Thanks for the Interview Bill ! For the new Fans out there, give us a quick background on who you are and what you do?
First I’d like to say thank you to Metal Monthly for giving me this opportunity. I play lead guitar in the Instrumental Guitarcore band LoNero. I’ve been playing guitar since I was 7 years old. We’re based out of San Jose, California. We have our debut cd out called “Relentless”. I did put out a solo album prior to that called “Slather”.

Instrumental Guitarcore. That's cool. Can you remember a moment in the beginning that was instrumental, pardon the pun, in shaping your passion for the guitar?
Most definitely. It was hearing AC/DC for the first time. My sister brought home "Highway to Hell" and before I even put it on the cover attracted me. But once I played it and the opening riff to "Highway to Hell" started I was hooked. I dug up anything I could on Angus Young. Watched the movie "Let There Be Rock" well over 150 times and was pretty much addicted to AC/DC. There is something about the way he plays that is so organic and natural that when you listen to him you get the feeling that he is playing exactly what he is feeling. There aren’t many guitarists that can project that sort of emotion from the guitar.

I hear you. It's not what Angus plays but how he plays it that makes a difference. What was the very first rock album you purchased and what drew you to it?
The first one that I could remember purchasing was “Let There Be Rock”. After hearing “Highway to Hell” I went back and picked up some of AC/DC’s earlier albums. I was always into Elvis Presley as well. That goes back to when I was 5. I mean he just oozes cool out of everything he did. I don’t think there will ever be another entertainer as captivating, exhilarating and talented as him. There are superstars and then there’s Elvis Presley. I still get chills when I listen to him. For anyone that doesn’t know much about Elvis I recommend picking up 3 dvd’s. The first one is the “’68 Comeback Special”. The second one is “Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii”. And the third is “Elvis: That’s the way it is”. Watch those and you will get a greater understanding of why he is called The King of Rock and Roll.

That's respectable, yet I'm certain there could be a huge debate on the King of Rock and Roll title. Is there a single most influence in what you do, or a vast array of influences?
Other then Angus Young in terms of guitar I think I’m more influenced by a desire to accomplish what I set out to do when I first picked up the guitar, and that’s to have a career in music playing the music that I love playing. A lot of people get into playing music for all the wrong reasons. My driving factor is doing what I love. For me it’s about making music first and foremost.  

Cool deal. Describe your music in just one word: Guitarcore

Again, I like that term. Describe yourself in just one word: Relentless

Fitting description Bill. In your opinion, in rock and metal, is guitar the driving force or simply one of many essential elements? Example, could you really have a kick ass rock or metal song without guitar? It's been done with vocals, and it would work without bass and drums in some ways. What's your opinion?
Honestly I don’t think you could. Guitar IS rock and metal. You can take any rock or metal song and change the singer or remove the vocals altogether and you would still have a rock song. But if you take out the guitar you no longer have that aggressiveness, that angst, that in your face attitude that is rock and roll. Imagine Elvis without Scotty Moore or James Burton. Elvis could have sung “Jailhouse Rock” rock without guitar but it wouldn’t have been Rock and Roll. There were plenty of songs before Elvis that used guitar but they weren’t rock. Elvis and electric guitar started rock and Elvis is gone but we still have the electric guitar.

Yes we do. And for that, we are grateful. What sort of things go through you mind when creating one of LoNero's songs?
The first thing I think of when writing any riff is whether or not I like it. For me if it doesn’t groove then I can’t get into it. It’s easy to write a melody over a chord progression that just lays flat. But if you take the melody out do you still have a song? That is the deciding factor for me. If I can write a song and take the solo out or melody out and there is still something interesting going on and it grooves then that is a good foundation to build a song from. The solo is the last thing I think about. When I write a song I think in terms of verses and choruses. I like to write the songs as if there is going to be a singer laying down some vocals over the top. Then I have a structure to lay down the melody.

Interesting and descriptive as to the overall process. It's nice to take a look into the creation process occasionally. I understand that all your Band members contribute equally to the overall process and bring their own influences and sound into play, yet who makes the decision as to which direction the music heads in?
Well “Relentless” was written 90% by me. So the album was mostly finished by the time we went in to record. However the new stuff we’re writing definitely shows everyone’s influence. For instance William, our rhythm guitarist brings in his 7 string influence which is great. It lends a nice heavy feeling to the songs. Steve Spicer, our drummer is great at bringing in songs that are very rhythmic and have some very interesting time signatures going on yet they don’t sound like some overly-progressive jazz or instrumental riffs. They still groove and still sound heavy. Mike McKaigg, our bassist was around a lot during the writing of “Relentless” so he’s able to bring that with him to the new stuff. He knows what kind of sound we’re going for. Obviously with my name as the band name I think I take a vested interest in making sure the final product is exactly the way I hear it. LoNero has a sound that is different from most instrumental bands and that is something that we are aware of and when we’re writing that’s always there to think about.

