{"id":7882,"date":"2011-09-23T07:00:10","date_gmt":"2011-09-23T11:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=7882"},"modified":"2011-09-15T11:51:19","modified_gmt":"2011-09-15T15:51:19","slug":"blowin%e2%80%99-wind-w-former-holy-grail-guitarist-ian-scott-%e2%80%9cif-you-really-want-to-make-things-happen-you-have-to-take-that-leap-of-faith-where-you%e2%80%99re-not-really-sure-how-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=7882","title":{"rendered":"Blowin\u2019 Wind w\/ former Holy Grail guitarist Ian Scott: \u201cIf you really want to make things happen you have to take that leap of faith where you\u2019re not really sure how you\u2019re going to survive.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Guitarist Ian Scott is just a guy trying to make it in the music world and take all the ups and downs that go along with it. Ian moved from NYC and left everything (car included) to move to California and chase the dream that many only think about. I first met Ian when he was touring as a stand in guitarist for Holy Grail and I was struck by his story of trying to make it in this industry as a musician. Ian took the time to talk to me on the eve of his move back to NYC and we discussed the ups and downs of trying to make it, his release from the Holy Grail guitar slot and the mystery behind his name and how it\u2019s NOT a play on Scott Ian of Anthrax\u2019s name. This is an interview that I hope any and every aspiring musician young and old will appreciate.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Hey Ian, rise and shine brother!<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Ah, the crack of noon. I can still taste the toothpaste!<\/p>\n

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[laughs] So how are things going over there in Cali?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Things are good. Last week I did a video Kahler tremolos and that should be edited and ready to go by end of this week. I\u2019m also trying packed up and ready to make this move back to New York.<\/p>\n

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Are you psyched to head back to New York or do you wish you could stay in California?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A little bit of both actually. I definitely want to go back to New York because shits pretty grim here. I have no job, no car, no band so I really have nothing going on here.<\/p>\n

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Man, that sounds like a country song. You should take that shit to Nashville!<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] That\u2019s true. Man, fuck shred and metal. I\u2019m in the wrong biz [laughs].<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ok, first off bro let\u2019s talk about your name. Is Ian Scott your REAL name?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Ok, yeah it is but here\u2019s the deal with that. This is what Scott Ian (Anthrax guitarist) did. Ian is his middle name ok? My middle name is Scott. His real last name is Rosenfeld and mine is Ortiz-Gross. It\u2019s two names, it\u2019s hyphenated and it\u2019s always a problem explaining it to people especially on the phone [laughs]. I just go by Ian Scott. It\u2019s easy to remember but if people remember it because of the Scott Ian thing, that\u2019s just fine [laughs].<\/p>\n

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Ok man, now that we got that sorted out, let\u2019s go way back. When did you know you wanted to be a musician?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I started playing guitar when I was 12 because I asked for a guitar for my birthday. I think at that time I was just starting to listen to bands and getting into music. This was also back when MTV still played music videos so it definitely was something I was interested in. I remember seeing videos of Gavin Rosdale from Bush looking cool and I just thought it would be a cool thing to do [laughs]. I started learning tunes by Metallica and Megadeth and as I progressed I got more into technique. Then I got into the shred guys like Yngwie Malmsteen and that was when I realized that this was what I wanted to do.<\/p>\n

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So metal music wasn\u2019t actually what got you into guitar right off the bat?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Everyone around me listened to a lot of hip hop, reggae and whatever else so it wasn\u2019t like I was exposed to metal music a lot. The first time I ever heard metal was when I saw that Eddie Murphy movie \u201cThe Golden Child\u201d and they played the Ratt song \u201cBody Talk\u201d playing in the background. I had never heard any kind of hard rock like that and that was the first hard rock band I had ever heard [laughs]. I have Eddie Murphy to thank for my career [laughs].<\/p>\n

