How long have you been a guitarist, and who have been your most inspirational artists? Are you self-taught, or did you study with professional instructors when you started?
I’ve been playing for about five years now, and I’d say the guitarists I look up the most to are George Lynch [Dokken, Lynch Mob], Paul Gilbert [Racer X, Mr. Big] and Tom DeLonge from Blink-182. In the beginning I was taking some lessons from my dad who had already taught guitar professionally in the past to then move on with other teachers around Italy, one having a degree in Berklee College of Music and the former Dokken guitarist Alex De Rosso.
When you started playing, what did you most admire about the guitarists you cited? Did their picking technique and scales directly inspire you, or did they inspire your own ideas?
I think my style was heavily influenced by the three of them, and each one had a particular quality that I’ve absorbed. For Gilbert, it was the alternate picking which I particularly focus on in my playing. Lynch has what I personally believe to be the best vibrato in the game to this day: it’s just so expressive and pure roughness. Tom doesn’t focus on technique too much and cares about the song first so he leaves loads of space for the melody, which is not a commonly developed skill among us technical rock guitarists. Put all these things together and you’ll get something that reflects my style and my playing habits.
When you first started, did you mostly listen to guitarists, or did any bands particularly appeal to you?
In the first few years I was really into Thrash Metal bands like Slayer and Megadeth which have very guitar-driven songs. It was a blend of both: I enjoyed the songs as a whole but the attention was always focused on guitar. This definitely got me interested in guitar in the first place.
When you started guitar study would continue later, would you still find the guitar-driven aspects of thrash metal appealing? Did you find the energy of thrash as motivating as the attributes of other genres?
After a while, I started getting more into technical hard rock, which, as you know, is still based on guitar, but it gives the song a whole different meaning. You usually want to find a catchy, groovy riff so people can remember it easily—and the same goes for the chorus. Thrash metal? It’s about being mean. You’ve got to intimidate. Which is cool, but I just realized it wasn’t what I wanted to hear. So, to answer your question, I’d definitely find it challenging to relate to the vibes of thrash, death, or any other metal subgenres nowadays.
Have you always prioritized melody or technique in your style, or have you always had room for both?
I’ve always tried to keep a balance and avoid too much of either side, because it maintains a dynamic quality on the lead guitar, where you can make things more slow and easily enjoyable with melody, then switch to a technical fragment to keep the listener engaged with what’s coming next.
How long did your father teach music professionally, and where did he work? How helpful was he in getting you started, and how many lessons did you take from him before continuing on?
My father was a teacher for about ten years in a lot of local music schools in the north-east of Italy, so he had a pretty consolidate experience in teaching and was able to give me a solid point of start for a guitarist whose main interest at the time was metal music during the first year of home lessons. I would usually pick a song or a solo and he would point out what I wasn’t getting right and help me fix it.
When you were taking lessons from your father, did he find it easy to relate to what you were listening to? Did you learn anything valuable from his preferred music?
Yes, he knew Slayer and other thrash bands from the ‘80s, so it was an instant connection. A little while later, I got into ‘80s hard rock, and that’s when I really started focusing on lead guitar.
How many instructors did you study with overall? What musical genres were you and Alex De Rosso working on, and how did you first connect with him?
Since my first approach to guitar I’ve taken lessons with four different teachers who I have to say were fully committed to their job and didn’t just see me as an hour’s pay walking through the door; you could see they really cared about me as a player. Specifically with Alex de Rosso, we decided to focus on my personal influences and tried to fully develop them in my playing still keeping it rock-based, after we’d met in a guitar fair together with my dad, who knew him since the teaching days where they were both giving lessons in the same music school.
Who was Alex de Rosso and how king were you studying music with him? At what guitar fair did you meet him?
If I remember correctly I first met Alex de Rosso at the Padova Guitar Show in 2024. The Padova Guitar Show is a thing here in Italy. You get dozens of exhibitors showcasing artisanal guitars, amps, and cables. There are also a few demo stages where you can hear musicians actually playing the products. It’s not NAMM, but if you’re looking for a fair where you can meet some people—or maybe grab a picture with your favorite YouTuber—it’s the place to be.
How many Padova Guitar Shows have you attended overall, and who else have you met there, such as bands or musicians etc? How would you rate it as a launching pad for a career in music?
I’ve been to four Guitar Shows so far and met a ton of amazing people. You should definitely check out Frog Amps—they’re making the best custom amps out here. As I mentioned before, it’s one of, if not the biggest fair in Italy. So, if you’re a musician, it’s a great opportunity to connect with other players and brands in the industry.
If you’re hanging around Europe, you should definitely stop by and give it a shot.
To what extent has Alex de Rosso been teaching you about music theory?
I mainly worked on developing my personal style with Alex De Rosso, and to do so, we didn’t really focus on learning new scales or anything. It was more about using the scales, chords, and licks you already know and turning them into something that could become a recognizable trademark.
To what extent has your study led to you developing your own style? Does this manifest itself on the recordings you have so far made available?
