be a good musician and I would never discourage anyone. But there are people in this world who are living as if for the wrong reasons, and that's sad. To be a real guitar player there is nothing beyond the art of playing guitar. I did not know I could make money from it. I spent most of my life starving and I did not care because I loved what I did. Making money now is the icing on the cake. I hate bands that are literally clones of other bands, because it is not original enough to have recognized the work to develop a style. It's disgusting. That's the difference: they do not want to take advantage of many years of hard work and dedication. They prefer to copy someone with a different style and still say they are of his own. It makes me tremble. It's embarrassing. The answer to this question, the difference between the two, is that being a guitarist means to be faithful to what you do. You can lie to yourself, but others will understand. Guitar is an art and requires years of dedication. It's not something you learn overnight. It is a very long road and you will stumble, but at the end of the day, which will make you a real guitarist, is persistence and never giving up.http://www.examiner.com/music-industry-in-national/sixx-a-m-guitarist-dj-ashba-on-teamwork-individuality-and-the-art-of-guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Glow Inc. Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 "I hate bands that are literally clones of other bands, because it is not original enough to have recognized the work to develop a style. It's disgusting. That's the difference: they do not want to take advantage of many years of hard work and dedication. They prefer to copy someone with a different style and still say they are of his own. It makes me tremble. It's embarrassing."DJ, Dj, dj...YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siliconmessiah Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 "I hate bands that are literally clones of other bands, because it is not original enough to have recognized the work to develop a style. It's disgusting. That's the difference: they do not want to take advantage of many years of hard work and dedication. They prefer to copy someone with a different style and still say they are of his own. It makes me tremble. It's embarrassing."Eh?DJ. Go home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auad Posted August 18, 2011 Author Share Posted August 18, 2011 Glow, I Agree!In fact that sounds strange... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young_Gun Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 He is a poser first, musician second. Some would even say eighth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Glow Inc. Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I mean, Guns n' Roses aside, the latest Sixx AM album sounds exactly like MUSE or U2 in some places...Robin, Bucket and Bumblefoot don't sound anything like Slash but him...he's easily the closest. He sounds disturbingly like him at times...That doesn't make him a bad guitarist though but I don't understand why he would say that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetness Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I hate bands that are literally clones of other bands, because it is not original enough to have recognized the work to develop a style. It's disgusting. That's the difference: they do not want to take advantage of many years of hard work and dedication. They prefer to copy someone with a different style and still say they are of his own. It makes me tremble. It's embarrassing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Len B'stard Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 (edited) It's easy to twist shit around in the media...this is why GNR should continue NOT doing any interviews.DJ is not Saul and he is not trying to be Saul. He sounds like Saul? Sure he was probably inspired by him and likes his sound... so do MANY other guitar players. I prefer DJ than Robin fuckin' up all the classic solos...I mean DJ owns OTGM by a long shot!No but you can't escape the glaring contradiction in what he says and about the fact that, for all intents and purposes, Guns n Roses as they are today were a re-build of something that came before. The lead guitarist with a gimmick (Slash to Buckethead to Bumble) the bass player with the punk credentials (Duff to The General) and so on and so forth. And this is like, not even like something thats a point of discussion, it's exactly what the shit is, like it or not. Yeah they're different players and different players come together and make a different sound invariably but a formula is being worked with here, this is undeniable. Axls even said as much with like "how do you re-build something that got so big" which as a standalone comment doesn't necessarily mean much but when you couple of with the fact that Axl also has said in interviews that y'know, this isn't a solo project and it's a continuation and he feels that his music in a true representation of Guns n Roses, which is to say he has gone to some lengths presumably to create a sound that is true to or does justice to what Guns once were. So there's a degree of replication going on there by his own admission.Then couple that with the fact that, to date, the majority of music they play when they play live is the old bands music, kinda closes the case really. Edited August 18, 2011 by sugaraylen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bumble's Bridge Pickup Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Oh god I can't believe Ashba thinks he's doing something original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasted Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I think he's saying you're either a good musician who approaches the music with right attitude or you're not. you could do 800 covers with the right attitude or 1 orginal sell out song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moreblack Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 "I hate bands that are literally clones of other bands, because it is not original enough to have recognized the work to develop a style. It's disgusting. That's the difference: they do not want to take advantage of many years of hard work and dedication. They prefer to copy someone with a different style and still say they are of his own. It makes me tremble. It's embarrassing."DJ, Dj, dj...YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT !His is a very different world to the one we live in. No wonder Axl loves him... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetness Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 It's easy to twist shit around in the media...this is why GNR should continue NOT doing any interviews.DJ is not Saul and he is not trying to be Saul. He sounds like Saul? Sure he was probably inspired by him and likes his sound... so do MANY other guitar players. I prefer DJ than Robin fuckin' up all the classic solos...I mean DJ owns OTGM by a long shot!Its not just Slash that he copies in GNR though, Sixx AM and Beautiful Creatures fit very snugly into the category of unoriginal bands he described. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgy Zhukov Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I don't care who DJ looks like, as long he plays good. Muse sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bumble's Bridge Pickup Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Muse sucks.That's pretty random, pal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moreblack Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Oh ok I wouldn't know I don't listen to those bandsyou have to if DJ is in GNR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Len B'stard Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Lol, Evil Ernie you're not supposed to say that! Of course, all non-religious people laugh and don't respect the religious, but don't come out and say it man! They'll smite us!Everybodys religious.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgy Zhukov Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Muse sucks.That's pretty random, palSorry, do you like Muse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bumble's Bridge Pickup Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Muse sucks.That's pretty random, palSorry, do you like Muse?What's Muse got to do with this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgy Zhukov Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Muse sucks.That's pretty random, palSorry, do you like Muse?What's Muse got to do with this thread Someone said Sixx:AM sounded like Muse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Len B'stard Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Muse are shite. The end. You may continue with the rest of the discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgy Zhukov Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Anyway, I can ignore DJ's look as long he plays good. He plays better than Robin. Axl did mention Robin doing a SRV like solo...I really want to hear that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgy Zhukov Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Being yourself is not original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgy Zhukov Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Didn't fans hate on him until he finally grew a beard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDRE Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Music Industry Examiner: You were raised in a religious family. Your faith has an important role in your life?DJ Ashba: He has a very important role. I do not go to church every Sunday, only at Christmas, but I still pray every night and thank God for everything I have, because it can all end tomorrow. I'm lucky. I work very hard and I'm very lucky to have two arms, two legs, two hands. I could be hit by a car and everything was over. I thank God every night, it makes me feel good. I'm not very attached to a Bible, but at the same time, it settled on me when I was young, that's what helped me go through several barriers.Thumbs up for this. To many people aren't thankful for what they have.Much Respect for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Len B'stard Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I loved Robin Finck, i really didn't want him to leave, this was amazing: I LOVE how that guitar sounds.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts