Brett Garsed, one of the best guitarists of the world, visited India a few months ago and conducted a small workshop-cum-gig along with drummer Virgil Donati for the city's budding musicians. This prolific musician spent time with Radioandmusic.com's Chirag Sutar , answering questions of a musician's mind, what he feels about Bollywood, and his friend Sandeep Chowta.

When was the first time you were exposed to Indian music? Are there any musicians in particular you'd like to mention?

The first time I heard the Indian influence would've been seeing Ravi Shankar on the "Monterey Pop" movie. I was very young but found the music amazing and was blown away by the musicians.

Is there any Indian instrument you are fond of? Or like to play?

I'm afraid I can't play any Indian instruments but the obvious choice for me would be the sitar, although it'd probably take me the rest of my life to learn even the most basic techniques! It looks very difficult.

Are you planning to cut a new album with Sandeep Chowta ? What kind of music will you two be creating?

We're still bouncing ideas off each other at the moment but I'm just blown away by Sandeep's songs and musicianship. It's going to be a really exciting project!

Can you share some interesting incident/ anecdote about Sandeep Chowta?

Only that he's one of the most gracious people I've ever met. You can meet a lot of "fake" people in this industry and Sandeep is not one of those, that's for sure. He's a fantastic person and a musician full of integrity who has a genuine love of music. It's an honour to be his friend and to be able to work with him.

Do you listen to a lot of Bollywood music?

I heard a little while I was in India. I was only there for two weeks and most of that time was spent making sure I was comfortable with Virgil Donati's incredibly complex music. I'm hoping I can hear more Bollywood music when I return and have more time. What I did hear sounded incredible and I'm really impressed with the strength and dominance of the Indian film industry.

Talking about the gig that you had – the performance was undoubtedly enthralling, but the workshop was hush-hush in a way. Why?

We would have loved to have you here for a longer time and do some long duration workshops. I'm not sure! I didn't know it was hush-hush to be honest. I'd be more than happy to return and do more workshop-oriented performances as I love to talk to guitarists and other musicians about music.

THE MUSICIAN'S MIND

During the workshop, you said that many times a guitar player gets hung up with playing one thing ….Say, one particular scale or lick, and every time he plays or picks up the instrument he ends repeating that stuff – how does one break that monotony?

Just being aware of the fact that you're bored or frustrated is a very positive sign. I try to take everything very slowly and use my imagination to come up with new ideas or variations on old themes. Just a subtle change to an old lick can turn it into something new and different. The key is working on it slowly, something us guitarists have trouble doing!

When it comes to playing its really important to get into that 'zone' where music comes out, naturally, organically, spontaneously – (say like; Santana, B. B King or Eric Clapton – their music sounds soulful) Do you think it's more important for musicians to learn how to get into that 'zone'? How do you think a musician can cultivate that?

I think every musician knows when they're in that zone and when they're searching for it. The three musicians you mentioned are primarily blues musicians so it's imperative to get into that zone while playing that music, otherwise it'll sound lifeless. We all need to reach for that feeling regardless of the complexity of the music we're playing but obviously, the more complex the music the more work is required to reach that place. It's valuable to listen back to recordings of a performance and be objective about what you're hearing. I've had nights where I thought I sucked but after hearing it back there were a lot of good ideas there, perhaps not well-played but at least I was trying to find something new rather than delivering a better performance of the "same old stuff".

How do you go about composing your instrumentals? Is there any process that you follow?

No, I try to empty my mind and keep playing chords and melodies until something moves me or catches my attention. I'll try all kinds of ideas, like alternate tunings, acoustic or electric instruments, anything that may help spark an idea.

In your illustrious career as a musician, you have played with many musicians. Any particular musician you had a blast jamming with?

Well, obviously Virgil! Ric Fierabracci and TJ Helmerich are two of my favorite musicians and are amazing to play with so I'm very lucky that my good friends are also some of the best musicians in the world.

Do you follow any particular practice schedule? What is it like?

It's very erratic but I think that's because, as a working musician I have to learn a lot of other people's material so I have to divide my time between my own music and exploration and learning and memorizing songs for paying gigs. It's a lot of fun and you can learn a lot from playing music other than your own but it does take away time from a dedicated practice regimen.

Who were your earlier influences and who are 'your' favorite guitarists / musicians?

Ritchie Blackmore was my initial inspiration. I was raised on Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Clapton, David Gilmor and Jeff Beck. Then came Rory Gallagher, Larry Carlton, Eddie Van Halen and Allan Holdsworth. After that, I really got into Scott Henderson, Frank Gambale etc. Fusion has had an enormous influence on me as an improvising musician but I'm really a blues/rock guy at heart.

The legato technique is something that comes naturally to you and that really makes you stand out. Do you advice guitar players to stick to what comes naturally to them?

Doing what comes naturally has given me the most satisfaction as a musician so it worked for me. Then again, stepping outside that and challenging yourself to learn something new can spark a new direction as well so just use your instincts. I've always had plenty of inspiration and ideas from following my own natural path and I think it's given me a unique and recognizable voice so I'm going to keep doing that.

Who are your 'dream-jam-musicians' (looks like I have coined a new word) I mean, who are the musicians you would love to play with.

I've already played with them to be honest! Virgil, Ric and TJ are a dream band and I hope I get to play with them again.

You are good at teaching as well as playing the instrument (the fact that you taught for four years at GIT). Usually not many musicians possess both the qualities; they are either good teachers or good players. Comment.

I really had to learn how to teach to be honest. The main thing is to put the student first and yourself second so the primary goal is to have them leave with good information that can help them. I'm not there to impress anyone, I'm there to help the student and I found that to be the most important element to being a good teacher. If the student is inspired and ready to work and have fun doing it then I love to teach.

You have played with Virgil Donati (perhaps the only drummer who can play drum solo's endlessly) How different is it playing with Virgil?

Playing with Virgil is a unique experience because Virgil is unique! I really believe that Virgil is in a world of his own because his rhythmic ideas and concepts are so advanced and his exploration of them has been so dedicated for so many years. It's such an honor to play with one of the greatest drummers that has ever lived. I always learn a lot when I play with Virgil!

Pic by Mitesh Bhuvad