Lessons were important for developing my style, because what we would do was take a solo I liked and break it down into smaller fragments that could stand alone as exercises. So, not only would I learn the solo, but I’d also come away with new exercises to work on. Then, I could incorporate those into my solos, blending them with melodies I created by combining notes from different patterns. If you want to hear what I’m talking about, check out my stuff—it’s all in there.
To date, how much material have you released? Do your releases demonstrate your development as an artist and musician one piece at a time?
At this point, we’re talking about around thirty songs that have been released, but you still have all the demos I’ve never put out. I feel like I should mention this because I’ve always done my best to improve, but it’s never easy to be objective about your own songs, so maybe this is something you might tell me!
Which format have you released those thirty songs in—between singles, EPs and full lengths? Are they exclusively available as digital releases, or are they also available in physical form?
You find my songs as singles and in digital form only. It’s what every rising artist is doing right now and for a specific reason. You usually wanna build a big enough audience before you actually start printing physical formats for your fans to listen.
After you started composing and recording, did recording your songs as instrumentals evolve naturally? Where does recording without vocals take your music?
I’ve always written my songs as if they were meant to be sung, but after having everything done, I’d just play lead guitar instead of vocals
Which instruments do you use when recording in order to enhance your songwriting and guitar playing?
I always play my ESPs - the Skull and Snakes and Serpent models - because I can get both modern and more classic sounds out of them. Sometimes I also use my LTD Kamikaze 4 If I need a more nasal, single-coil type of sound.
How much is releasing in digital format and streaming helping you build a listenership to guy physical releases from you when you finally come out with them?
Much, because people are not forced to buy your music if they don’t feel like it, and if they can listen to it before and for free, there won’t be any bad surprises.
How impartial can you be when deciding which of your songs to release? Will you consider putting out your unreleased content in the future or move on to writing new songs?
I only pick the best songs I have. If I hear something isn’t satisfying in every aspect I don’t put it out. Being in constant developing puts me in a situation where most of the time I wouldn’t publish my older stuff because I don’t think it has the right punchiness. On the other hand, there are very few exceptions where I listen to a demo and I’m like “why didn’t I finish the song back then?!” So in those cases I just load Pro Tools up and the thing is done in a matter of a couple hours.
How much does Pro Tools assist with songs you feel require it?
I mean, without DAWs we would still record demos on tapes, and I can guarantee you tapes are a mess… so, a lot!
Do you license your releases through indie labels, or are all of your releases accessible independently and self-released?
I own 100% of my masters, and it’s always been that way. Of course, I’m signed with The Triad Records and I’m happy with the promotional efforts they’re putting in. But as musicians, we have to ensure we don’t let external organizations manipulate our work.
When did you sign a promotional contract with The Triad Records, and what caused you to decide the label might benefit the band? How much effort do they put into advertising your work?
I signed almost two years ago, and since the very first moment I felt the guys at The Triad had nothing but good intentions and they were sincerely committed to their goal to help rising artists. I always try to stay active on social media because it’s the best and most easy way to promote yourself right now.
I've heard a lot about how compromise may be problematic for bands. Was it difficult to find a label that will support your work while allowing you artistic freedom?
Not very much, I feel like labels have significantly decreased the amount of pressure they put onto the artists for a lot of reasons regarding the not-so-felt need of a label to new artists out there.
Does the accessibility of streaming, which we discussed previously, have anything to do with the decreased pressure labels place on artists?
Probably yes, because since artists have the opportunity to release and promote their music independently, leaving only very few major labels with bigger promotion opportunities, all the other labels now have very little leverage on artists and basically can’t influence their choices anymore.
From your experience, where do you think the industry is headed in terms of streaming services expanding the public's access to bands and the massive influx of bands that resulted from it?
I’m always checking out a few independent bands, especially in the L.A. area. They often have 10,000/20,000/30,000 followers on Instagram, 100,000/200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and are still working full-time jobs because gigs and royalties aren’t paying their bills. So now we’re facing a situation where gaining visibility is easier than ever, but making enough money to support yourself and focus on your music is harder than ever.
Regarding acquiring fans and listeners through streaming, do you see genre making a difference or does it rely more on the band or artist?
I see plenty of niche bands having pretty big numbers, so I guess it really depends on the band.
Between increased visibility/more creative freedom and being able to do self sustaining work to make a living, do you think internet streaming will be more beneficial or detrimental to bands and artists in the long haul?
It’ll certainly be different from any other period in history. You had to grind your way in back then and you’ll have to grind now, just in a different way. To go see them!
Regarding the promotional videos you have posted at Youtube, is there anything you would like to share with the readers?
I guess it’s early to tell, but I’d definitely like to be remembered as someone who brought together a whole bunch of different music genres and made it his own, at his own rules.
As an artist, what are your greatest hopes and aspirations? How would you like the impact you had on independent music to be remembered?
It was a pleasure to be your guest and a pleasure to answer your questions, and thanks to everyone who has read until here!
Website: https://alexcalliari.altervista.org/
-Dave Wolff
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