Tue, 29/07/2008 - 22:24 - Owen Edwards

INTO THE FUTURE

OE: SO, WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS NOW?
My plans now are to record this album and to get as much credibility as I can behind what I am doing. I want to give it that sort of image that when people see it for the first time it’s not about the ‘disability’ but about the ‘possibility’. That when you get brilliant musicians behind you, you can really create something worth listening to - and, who knows: maybe change things for the better.

PH: WHO'VE YOU GOT ON THIS RECORD THEN?

So far I've got - at least officially! - Johnny Hiland doing a couple of tracks and singing, Phil Hilborne, Brett Garsed, Ivan Michaljevic, Johnny Hiland, Billy Sheehan, Gary Hoey Jamie Humphires - of course you Owen! - and we've got the amazing Billy Sheehan on board ...

Also, Hal Leonard (music publisher) has recently asked me to do something online too some lessons for a new web site: http://www.guitarinstructor.com I'm just totally overwhelmed that so may people re accepting this: I feel that I haven't worked hard enough, you know?!

I should have put more work into this! Quitting my job for a year and playing night and day just doesn't seem good enough!

PH: BUT YOU SHOULD MENTION THAT YOU'VE GIVEN UP YOUR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKED ON THIS.

Well, yeah: I decided that - about a year ago - while I was learning some cool licks and was getting my playing down, I was really sort of sitting on the fence... Y’ know, I want to do this but - like all of us - I've got life responsibilities and then I realised that I'll never be happy unless I really give this thing a go: I love guitar more than I can ever express, without sounding like I'm going to cry on Barbra Walters TV Special!

But it’s true! I love everything about the guitar. And so I sat down with my wife, and we talked it through - and she asked me what did I think was possible?

You see, I've always known what it was like to be that little kid who feels different. I think I can work in an arena and make it available to all sorts of people. Try to be an inspiration y’know teach children how to play, start bringing in other musicians and start networking with great guitar players and let people all around the world know exactly what it is I'm doing.

Derek from Ernie Ball has been the most amazing help from the beginning: I called him up and told him my idea and he said straight away "I'm behind you: lets see where it goes." And they've helped ever since - even this week doing these sessions he shipped this guitar here (John’s Ernie Ball Axis).

It was the following year when I decided that day and night I'd concentrate on actually playing. In a way that took me away from my actual practising because you've got top remember that I'd never actually played in front of people so I needed to get with it on amps and gear: y’know - what does a chorus actually do? What sort of amp should I get? How do I get a proper sound? I hadn't got a lot of musician friends who could advise me on all that.

For example this POD XT (and I don't endorse them or anything) is a great unit because it’s all in there - so I could get learn about what’s going on, about compression, about how to hook it up to my computer and get a little knowledge about how to record. So, it’s been a journey about not just taping a pick on, but everything: about getting a sound and applying these techniques to create myself as a guitarist: anything I've accomplished to date is really still in the early stages: I see it going way further!