First of all, congratulations on a great release! Hanging Gardens has sure to put you on the map of great guitarists. After the collaboration with Javier Leal and Vitalij Kuprij on the album Promised Land in 2003, you’ve been working on Hanging Gardens. It’s been three years, and the result turned out great. Was it hard to put the album together?
Actually, no, it wasn’t. As a matter-of-fact this is the one of the most comfortable recordings I’ve ever done. Maybe it was a little “stressable” to record some of the guitars, but I think that I’m finding the formula to complete this kind of project more easily.
For people who don’t really know you, who is Marco Ferrigno?
I “hate” to speak about myself in the third person. I’m just a musician from Monterrey, Mexico, and all I wish is to express all of my feelings, fears, thoughts, and dreams through my music.
How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard Hanging Gardens yet?
I would describe it as Alternative Instrumental Rock.
What kind of feedback have you got from the album?
Most of the feedback is very positive and inspiring for me, and that motivates me to keep writing more music.
What were your motivations for making the album?
All the music influences I’ve had, I think.
Marco Minnemann and Tony Franklin took care of the drums and bass on this album. What was it like to work with them?
They are two incredible musicians. One of the things about working with Minnemann is that he sidewrites really fast, and all the unison odd-time meters … he made them twice as interesting. Tony Franklin is a tremendous musician (on the top of his game). I am very thankful to both of them for helping me in the album.
What do you feel is the most important thing about your music that makes your playing style unique?
First of all, I feel like I’m in a galaxy far, far away from being unique … but, thanks for your commentary. My music is just a desperate need to express something.
How did you end up signing with Lion Music?
Since I released The Quest, Lasse Mattsson had been listening to my demos. I am very thankful to him. I think Lion Music is one of the only Instrumental Music record labels that give great opportunities to new artists and allows them to express themselves freely.
Who/what are your biggest influences as a guitar player and what do you mostly listen to when it comes to music (genres, artists, etc.)?
One of the strongest influences on my entire career is one of my teachers, Paul Hanson. He taught me how powerful the vibrato could be as an expressive tool. There’s actually something funny about my influences. For example, I used to play some licks of Alex Skolnick and later I found out that those licks were actually Robin Trower licks. My whole point here is that you don’t need to listen to Hendrix (for example) to be influenced by him, because it’s impossible to ignore so many years of music. Just listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, or even Kirk Hammett for that matter, and you would realize that there’s a lot of Hendrix there. So it would be very selfish for me just to name a few guitar players that influenced me. There are a lot.
What happens next for Marco Ferrigno? Will there be a tour, a new project, etc.?
There’s a new project going on. Javier Leal and I are discussing to continue the Promised Land project as Promised Land Pt.2
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