So, while the contemporary music scene in the UK is producing guitar players such as Noel Gallagher and Bernard Butler, who have concentrated their efforts on writing hit single and albums which have gone multi-platinum quicker then you could say "Six String Shooter" the burning question is, what made Jay Parmar want to be a "Shedder", a "Guitar Hero". While kids these days are creating band after only 6 months worth of learning 3 chords and minimal leads, 12 years on Jay still opts for recording solo tracks, learning complex leads, monster technique and everything which is Rock…

…so here it is, the uncensored truth…

So, what made you pick up guitar?

I was a huge fan of Iron Maiden back in 1988. I just thought the band were so cool running around the stage like maniacs. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith were, and still are great guitar player. Their tone and style inspired me to pick up the guitar and learn to play.

Did you take lessons then?

No, I was just playing around with the guitar when I first started out and eventually I learnt 3 chord from my sister, who had previously played guitar for a few months. She didn’t keep it up, I obviously did. I just played those three chords over and over until my fingers got used to the fretboard.

Do you remember which chords they were?

E, G and D, if I can remember correctly. It became mind numbingly boring after a while but it got me started.

How did you progress from there?

I happened to be watching a lot of rock videos at the time (about 1989) and I happened to see an Ozzy Osbourne concert on TV on which Jake E. Lee was playing and I noticed that he was using a finger behind the E chord shape (i.e. a bar chord) and from there I kinda started experimenting and expanding my musical knowledge. The biggest breakthough though was when I discovered Guitar magazines ("Guitar", "Guitar For The Practicing Musician", etc). They were a god sent because of the fact that they had whole songs transcribed in tab, which was great because I picked up so many techniques from learning all sorts of songs.

So you couldn’t read music?

The ironic thing was that I could read music at the time because I had spent 2 years playing trumpet in a school band. I gave that up before starting on guitar. I got hold of tab though and forgot the lot! (laughs).

Can you read music now?

I’d like to think that I can, but realistically I can’t because I struggle with reading music and can’t use it in practice. I’ve not really taken the time to re-learn. I did touch on it at the beginning of last year when I took a refresher course at the Guitar Institute, but I didn’t take it too seriously. In all honesty, I wish I had.

Before I come to the Guitar Institute, I’m gonna jump back a bit. Who were your early influences?

Initially Iron Maiden and the whole "Sword and Sorcery" metal scene. I eventually found out about Warren DiMartini and Yngwie Malmsteen and thought they were amazing, but then a friend of made me listen to "Kiss of Death" by Dokken and I was totally blown away. I had just knew within a split second that the guitar player who I would follow religiously. I remember going to the record store the next morning and buying "Beast From The East" (Dokken, circa. 1988, Electra Records) just to find out his name. George Lynch was, and still is the greatest player I have ever heard. "Beast..." is still my all time favorite live album.

George is a great guitar player. What is it about his style that you liked?

There are various factors. The first noticable element is his tone, which is always something special. You can always tell George’s playing simply by the tone of the guitar. He is so meticulous about it that it’s instantly recognizable. There is also his technique. For somebody who has been mostly self taught, his technique is awesome. His rhythm playing is real gutsy as well. If I had to nail one factor though, then it would probably be the fact that when he plays lead he rarely plays repetitive licks. Unfortunately I’m one of those people who gets bored very quickly, so I need simulation pretty much all the time and as soon as a guitar player starts repeating licks over and over and over, my attention drifts. This isn’t a reflection on any player’s ability, it’s more a reflection on me as a person. George’s playing is also pretty aggressive and a cool mish-mash of different styles which he gels together so, so well. For me, he is the total package.

Which other guitar players do you admire?

Steve Vai. Who is an awesome player and a great showman. His technique, musical knowledge and writing is incredible. Warren DiMartini, Joe Satriani, Eddie Van Halen. I like Steve Stevens and Alex Skolnick a lot as well because their tone and style are so instantly recognisable. Scary looking guys though!!! Alex hasn’t been doing very much for a few years now which is a real shame. He recorded a jazz CD a few years ago but as much as I have tried I haven't been able to get hold of a copy as yet. I’m currently listening to Reb Beach’s new solo CD. He’s a great player.

