Rusty Cooley is an incredible American guitarist who has released a solo CD, a CD with the band Outworld and who has a new band, Day of Reckoning. An established and respected teacher, Rusty's style features insanely nimble speed picked lines, sweeps and legato playing, as well as crushing riffs. A Dean artist, with his own line of Signature guitars, Do Fret recently caught up with Rusty for this exclusive interview.  Q: Hi Rusty.
Thanks for taking the time to do this interview for Do Fret! Tell
us what
you are up to at the moment - what is happening with the new band
Day of
Reckoning?
A: Well at the moment I am working on finishing a 9
song demo with
my new band Day Of Reckoning which you can check out at http://www.myspace.com/dayofreckoningmetal
- once it's done we shop it to pick up a deal so we can go into a
studio and
do it for real. So that is pretty much my main focus. I have 2 new
dvds
coming out this year with Rock House Method titled Arpeggio
Madness.
And I am working on some mods to the RC7 Dean body plus we are
going to do
a limited run on the RC8's as well. I'm am also co-owner of a
music
school called Pro Music Instuction which is also the home of the
Rusty
Cooley School Of Rock - a
lot of my time is spent there as well. Oh yeah I almost forgot my
sig
overdrive pedal Rusty Cooley Overdrive has been revamped into a
high gain
monster and will be released in August I believe and that is with
Pro Tone
Pedals. Here's a sample of the tone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSjDX-sjY4Y
Q: The MySpace tracks sound great. The tone on Reborn is just wicked! What set up did you use on the recordings? A: Thanks - I used a Bogner Uberschall for the rhythms
and for the
leads I blended the Uber with a Prophesy direct. However I'm tracking all of the
new stuff
with a Peavey 6505+ and we are getting some sick tones. I'm using a
Diamond 4x12 cab with V-30S.
Q: Going back to your formative years, at what point did you think a career in guitar might be a possibility for you? What was your practise schedule like? Knowing your ability on the instrument it must have been pretty intense? A: Well I really never thought about having a career
in music. I
started playing guitar and I knew that was all I was ever going to
do. So
there was never a point where I said I might have a chance at
this. My practicing in high school was about 3 to 4 hours a day. After
high
school my guitar was in my hands pretty much from sun up to well
after sun
down. From practicing by myself at home, to teaching and then to
band
rehearsal.
Q: You are known as a "shredder". Are you comfortable with that label? Some people attach negative connotations to the term. Does this bother you? A: I really don't care - it is what it is. I play the
way I
do because that is what I like. I play first and foremost for my
own
enjoyment and if others like it that's a
bonus.
Q: Physically, playing like you do must be very demanding. What do you do to maintain that level and what advice would you give to avoid injury? A: Well I did all of my hardcore practicing in my
early years so I
really don't practice too much nowadays - it's more maintenance than
anything as far as technique goes. To avoid injury is simple - make sure you warm up
proper and take it
slow until you can comfortably move forward.
Q: Tell us a bit about your relationship with Dean? You must feel proud to have a Signature Guitar? I noticed on You Tube that they have built an 8 string for you - what made you go back to 8 string? A: Yeah my Dean deal is sweet! I love those guys - they
believed in
me and allowed me to build the guitar completely to my specs
unlike other
guitar makers I worked with in the past. I have an 8 string Dean
and I
never quit playing 8 string so it wasn't like all of a sudden I
went back. My Dean's just played so much better I played
them more and now that I have a Dean 8 you will see much more of
my 8
string stuff. Here's
a
couple of videos for the 8:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvd9cXf8Xbg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rOTOtVNQWU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES3FYt__FwA  Q: Teaching is a big part of what you do. I have a couple of your DVD's myself and find your approach to be very informative and thorough. What qualities do you think a good teacher possesses? A: Thanks! I think you have to be able to break it
down so people
can understand. When we were shooting Fretboard Autopsy one of the
camera
guys commented that he could understand what I was talking about
and he
didn't even play.
Q: A lot of people would love to see you play live in the UK - do you have any plans in this regard - either as a solo artist or with Day of Reckoning? A: Well I would love to but someone has to put up the
cash to get
me out on tour or for clinics!
Q: What kind of music do you listen to, and who are your favourite contemporaries? Thanks to Rusty for his time! Trevor Beckett Do Fret http://www.rustycooley.com/ |
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