This is Namtar Axarcuth hailing from Philadelphia PA, today we will be speaking with guitar god Lawrence Wallace, ex Shadows In The Crypt, ex Serpent Ov Old and his own band Lawrence Wallace
1.) Hails Lawrence, I would like to start by asking how long you have been playing guitar and how often did you practice when you started out and do you still practice as much as you did back then?
I started playing when I was 16 at around 2001. I played literally every single day, sometimes all day long for a couple of years. I still try to play every day but some days I am too busy. I probably devote about 4 or 5 week days to the guitar these days. It depends on how busy I am.
2.) You are a one in a billion type of guitarist, did you take lessons and if so for how long and with who?
Yes I did. I took lessons at a local music store by a teacher named Tom Taylor when I started. Tom didn’t play heavy metal though so I had to move on to someone else in order to learn what I was more interested in so I took lessons from a couple other teachers after that. A few of which are Ernie Carletti, Chris Gordon, and Greg Howe (shrapnel records).
3.) Do you consider yourself as great of a guitar player as everyone else does? You seem like such a humble guy so when answering this question don't feel like there is some sort of ego in your answer.
I do recognize talent in what I do but I also know that we kind of just get what we get in this world.I consider my abilities to be a privilege that I am grateful for because I could just as easily have not been talented at all. The world is also a very big place so there are a lot of great players out there. But yes I do notice my skills and am very happy that I have them. It took a lot of practice as well.
4.)What are some of your favorite scales to use?
I use mostly regular diatonic scales, sometimes Phrygian dominant, and diminished arpeggios, and of course pentatonic scales. Whole tone scales and augmented arpeggios are probably the most outside the box stuff I use. I don’t care much for stuff like melodic minor or gypsy scales etc. I just stick to more basic stuff, unless I hear something that really catches my attention. Those exotic scales are sometimes hard to be creative with.
5.)Do you pay attention to new bands coming out today and if so what are your thoughts on what's being released today compared to the golden days of metal?
There is definitely a lot of different stuff coming out. I actually haven’t kept track though lately. I do like a lot of newer stuff but the older stuff always brings me back. I appreciate both old and new metal. I do think some stuff is sort of overdone though.
6.) Who are your top 5 guitar influences?
I would probably have to say Michael Angelo Batio, Vinnie Moore, Alex Skolnick , Paul Gilbert and yngwie Malmsteen
7.) Who are some of your favorite bands?
I really like a lot of different stuff… early children of bodom, Arch Enemy, Killswitch Engage, Iced Earth, and some more extreme stuff like Emperor, Morbid Angel, Darkthrone just to name some of them.
8.) I know years ago you played out live with some of your previous bands, is this something you would consider again in the future? Or are you content with just recording these days? Definitely. I enjoyed playing live a lot and would definitely do it again. I am jamming with some guys right now that are about to start booking shows soon.
9.) Do you have anything you would like to add to this interview, to your fans, or to anyone else you can think of? Absolutely. Thanks so much for this interview. I really appreciate all of it. I have a new EP coming out on April 28th and I have all of my music up on Bandcamp.com for free, at
https://lawrencewallaceband.bandcamp.com/ and you can easily add me as a friend on Facebook or instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/lawrencewallace1984/ I also have music on Spotify and other online stores that are easy to find. I definitely appreciate all the support, it means everything! \m/ I am glad we have become friends, we worked on a song together before and are about to work on some of my Namtaru songs together this week which I'm very excited about, I also enjoy your albums and songs very much. Thank you brother for doing this interview and Hails to you! Awesome! Hell yeah I am definitely looking forward to these new song of yours! Thanks once again for the interview! \m/ hails! \m/ Lawrence Wallace links https://lawrencewallaceband.bandcamp.com/music https://www.facebook.com/people/Lawrence-Wallace-guitarist/100063498159472/ https://lawrencewallace.weebly.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lawrencewallace1984/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc_-U2aV0evx7aVpUSblnoA?view_as=subscriber
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