You must have like the fact that Reb was in Dokken then?

I didn’t think he fitted Dokken that well. His playing sounded a little forced to me. The solo CD sounds a lot more relaxed and natural. Maybe it’s just my perception. I was actually looking forward to the follow-up to "Erase The Slate" as I imagined that Reb would have settled in by that stage and would have been a lot more relaxed, but he left that band/was thrown out recently so its moot point now. Reb’s sounds a lot more inspired on his solo CD, plus he really mixes it up with the style of songs he’s playing. Its not just a straight rock album, it has blues, pop, etc. That’s the Reb I like to listen to. Dokken now have John Norum playing guitar. He's a great player as well.

From where do you get your inspiration?

Simple answer is, I don’t know. Inspiration I something which I think is more a feeling then something which is acquired. I find inspiration when I’m not looking for it or thinking about it. I have to let go totally and relax my mind and just let it happen. Whenever I have tried to force a song out, it just doesn’t happen. It sounds forced. Problem is that because I have a day job, relaxing rarely happens and I get inspired at the strangest times, e.g. when I’m buying my lunch!!! I also tend to hear songs in my head when I’m semi-conscious…

Err…Semi-Conscious???

No, no no, not while I’m tripping or drunk, in fact I lead a very, very clean lifestyle because I am into keeping fit and in shape, etc. I don’t actually drink, smoke, etc…

Not really a "Rock’n’Roll" lifestyle then?

Funnily enough, a lot of people have said that to me!!! I guess not. I’m on a mission to stay in shape, hence I cannot abuse my body.

Any particular reason?

Just something I wanted to do. Healthy body. healthy mind.

Anyway, back to the inspiration question…

As I was saying, I guess I have to let my sub-conscious do the creative work. This often happens when I am just about to fall asleep or doing something else. It’s a real bitch because I never have a guitar around when the really inspired stuff starts playing in my head!!! I’m gonna have to start sleeping with my guitar or a dictaphone. Stimulation usually helps, for example watching an inspiring movie, or listening to a song I really like. That’s often the catalyst. On the inspiration point, one of the greatest interviews I ever read was with Eddie Van Halen and he described the same process. He was saying that he found it impossible to write when he was thinking about playing or when somebody was watching him play so he would just tinker while the rest of the band were having a conversation and that is the time when he was most creative. I think I can relate to that approach…

n terms of your playing style, how would you describe it?

A tough Q, which I have always dreaded…You’ve heard me play. How would you describe it?

Very "George Lynch" with hint of your other influences mixed in for good measure. Your rhythm playing is just as meticulous as your leads. The one thing I did notice about your lead playing is that you mix up slow passages with short bursts of fast licks.

I’d say that’s correct. I’m glad you mentioned the rhythm thing. One question I’m often asked is "do you play rhythm or lead guitar" and it’s always confused the hell out of me because as far as I’m concerned the two go hand in hand. I concentrate just as much on my rhythm playing as my lead playing. When I started out all I wanted to do was play leads, but this changed as I played more and more. The fact is the majority of the time guitar players play rhythm. Songs are seldom all lead playing, unless your name happens to be Steve Vai that is!!! The "George Lynch" thing is something I spent years trying to perfect and then I thought, "you know what, I gotta get my own style and musical personality", so I have been working hard on not just listening to and playing George. He has definitely influenced my playing to a greater degree and I’m glad he did because he is such a great player but its been a failing of mine sometimes when I have been in bands because of the fact that the bands I have been in have wanted a guitar player who has little personality of his or her own. My saving grace is that my song writing style is very different from George’s. I concentrate on creating very atmospheric tracks. I really want to write bluesy, gutsy tracks like George at some stage but it rarely happens. I am working on a song at the moment which has a lot of flat 5ths so is very "Lynch-esque". The fast/slow thing is something I just picked up over time. I do it in order to keep things interesting and to make sure that my solos say something. In a song context, the solo is the time in the song when the guitarist gets to "sing", so as to speak. The 8 or so bars that a heor she has has to count for something. I find that a solo which is fast all the way through or slow all the way through, does not progress. It stagnates and doesn’t really say anything to me. Playing fast all the time often ends up sounding like mush. I used to play all solos at full speed, all the time and I used to play back what I had recorded and think, "jeez this sounds like crap". Through trial and error I learnt to back off and let the song breathe. I also learnt a big, big lesson from listening to Steve Vai. His playing is very rarely extremely fast. He plays at a medium pace so that what he is playing can be heard. The same goes for players like Steve Stevens and Joe Satriani. All of these guitar players can play fast but they choose not to, and that’s a really cool thing. There is no point playing if you can’t make out what is being played.

