Shant Hagopian – Page 16 – Blogging in Disguise

March 3, 2013

Morow.com – The Prog Radio Featuring Solipsistic Cover

Ok! This is actually kind of a big deal. “Morow.com – The Prog Radio. The Best Progressive Rock of Yesterday and Today.” have actually changed their cover photo on Facebook??to show the Solipsistic album cover.

This is such a great honor, I can’t thank you enough guys… I’m speechless.

Morow.com Facebook page featuring Solipsistic cover as their Facebook cover photo.

And in case you don’t know, Morow.com is the biggest prog rock radio station on the Internet. So if you haven’t heard of them yet and you actually want to hear some great prog bands, including classic prog rock bands like Rush, Yes, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, then wait no longer, and head to their site to tune in.

March 3, 2013May 31, 2018

Art, Not a Competition

I always face-palm when I see people arguing with a friend or some random dude online about who the best player is, or who can play faster. This “My-dad-is-bigger-than-your-dad” mentality has to stop. Funny thing is the media also likes that, every once in a while you see a magazine asking people to vote for their favorite guitar player, and then they present it with big letters “Best guitarist of all time” “Greatest guitar solo of all time”.

Just because some people voted for a drummer, a singer, a guitar solo or a guitar player from a record that was sold thousands or millions, it doesn’t really make them the “best”. There IS NO best. this is music, and like everything else, everyone has their own opinion, you can’t just go to a person and force them to listen to music and make them love it. Voting for the “best” is pretty much doing the same, after all we see how elections go anywhere in the world.

I hate it even more when they compare, say a Cobain guitar “solo” to Gilmour. WHAT?!
That’s like comparing a paralyzed person to a world champion. I understand that magazines do this kind of thing because it will bring them more sales, but I’m guessing as an individual you have to be bright enough to know the difference.

Now here’s the other face of this “competition.” Shredding and artists who believe that playing faster will make their compositions more enjoyable.
I started writing this post in early January, it was only a draft when Rocio Flores Bedoya published her review of Solipsistic on Lady Obscure, and when I read the paragraph where she discusses the same idea in the review, and the fact that she actually received the message through my music alone, it totally blew me away! I was relieved that there are actually other people who realize what’s really going on, and it motivated me even more to continue writing this piece.

Everyone can shred.

I can play two gazillion bajillion notes in a minute and make you bleed from your eyes until you quit playing, but that’s not music to my ears. I think in a different way, why kill yourself to write and play highly technical lines to impress the listener by your chops, where you can play a single note at the right place and the right time and give them the chills. Isn’t that actually the point of listening to music? for enjoyment?
And especially when your shredding isn’t 100% clean, if you are a guitarist I’m sure you totally understand what I mean.

Ignore your weaknesses and only cultivate your strengths. -Steve Vai

Yes; shredding is fun and enjoyable but overdoing it will not make you “the greatest guitarist of all time.” wink wink.

February 19, 2013May 31, 2018

Interview on Soundlyfe – French Magazine

Here’s the English version of my interview with Soundlyfe, the French music magazine.

Semantic Saturation

1. Where does this project come from?

Semantic Saturation is progressive metal project founded by me, featuring world class musicians and progressive masters, such as Virgil Donati on drums, Ric Fierabracci on Bass, and special guests, ex-Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian, and Vanden Plas vocalist Andy Kuntz. So there is no particular base for the project as everyone comes from different part of the earth, I’m from Canada, Andy is from Germany, and the rest; Derek Virgil and Ric are from LA, thanks to the powers of the Internet and all the technology available to us today, otherwise it would’ve been impossible for this project to be born.

2. You are surrounded with big world references of the rock or metal scene : Does it mean that Semantic Saturation requires to evolve in a band? Or certain opportunities just appeared?

