{"id":7597,"date":"2011-08-15T07:00:46","date_gmt":"2011-08-15T11:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=7597"},"modified":"2011-08-15T15:19:33","modified_gmt":"2011-08-15T19:19:33","slug":"blowin-wind-w-guitar-god-jake-dreyer-when-i-was-14-and-i-heard-yngwie-malmsteen-i-knew-i-wanted-to-do-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=7597","title":{"rendered":"Blowin’ Wind w\/ Guitar Shredder Jake Dreyer: “When I was 14 and I heard Yngwie Malmsteen I knew I wanted to do this.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Back in the 1980’s guitar shred masters like Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker and Blues Saraceno started to forge a genre all their own.\u00a0 They took elements of classical, latin and heavy metal music and created a style of instrumental music that was thought provoking, awe inspiring and opened up doors to a whole new world.\u00a0 Nineteen year old Jake Dreyer<\/a> is some new blood to this forgotten genre and in my opinion has the potential to revitalize it in a huge way.\u00a0 I recently spoke to Jake on the phone and we talked about everything from his love of the old Shrapnel guitar shredders to air drumming and singing along with classic metal songs.\u00a0 He’s a great guy and probably the nicest person I’ve ever interviewed.\u00a0 Enjoy this interview and be sure to give Jake a listen!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Jake, thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hey Don. No problem man. I just got up about 30 minutes ago [laughs]. I really love The Great Southern Brainfart man. That\u2019s an awesome website you got going on!<\/p>\n

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[laughs] Wow. I wasn\u2019t expecting that but thanks a lot! You can kill all kinds of valuable time on my site.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] That\u2019s what the Internet is for man and you do it really well. I love it.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Shadows of Madness\u201d is a stellar release and I love that it showcases your versatility from metal to new age. Your influences must be all over the map. Who are some of your biggest influences?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are so many. I\u2019m really a big fan of Jason Becker, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman and all those Shrapnel Records<\/strong><\/a> guys. I\u2019m also really into Al DiMeola. He\u2019s another huge influence of mine. He was really into that Latin jazz type of playing that could totally cross over into the fast heavy metal stuff only played on acoustic guitar. I\u2019m inspired by great guitar players in general.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Whatever formula you do have you\u2019ve done it really well. The current album \u201cIn the Shadows of Madness\u201d is the 3rd 3-song EP you\u2019ve released. Why release 3 song EPs as opposed to full length albums?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I really wanted to do an EP because I had these songs written and I just wanted to test the waters to see what it would be like before releasing a full length album. Also, with instrumental guitar music you have to have a taste for it and it can get boring after a while. I love instrumental guitar music but I probably would get turned off by maybe the fourth or fifth song and be like, \u201cOk, time for something new.\u201d [laughs] My whole philosophy is that you don\u2019t want to overstay your welcome. You want them to get in there and to want more. It was also just a nice way to give people a sampling of what I\u2019m all about as a player.<\/p>\n

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I hear that you\u2019re attending the Musician\u2019s Institute in California. I honestly have to ask. What does going to a Musicians Institute do to make you a better artist?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s just like having guitar lessons five days a week. It\u2019s like a trade school of sorts where you just go in there and learn what you want to do. I really feel that there\u2019s two schools of thought in playing. There\u2019s guys that have taken lessons their whole life and learned to play that way and then there\u2019s those who picked it up by ear with no lessons and are still great players. There\u2019s two roads you can take but eventually they will meet up. I think the Musician\u2019s Institute or any college in general teaches you a lot of theory which is something I really enjoy. I\u2019m just one of those musicians who enjoys seeing how the science of music works. All the teachers are really great players who can do justice to just about every genre of music which is a really hard trait to have. I would really recommend it to anybody who wanted to take their playing to the next level. You really have to love it because all of the homework you do here is like playing stuff for 10 hours that you\u2019re not really into. You\u2019ll be learning all these jazz chords and thinking, \u201cMan, I want to play this Judas Priest song.\u201d [laughs]<\/p>\n

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Jake, do you remember the moment you knew you wanted to be a guitar player?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There was so much music in my house. My dad used to play guitar but he never played in a band or anything. At this point in my life, MTV was still playing music and it was all the dying hair metal bands that were still getting airplay. I would see all the big productions in those videos and was just so drawn to the guitars. It wasn\u2019t until I was 8 years old that I took a guitar lesson and wanted to do it seriously. The teacher I had would show me a lot of the theory stuff but at that point I just wanted to play songs so I took off a year and then went back when I was 10 and had a better attitude towards learning what my teacher wanted to teach me. From there it was just full on that I wanted to do it. When I was 14 and I heard Yngwie Malmsteen I knew I wanted to do this. I figured out that those guys got good by not having girlfriends and just locking yourself in your room and practicing for hours so that\u2019s what I did [laughs].<\/p>\n