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So how does a New York City guy end up in California playing guitar for a metal band?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was in a band called Utopia Banished for a while playing lead guitar and we did a lot of local shows in the tri-state area but New York is a rough town for music. Venues are closing down left and right. On top of that, things are expensive there so you have to have a job and that doesn\u2019t always jive well with the whole \u201cI really want to go for this and start touring\u201d mentality and eventually the band fell apart. You have to take that initial leap of faith and be willing to start touring and not knowing how you\u2019re going to make money at first. I ended up taking a job at a life insurance company. Later, my girlfriend of five years left me and then five days later I lost my job. It was the country song man. I had no girlfriend, no job and no band [laughs]. I ended up going to the NAMM convention and hanging with my friend Sean Maier who was working at the Carvin booth. He told me I should just move to California so after thinking about it I just took the leap of faith and moved out to California.<\/p>\n

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You and I first met while on tour with Holy Grail as James LaRue\u2019s replacement. How did you land that gig?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Within 24 hours of me getting to California, my buddy Sean (Maier; guitarist for Blessed by a Broken Heart) called me. It turned out that his band and Holy Grail had a sort of business relationship with a guy named Clay from their record label Prosthetic Records. Holy Grail was looking for a new lead guitarist pretty quickly. Sean couldn\u2019t do it because he was really busy with his band but he thought of me since I had just moved to California. I checked out their tunes and thought it was really great stuff. I learned a few of their songs and made two or three audition videos. I had two or three rehearsals with them and then we were off to Japan to play the Loud Park Festival where we played to 10 or 12,000 people [laughs]. It was the most surreal thing that has ever happened to me.<\/p>\n

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So then you hit the road with them and did a pretty lengthy tour with them. Why did the gig not work out for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well after doing two US tours and a tour of Canada we did a 14 date UK tour which was really cool. After that tour they told me that they were going to be using someone else. I had always known that I wasn\u2019t a permanent member so it\u2019s not like I had been locked into the position. Some of the issues I think was just me being really new to the whole touring thing. I also didn\u2019t have a car in California which was a pain in the ass for them to pick me up for practice all the time. I didn\u2019t live anywhere near Pasadena where they are and it was like a 40 minute ride one way. They decided to go with Alex Lee from Bonded By Blood. They\u2019ve known him for a while and toured with Bonded By Blood so they\u2019re more familiar with him and it was a comfortable decision for them to go with him. It\u2019s cool though. You have to do what you need to do to survive as a band. It\u2019s tough out there. I wish them well and I had a crazy time with them and have crazy amounts of ridiculous stories with those guys [laughs]. I hope they make it out there and I hope they continue to make a name for themselves.<\/p>\n

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Did you feel that your overall experience in Holy Grail was a positive one?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh yeah. I think we got along really good and we have some great stories and memories together. I like them as people and I like the music so I really have nothing bad to say about them. I\u2019m not going to sit here and tell you that I wouldn\u2019t have liked to continue to tour with them but it\u2019s ok.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s really cool to hear you say that. Unlike all the drama with bands like White Wizzard, it\u2019s nice to hear both sides being mature and taking the high roads.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think these days people are way more into the drama. Unfortunately I think that White Wizzard is more known for their drama than their music and that\u2019s a real shame. It\u2019s supposed to be about the music. If you like a band, you like a band. You don\u2019t have to side with ex-members and new members. I just think that\u2019s so stupid and high school type bullshit. It\u2019s pretty ridiculous.<\/p>\n

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Since parting ways with Holy Grail, did you find yourself with other options like being in another band or doing other music related projects?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, for a while I was looking to join another band. I had a few auditions. One of them was a Megadeth tribute band called \u201cRust In Peace\u201d who\u2019s shtick is to play \u201cRust In Peace\u201d in its entirety. I thought it would be pretty fun to do but it just didn\u2019t work out. Funny enough, I also auditioned for Bonded By Blood. They\u2019re cool guys but they\u2019re in writing mode and I just can\u2019t stay here in California. Lately I\u2019ve been releasing a lot of YouTube videos. I just found that people respond to the visual thing much quicker these days so I\u2019ve been doing this thing for Carvin guitars called \u201cShred of the Day.\u201d I\u2019ve also done a video for Kahler tremelos. I\u2019m also going to be releasing a full length album in the next 3 or 4 months and there may be an east coast tour with two other solo guitarists.<\/p>\n

