Sevenstring.org Interview - Chris Broderick of Jag Panzer

Jerich: Hi Chris, thanks for taking time out of you busy schedule to take part in this interview. To those guitar players not fimilar with your work please fill them in on what bands you have played for and recorded with.
Chris Broderick: Thanks for having me, it's my pleasure. I am most known for my work in the band Jag Panzer, a traditional metal band with a progressive edge. I have also played in Nevermore along side Jeff Loomis in 2003, and before that it was the band I am still working with, Industrial Eden, a progressive guitaristic band with world and ambient sample material.

J: One thing that I have always liked about your playing is that your influences seem to run deep in music forms other than simply metal. What are
some of your primary influences?
CB: Well, I got my degree in classical guitar performance at the Lamont School of Music and the University of Denver, so classical is huge in my life, but my influences are any style that demands talent. For example, I could never stand country until I had to teach with an excellent player (Mike Precis). Not only did he throw out the smokin' riffs, but he also turned me on to players like Chet Atkins, Danny Gatton, and the Hellecasters. So to sum things up, my primary influences are metal (of course), classical, flamenco, traditional jazz, blues, and country.

J: At What age did you start playing music, and with what instrument?
CB:I started playing the guitar at age 11, added the violin at 14, and the piano at 16. Unfortunately, I don't have time to practice the piano and violin anymore, but maybe someday I will find my way back to them.


J: What is your musical education? I know that you are a GIT educator/instructor - how did that come about?
CB: My formal education is a Bachelor of Music in classical guitar performance from the Lamont School of Music, and the University of Denver. Outside of that I have have countless lessons in Metal, Violin, Piano, Flamenco, and Jazz improve. I started taking lessons almost from the time I picked up the guitar, and still take lessons to this day. It got so bad at one point that I was taking five lessons a week ( classical guitar, electric guitar, piano, violin, and voice).

J: Liking so many forms of music, how do you prepare yourself to play pieces as diverse as "Ronda alla Turca"?
CB: Well, in that case there wasn't any preparation, only frustration [laughs]. For that piece, the only thing to do was to start practicing it.

J: Your technique seems to be very tight and fluid at the same time. What is your practice routine like?
CB: It changes depending on what I feel I need to work on, but I always include a diverse range of styles.

J: How important is ear training to you and how do you try to convey it to your students?
CB: It's very important in a abstract sense. It won't make you play any faster, or tap more notes but it will give you a clearly defined knowledge of what you and others are playing with out having to have your guitar in hand.

J: When you think of perfect tone who comes to your mind?
CB: There are so many. at times it Yngwie, or Vinnie Moore. George Lynch, and Eddie Van Halen also come to mind. For rhythm Stuck Mojo, and old Fear Factory.

J: What are your choice of guitars right now?
CB: For electrics, Ibanez 1527 7-strings all the way. The pickups I use are Bareknuckle (made in England by hand), .010 gauge strings, and the picks are called "cool picks" - I didn't name them - they are about the size of a Jazz III but much harder material.

J: You play ENGL powerball heads, and are endorsed by them as well. How has ENGL been towards you so far?
CB: The funny thing was that I had never heard of ENGL until I went to tour in Europe and fried my newly bought Marshall TSL-100 in sound check before the first show. Yorick from the band Raising Fear was kind enough to lend me his amp, which was an ENGL Powerball. I was very uneasy because I had never heard this amp before and thought that it would suck (because most amps do) and was blown away. It smoked my Marshall, and from there I contacted ENGL A&R headed up by someone I happened to have toured with and lucked into a deal with them.


J: Please tell us about your Edward Victor Classical Guitar!
CB: Well I can tell you I love the guitar and it's tone, but I hate the builder. He and I had issues regarding the quality of some of his work. I am of the mindset that if you pay $5000 + for an instrument it shouldn't have any defects. I had him build it with a European spruce top, Brazilian rosewood sides and back, and mahogany neck with a radius fret board with large frets (very un-common on classical).

J: What do you use equipment wise to get a great sound from the Edward Victor?
CB: Nothing, no compression or equalization.

J: Are there any other seven string guitar players out there that pique your interest?
CB: I really had a great time playing with Jeff Loomis from Nevermore, he is an awesome player. I started playing 7's back in the early ninety's because Petrucci showed me that the 7Th string was sonically usable, and he of course is a great player as well.

J: How do you feel doing this interview for a website dedicated to sevenstrings, and the sevenstring community as a whole?
CB: I love it, we need more technically proficient players so the 7-string can shed it's simpleton labeling that bands like Limp Bizkit and Korn have given it.

J: How does it effect you knowing that you are an influence on the seven string community?
CB: It's a very odd thing to me because I am still such a fan of great players that I never think about how others perceive me. In the big picture, we are all climbing the same ladder and have the same goal in mind.

J: What initially got you into sevens?
CB: Dream Theater's Awake showed me that the 7Th string doesn't have to sound like a pile of mud. I had tried them before in a store and couldn't get any sound out of them I liked until I heard that CD.

J: I know you frown on the style of shred just to shred. Being a schooled guitar player, you seem to pull out the stops only when it is needed. How has that helped you overcome obstacles?
CB: Honestly, I think that I am as guilty as the next person, but I am trying to use shred in a more musical way. For example I used to just think, "for this riff I will play fast" and now I like to think "well I am ending a melody on this G note but would like to end the whole solo on an A so why don't I do a sextuplet scale run ascending to it since I have a measure to do so". Also the best solos are the ones you hear in your head before they happen. That is truly music minus any technical consideration.


J: Can you give us a rundown of your live rig, as well as your home studio?
CB: Ibanez -> Powerball, and that is it. I haven't had an effects processor for a few years now, but would like to eventually get one again. At home, I built a PC specifically for recording, that uses an E-MU 1616m audio card and Cakewalk Sonar recording software. I monitor with Mackie 824 monitors.

J: Jag Panzer has been ongoing for many years now with no end in sight? what is the secret to success in that Field?
CB: We work well together. By knowing each of our tasks for the band, we get everything done in an efficient manor. Example: I handle the merch shipping, Mark handles the press ( for the most part).

J: Will we ever see a full on solo instrumental CD from you?
CB: I hope so, I still want to release an Industrial Eden CD formally.

J: If you had a chance to work on a project with someone who would it be and why?
CB: Andy Sneap, because he has released so many great sounding products.


J: What is your opinion of the current trends in music?
CB: It's all over the place, but one thing is for sure Rap and R&B dominate sales. This doesn't concern me though, because the minute you try to

predict the scene you are to late. I would play any style of music to make a living (just like any other job) but will always play the music I love for myself.

J: What is the single most important lesson you could give anyone who plays a 7 string guitar?
CB: It would be the same for any instrument. Have no expectations about what you should be able to play, just look at how you are playing at the moment and work efficiently to reach your goal. I used to start out practicing thinking about how well I could play something and if I were off that day I would get pissed because I knew what I was possible of playing. Now I look at a riff as if it were the first day I played it, everyday.

J: What is your favorite technique?
CB: All of them! [laughing]As soon as I hear a great player do something I can't I'm like "I have to do that".

J: What does the future Hold for Chris Broderick?
CB: Ya never know but I will always be a guitarist.

J: Lastly, might you have anything else to say?
CB: It's funny because I love sevenstrings, it seems they were made for me, but overall I make little distinction between them and any other form of guitar (just extended range). If I heard and eight or nine string I thought was usable I would probably get one of those as well. Sevenstring.org does a great job of promoting the instrument against sea of narrow minded misinformation that six string players (not all) sling at it.