Fave guitar brand & why?
My favourite guitar brand is KIESEL Guitars from California USA. I met these guys while at NAMM in 2017 and we started our relationship there. They have been endorsing me since then and have been incredebly supportive of my music. I have 3 KIESEL Guitars all with different configurations and woods used, and all are perfect for my needs. I love that they give you so many options to choose from and the price point is the best out there for the quality of the instrument.
Most memorable music moment?
This is a difficult one as there are so many Seeing one of my favourite bands Rage Against The Machine at Big Day Out when they reformed in 2010 was incredible, after seeing how huge their crowds are on all their videos and finally getting to be apart of one in the flesh was a huge buzz. Seeing Darren from kiss chasey perform in a tiny room to about 8 people was also an incredible experience as I am a huge kiss chasey fan. Seeing foo fighters earlier this year was another huge moment for me. As a musician, selling out at the Melbourne leg of our Single Launch in June was amazing, we had a great night and got lots of great feedback, hard to top that night.
Guitarist that inspired me to learn to play
My first guitar teacher was one of my biggest inspirations his name is Mark Brunott and there was nothing He couldn’t do, I was always blown away and inspired to get better at guitar.
How many guitars I own & my personal fave?
Ohhhhhhhhh your not gonna go there are you??? Make me choose my favourite aghhhh .
I have 8 Guitars, and all are special for different reasons. I think my favourite is a tie bewteeen 3 of them. Firstly my KIESEL CT6 In Satin finish which sounds amazing and has all the most exotic woods including Birdseye maple neck and royal ebony finger board with pearl block inlays it’s an amazing guitar.
Second is my Maton Custom Shop acoustic Built by Andy Allen which is the best acoustic guitar I’ve ever played, it is made of Zirricote wood and it has a huge sound. It inspires me to write music every time I play it. Third is my Maton Mastersound 500 Original which was built in 1959 and is Extreamly rare, Tommy Emmanuel has one and George Harrison played on a tour back in the day, that one sold for over $400,000 and I own one that’s basically the same, they are collectors guitars and mine is a fantastic example with a really nice flame top and back and just a joy to play. My first and only true vintage instrument I’m still surprised I have the honour of owning it.
Gibson vs Fender- which do you love?
I’ve never played a Gibson tbh, I’ve owned a fender American Standard before and that was a great guitar so, I’ll say Fender.
Most under rated guitarist in music & why?
Stephen Taranto from Sydney is one of the best guitarists in the world, He is also my friend and has shared the stage with me a few times. Go look him up on instagram and you will Ben blown away.
The Melbourne Guitar Show will be held at Caulfield Racecourse on August 4 and 5.
Tickets are on sale from June 5, 2018.
Online ticket prices when pre-ordered:: Adult day pass $20, adult weekend pass $30, family day pass $35, concession day pass $10, concession weekend pass $15, premium ticket** $40
The Australian Music Association is thrilled to announce the 2018 return of the Melbourne Guitar Show, set to rock Caulfield Racecourse on August 4 and 5 – and this year, it’ll be bigger than ever. We’re catching up with some of this year’s guitar guests to talk about what they love the most: GUITARS.