It’s really a great honor to work with these guys, they are all virtuosos and amazing people. Semantic Saturation is currently only a project, my project to be precise, it would be awesome to become a band but that depends on a lot of criteria, and since the project is relatively new with the debut album Solipsistic that just launched two weeks ago on January 21, I believe it’s too early to say at this point, but you never know. And again I don’t know if I’d want it to be a permanent band, as I’m planning to work with different musicians in future albums, but that doesn’t mean that I also don’t work with any of the current musicians. A lot of people are asking if there would be any live performances too, again at this point there are no plans for any performances, but I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to play live shows if I have the chance, the biggest challenge then would be adapting and meeting everyone’s busy schedules, as you may know Derek, Virgil and everyone else have their personal projects and bands, they’re always busy touring or recording in the studio.

3. What are the events in the coming months of Semantic Saturation?

As an independent project, I’m currently focusing on promoting the album “Solipsistic”, I’ve been working on it since December 2010 and I’ve put a lot of effort in making it as perfect as possible, so I definitely want to promote it as much as I can, otherwise all the effort and hard work we put in this record will go unnoticed. I had planned a music video for one of the songs from the album, and we are still trying to make that happen. Also I have plans to make a single dedicated to the Syrian people and all the crimes against humanity that are happening there right now, but it’s too early to talk about it.

4. Does Solipsistic have a main thread? What do you speak about musically?

Solipsistic comes from solipsism which is a state of mind, a philosophical idea that can only proves ones own mind or self to exist. The idea came to me as a kid and I kept thinking about it, until I started working on the album and thought it’s the perfect chance to use it. Musically I’m trying to deliver strong expressive melodies and stimulating music that speaks to you and keeps you wanting for more, there are a lot of bands nowadays who tend to forget that music is actually an art and not some kind of competition, a lot of them have overlooked and forgot what music actually is, they’re constantly trying to concentrate on the technical side only. For me that is not music, and playing thousands of notes a minute will not make them any better.

5. Besides Dream Theater or Vanden Plas, represented in your project by current or old former members, what are your musical influences in any kind of genre?

I grew up listening to Pink Floyd, so they have been a major influence, besides Dream Theater with all their side projects and Vanden Plas, bands that have influenced and inspired me are Rush, Porcupine Tree, Pain of Salvation, Muse, The Gathering, Steve Vai, Ayreon, Joe Satriani, Transatlantic, Opeth … I can keep on going but I think I’ll just stop by saying thank you very much for the interview! And I’d like to thank you (the reader) for your interest. If you’d like to support the project get your copy today at www.semanticsaturation.com (CDs include free guitar picks and posters signed personally by me).

Source: http://globalgame.wix.com/gam3#!home/c14yj

February 18, 2013May 31, 2018

Interview and Review on MusikReviews.de

MusikReviews.de is a German metal ‘zine. Andreas Schiffmann has already reviewed the CD last month, and today my interview with them got published, they have translated it to German, but I have the original in English.

Tell me a bit about yourself: How were you socialized with music, and what do you want to achieve as a solo artist – or are you looking for a stable band?

I started playing guitar when I was 15, my interest in music started when I heard Pink Floyd for the first time, as a teenager the many great bands I have discovered along the way made me fall in love with the guitar and the sounds and music you can create with the instrument, thanks to all the technology we have today, from effects processors to amps and software. In 1996 I started jazz guitar studies and graduated in 2003, Frank Gambale was another inspiring jazz musician, not that I wanted to specify in jazz, but there were no rock guitar courses in the school I attended, so jazz for me was definitely an amazing style to complement my music as a progressive rock guitarist. At this point I can’t say if I’m looking for a stable band, but I wouldn’t mind being in one either, I’m pretty happy working as a solo artist, and my plans for the future is to play with different musicians on every album, but that does not mean that I don’t want to play with the same musicians, again at this stage it’s too early to tell.

How come high profile players like Ric or Virgil got interested in a quasi-unknown artist like you?

Ric, Virgil, Andy and Derek are all amazing musicians, I admire everything they do. When I asked Derek if he wants to play or be a guest on my album I sent him some demo tracks and after he gave them a quick listen, he gave me a call and he was more than happy to help. The same thing happened with Virgil, Ric and Andy, they were all excited. It’s really a great honor to have them all on the album.

