First of all let me congratulate you on getting on the "Undiscovered" column by Guitar Nine Records. Not a whole lot of Polish guitarists have had the opportunity to be featured in that column which makes it even more special. Can you let us know what the whole procedure looked like and how you managed to do it?

Thanks, being featured on "Undiscoverd" was really a big thing for me, especially since I believe I was actually the first Polish guitarist to get there. As far as the procedure itself, I am sure there is some sort of elimination process going on, presumably by the people working at Guitar Nine, but I really have no idea of the specifics. I simply sent in my demo, which they apparently liked because they chose to feature it. The most important thing is they listen to the music and don't just throw it away like at a lot of other places. Therefore it's good to keep trying, maybe there are other places like Guitar Nine…

You're probably thinking of the Spotlight column in the Polish magazine "Gitara i bas", where you were also featured recently. Can you tell us how that happened?

This happened shortly after I was featured on Guitar Nine. The procedure was the same, I sent in my demo, I also sent it to the "Estrada i studio" magazine after my music school teacher, Robert Lewandowski, encouraged me to. He has his own column in that magazine where he covers a lot of material on jazz and prog rock. As far as Gitara i bas, they had removed that column (Spotlight) some time ago so I was happy to see it return and decided to give it a try. This in turn resulted in me doing an interview with them in their July issue of this year. Getting back to your original question, you should always try to get your demo out to as many people as possible, this allows you to promote yourself and possibly also make important contacts in the process.

So you've been playing guitar since you were eleven. Currently you're 25, that means you've been playing for 14 years. How much daily or weekly practice time do you have?

Currently I spend a few hours each day playing with and for my students which helps me be systematic, since I try to practice along with them.:-) When it's time to stop being a teacher or to record something in the studio, which is a great way of catching and correcting your own errors, but it's not so much practice as mush as trying to live up and to fit in with your producer's expectations. I believe I develop my musical skills a lot by participating in jam sessions, sometimes playing with people I'm seeing for the first time in my life. It's really exciting, because you are participating in the creation of something new, this new baby, you're creating a new song which is sometimes just based on a simple riff or chord progression, after a while everybody catches on and that's when then real fun starts, you start playing around with dynamics, harmony and suspense. You can really learn a lot by participating in jam sessions like that. Moreso than regular gigs, because during a gig you have your selection of tunes and arrangements and there's really not as much space for you to improvise, except for maybe a solo or two. I also practice a lot when I'm composing and will sometimes stop working on my new song just to practice some new thing that I feel I have to work on. Getting back to your question, I guess I could say that excluding the times that I'm eating, sleeping, or out with friends, I basically play the whole time.

You're also preconditioned to a certain extent by coming from a musical family. Care to tell us a little about that?

Most of my family was involved in making music in one way or another for generations now, and that's really great because you have this common element, this thing which bonds all of us together. You don't have to look far, my dad was a rock guitarist in the early 70's, and his dad played the violin. Some time ago I found his pre-war music notebook with a lot of his compositions written out. Maybe someday I'm going to delve into that more deeply.

During your musical journey you were a member of several lesser-known bands (Deszczowe Psy, Metropolis, The Wonder Years). Currently you're probably spending most of your time working in Scandal and Analog. The latter is especially interesting since most of its members come from Scandal…

Deszczowe Psy was just a phase, but Metropolis and The Wonder Years were both pretty serious musical endeavors. That was more than 10 years ago, in 1992 I had my first big success as a guitar player. I still have VHS tapes from those times, I really try to archive as much as I can on VHS so that later on I can sit down in front of the TV with a beer and reflect on what I've already accomplished and on the road ahead. Currently I am spending most of my time with Analog (speaking of which I'd like to invite you to visit our website, www.analog.art.pl). This spring we're expecting to release our debut CD. Scandal is more of my own child, it's more of a guitar oriented project which does not mean there's no room for Pawel Gawlik, an excellent bass player and composer, and Wlodi Tafel, a great drummer. I plan on touring with Scandal a lot more than we currently do. Maybe we'll do a little national tour. Anyway, the fact that some of the same people are in Analog and Scandal does not adversely affect our relationships, we feel pretty good in both bands. Analog is more of a stage-oriented rock band with Monika Wierzbicka as frontman, while Scandal showcases our musical personalities.

Your solo recordings reveal a different side of your guitar playing, more of a hard rock and shred type of guitar school. Does being in Analog mean you've abandoned your influences?

No way. Shred solos would not fit in well with what Analog is doing, where the overall message is really very important. My solo stuff and Scandal material are a more fitting backdrop for guitar oriented music. You have to be universal while not losing any part of your musical personality. I think I've been pretty successful at that. When I'm doing a sideman type of gig I have to be able to fit in with the overall vision that the artist has. However I always try to leave some sort of personal mark on my work, such as a gliss or a bend which will indicate that I took part in that particular recording. This doesn't mean I've arrived at my own personal style. I've been working on that for my entire life and will continue to do so, while trying to leave an impression on each musical undertaking. So, it's always nice to hear from people that they would always recognize my playing, which I feel is the basic purpose behind making music, i.e. creating something personal and unique in a jungle of guitar sounds.

What musical directions will you be heading next?

Do you mean a style I'm currently working on? I've always been basically a rock guitarist and I don't think I could let that go even if I tried. However, I'm open to all musical genres. You can find interesting musical statements everywhere, both from a listener's point of view and that of the player. I try to imitate interesting things I hear in different styles of music and then learn how to adapt those things to my own style. I don't mean actually stealing music or certain licks, which I despise to the point of actually ceasing work on any tune that starts to remind me of something I've already heard. I'm thinking more of the way tradition and mentality has shaped and formed the music and made it the way it is. As a result you can find a lot of interesting things in jazz, such as phrasing, playing behind the beat, using overtones, in country music there are all those interesting double- and triplestops, in blues music you have some beautiful slightly imperfect bends which only add to the sounds surrounding them etc.

