{"id":51419,"date":"2016-03-15T19:49:52","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T00:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=51419"},"modified":"2016-03-15T19:52:01","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T00:52:01","slug":"interview-with-eric-gillette-of-neal-morse-band","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2016\/interview-with-eric-gillette-of-neal-morse-band\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Gillette of Neal Morse Band"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Christophe Pauly<\/span>
\n– Sr. Photojournalist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Eric Gillette, guitarist with the Neal Morse Band, talks about his 2nd solo album The Great Unknown<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"ericHardrock Haven: So your new album is called The Great Unknown<\/em>. Why did you choose that title? <\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: The title song of the album is “The Great Unknown” and I also thought it was a good title for the album.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: What was your purpose when you began composing songs for the album?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: I knew I wanted to do another solo album, so I just began writing and the epic “Escape” started coming to life. I let the music go where it wanted to go. I didn’t sit down to write an 18 minute song, but that is what came out. The other songs came after that and the album started to take shape.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Are those songs all new ones or did you begin to work on them a long time ago?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: All of the songs are new and written specifically for this album.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: You choose to collaborate with other musicians this time. So could you tell us about the guys who play with you on the album?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: Thomas Lang is on drums, Conner Green is on bass and Diego Tejeida is on keys. These guys are ridiculously good and their performances on this album blow me away. I can not wait for everyone to hear it and I am really looking forward to playing this music live with these guys.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: How did their playing affected the way you composed the songs or your playing?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: Well, all the music was composed and demoed before they played on it, so it didn’t affect the writing of the album. What they played definitely gives the songs a new vibe! I love hearing incredible players interpret songs I wrote. It is really cool because they might approach something completely different than I would have if I played it, and it ends up being so much better than it could have been.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Your lyrics are really touching, especially the song “Empty.” Do you the words come from personal experiences?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: Thank you. I wasn’t speaking from experience for the song “Empty,” but I like to try to write songs in a way that someone
\ncould relate to. If the song speaks to only one person then I would be happy.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Do you try to find lyrical topics the listener can relate to?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: I never really pick a topic and then write about it specifically. Usually the music comes first, along with a melody and possibly a couple of lyric ideas. Then it comes to life and hopefully all makes sense in the end. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Where are you at now with the recording and the production?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: I am currently finishing tracking vocals and then I am mixing the album. I am excited to have Rich Mouser mastering the album as well!<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Is it produced by you too?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: Yes. It is produced by myself and Chris Thompson.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: I saw you were currently recording with The Neal Morse Band.<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: Yes! I am currently in Nashville with The Neal Morse Band. We are coming up with some really great stuff. It’s going to be a big year with 2 releases that I can’t wait to get out.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: So are you planing to do some dates after your album release?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: Absolutely! That is the goal. If we can line up shows and schedules, we will be there. I am excited to play this music live with this lineup!<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Your playing is quite impressive and I was more than surprised when I first saw you with Neal. Who are your influences?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: Some of my influences are Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and John Petrucci to name a few.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: How do you compose your songs? Do you work first on a melody?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: I don’t really have a set way. Sometimes it starts with a chorus melody, or sometimes just a riff. For me, it’s all about working the initial idea and seeing where it takes me.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Did you seek advice from your peers before beginning this solo career?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: Not really. I just went for it and hopefully some people out there enjoy my music.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: How were the recording sessions on this album compared to the previous one? Did it take more time?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: This album has taken more time than the last one for sure, but it is going to be worth it in the end. I am really happy with how this album is turning out.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Who is doing the artwork on this album?<\/p>\n

Eric Gillette: The artwork was done by Tim Todd and it turned out really great!<\/p>\n

Visit Eric Gillette online: http:\/\/www.ericgillettemusic.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Christophe Pauly – Sr. Photojournalist — Eric Gillette, guitarist with the Neal Morse Band, talks about his 2nd solo album The Great Unknown. Hardrock Haven: So your new album is called The Great Unknown. […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":51421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13653],"tags":[10999,203,12152,12153],"class_list":{"0":"post-51419","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcint2016","8":"tag-eric-gillette","9":"tag-interview","10":"tag-neal-morse-band","11":"tag-the-great-unknown"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}