How did the collaboration with your guests happen logistically, also since Andy, for example, wrote his own lyrics?

Coordination was one of the biggest challenges for me throughout the process. These musicians are all on busy schedules, they have tours, clinics and work in the studio. But thanks to the powers of the Internet, connecting with them was very easy, we had many sessions on Skype and then I’d send them my tracks with the demo drums or bass and every one of them adds their part in, and then sends me back their files and so on. For the lyrics on “What if We All Stop” I have sent Andy the idea and story of the song as well as some verses , then he added his parts based on the music making sure he has enough words to fill the lines and we shaped it down together to the final version that is on the CD. Andy also helped me in the song structure musically, and as a vocalist and a great producer.

What does your project’s name Semantic Saturation mean to you?

Semantic Saturation also known as “Semantic Satiation” is a psychological phenomenon where repetition causes a word or phrase to lose its meaning temporarily; words are then processed in the mind as meaningless sounds. The idea is much deeper than that, and it doesn’t just stop there. Even though unapparent, but our brains are being saturated on a daily basis, and fed by multiple sources, they may look slow but the effects are the same on the long run.

How do you come up with names for your instrumental tracks, and is writing instrumental music a necessity because you do not have a band of your own?

Track names are inspired by the music I write, and the music I write is inspired by many different sources, it can be a musician, and artist, an article … anything really. The idea is the same when you are writing a song with lyrics, how do you choose the track name of a song? Based on the lyrics and story of course. Writing instrumental music is not a necessity but more a desire, as a guitarist I felt more fulfilled having a (mostly) instrumental album, but that does not mean that future albums will all be instrumental. I love songs as much as I love instrumental music; they are all music in the end.

What do you try to achieve with this project, and where do you see yourself as an artist in the long run?

Semantic Saturation is my baby, and It means a lot to me of course. It’s the result of more than 2 years of hard work. What am I trying to achieve… I’m trying to deliver great music to the music lovers, combining the most appealing elements in rock, prog and metal and mixing them with new styles like jazz and electronica. It’s a very early stage to tell where I do see myself, but for now having a descent fan base, and fans who appreciate the music and the effort I put in creating it is just what I need. And I hope more people will discover this project and enjoy listening to the album.

source: http://www.musikreviews.de/interviews/18-02-2013/Semantic-Saturation/

And here’s a link to the review (only in German) but you can always use Google Translate.
http://www.musikreviews.de/reviews/2013/Semantic-Saturation/Solipsistic

February 12, 2013

Bruce Dickinson Says it Best

” I don’t understand these kids auditioning for X-Factor claiming they ‘just wanna make music’. Cut the Crap!
Let me introduce you to the kid teaching himself how to play guitar, the busker in the train station, the guys and girls recording their own demos and playing the small venues, the unpublished songwriter with countless books full of lyrics, the people who just want to be heard, who want to express themselves, their creativity and their artistic worth.
They are the ones who just want to make music! They are the real artists!
Anybody auditions for X-Factor it’s because they want to be famous. Period! Otherwise they’d already be out there ‘making music’ “

– Bruce Dickinson, Iron Maiden frontman

I couldn’t have said it better myself, the man is a legend and his wise words scream louder than words.

I don’t watch a lot of TV myself; I try??not to, I already have much better things to do, but I always thought how humiliating it must be for a person to go up there on stage in front of millions, to be monitored and judged by three old farts; mostly pop ‘artists’ that I call auto-tune artists, and then possibly end up being sent home crying and crashing in front of millions with nothing, talk about destroying self-esteem.

Why do you think people enjoy these shows ? Because once in a while a clown shows up and makes the viewer laugh with their horrible performance, could possibly be a hired actor to make the show??funnier, at least I hope they are, otherwise it’s 15 seconds of fame turned into a nightmare, I mean just try putting yourself in their shoes.

Sigh… end of rant.