You mentioned playing behing the beat - can you expand on this, I'm sure our readers will be interested.

It's basically a technical thing. Most guitar and bass players have a tendency to speed up. Those that practice for years with a metronome are eventually able to keep a steady beat, something which is absolutely essential for good rhythm playing. However, if you really listen to many greats (both Polish and foreign) you can hear how they are slightly dragging the beat, playing slightly behind the line, to put it in a more graphically imaginative way. John Scofield is a great example of this type of playing, as is Pat Metheny, both of whose playing I value greatly. If you're dragging the beat, the bass will slightly preempt the guitar, as will the kick drum if the bass player is dragging. It's a pretty advanced technique which also helps get a good groove going. My bass player, Pawel Gawlik, who had for years played alongside jazz guys, pointed this out to me one day. As a rock musician I hadn't paid attention to this, being more focused on melody and technique. However, once you are aware of it it's pretty easy to spot. I've been basically working on this for the past year and a half. Funnily enough, my drummer, Wlodi Tafel is known in the business for slightly dragging his snare, but he actually never conciously worked on that, I guess he was just born with it, I guess either he's lucky or has blues in his veins.

It's been said that you are planning to record with guitar virtuoso Tamas Shekeres. Will this be an instrumental project or will you decide to hire a vocalist?

Well, the first three words of your question are basically a reply to this. I would very much like to record with Tamas Shekeres, he's a great guitarist and very appreciated in Hungary, where currently guitar music is doing much better than in Poland. Unfortunately I haven't yet had a chance to meet him. I did once have an idea for a project featuring him and also one other guitar player, and that is probably where this rumour originated. However, it is still just an idea which I hope to come to life someday - I don't think it's entirely impossible. In the meantime I'm doing some recording with Piotr Zander, who is a well known Polish guitarist that used to play in Lombard at one time, and at one point he asked me to work with him. The project is entitled Zanderhaus, which people have had a chance to get to know a couple of years ago when they released their first album. Currently we are working on material that will go on the second album, we're also reworking some arrangements and the sound and tone of the"36 i 6" album. I hope the current lineup will soon be on tour.

Which musician has been the greatest source of inspiration for you? Was this a famous musician or were you influenced by any unknown guitar players?

The biggest influence? There were a couple. I think my biggest influence has been Steve Vai, whose playing I still deeply admire. I feed off of every sound he creates, where every note has a certain message, certain emotion behind it. There is one other guitarist other than Vai that I would call an absolute master of articulation, and that is Jeff Beck. His latest albums just blew me away. I actually get goosebumps listening to him, especially on slower songs where he has more room to play with every single note in an extremely original way. However, he wasn't as big of an influence as John Petrucci of Dream Theater, and I was a hard core fan of that band for about 7 years. Working out their tunes by ear with my guitar was a great way for me to learn about harmony, composition, arranging, building and resolving tension, articulation, rhythmic aspects and much more. Figuring out their music by ear was really an essential part of this. Before Dream Theater I was into Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple and Rainbow), who I always thought was a great melodist. I was also a big fan of Deep Purple for quite a few years.

OK, so that was some time ago, what kind of music do you listen to these days?

Wow, basically everything. I don't have a lot of time to relax and just listen to music. I wake up listening to the radio which is mostly classic rock. When I'm on tour with Analog we all listen to the radio to get a feel for what's currently happening in the music industry. However, when I do find some time for myself, I put on some Vai to get me in a good mood or something completely different, like a fusion band, Tribal Tech, or Scofield, maybe some classical music (I really like Bach and Chopin), maybe listen to some new Polish release to bring myself up to date on current recording techniques, tone, etc. Lately I've drifted towards music which does not have any guitar in it. This allows me to look at music from a much broader perspective, not just from a guitarist standpoint, although this can be difficult because now and then I catch myself analyzing the music, the intervals, candences, and so forth, and I try to avoid doing this.

I know you have plans to write a guitar instruction book and also record a video tutorial. What is the status of those projects?

I am currently writing a book which will allow guitarists to learn about music principles and harmony. I teach every day and during my lessons I try to encourage my students to learn as much about music as they need, and to not get discouraged with music theory. As far as the video I do have plans for doing that and I hope to see that happen someday, but I guess time will tell.

OK, now how about some information for the guitar players among the readers. What kind of equipment are you currently using?

I am currently playing an RG-550 with a DiMarzio Breed in the bridge position and a DiMarzio Evolution in neck (this one has a coil tap wired to a push-pull volume pot), my amps are 1) customized Peavey 5150 and 5150 Peavey slanted cabinet, 2) customized Marshall Valvestate 80W. My effects include a Morley Bad Horsie wah, Boss DD-5 delay + Bespeco VM20 (tempo), Ibanez RC99 analog chorus with rotary speaker simulation, Ibanez PH99 analog dual wave phaser, Planet Waves cables, 1mm Dunlop picks. Aside from that I am currently in the process of buying an Ibanez JEM 7DBK.

How about a farewell message for our readers…

This has been a good year for me because I'm starting to think rock is coming back. Rock fans across the world, unite!

Thanks for the interview and we'll see you at your concert.

Thank you. You can get tour dates on the Analog web site and also on my web site which should be up pretty soon. The address is www.chwieralski.com. Later on we hope to see a website for Scandal as well.

[see original interview]