Well spoken. You also do well, as a live Band, which is cool for an Instrumental Band. Would you say that playing live in an Instrumental Band is more or less difficult than having a vocalist/frontman that can help take some of the spotlight/load off ?
You know it is definitely more difficult. Not because the audience is unreceptive but because the booking agents are so closed-minded that they can’t grasp the fact that instrumental rock can be just as viable of an art form as any vocal based music. See, they and the record industry as a whole, make the mistake of assuming they know what people want to hear when in fact they really have no idea. If they did they would understand that music is music, period. People are smart enough to think for themselves and come to their own conclusions as to what they want to hear. Unfortunately the record companies force feed us the flavor of the day and tell us it’s good when in fact it’s nothing more then a carbon copy of what came out the week before.
One of the most satisfying things is when we play a place where the booking agent will say “well I have a show with some heavy bands and not sure if you’ll fit but we’ll put you on it”. Then after we play the reaction is always the same, people come up and tell us that they were surprised to find themselves head banging while we were playing. Or they say “I usually hate instrumentals but I really like you guys”.
Now I’m not saying this to impress people, but to impress upon people that instrumental rock or in our case Instrumental Guitarcore can rock just as hard as any other metal/rock band and can be just as viable of a live rock show as any other. Before they judge a band just because they are instrumental and think it’s going to be some 20 minute self-indulgent auditory masturbation, they should take the time to listen to the music. Like our bassist says, “the vocals are just another instrument that we choose not to use”.

I appreciate the honesty Bill. That's an interesting insight into the Industry. Is there a particular guitar solo that you would say is the epitome of guitar solos?
What I look for in a guitar solo is not speed or flash. I could care less about that stuff. To me too many guitar players focus on how fast they are and they lose sight of the fact that most people don’t care. 99% of the people that listen to music don’t listen because they want to see how fast the solo is. They want to groove. A perfect example of a perfect solo is AC/DC’s “Back in Black”. It grooves, pure and simple. If you really listen to that solo it is almost a song in itself. Angus isn’t just blowing smoke. He’s phrasing, he’s saying something. It’s almost as if he’s taking over from where the vocals leave off, pure genius in my opinion.

Guitar virtuoso. Would you agree or disagree with that term? Is it overused? Or perhaps misused?
I guess it depends on people’s definition of virtuoso. Back in the day virtuoso meant Beethoven and Bach. Today it’s thrown around so much that anyone that plays fast is called a virtuoso. To me a virtuoso is someone like Steve Morse, a guy that can play just about any style fluidly. So in that sense I think it is misused a lot nowadays. I mean back in the eighties they called the guitar player from Kingdom Come a virtuoso.
I don’t think of myself as one at all and am honestly uncomfortable even thinking of that.

Good enough for me. Can you play other instruments as proficient as the guitar?
I spent all my time playing guitar. I can dabble on other instruments. I mean I can pick up just about any stringed instrument and jam on it enough to get my point across or come up with a melody or something. But my focus has always been on guitar.

And with truly excellent results I might add. Now, You've performed with MANY talented musicians. Was there one specific musician you would love to perform with again? Do you have any lasting memories of any particular musician that will live with you forever?
Absolutely! Cliff Williams of AC/DC. Just recently I had the absolute incredible opportunity to perform T.N.T. with him on stage at The House of Blues in Hollywood. To stand next to him and play the solo and then sing backup with him on the same mic was something that I will never forget. It is definitely one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had as a musician. That is something I will take with me for the rest of my life. Thank God there are photos and videos of it. The day before we jammed on “Voodoo Chile”, “Going Down” and “Pride and Joy”.
 I also got to play “Sloop Jon B.” in front of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. I had just learned the song the night before and Brian came into the rehearsal room and sat down and I was playing with Simon Kirk of Bad Company and some other great musicians and we played for Brian. I think we did a great job because he was all smiles. Simon is someone that I really enjoyed playing with. That guy is proficient on not only drums, but keyboards, guitar, singing. He is such a talent and such a great guy. I really had fun playing with.

Cliff, Brian, Simon, all way cool people indeed. You've played many styles of music ranging from Heavy Metal to Acoustic. Do you have one specific style you favor or have you found that one style you like to play the most?
I love playing all styles really. Whatever sounds good. I like playing Latin style, percussive type music. I also love just tuning my acoustic to some altered tuning and just picking out a melody or nice finger picking riff. I never sit down though and say “today I’m going to play this style”. I just pick up the guitar and play. Whatever comes out comes out. A good example was when we were in the studio mixing “Relentless”. The engineer had a strum stick, which is basically a stick with four strings on it. I have no idea what it was tuned to but I picked it up and started playing this rhythmic thing. It had kind of an Irish/Cajun sound to it. So we put up a mic, recorded it and then Steve laid down some percussion on it and now it’s the song “Swamp Juice” on the album. It’s actually one of my favorite songs just because of the spontaneity of it.