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How would you describe the type of music you play? It seems to really cover a few different genres all at once.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I guess I would just say that it\u2019s progressive metal with some neo-classical influence. When it came time to do this album, I knew that I wanted to have three distinct tracks. If you listen to a record that has the same songs over and over again and it\u2019s all the same genre for 10 tracks, no matter how awesome it may be it can get stale after a while. This album just taps into a lot of different metal genres out there but doesn\u2019t go so deep into one genre that you could pin it as say a power metal genre or a thrash metal genre. If you play the same style over and over again there\u2019s only one emotion that it taps into. My favorite albums are the ones that have different genres in there where the music just takes you on a journey.<\/p>\n

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I grew up in a time where guitar players such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Blues Saraceno and Paul Gilbert were forging a genre all their own. Do you think this generation is missing out on this kind of guitar shredding?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, in a way. I think there are guys still coming out. When I first started playing and got into the Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen stuff I was about 14 and that\u2019s about right when YouTube came about. I would just out of curiosity type in those guy\u2019s names and a video of another 14 year old kid playing their stuff would come up. There are a lot of others tapping into it but I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve had any guitarists in this generation that have the same effect as guitarists like Becker did in his time. In the 80\u2019s it was such a fresh new thing and right now it\u2019s already been done so it might not be as much of a thrill factor. These days Jeff Loomis is one of the best in the metal genre. When his solo album came out in 2008, that was the same thing to me as if it would\u2019ve been hearing the first Cacaphony release or the first Racer X release back when they came out. I think there are more \u201cguitar gods\u201d coming out but there\u2019s definitely a lot more older guys doing it. Back in the day I\u2019m sure it was just killer hearing some of these guys who were like you\u2019re own age, 16 years old, making those records.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s so true. I remember hearing Jason Becker and I just couldn\u2019t believe that someone my own age was able to play the way he played. I was just struggling trying to learn Ramones songs and he was up there playing a million notes a second.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Exactly. I just loved all of those Shrapnel artists. That was a huge influence on me making this record. I just wanted to take the spirit that those records had and do it now and see what it would do. It\u2019s what I like to hear so I thought that maybe other people would dig it as well.<\/p>\n

======================================================<\/p>\n

I really did enjoy the EP and you\u2019re a fantastic guitar player but one of the things I had to ask is how the hell are bands not banging down your door to join them? Are you interested in becoming a guitar player in a band?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s my main goal with doing this. It\u2019s definitely not to sell CDs. I\u2019d be an idiot to go out there thinking I was going to make any money selling an instrumental EP in this day and age [laughs]. Actually, I did join a band but it fell apart. I was pretty bummed about it. I was offered the gig, got it but there were a lot of internal problems in the band and the timing was just wrong. Unfortunately it won\u2019t happen but shit happens. [At the time of this interview, he couldn\u2019t disclose it but Jake had been asked to join American power metal band Jag Panzer but they ended up disbanding after the decision to draft him in.]<\/p>\n

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Do you have any other prospects as far as joining a band?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to play with former Anthrax singer Neil Turbin\u2019s band Deathriders here in LA on August 23rd at the House of Blues. I\u2019m really excited about that because I\u2019m definitely a live guy. I love playing with a band but I just haven\u2019t found the right guys here in L.A. to do it with. I would love to join an established band.<\/p>\n

======================================================<\/p>\n

So are you sitting in with Deathriders or will you be a full on member.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll just be sitting in with them but at this point in time that\u2019s all I can really say. There\u2019s really no word about me joining but we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

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You know that Ozzy Osbourne has made a career out of discovering amazing guitar players and putting them on the map. Is there any artist (Ozzy or otherwise) that you would love to play with?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No kidding. Gus G has such a great gig playing with Ozzy right now. Joining a band that is known for having really good guitarists would be such a dream come true. Ozzy\u2019s had such a slew of awesome guitar players so that would be awesome. There are bands out there that I would love to join. Nevermore would be an awesome band join. Any of \u201cThe Big 4\u201d bands would be killer [laughs]. There are even smaller bands who I think would be killer to join. Hell, if Paul Gilbert wants to reunite Racer X I would totally jump on that one [laughs].<\/p>\n