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That sounds awesome Ian. Is it going to be an all instrumental album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, that\u2019s just what I do. I love the instrumental guitar stuff. I try to make my music a little different. It\u2019s pretty progressive stuff but I\u2019m trying to really make it interesting because it\u2019s a really over flooded market. I want my music to sound different and I hope that will come through.<\/p>\n

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When I was a kid the Shrapnel (instrumental guitar record label) artists were just insane so it\u2019s cool to see it coming back.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh man I\u2019m a total Shrapnel head. I ate all those albums up and it\u2019s happening again. Shred is not dead man [laughs]. Jeff Loomis from Nevermore released a solo album recently that did really well and the instrumental band Animals as Leaders are touring and they put out an amazing album. I\u2019m hoping that there will be interest in that instrumental stuff again. Even some of these newer bands like Black Veil Brides are employing competent guitarists who can shred and we\u2019re hearing guitar solos making a come back which is really awesome.<\/p>\n

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So you\u2019ve said that being in California has been pretty hard. Just how hard is it to be struggling musician there?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So that was one of the reasons I moved out to California. Honestly, playing music anywhere is tough. I moved out to California because there\u2019s something about that place. People still give a shit about music. All the famous historic venues like the Whiskey, Viper Room and The Cat Club are all still there. There\u2019s opportunities here and if you think you\u2019re a good musician and you put yourself out you may get recognized. There are always bands looking for musicians. It\u2019s important in the beginning to practice your craft and get good and if you come to a place like California there\u2019s a good chance of making something happen. You may not end up touring with a huge band but you can find some cool people to make music and tour with.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s really a struggle and you have to really be willing to starve for it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, it\u2019s the musicians burden. It\u2019s a strange balance of pursuing your passion and surviving. That\u2019s where I\u2019ve found a bit of trouble because after Holy Grail, I didn\u2019t have a plan and no transportation. That\u2019s why I\u2019m going back to New York. It\u2019s definitely rough. If you really want to make things happen you have to take that leap of faith where you\u2019re not really sure how you\u2019re going to survive. You are going to spend your resources trying to make it happen whether it\u2019s finding a band to tour with or taking your own band on the road. That\u2019s really what it takes. If you\u2019re an unsigned band these days, you have to have touring dates beneath your belt. They want to see that you\u2019ve got a fan base. If you\u2019re a local band just playing weekend gigs, you\u2019ll need to go that extra mile and just tour for a few months.<\/p>\n

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In this day and age where bands aren\u2019t selling records, how important is it to have the backing of a label?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think for a band it\u2019s still very helpful. It\u2019s definitely useful to have support for touring and to get booking. Booking is really tough now a days especially in places like New York where there aren\u2019t too many small venues where you can go up to the owner and talk to them about playing there. They\u2019re all larger venues now that you need booking agents and representation to play at. In terms of moving units, I don\u2019t think people buy records but it\u2019s depending on the label. Find a label that\u2019s interested in you and being about helping you. That\u2019s a step in the right direction because you have to have this capital machine to drive your band, music and tour. They\u2019ll help you out with distribution, printing and even getting you on different festivals and whatnot.<\/p>\n

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Ian, let\u2019s lighten things up and have a lil fun here. If you could guitar in any band, who would it be and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Man, that\u2019s a tough one. I\u2019ve always fantasized about playing in Symphony X because they\u2019re one of my favorite bands. I\u2019ve always thought it would be cool if they had two guitarists. Whenever I\u2019m listening to their songs I always imagine what it would be like to do harmonies with them. I think it would also be cool to be in one of those classic 80\u2019s bands. I don\u2019t know. Maybe replace George Lynch in Dokken [laughs].<\/p>\n

