This is what I will ask the guitarist.
1. When did you start learning to play the guitar?
2. Can you play any other instruments?
3. Who are your main musical influences?
4. What is your favourite famous guitar solo?
5. What is the first record you ever bought?
6. Do you still own any vinyls?
7. How do you think the internet affects the music industry?
8. Describe your music in 3 words.
9. Is there any rivalry with other bands?
10. Who have you most enjoyed working with?
11. How did it feel to headline for the first time?
12. How do you feel when you perform?
13. How did you find your tour?
14. What warm-up methods do you use before a gig?
15. Is there any conflict between band members?
16. What would you do if you weren’t in the band?
17. Has it always been your dream to pursue a career in music?
18. Who would you love to record with?
19. How would you react if you were asked to perform at the Leeds festival?
DPS article:
DPS article:
Geof Gardiner. Rock legend.
Geoff’s laid back demeanour came across as we started to talk with his appearance and passion for black alluding to his musical style.
“My favourite place to be is on stage,” enthused Geoff Gardiner, lead guitarist of White Trash ana Half Cast. “As soon as I start playing, I sorta get lost in it.” From the moment Geoff started talking about his music, he changed from a shy guy to the confident, energised performer we see on stage.
Inspired by his dad, his passion began when he was 14, having started learning the guitar, his love for music grew.
Some of Geoff’s influences include Radiohead, Rancid and Nirvana, with Jimmy Hendirx’s ‘All Along The Watchtower’ being his favourite guitar solo, as you can’t help being drawn in by the hypnotic sound. The first albums he bought were ‘Nevermind’ -Nirvana, and ‘Dookie’ –Greenday. “I still buy vinyls quite regularly” -It’s always a good sign of a hard core music enthusiast to hear that!
Having gone through college with singer, Collin Jones they worked on numerous projects outside Geoff’s band and Geoff told ROCK that he’d love to work with him again. “We’ve learnt a lot together music-wise”. Clearly Geoff has taken inspiration from many sources.
White Trash ana Half Caste were fortunate enough to capture the attention of Alan McGee, the manager of Oasis. Having recognised their talents, he took them on and they were soon on tour, supporting White Mice. “It was good, yeah! It’s a way to get out there. I did enjoy it, it was a good experience.”
Not long after, the band was asked to perform at the Leeds Festival. Unfortunately there was personal issues and they had to pull out, but “at the time we were very excited! It was a letdown not to, but actually getting to play it would be absolutely brilliant!”
Geoff describes headlining for the first time as “the best feeling in my life. I’ve never come across anything better than that.” He still gets nervous before a live gig and does warming up exercises to get his fingers going. By the time he’s on stage, Geoff is full of energy and ready to rock!
There was a slight hesitation from Geoff when we asked if there was any conflict between band members. “There has been, nothing too major. There’s been a few discrepancies with which direction the songs should go, or which songs shouldn’t be played live. But nothing too extreme.” Luckily for fans, there’s no sign of them breaking up.
Can Geoff play anything else? “Not competently, no” Geoff says modestly. “I can do a little bit on the drums, little bit on the keyboard, but mainly guitar”. You get the feeling that Geoff likes to try out all the band’s instruments and he’s most probably better than he’s letting on.
As it’s always been Geoff’s dream to pursue a career in music, he admitted: “If I wasn’t in a band, I’d be wishing I was!” We were also told that he’d love to record a song with Tom Waits. So would we!
Geoff sees the emergence of the internet as a great place for young bands to be heard. Their popular myspace page got them a lot of acknowledgement and they gained many fans via this platform.
There was a slight hesitation from Geoff when we asked if there was any conflict between band members. “There has been, nothing too major. There’s been a few discrepancies with which direction the songs should go, or which songs shouldn’t be played live. But nothing too extreme.” His hesitation causes some suspicions but, luckily for fans, there’s no sign of them breaking up.
It was an absolute pleasure to talk to Geoff Gardiner and we at ROCK, are hoping that White Trash ana Half Cast will be at Leeds soon, as we just can’t get enough of this awesome band!
‘Voices In My Head’ is now free to download on iTunes until 1st January 2012!
