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by Dave B. Roberts
Ax facts & Stats vol. 40: Rock (Modern Day Zero)
By Dave B. Roberts
Welcome to one more edition of Ax Facts & Stats. In this edition, we are featuring Modern Day Zero lead guitarist Rock Davis. Rock and they boys are currently on tour supporting their new release, Coming Up For Air featuring the balls-to-the-wall power single “Sick Inside”, my personal fav, “Broken” and a whole plethora of raw, yet refined hard rockin’ tunes. I had the opportunity and pleasure last month to catch up with Rock just before hitting the road with Hoobastank and Velvet Revolver. You pretty much know you’re doing something right in the rock-n-roll department when Slash wants you in his corner. These guys totally rock, check them out! Now let’s check in with Rock.
My name is:
Rock
Describe yourself in 5 words
Brilliant, Funny, Witty, Genius, Liar
My current job is:
Guitarist for Modern Day Zero
My current Project is:
Modern Day Zero- Coming Up For Air
My hometown:
St. Louis, MO USA
Former bands:
Headtrip Window.
My guitar influences growing up were:
Hendrix, Page, Slash, SRV,
Ace Frehley, Angus Young, Zakk Wylde, Jerry Cantrell, Dimebag, all the
usual suspects.
The guitars I use are:
1957 LP Goldtop Custom Authentic, 1991 PRS
CE-24, 1995 LP Classic Premium Plus, 2004 Hamer Monaco Elite,
Alvarez-Yairi WY-1, 1961 Guild M-75 Aristocrat
The strings and tunings I use are:
Ernie Ball- Slinky Top/Heavy
Bottoms. General tunings are: D#-G#-C#-F#-A#-D#, C#-G#-C#-F#-A#-D#.
However, I love alternate tunings and have new and old songs with
various open tunings. I like to drop the B string down a whole step. I
also like to use open D (the whole guitar). Anything that sounds cool
and different, I am all for.
My current rig setup consists of:
2 Hughes & Kettner Triamp's w/
MIDI switching, GCX audio switcher, Ground Control Pro MIDI
footcontroller, Line 6 Echo Pro, Line 6 Mod Pro, Whammy II, TS-9,
Proctavia, Rotovibe, Crybaby, E. Ball VPjr. volume pedal, TU-2 Tuner,
Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter, Behringer Multigate Pro, Shure U4
Wireless. Axess Electronics GRX-4 Audio Switcher, Voodoo Labs Pedal Power.
The greatest invention for guitars is:
guitar players!
My normal songwriting process consists of:
Hearing something in my
head or just jamming an idea on my guitar. Then using a program called
Reason to build drum patterns on and using Pro Tools to track the
whole idea.
The story behind the name MDZ:
We wanted a fresh start. We
didn't like our old name. We were throwing ideas around and somebody
said Modern Day Zero after someone had said Modern Day Hero or
Hero's...I can't remember. We all thought Modern Day Zero sounded
cool. That's about as brief as I can be.
My Favorite MDZ song is:
always the newest stuff we are working on.
So right now, it's called "As Soon As You Let Me"
My favorite All-time solo is:
The whole song "Lenny" by SRV is just badass.
My favorite All-time song is:
It changes over time. Depends on what mood I'm in, too. I don't think I could pick just one.
My Career highlight thus far is:
Landing the opening slot for
Velvet Revolver and Hoobastank.
My most embarrassing moment on stage:
Any number of drunken bar
gigs I have played to make a buck.
Other than my guitar, the one piece of my gear that
I cannot live without is:
The Mac I am using to type this with.
The first song I ever mastered on guitar was:
Mastered is a strong
word. When you first start learning songs.... you think you got them down
pat. But in reality, you most likely sound like poop. So I don't know.
My first guitar was:
technically, it was an acoustic when I was about
4 years old. But I really didn't start playing until I was 15 or so. And
that was some cheap Strat copy. I can't even remember the name of it.
If I am only sure of one thing in life,
It's:
it's: you will die if you
stop living.
The one ritual I always perform prior to going
onstage is:
Sacrificing a large game hen and smearing its blood all over myself
and the dressing room.
The exact moment I knew I would pursue a career in
music was
The
last day of middle school. I came home with an awful guitar I had
attempted to make for shop class. I was so happy to be out of school,
I went home, opened the windows, cranked Van Halen "Eruption", and
went outside and smashed the guitar into a thousand pieces. Then I
knew what I had to do.
The one thing most fans don't know
about me is:
probably none of
their business.
The best advice I could give beginning
guitarists:
Nobody cares what you know how to play if you can't do
it in time.
The CD(s) I'm listening to right now are:
Alex Skolnik Trio- Goodbye to
Romance: Standards For A New Generation, Guns-N-Roses- Appetite For
Destruction, Soundgarden- Badmotorfinger.
My 3 all-time favorite albums are:
Metallica- Master of Puppets, Alice
In Chains- Dirt, Pantera- "Vulgar Display of Power" stick with metal
for this one.
Best gig:
ask me again after the tour with Velvet Revolver.
My favorite junk food is:
Pizza
My biggest pet peeve is:
Authority. People telling me what to do.
The word or catch phrase I say too often
is:
"you know...I mean".
The hardest part of my job is:
Dealing with the business side of it.
The first thing I do when I come home from touring is:
Take a shower.
Previous or first day job.
Guitar instructor, working in guitar
shops, record stores.
Right after this interview I'm going to:
Take a nap.
I couldn't imagine being on the road
without:
Earplugs and my cell
phone.
If I wasn't doing the musician thing, I could really see myself working as:
I could really see myself
working as: a superhero! Sent to save people from their 9-5 lives! And
rescue them from eternal boredom!
Favorite movie:
The Three Amigos, Harlem
Nights. Both hilarious.
My mission in life is:
To make a good living I’m the music business.
And have my songs reach massive numbers of people and affect them in a
positive manner.
My Guilty Pleasure is:
I don't know...porn?
My first band was:
X-ZYL. Wow that was a dumb name. We couldn't
find a bass player, so we had a keyboardist just play the bass lines.
Our first gig was a yearbook signing party in middle school.
My next major step is
Playing to 10-20,000 people every night.
The greatest contribution guitars have
brought into my life is
Sanity. Peace. An outlet for my emotions.
Check out our Website at
www.moderndayzero.com
The one musician I would love to work with
that I have not yet had the chance would be
Chris Cornell.
If I could have three wishes, they would be
Safety and security
for my family and friends, a long and successful career in music, and
of course.... three more wishes.
When it's all said and done, I want the world to
remember me for
My contribution to music and my songwriting.
Copyright 2005 Dave B. Roberts & www.extremeguitars.com is the web home of articles and interviews written by Dave Roberts. All Dave Roberts interviews & articles are available for use or FREE reprint ONLY by Permission and proper credits. Permission can be obtained by contacting dave@extremeguitars.com. All materials are Copyright 2004 Dave Roberts and Oceanbreeze Ent., All Rights Reserved.
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