Have there been any major turning point in playing?

There have been various turning points. The first was when I had been playing for about 2 years. I was a "three finger" player, i.e. I seldom used my pinky on the fretboard. I then bought the George Lynch Instructional Video by REH and George was using all 4 fingers so there were a bunch of licks which I could not play properly, so I had to learn to use my pinky. That definitely helped my playing. Another major turning point was about 4-5 years into playing when I read an interview with Marty Friedman. Marty was asked the question "do you practice every day?", or something to the effect, and his answer was, well no I practice when I want to or need to, the rest of the time he didn’t see the need. Marty then said something that made a great deal of sense, he said that the greatest lesson he ever learnt was that if he did not play for a day, a few days or even a week, he wouldn’t forget how to play because he had been playing for so many years. In fact, giving yourself some space and time actually refreshes your approach to playing. I notice that when I play every day I lose spontaneity. My playing starts sounding very "manufactured".

Do you not think though that practice is necessary to progress your playing?

Yes I do, but my point is different in that after learning and playing for 12 years my playing is not going to suffer because I do not play for 2 or 3 days. I find that a break from playing helps me a great deal. Firstly because my brain has a chance to absorb what you have learnt and secondly because I’m always kinda excited when I pick up after a few days because I want to play. When I play every day I eventually get to the point at which my playing sounds manufactured. I tend to get to a stage where I am playing the same licks over and over again. I practice when I need to learn something new.

So progress is a slow process for you?

Not really. I assess where my playing has gone and how much I have progressed on a regular basis, probably once every 6 months so that I know that I am going forward and not stagnating. I notice that as time passes, my ability to learn increases and therefore I have to spend less time practising something and can spend more time playing.

You differentiate between playing and practising. What is the difference for you?

Well, "practising" for me is learning the nuts and bolts of a lick, riff, style, etc. It’s the rudimentary stuff. Playing is when I put a CD into a player and jam and create my own solos, write songs, etc. I love playing and am lousy at practising! (laughs). I always find that the more "nuts and bolts" you have the easier it is to improvise and play. Your equipping yourself with what is necessary while practising and using that knowledge while playing.

How did Guitar Institute fit into the equation? They have a very regimented practice regime.

Guitar Institute was a chance for me to hook up with some other musicians, learn some new tricks and generally have a bit of fun. The course was a 10-week refresher type course. I didn’t go into the course with the attitude that I had to learn every lick, I had to learn to read music, I had to learn to play like the instructors. There were people on the course who did have that outlook, but it was not my approach. My approach was to take what I needed from the course and that’s what I did. I learned scales, all 5 pentatonic positions, which has been an incredibly big help, different picking styles, e.g. alternate, sweep, economy, etc, and I learnt to clean up my fret hand technique, i.e. hammer on and pull offs, etc. I’m glad I did the course, it was a good experience. I’m still not sure if that kind of learning is for me though.

Being from a rock background weren’t you already used to hammer-ons and pull-offs?

I was, but my technique was flawed and needed cleaning up. The rock module on the course was taken by a guy named Shaun Baxter, who has incredible technique, and he illustrated how important it was to be able to play without having to pick. It made sense so I learnt what I needed to.

What equipment do you use?