======================================================<\/p>\n

Have you had a chance to meet any of your heroes and if so what was the most star struck you\u2019ve been?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actually, I take lessons from guys like Chris Broderick from Megadeth, Dave Shankle from Manowar. Those guys are just awesome guys in general and that really helps out with the star struck stuff. When you meet someone you look up to and they\u2019re cool guys it really makes you feel good. There\u2019s nothing worse than meeting someone you really look up and he turns out to be a complete dick [laughs]. The most star stuck I\u2019ve ever been though was when I met Paul Gilbert. I met him at the NAMM convention and Dave (Shankle) took me backstage to meet him. Paul is so anti-rockstar and is just such a down to earth, cool guy. Meeting him was really cool. It\u2019s cool to meet these people you spend so much time listening to and someone you respect.<\/p>\n

======================================================<\/p>\n

As a guitarist and obviously a huge fan of guitarists in general, who do you feel is the most underrated guitarist and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a great question. I think Jake E. Lee doesn\u2019t get the credit he deserves. I think \u201cBark At The Moon\u201d is one of the greatest Ozzy records out there. I also think that John Sykes is really underrated. Blue Murder is one of the most underrated bands in my opinion.<\/p>\n

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Who do you think is the most overrated guitarist?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Man, I think there are a lot of guitar players out there who are overrated [laughs]. I think Slash is pretty overrated. I think he\u2019s a good guitar player and I think Guns N\u2019 Roses was a one of a kind band. People make him out to be a great guitar player and while he\u2019s good at what he does, he\u2019s not amazing. I also think Kirk Hammet is also really overrated.<\/p>\n

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Dude, Kirk Hammet hasn\u2019t done anything good since \u201c…and justice for all\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Yeah. Man, there are so many overrated guitar players out there but those are like two of the biggest ones out there that stand out for me.<\/p>\n

======================================================<\/p>\n

Ok, time for another hard one! In your opinion, what is the pinnacle guitar album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh man, that\u2019s a really easy one. \u201cPerpetual Burn\u201d by Jason Becker. I think that album is so phenomenal but not just on a playing level. That guy was so ahead of his time with his writing as well. I also have to give a nod to Yngwie Malmsteen\u2019s \u201cRising Force\u201d album. That album has so many great songs and it really inspired Jason Becker\u2019s \u201cPerpetual Burn\u201d album. . If I was to have to hand someone one album to start out with it would be \u201cRising Force\u201d for sure.<\/p>\n

======================================================<\/p>\n

What is one song that you just MUST air guitar to whenever you hear it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Oh man. Honestly, I\u2019m more of an air drummer to be honest [laughs]. There\u2019s a Tool song that I love drumming to and I\u2019m so out of sync with it [laughs]. I love air drumming to Rush songs. How can you not air drum to Rush? [laughs] I also love doing air raid siren singing to Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden vocalist) and \u201cQueen of the Ryche\u201d by Queensryche [laughs]. I also love doing air vocals to King Diamond.<\/p>\n

======================================================<\/p>\n

That\u2019s hilarious. My buddy James and I do that all the time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s so awesome to do. When you sing along with those high notes you always have pretend you\u2019re holding a microphone in one hand and you have to pretend that you\u2019re holding a giant apple in the other over your head. For some reason, it just always automatically does that [laughs]. It just happens! Man, that was the best question I\u2019ve ever been asked [laughs].<\/p>\n

======================================================<\/p>\n

What does 2011 have in store for Jake Dreyer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not really planning on doing anything else behind \u201cIn The Shadows of Madness\u201d as far as touring but in the future there will definitely be a band based off of that. I\u2019ve been working on some new songs and writing for the new album. The new album is going to be a full length album and it will have vocals this time. I\u2019ll probably end up touring behind that one.<\/p>\n

======================================================<\/p>\n

Jake, thanks so much for taking the time out to do this interview man. Please keep me posted on everything that goes on and I wish you nothing but the best!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you for giving me the chance to do this interview. I really do appreciate it.<\/p>\n

For more on Jake Dreyer, check out his website at<\/strong> http:\/\/jakedreyer.com\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back in the 1980’s guitar shred masters like Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker and Blues Saraceno started to forge a genre all their own.\u00a0 They took elements of classical, latin and heavy metal music and created a style of instrumental music that was thought provoking, awe inspiring and opened up doors to a whole new world.\u00a0 Nineteen year old Jake Dreyer is some new blood to this forgotten genre and in my opinion has the potential to revitalize it in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[194],"tags":[658],"class_list":["post-7597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","tag-jake-dreyer"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7597\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}