I agree. That's a very cool tune indeed. Have you been offered any gigs with other Bands needing a great guitarist?
I have been asked a few times but LoNero is where my loyalty is. I love playing in this band and getting to play the music we love. I just wish these booking agents would get their heads out of their asses and actually take a chance for once instead of playing it safe all the time.

Those Booking Agents. You've got the balance. Both good and bad. At what point in music can someone truly say they are a success?
That’s a good question. I think no matter what path someone chooses in their life they are a success if they are happy. Money means nothing if you aren’t happy with how you accumulated it. Fame means nothing if you lied and cheated on your way to the top. So many people view success as a Ferrari or huge house on the hill. Others view it by how many albums you sold. I view it as, when I go to sleep at night did I do everything I could to today to spread our music to as many people as possible. Material things never mattered to me. There’s a great line in the Randy Travis song “Three Wooden Crosses” that goes “It’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it’s what you leave behind you when you go”. That to me says it all.

It definitely says a lot. Are you involved in any causes or movements or something similar?
You mean other then LoNero? No not right now. My focus is 100% on this band.
My favorite movement though is this band moving forward.

I support that movement as well. How involved are you with your Website or MySpace Profile?
100% completely involved. I maintain them, design them, answer emails, you name it. Pretty much anything web related to the band I maintain. I’ve tried having other people do some of the stuff but I usually end up doing it anyhow. Not because I don’t trust them but because it’s usually faster for me to just do it.

That's admirable and definitely increases the overall creative skills rating. It's cool to see a Musician run his own Website and I've seen it. www.lonero.net kicks ass. What Cds are you jamming to in your Players at present?
Well my iPod is filled with all kinds of music. I usually put it on shuffle and work. I have everything from Elvis Presley and AC/DC to Todd Snider, Social Distortion, Frank Sinatra and Waylon Jennings. Funny thing is I have no instrumental rock on there. I’m a big Randy Travis fan too. There’s something about his voice that I really like. I know that isn’t metal but to me metal is doing exactly what you want to do, listening to what you want and not making any excuses for it. Hell I even listen to Barry Manilow. Funny thing is people always say they hate him yet he sells out every show he does. One of the best shows I’ve ever seen was Manilow on New Years Eve in Las Vegas.

Barry Manilow. Dude. No comment. Have you tried or been around Guitar Hero? Your thoughts?
I think it’s fantastic! It’s a positive outlet for kids and adults and it exposes people to some really good, classic rock songs that a lot of kids don’t get exposed to.
I’ve tried it but am not very good at it. It’s unnatural to me. I think had I not played guitar then it would be easier. But playing guitar I’m used to six strings.
I do enjoy playing it though. It just frustrates the hell out me!

I've never played it and probably never will, but I do dig the marketing. What's one thing that most people be surprised to know about Bill Lonero?
I believe in God and thank him for what I have and all that I do. I know everyone has their own beliefs and I respect that. I would never try to force my beliefs on anyone else. That’s why I never understand religious wars. I follow politics but won’t discuss religion or politics with anyone. Too many wars and friends are lost over personal opinions.
I love reading scientific type books. Not science fiction but books on astronomy, physics, etc. I love watching Science Channel, Discovery, and National Geographic. In fact those are pretty much the only channels I watch. I can’t stand American Idol and all the “reality” shows. They are so fake. I know that’s not one thing but it’s hard to narrow down.

I hear you. I'm complex. I think. I hope. I'm pretty sure. What advice would you give to an upcoming guitarist that wants fame and fortune?
Don’t go into it wanting fame and fortune. If you do that is your first and biggest mistake. Play music because you want to create something. Being able to create music that no one has heard that came from inside of you and seeing other people enjoy it is more rewarding then money could ever be.
Put it this way, if I had a choice of playing music that I love and being broke, or playing pop music or this so called “pop country” and being rich I would be broke.

That seems to be the consensus amongst Musicians. Me, personally Bill, I'd have to ask how much money. If I could make enough in a few years to be able to finance my real drive, it might be worth it. Then again, maybe not. But hey, that's me. And I'm not a Musician. And so...onto the next question. You do have CDs and Merch available right now right?
Yes we have merch and cds available directly from our website or you can go to www.TheNewAlbum.com which is our merch store. You can also purchase our music on iTunes, CD Baby and many other online distributors. But if you buy from us you get free shipping on all cd orders.

Free is usually good. Free shipping on Bill Lonero CDs....priceless. Any shout out to anyone ?
Thank you to all our fans. They are absolutely the coolest fans anyone could ask for. They support us through thick and thin and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.
Also we are working on a DVD right now called “Live and Relentless”. Hopefully it will be available soon.

I'll look for that and snag it when it's released. Thanks Bill ! You totally ROCK.

VISIT BILL LONERO AT :

www.LoNero.net

www.MySpace.com/LoNero

 

Let 'Em Know Metal Monthly Sent Ya !