It’s changed in the last year and a half totally. Going back a bit though, my first guitar was a Maya Telecaster copy, which I hated because of the uncontoured body and the fact that it had no vibrato, no humbuckers and only had 21 frets, the body shape, the head shape, etc, etc. I was lucky enough to have a teacher a high school who used to be a luthier and so as part of a design graphics course he helped me build the "Hour Glass" body guitar, which I called "JP1". The reason I call it the "Hour Glass" body is because it is very contoured. The design brief was to create an ergonomic guitar which was more comfortable to play then any other on the market. The curves that I created were really specific and the design worked. The body is still the most comfortable strat type body I have ever used and I will at some point build another guitar to the same spec. Unfortunately I screwed up the neck and ended up playing a guitar which had a neck like a 2 by 4 and an action high enough to drive a truck under. It was like a cross between a strat and a flamenco guitar!!! The spec on the guitar was a Floyd Rose Original Vibrato, a Seymour Duncan Screamin’ Demon in bridge, which was the first one bought in London, and a Li’l Screamin’ Demon in neck, a push-pull pot and the graphics were copied from the ESP GL Skull ‘n’ Snakes guitar. I also had skulls, snakes and swords and shit like that as fret markers, with the Lynch Mob "Wicked Sensation" Skull ‘n’ Snakes as the 9th, 12th, and 15th fret markers. It looked like heavens. The body was one piece mahogany, which sounded very warm, huge amount of tone. Rock maple neck with an Ebony fretboard. Reverse head. The scale length is short as well, only 24". I learnt most of my playing on that guitar and really loved it but after 10 years of use and a lack of lacquer over the graphics it’s worn now and I have had to retired it’s services. I used to put that through a Peavey 112 Bandit, running a Yamaha FX 550 and a Zoom 8080 through the effects loop. The sound which I got was very good for the equipment which I had. All of that equipment is now retired…

…and you now use?

I now use a customized Ibanez RG550. I actually bought it off Ebay for $100 and a friend of mine from LA brought it over for me. It was stripped of paint and pickups so I made it into a snakeskin print covered body and head, I filled the middle pick up cavity, put a Screamin’ Demon in bridge position and a Kent Armstrong Cool Rails in neck, sculpted the neck heal and enhanced the fret markers slightly. I also have an ESP LTD-100 which I bought in Canada last year. I was going to buy one of the more expensive models but I had a pickups and another vibrato lying around so I decided to customize. I put a Screamin’ Demon in bridge and a Parallel Axis Trembucker in neck, and I replaced the vibrato with a Kahler Floyd Rose copy. Both guitars play incredibly well. They have pretty similar bodies made of basswood, although the ESP is a little thicker, but the necks are pretty different. The Ibanez has a really slim wizard neck and the ESP neck is medium thickness with a really comfortable "D" profile. Both fretboards have 16" radius. I also have an ESP LTD-205 bass with active EMG-HZ pickups on it. I play through a Line 6 POD, which I think is the most innovative unit to be built in years. I use George L’s cables which are really low impedance so you get a real nice, natural tone, and also use a Morley Bad Horsie from time to time. Occasionally I use the Yamaha and Zoom processors for shaping clean sounds and special effects, etc.

You don’t use the Peavey?

I don’t see the need because the POD is just so, so good. I either plug it directly into either my computer, on which I record all my music using Cubase VST 24, or through a PA or stereo. This is just a short term arrangement though. I am waiting for the Peavey Triple XXX to hit the UK so I can go and buy one. I have 4 Celestion Vintage 30s lying around which I will have made into a custom 4 x 12" cab. I also have parts lying around from an amp project I was going to undertake but just never got around to. I was going to try and build a Soldano SLO-100. I may still do that at some stage.

Bit of an equipment handy man as well then???

I try my best, its cheaper that way!!!…

How do you find recording onto a PC?

Cubase is a very professional package. The only thing I really miss is having real faders and panning controls and being able to feel the board when I am mixing. On PC this whole area is totally removed. There are various interface mixers that are available but it’s still not the same. The process itself I have sometimes found frustrating. Mainly because every time I used to sit down to record I figure that I need something else for the PC and have to spend a couple of hundred pounds upgrading. In terms of soundcards, I have a Creative Labs Soundblaster Live! For midi tracks and a Midiman Delta 44 for audio recording, 512mb Ram, etc. I've recently upgraded to a real tank of a PC which has a very fast motherboard (a Gigabyte with an Intel i815 chipset) a Pentium III, 1Ghz processor, a 30Gb 7,200 RPM Fujitsu Hard Drive, etc. It is helping out a lot...

