AXEMEN Series | GIA G

1. Tell us your name and the band you play for.

Hi, my name is  GIA G / Gia Federico, go by both, doesn’t matter which one lol, I play in my Alternative metal band   Devil In The Mist, and my Instrumental project  GIA G.

2. Who made you want to pick up the guitar?

Eddie Van Halen.

3. Are you self-taught or did you take lessons?

I took lessons with  Joe Stump for 3 1/2 yrs, then learned and went on my own the rest. I was about to enrol in Berklee college of music,  but end up learning and going on my own.

4. Can you read music? Can you read tab?

I used to be able to read music really well and not tab lol, know its the opposite, lol  I’m rusty on reading, but it would come back if just did that.

5. Do you feel like you have your own sound/tone?

Yes I think I do on both, and I will even say  my style is my own too, as far music and so on.

6. Tell us about your guitar (brand, model, year, colour)

 Well, I have 22 of them,  but my favourites are my 4  Custom Shop Jacksons and  2 Custom shop  Fenders.  I also like Schecter, I have two  8 string ones and one 7 string one, I also play acoustic and classical and I have 2 bass Guitars, one Fender, the other Ibanez.  I have 2 signature Guitars with Viper Guitars which I am endorsed with.  3 Kramer Guitars, 2 from the 1980s.

7. What about pickups? Passive or active? Tell us about them.

Most of my Guitars have Seymour Duncan pickups, which I am endorsed with.  Passive pickups I like and low output, I don’t like active pickups and not a fan of  EMG type pick-ups.

8. Let’s get into amplification: Same drill. Brand, model, speakers, etc.

I have four  Marshall Heads,  2 from the early 80s, JCM 800S, another JCM reissue from 2003, a 210 JVM Marshall,   A 1998 5150 II  Peavey amp, I have a 40 amp Revv  Amp, I’m endorsed with them, and  two ZT amp lunch boxes which I am endorsed with.

9. Do you have a pedalboard? Tell us about that bad boy.

To be honest, I don’t use many effects,  just the basic reverb, sometimes delay, or flange or chorus, I use a Dunlop pre amp pedal and just got a Seymour Duncan preamp pedal, I also have a Seymour Duncan distortion box, and an Ibanez one, but I do not use them too much, I mostly use the distortion from the amps.

10. Now tell us your Dream Rig in detail.

Dream rig,  ah to crazy to even type out, lol I reach high…

11. What guitarist can you not stand?

Mostly ones that think there something not, I can’t stand a lot of them, and I don’t want to mention names haha!

12. Is tone more important or is the technique?

I think without the proper tone, your technique suffers, cause you don’t have the right sound, and it makes you get all pissed off lol.

13. Name your top 5 guitarists.

Eddie Van Halen,

  Jeff Beck,

 Jimmy Page,

 Randy Rhaods,

Jimi Hendrix,

 Alan Holsworth,

 Eric  Clapton,

 Yngwie Malmsteen,

 Joe Satriani,

 Chuck Berry,

John Lee Hooker,

 Scooty Moore,

 Glen Campbell,

Chet Atkins,

  Roy Clarke, 

 James Hetfield,

 Kirk Hamnet,

Ritchie Blackmore,  

 way more than 5, I mean this list could go on and on:

 Lindsey Buckingham,

 David Gilmour,

 Brain May,

 Steve Vai

 Stevie Ray Vaughan 

Paco De Luca.

14. Who is the most overrated guitarist

The most overrated lol, hahaha, how about many, not going to mention names, but the new crop of female and male ones you see all over youtube, they have no music, all scales modes arpeggios as fast as you can play, picking,  more like guitar exercises, than actual music.

15. Who would you like a one-hour private sit down lesson with anyone dead or alive?

To be honest, it would be people like,  Quincy Jones,  and great producers and engineers and songwriters, that’s where it is at,  if I want to, I could spend my time 24 / 7 and make a goal to be the fastest, cleanest guitarist and all I do like so many, the question is, why?  There is no talent in that, if I was going to join the circus then I could see doing that lol, so spending time with talented songwriters, producers is talent and what music is all about.