Interview with Shredder Guitarist, Gia Federico

 

In a world full of guitar shredders, Gia Federico stands taller than the rest. Her shredding skills are a master class in the genre. Recently We had a chance to pose some questions to the fiery Boston based guitarist.  

Which guitarist would be your all time greatest influence?  

Tough  to say ,  Eddie Van Halen  ,   i first heard him made me want to  play , his sound  and the way he plays .  the other players  on here as well  ,    Randy Rhoads , Jeff Beck,   Jimmy page ,  Hendrix ,  Malmsteen ,  Vai , Satriani     

Growing up in New England how has the music scene changed? 

I think  its  hard , so many places have closed ,   especially for original bands its really hard  here.  

What has been the biggest obstacle as a musician?  

 Biggest obstacles ,  meeting the right people  just to play with lol,  trying to get your music out there ,   to make money as an original artist is hard , especially  when  commercial radio only plays  artists that are signed to major labels 

How do you get your killer tone?  

Tweaking over the yrs ,  EQ ing ,   finding the right pickups ,  and  using tube amps ,  I think its an evolving  process 

How many endorsements do you have?  

I have 8 that I have announced  , but 9  once my custom shop signature  guitar  from  Viper Guitars is done .   I'm  with SIT Strings ,  ZT amplifier,  Lizard spit  guitar polish ,   Best Tronics  cables ,  WB gear ,  Stone tone blocks ,  Killer Q guitar straps ,   Pick guy guitar picks   

Do you view social media as a positive or negative impact on the music industry  

Positive , if it wasn't for social media I wouldn't be able to get any of my music or music videos  out , my videos have done extremely well , I wouldn't have the endorsements or even you asking me for this interview lol , cause it  would have been harder to find me with no social media  ,  so  social media is the only good thing , probably  why   decided to keep doing music  cause i know i can  release music and videos online    

Give us a run down on your live sound  

 It pretty  basic ,   noise gate ,   distortion box ,   tuner ,   i use reverb and delay  to , mostly on leads ,  rhythm  i don't .  compression i sometimes use ,  and wah wah ,  i use the effects loop  on my amps,  I have  3 JCM 800S  modified, but  broke at the moment lol. i also have a 5150 II   i have been using that one more now  

To your ears what does a great song have to contain?  

catchy riff , melody , vocals  , lyrics , and very simple , simple  lyrics you can remember ,  most of your  biggest hits are the simplest ,  "keep it simple stupid," gene simmons quote lol , its very true lol 

Satriani or Vai?  

 Depends on my mood that day ,   I  love both ,    sometimes i like  Joe , sometimes steve lol  both are influential  to me .  

Hendrix or Iommi?  

  Both , there lefty like me  lol ,   

Strangest thing that ever happened to you at a gig? 

 The PA  system went down  at place i was playing ,  back  yrs ago ,   well my singer  brought one lol,  for us ,  the other bands wanted to use it ,  he said no , we end up leaving  and not playing  ,   waste of a drive  and loading up   

How many hours of the day do you practice?  

 cycles ,  sometimes i end up not playing for  a week,  due to  life , job etc    other times  I will practice on weekdays  2 to 4 hrs every day sometimes longer, weekends   i can go up to  7 to 8 ,  but  then  I will not play  a weekend or 2 ,  then i feel guilty as hell and think  i totally suck when i don't practice  lol  

unusual music we might find in your cd collection?  

 Classical music ,  jazz ,  pop ,  frank Sinatra , Elvis ,  John Denver , The Bee Jees ,   opera singers lol,   I  am into  a variety of different styles of music , 

What project are you currently working on and what is next for you?  

I am planning  on finishing the full length  cd /dvd  for Devil In The Mist ,  9 to 10 , including the 3 on the 3 song EP  we released this year , Also  plan on recording anew instrumental  song called  The Ladder with a music video to go along with it ,  

Anything you would like to say to the fans?  

Yes  , thank you  so much for all the support and  sharing , liking  ,  posting  my songs , videos pics,  news updates and so on ,    it's really an honor   and makes me want to keep coming out with better and better music  :) 

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