You work alone at the moment. Are you not interested in putting a band together?

I am, but the solo stuff is something that I feel I need to get out of my system. I’ve not had the greatest of runs with bands. The last successful band which worked for me was at high school when I was playing trumpet (laughs). In all seriousness, I have worked with a few great musician but it has never worked out for some reason. I usually get ousted by the singer. I always feel that there is a conflict of egos when I have joined a band. The singers who I have worked with want the limelight and do not want some flash guitar player drawing attention to himself!!! I would hope that I do not suffer from having a big ego so deferring the limelight to a singer is never a problem for me personally. What becomes a problem is that I have my own particular style and sound and it noticeable. Initially the vocalists I have worked with like this, but as soon as they see this as a threat, it’s the end of the road for me. I will do it at some stage but this is not the right time for me.

So what would your ultimate group be?

A band in which everybody had just as much ability as each other and where egos did not run riot. I really admire Dream Theatre because they are in my eyes a true "supergroup". All of the musicians are fantastic, in fact James Labrie is one of my fav singers, John Petrucci is one of my fav guitar player and Mike Portnoy is my all time fav drummer. Its hard to find bands as good as Dream Theatre. They are comfortable with their abilities and each individual musician is comfortable with their ability, hence their egos do not clash. They are not out to prove anything to each other. they play for the love of creating music.

Are there any particular musicians you would like to work with?

Lots. The list is huge. Some examples, George Lynch, of course, Warren DeMartini, Steve Vai, James LaBrie, Bruce Dickenson, Adrian Smith, Mike Portnoy, etc. Being in a band situation is very different from solo work. The interaction between musicians is a wonderful thing. I think I work well with most musicians.

What do you think of the current music scene and industry?

There is some cool stuff out there. I’ve recently been listening to bands like Slipknot and Mudvayne and think they are cool . They are carrying on the "Pantera" type music which I do listen to now and then. On the whole though I often feel that the musicianship has been taken out of music these days and that it’s more about unit sales then it is about music. There was a lot about the ‘80s which was cheesy but the era produced some of the best musicians the planet has ever seen. I often find myself buying back catalogue product that I have never got around to buying or searching to the ends of the earth to find some interesting music. The majors control the charts, which I don’t listen to anymore, and their outlook is "how much money can we make off this band". It’s a strong view, but I think there are a lot of talentless people out there making a great deal of money in the music industry these days and the real musicians are having to struggle. Luckily the advent of the internet and the growth of independent and "self owned" labels is helping real musicians get their music out to the people who want to hear it.

Care to name any of the "talentless"?

...err. No. I’m sure you can guess...

Do you still listen to bands like Iron Maiden?

I do now. I stopped listening to Maiden when Bruce Dickenson left the band. Bruce was, in my opinion, the best singer Maiden have had and the line up of Bruce, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Steve Harris and Nicko McBrain the best line up. It was a bit of a blow for me when Adrian (Smith) left the band in 1989/1990 because he is such a great player and I was really into Maiden at that time. He recorded a great album called "ASAP" (Adrian Smith And Project), it was very different from the Maiden sound and style. Then a couple of years later Bruce left. His solo stuff was really cool as well, very different from the Maiden type stuff. It was a breath of fresh air. I bought the new Maiden CD (Brave New World) when it was released last year and it was great. Classic Maiden. Maiden was the reason I started listening to rock and started playing guitar so it will always be a part of me.

What are your future plans, in terms of the music you are working on?

Make a huge quantity of money and then retire! (Laughs). My only real aim at the moment is to record as much material as possible and get it onto the web site. Music is a passion for me and it’s not really about money at the moment. If it does become something I can live off then that’s great but if it doesn’t then I know that I have tried and my music is out there for people to listen to. I would hope that listening to my music is enjoyed as much I have enjoyed creating it. I’ve have this wonderful gift of being able to play and have had the opportunity to record music. I very much believe that at certain points in your life opportunities are presented to you and at those stages you gotta decide what you want to do with those opportunities. My ethos is to grab those opportunities and work as hard as possible to make that opportunity work, and that's what I'm doing…

30 September 2001