Mike Philippov interview with Shred Academy (www.shredacademy.com)
What steps have you taken to forge a career in the music industry?
Currently I am writing and recording music for two albums. The first
one is my upcoming debut solo CD, "Reflections" and the second one
is an album that I am writing together with a great metal player and songwriter,
Dave Cardwell (www.cardwellmusic.com).
Both albums will be all instrumental and will feature music in the neo-classical
and progressive styles. I am also going to be playing on a Compilation CD,
“Chronicles-City of Sound” to be released later in 2007. I also co-manage
and run an instructional website: www.thenextstepguitar.com
as well as teach guitar privately and through clinics.
As far as what I did to get started, one of the most important steps for me was to join Tom Hess' Music Careers Mentoring Program. The things that I've learned in that program redefined the way I approach my career in some huge ways and helped me get off the ground. Anyone interested in a music career must check this program out!
What advice do you have for people looking to get into the music
industry?
Many musicians make the mistake of spending all of their time only polishing
their musical skills, but completely neglect studying the music business.
This is one reason why there are many musicians who are great musically but
cannot make enough money with their skills. Of course, it is important to
work on the musical skills, but studying music business is equally important
for becoming a music pro. Nowadays it has become easier to search for resources
and advice on music business. If you can find a successful musician to take
lessons on music business from, that will be a very smart thing to do and
will save you A LOT of time and frustration! Other than that, be determined,
motivated and ready to work really hard for your success. But success will
come if you work on it the right way.
What are the pressures in the industry and how do you cope with them?
One of the benefits of being an independent artist is that there are no pressures
on me by anyone other than myself. This is good from a creative and artistic
standpoint. However, the biggest obstacle for me right now is lack of time
to do all that I want to accomplish. This is probably the one thing that all
professional musicians have in common! It’s a great place to be though, being
a professional musician sure beats any other kind of job!
During your formative years, what sort of practice regime did you
have?
During high school I played and practiced 4-7 hours a day on most days. I
was always highly organized in my practice, and would write out practice routines
for myself every day and change things that were not bringing results. I also
had the opportunity to study with some truly amazing teachers that helped
me tremendously in getting my playing together. In 2003 I had a consultation
on virtuoso guitar technique with Ney Mello, and in 2004 I started studying
music composition, improvisation and virtuoso playing and music business with
Tom Hess and he has been a tremendous sort of wisdom inspiration (musically
and personally) on many levels. In 2005 I began attending Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music to study music theory, ear training and music composition.
I firmly believe in studying with the best teachers that you can find and
practicing constantly. I was also always very motivated and passionate about
everything to do with music and guitar. I believe that the above mentioned
things (strong desire, great teachers and lots of practice) contributed the
most to me developing my skills.
What advice do you have for beginner and intermediate players who
are trying to achieve a highly advanced level of playing?
Find the best teacher(s) that you can and practice constantly! Surround yourself
with the music that you love to keep your motivation and desire strong. Find
out about proper practice methods and apply them every day to develop your
technique. If you plan to write your own music and/or learn to improvise,
then study music theory and develop your Aural Skills (ear training)! The
more you practice the faster you will get to your goals, so make time for
practicing something every day!
Who are your most significant musical influences?
I have many influences in various areas of music, so I can break them up in
different areas of musicianship:
For composition: George Bellas, Tom Hess, Vitalij Kuprij, L.V. Beethoven, J.S. Bach, Ennio Morricone, Fryderyk Chopin, Dream Theater, Symphony X
For guitar technique: Rusty Cooley, Theodore Ziras, George Bellas, Paul Gilbert, Shawn Lane
For phrasing: Tom Hess, Andy Laroque, Mike Walsh, Vinnie Moore, Marty Friedman, Jason Becker.
There are many more, but this is my top list. All of the above players and musicians are incredible!
What gear do you use and (more importantly) why?
I love Ibanez guitars for their playability, tone and feel. I use an Ibanez
RG 42. I like this model a lot because of the neck through body that allows
great sustain. Sustain is a huge part of my sound and tone. I use Seymour
Duncan Metal Live Wire Pick Ups for the same reason (they are the hottest
pick ups around!). I like the tone and feel of D’addario strings (I use string
gauge 0.10-0.46). The string action on my guitar is incredibly high, higher
than that of any other guitarist I’ve ever met. I do this also for sustain.
Also the string tension is pretty tight to fit my playing style and the strong
pick attack that I like to use. As for amps, I like the sound of Peavey 6505,
the rhythm tone on it is very heavy and tight! For my lead tone, I like the
sound of the guitar recorded direct through a pre-amp and I do not use an
amplifier or mic the guitar when recording lead.
Talk about the process of recording your album. Are there any tips
and trick that you could pass on? How did you choose the other instrumentalists
(if you did).
For recording, one of the most important things is to have your music ready
to go! The other is to have some idea of the sound/tone you are going for
before you start recording. Otherwise, you are going to spend a lot of money
in studio costs (if you record at a studio) by changing things around to experiment
with different sounds. The other option is to buy your own gear if you can
afford it and learn to use it yourself (which can be frustrating at first
but has its advantages over recording at someone else’s studio)About other
instrumentalists, I worked with an awesome bass player from Milwaukee, Ben
Kuzay to play bass on a tune that will be featured on the Chronicles-City
of Sound compilation release. Ben is an awesome player technically and has
a good sense of counterpoint and melody. Check out his myspace at: www.myspace.com/benkuzay
What parts of your playing reflect your personality and self expression
most accurately?
Interesting question… I would say that my phrasing and harmonic ideas are
pretty strong in reflecting my personality. However, this is a never ending
process, as any self-expressive artist knows… I am always working on bridging
the gap between all my musical skills and complete self-expression. The art
of self-expression is one of the most important things I have learned from
my friend and mentor Tom Hess during my years of lessons with him.
What are you trying to achieve compositionally?
As I alluded to above, self-expression and personal fulfillment are my two
biggest musical goals. I am not interested in writing music for the whole
world to like. I would rather write the music that fulfills me personally
and artistically. I believe that if the music is truly expressive and creative
in the artist’s own unique way, then there will always be enough people to
like it for that music to get noticed.
How can the readers get in touch with you?
My websites are: www.mikephilippov.com
and www.thenextstepguitar.com
My e-mail is: mike@mikephilippov.com
I always respond to e-mails, so don’t hesitate to write to me.