ZEGO MUSIC TUITION

The More Detailed Saga continues...

 

 

You know, it wasn't until my final year in high school (in Sydney) that I saw a guy with an actual electric guitar - (the first I had ever seen that wasn't on TV),  and it was only THEN that I realized rock was accessible to everyone, not just to the Chosen Few!

 

AC/DC was the band responsible for making me want to play guitar, and Angus Young (the Lead Guitarist) was the man! I used to take my sister’s old “virtual toy” classical 3/4 size, and try to pick up some of the notes I was hearing while cranking the stereo! It seems funny, but after awhile, I realized that most of the solos had repetitive note ideas in them, and pretty soon, my fingers had started to "recognise" where to go to find them!

 

My next major influence along the way was the impressionable Eddie Van Halen, and I was already convinced there was no one even close to him! All through those earlier years, I kept gradually getting exposed to more and more bands and different styles which I tried to emulate, though not always successfully! I went through a real Hard Rock/Metal phase that lasted for a long time, and if I'm honest? I still like it today! I discovered a lot of new bands from "Rage" on TV, and I still remember when I first saw Iron Maiden live, being blown away by the sheer energy of the performance and the theatrics!

 

My first electric guitar was not actually mine – it was a friend of my Dad’s, and I picked it up every chance I got, and plugged it into the stereo to get the overdriven sound of a guitar amp! Then the day came that the owner came and took it back, so I went out and bought myself a Shocking Pink B.C. Rich guitar! (Thanks for that, Poison!)

 

Glam Metal was all the fashion then, and I flew that flag for a bit, I have to admit! Wow, so many Hard Rock Guitar bands! Badlands, Extreme, Dokken (later becoming Lynch Mob), Queensryche, Poison, Mr Big, Metallica, Skid Row, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N' Roses, you can see where this is going! But, I also loved Australian Rock bands back then too, in no small influenced by AC/DC! The Angels, Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel, Rose Tattoo, plenty of others, but what REALLY blew me away? Was the Emmanuel Brothers...

 

Phil and Tommy Emmanuel... Wow - I have no idea how many times I would go to see these guys play, and never did they leave me disappointed. Not only were they mind-numbingly brilliant players, they were so down to Earth and humble, but yet so damned funny onstage! These two were my first real tangible Guitar Heroes that I had, and to this day, they still blow my mind!

 

(Speaking of Guitar Heroes, all I have mentioned so far are bands! If I was to mention all the individual Guitarists who influenced me along the way, and STILL influence me today? This would be a VERY long read! So, I wont do that to you now!)

 

I remember spending hours in the garage on weekends while my friends tried to get me to go clubbing with them, but all I wanted to do was stay home and play guitar!  My next guitar and amp purchase came a few years later, and it took a bank loan too, but is still today one of my favourite guitars!

 

My Ibanez Jem777 – the Steve Vai model! I wanted something that could make every damn sound in the book, and although I still knew virtually nothing about guitars, I knew this thing could do it! It was a lucky gamble for me, the guitar is still one of the most versatile I own!

 

I jammed with anyone and everyone I could, and even joined several bands and concept shows, (some of them VERY amateur, I have to admit), including tributes to “the Cars”, “Queen”, “Cold Chisel”, “Iron Maiden”, “Metallica”, etc. But I was playing and learning all the while, and my ear became reasonably good as a result of trying to copy all these covers! Yes, I hate to say it now, but I also went through the inevitable “I Can Play Faster Than You Can” phase that most guitarists go through, and even won a few competitions to prove it!

 

I started reading books on theory and scales, and I realized I just learnt fancy new names for the patterns I had already been playing! I moved to Queensland with a basic cover band that not long after broke up, and I decided to stay on the coast!

 

I joined the "Australian Guns n’ Roses Show" as Slash in '94, and we toured Australia rather extensively, until the real band were no longer in fashion! In the later 90’s, I joined the then opposition show, "The Australian Tribute Spectacular” - very circus like name, but good band - with tributes to Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Guns n’ Roses (again!)

 

I started playing bass along the way, and surprisingly liked it! I had started teaching guitar by this stage, and bass was a bonus! I have done lots of recordings, some personal, some for other artists along the way, though I wish now I had kept copies of everything I have done, my memory is not great! I still work for many different bands/outfits, and I like the challenge of keeping it fresh, and never quite knowing what's going to happen next!

 

I almost forgot to mention, I did some REAL study as well! I recall my introduction to Jazz with a guitar player named Mungo Coates, who had personally studied with a lot of big name, world class musicians - (not all of them guitarists either) and what I learned from him was invaluable! (Plus it got me some kind of Jazz/Rock Diploma thing I could hang on the wall!)

 

I was also the resident Bass Player in the "House Band" at a prominent Muso Jam on the Coast for many years, and in that time, I played with an amazing variety of musicians, from many different genres, and that experience was an invaluable education for me!

 

I have met/worked for some incredible people along the way, and although I couldn’t list them all, some of the highlights of my career thus far would be getting to jam with Phil Emmanuel, (Two separate occasions even!) I have done band supports for Midnight Oil, Joe Camilleri and the Black Sorrows, Phil Manning, Noiseworks, the Radiators, etc… many good Australian acts! I can’t even begin to think of this list now, so I'll have to come back and ammend it in time! Oh, and I recall my original hard rock band played support for an incredible singer named Jeff Scott Soto – virtually unknown here, but huge in the States/Europe!

 

All in all, I think I have been very lucky to have worked in the industry that I have, and am one of the few people I know who can say they love their job! I mean, what other job pays you to go out, tour the country, have a few drinks, play some songs with some mates, and basically have a good time?!!!

 

Regards,

 

Mal Zego…  (and sorry about all the green - I kinda like it!)