Soul legend James Brown will always be known as the “Hardest Working Man in Show Business.” But keep your eye on one guitar virtuoso's itinerary over the next few years and you’ll find yourself asking if he isn’t the hardest working man on six strings.
The founding guitarist for influential thrash metal act Testament, New York-based Alex Skolnick has reunited with that band after a lengthy estrangement. They have a new album (fittingly titled The Formation of Damnation) and have been burning up venues across the country for very appreciative audiences. Frankly, they’ve never sounded better – which is a good thing, because they’re on the road together for at least the remainder of the year.
With a resume that includes studying guitar with Joe Satriani, stints in Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO), and a number of offshoot jazz groups – including his current Alex Skolnick Trio (AST) – the six-string whiz guitarist is showing no signs of slowing down. In the middle of a Testament headlining tour and a shared “Metal Masters” tour with Judas Priest, Heaven & Hell and Motorhead, Skolnick is also doing solo shows, prepping for more recordings and seemingly crisscrossing the planet.
And when he’s not scheduled to be somewhere on the above itinerary, he’s tirelessly working with the Alex Skolnick Trio with Matt Zebroski on drums, and Nathan Peck on bass – supporting a sleeve of three releases that includes last year’s smashing Last Day in Paradise (Magnitude/Magna Carta Records).
When does Skolnick find any time to himself, you might wonder. Maybe while running errands? Scratch that, people. Cleveland-based author/journalist Peter Chakerian caught up with him on his cell phone in Brooklyn, New York last month while the guitarist was stocking up at the store. Their conversation covered a lot of ground (literally and figuratively) as Skolnick traversed city blocks, dodged traffic, hopped buses, bought groceries, and prepped for a trip to Europe.
The conversation – sans ambient street noise, “correct change,” and conversation with the checkout clerk – went a little something like this:
Thanks for making time. I know you’ve got a lot going on.
Glad to do it. Thanks!
You have broadened your musical horizons and improved as a guitarist in some very unique and organic ways. It’s great to hear your metal playing informing your jazz work and vice versa these days. Even the phrasing and approach seems very different. Talk about your transition from metal to jazz and how each genre informs the other in your world.
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