Guitar World magazine calls him “the most blazing guitarist on the planet!” His skills on the double guitar will make your eyes pop out (Double Guitar Shred Medley has 3,902,623 hits on YouTube). And his latest album Shred Force 1 debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hard Rock album charts along with Metallica, Van Halen, AC/DC! Yes, we are talking about Chicago-based guitar maestro Michael Angelo Batio, who strode into Muzik Factory studio in Sector V recently amid loud cheers to conduct a guitar workshop. “This is my third time in India but first in Calcutta. Yeah, it feels good,” Batio told t2, minutes before the guitar clinic. A chat...
You are a Dean Guitars endorsee. What’s the best thing about Dean Guitars?
I used Dean Guitars before I became famous. Even my first professional photo was of me holding a Dean. Dean is an innovative company… they make super high-quality USA guitars... even their less expensive guitars sound really good because they care about the quality. They built my very first double guitar. I love their guitars.
How did you hit upon this idea to play double guitars?
I am left-handed, but I play right-handed guitar. When I was growing up, I played right-handed because that’s the only kind of instrument I could get. One day I saw a jazz artiste named Rahsaan Roland Kirk perform on television. I was 11 years old then. He was playing a saxophone and at the end of the concert he put two saxophones on and played both at the same time. And I said to myself, ‘I’m gonna do that on the guitar.’ As a boy I had that idea, and later I approached Dean to make it. The owner of the company at that time said, ‘You are crazy but not stupid.’
When did you play it at a gig for the first time and what was the reaction?
People went crazy, they loved it.
Nobody had seen anything like it. When I invented my ‘over-under’ technique, I wanted to do things that were different, innovative. I didn’t want to be like other people. I wanted to be myself.
What was the need for developing the ‘over-under’ technique?
The goal in my opinion is to play really good, but find a way to reach the people. And when I started doing it (the technique), people liked it. I figured it out on stage. It made me different. I stood out.
Who were your influences?
I was influenced by jazz guitar players who had great technique, like Al Di Miola, John McLaughlin, Allan Holdsworth, George Benson, Larry Carlton. I thought they were technically better. It’s one thing to write great music, it’s another thing to be a great musician. Kurt Cobain was a great artiste, but not a great guitar player.
Minutes later, Michael wowed fans at the Muzik Factory studio with his jaw-dropping guitar playing, churning out medleys of Metallica and Pantera tunes, along with originals. In between, he took questions from fans. Excerpts...
On collaborations
I have a record company in the US called M.A.C.E. Records. It stands for Michael Angelo Creative Enterprise. My record company is going to collaborate with Muzikme.com (music website from Calcutta). I’m going to get some of my famous friends and we are going to collaborate with musicians from India, and do a record together. We’ll release it internationally.
On the process of writing songs
Have a woman break up with you (everyone laughs out loud). You sort of write from inspiration. If you have an idea and a phone with you, record it right away. There is no set way to write.
On guitar lessons
I figured out things on my own. No one was there to teach me and rock guitar players at that time were nowhere near the (desired) skill level. I gravitated more towards jazz guitarists.
Arindam Chatterjee
Picture: Sayanytan Ghosh