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Man, you can do better than Dokken. I just saw Dokken recently and it was pretty painful. Go for Ratt. I saw them a couple of summers ago and they were great.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Yeah, Ratt still kicks ass. They played at Loud Park when I was there with Holy Grail and they were awesome.<\/p>\n

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What is your favorite guitar god album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I really like Jeff Loomis\u2019 latest album \u201cZero Order Phase\u201d but I think my all time favorite guitar god album would be \u201cStreet Lethal\u201d by Racer X. When I heard that album I was like, \u201cWhoa! Holy Crap!\u201d [laughs]<\/p>\n

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

[laughs] Overrated guitarist? Probably that dude Sinister Gates from Avenged Sevenfold. They advertise him as this shred dude or whatever. I\u2019m really not into knocking guitar players and saying that I\u2019m better than anyone but he\u2019s really not a coherent player. He\u2019s put out some instructional videos where he\u2019s trying to show you how to play his licks. He\u2019s having trouble getting through them and he\u2019s kind of sloppy and it\u2019s kind of painful to watch. He throws out a lot of musical terminology that, if you know anything about terminology, is sometimes wrong. Also, from what I hear from others he\u2019s a bit of a douche [laughs]. It kills me that Mike Portnoy left Dream Theater to play with Avenged Sevenfold.<\/p>\n

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Who is the most underrated guitarist?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think this fusion guitarist Greg Howe is pretty underrated. He\u2019s really good and I like his stuff a lot. He played with people like Michael Jackson and Enrique Iglesias. Not a lot of people know about him. I really like his style a lot. There are so many great ones out there. I\u2019m sure I could go on for hours [laughs].<\/p>\n

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Ian, share with me a valuable lesson you learned while on this adventure ride.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve learned a lot of stuff and not just music stuff. Like when you\u2019re on tour, especially in another country. When you\u2019re fantasizing about being on tour in another country, there are things you don\u2019t think about . I learned a very valuable lesson while in Glasgow, Scotland. After a gig Eli (Santana; Holy Grail guitarist) went with these girls back to their flat where I passed out. Eli ws pretty drunk and he ended up leaving and I woke up at noon the next day [laughs]. I found myself on the streets of Glasgow with no money, no passport which was back at the hotel and my cell phone didn\u2019t work. I was just wondering the streets and luckily Luna and Tyler found me walking around and we were able to continue the tour [laughs]. The lesson I learned from that was to always stick with your band when you\u2019re on tour. You\u2019ve also got to be really aware of your surroundings and know that you\u2019re not invicible. It\u2019s easy to have this feeling of invincibility that you can do anything but you really can\u2019t [laughs]. I will never forget that lesson, believe me [laughs].<\/p>\n

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So at the end of the day, do you have any regrets?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have no regrets. Maybe things just had to happen this way for me to focus on my own music and maybe that\u2019s just the way it was supposed to happen. I don\u2019t regret any of it. I learned a lot of shit, I had a lot of good times and met a lot of cool people. I got some great opportunities out of it and it\u2019s been a crazy ride!<\/p>\n

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What a great attitude and a great outlook on life. Ian, this was a really fun and interesting interview. Thanks so much for taking the time out to talk today and best of luck to you heading back to NYC!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks so much Don for doing this. It\u2019s been cool talking to you again.<\/p>\n

The Brainfart & Ian w\/ the Holy Grail boys here in Atlanta<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guitarist Ian Scott is just a guy trying to make it in the music world and take all the ups and downs that go along with it. Ian moved from NYC and left everything (car included) to move to California and chase the dream that many only think about. I first met Ian when he was touring as a stand in guitarist for Holy Grail and I was struck by his story of trying to make it in this industry […]<\/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":[518,681],"class_list":["post-7882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","tag-holy-grail","tag-ian-scott"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7882","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=7882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7882\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}