Interviews

Published on September 16th, 2020 | by Jimmy Star

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Rocky Kramer “Rock Star In The Truest Form”

Master guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, rising superstar Rocky Kramer continues to excite us with his almost weekly cover songs which are produced in ways you can’t even imagine, while his debut concept album “Firestorm” (via Allied Artist Music Group), is steadily advancing in popularity.

The Norwegian born rocker, a musical child prodigy was destined to create music being born into a musical family. As a teen, Rocky was already playing in rock bands and performing live, something he loves to do above anything. I traded some intimate questions and answers with Rocky regarding his career and his future desires……

Why did you feel like covering a tribute to Phil Collins?

 Phil Collins is a legend and a musical genius. He’s an incredible singer, musician and songwriter. I’ve been a fan of his from an early age, the music video for “In The Air Tonight” playing on TV was responsible for that. I didn’t discover Genesis until later, but I’m glad I did, because they have so many amazing songs. The obvious choice when doing a tribute to Phil Collins would be “In The Air Tonight,” but I chose the Genesis song “Mama” instead, because on the one hand it’s similar, yet on the other hand, it’s a song with its own distinct identity and feel.

Your covers thus far are incredible, I can’t help but wonder what’s next for you?

Thank you very much. Every cover I do, is also a tribute to a band, artist or musician that either inspired me growing up or more recently. I want my covers to be a surprise, so I will only reveal that the next cover will focus exclusively on a guitar player that I admired tremendously growing up.

Will you be releasing some more original songs in the near future?

 Short answer, yes. As soon as we can go into the studio, without the fear of catching COVID-19, we will start recording the next album. The band is already familiar with the music, but we’ll have to rehearse the album first, so that will be the first step. Hopefully, we can do that sooner, rather than later, but safety first.

You’re a genie in a bottle, make 3 of your favorite musical wishes come true.

 My musical wishes are mostly fueled by curiosity. What would these artists have done, if they hadn’t died at an early age? The first one being Jimi Hendrix. He only released three albums before he passed away, so I will always wonder how he would’ve interpreted the new music trends of the 70s and 80s. Would he have embraced synthesizers or would he have stuck with the same instrumentation throughout his career?

With Metallica, the death of their bass player Cliff Burton changed many aspects of their music. Cliff’s classical background added an interesting dimension to their early sound. The strange decision to practically have no audible bass guitar on their first album with Jason Newsted, was not exactly the type of welcome any new band member is usually looking for. I’m pretty confident that the albums after Master of Puppets would’ve been noticeably different, if Cliff had been alive.

I could go on and on about speculating what bands and artists would have or could have done if they hadn’t died, but for the third wish, I’d rather wish for an ability to time travel back to any concert in history. There are so many bands and concerts I wish I could’ve experience in person, including Woodstock and seeing KISS, Pink Floyd and Queen on every tour. That would’ve been magical!

When and how can we watch your show on Tuesday nights?

My show on Tuesday nights is called “Rock & Roll Tuesdays.” It’s a live music show on Twitch, and it starts at 7 PM Pacific and goes on for a generous 2 hours.

You are like a one-man orchestra, how many instruments do you play?

My main instrument is the guitar, but when I record at home, I also play bass and keyboards. In addition, I can play the violin, ukulele and drums.

How did you come to endorse Fender guitars?

It started when I bought my first Fender guitar at fourteen and totally fell in love with the Fender brand, particularly the Stratocaster which I own a number of today. I also own and play a Telecaster and Jazz Bass. My relationship with Fender started when I came to the U.S. and was introduced to their then Senior Vice President, Rich McDonald, by Kim Richards, who produced Firestorm.  Rich liked my playing and became a good friend. I had an opportunity to endorse Gibson, who make fine guitars, but Fender checks all of the boxes for me. My artist rep at Fender, Michael Schulz, really went out of his way to help with my Rock Star music video and has been incredibly supportive. Fender normally has a huge showcase every year at NAMM (although 2021 will be online due to COVID-19) and in addition to being able to see their new products, I get to talk to my artist rep and the actual luthiers and designers who keep their various brands leading the pack. Fender is a very dedicated company, which is why they’re the number one choice of millions of guitar players around the world, so it’s a wonderful brand to embrace. But remember that electric guitars require more than just a spectacular guitar, which is why I also endorse ENGL Amps, Jim Dunlop Guitar Picks, ClearTone Guitar Strings, Spiral Electric FX Pedals, Fractal Audio and JH Audio In-Ears. Each of those brands have been great to work with. I approach endorsements different than some artists. I only endorse products I honestly use and honestly love.

As soon as the world gets back to normal, what is the first thing you plan on doing?

Professionally, I can’t wait to go back in the studio to record the next album. That’s a big deal to me. On a personal level, there’s a few things I really miss during this pandemic. The big one is not being able to see my family back home in Norway. I can’t wait to see my family again, but I definitely don’t want to make anyone sick. Culinarily, I can’t wait to go back to a restaurant and get a nice piece of prime rib. Perhaps, followed by a trip to the movie theater. A dinner and a movie? What a strange concept!

Watch the Genesis Cover “Mama” by Rocky Kramer here:


The official website for Rocky Kramer may be found at https://www.rockykramer.com

Interview by Eileen Shapiro

 


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