Mixer Puppet is a dedicated Marshall player who has grown up playing guitar and drums. He gets writing advice from Steve Vai and is potentially the next Gearwire MVP for his posts on MARS forums.

What is your background?

I grew up in small towns all over because of Father's Job. I began guitar lessons in 1975 at the YMCA and took them for about a month. I really wanted to play drums, so in 1977 my parents (bought) for me a snare drum for Christmas and paid for private lessons. My parents signed me up for summer band in jr. high which was a complete disaster, and it discouraged me. Fast forward to high school where I had a friend learning guitar and I taught him how to tune it. He encouraged me to start again but I was poor and reluctant because of past failures. I bought a guitar after getting my first job as a drafter and later that year the guitar was broken in ½ after a shelf broke loose from a wall. My father said he would replace the guitar only if I took lessons, so I signed up, and he bought me a $200 guitar. My first lesson was inspiring and lit something in me I had not felt since I was a kid. It is now 1986 when this happens. I took guitar for 4 years from Dean Norling and nearly 3 years from Rich Severson (ex MIT instructor) of Guitar College.

How did you get started in music and what advice would you give to someone who just started?

Having people who were positive about music teaching you and encouraging you is how you get started. My advice is to seek out teachers who are lovers of music and the instrument of your choice rather than a person seeking to make ends meet.

Who are your musical influences and what genre do you listen to most?

My first influences as a drummer were Buddy Rich and Peter Criss of Kiss. As a guitarist, it was Randy Rhoads. It eventually became Steve Vai who influenced my regiment and musical philosophy.

What's your inspiration?

My inspiration comes from God.

What's your motivation for helping people out on forums?

I look back and see all the negative influences and try to make sure people get motivated and inspired. I like to encourage experimentation and self evaluation.

What's your favorite piece of gear and why? What gear do you use?

My favorite piece of gear is a late 80’s JCM800 2205 50 Watt Lead head with 6550 Groove Tubes. It has the “sound” that I associate with my favorite players.

I mainly use Ibanez guitars and Marshall amplification. In the 80’s I moved away from pedals into rack gear where I had an Alesis Midiverb 2 and a Rockman Stereo Chorus and the only pedals were a Boss SD-1 and a Morley Wah-wah.

What are your favorite sources for gear-related information?

The Internet as a whole. I try to read reviews and find online manuals to get an idea of what the likes and dislikes are.

What's the best music related advice you've ever given?

Never give up because of other people.

What's the best music related advice you've ever received?

Steve Vai, in an email, told me not to get stuck on trying to finish one song before moving onto the next. Do what you can, when you can.

What's the best and worst thing about being a musician?

Communicating with non-musical people is the worst. The best is when you meet and get to play with people where the chemistry gives you goose bumps.

What is the best and worst thing about online forums?

The best thing is having nearly unlimited resources to get answers to nearly any question you can think of. The worst is dealing Trolls and/or close minded people that think their experiences are the only valid ones to a discussion.

What music-related topic do you think is most neglected on forums?

Setting goals and reaching them.

What are the 5 forum posts/threads where you are most proud of your contributions? (Give actual URLs)

Proud? I’d never go that far… Just limiting it too the MARS bbs makes it tough. Mars used to be the Recpit and after 3 revamps there are at least a 1000 posts forever gone. Here are some of the more pathetic ramblings.

• Talk-back
• Best choices to upgrade studio (console? preamps?...)
• Firewire Mixer.. Alesis?
• Loudist's legacy
• Kids and college... advice?
• Why you should lock your apartment.

I’ve been at the Womb more often lately and it’s more reflective of what I’ve been doing. I’m a pot stirring non-conformist who for some reason irritates egotistically generated dogma.

• The Bob Olhsson appreciation thread
• Bass...before or after amp???
• In your head...
• Basic workflow and order of a mix
• When a mix is done ...

Anything else you would like voters to know?

Chris Kerian has a big heart and plays a mean guitar.

Any interesting music related stories?

Not at the moment.