Interview with Guthrie Govan: an intuitive musical brain

For fifteen years, The Aristocrats have been combining rock, jazz, metal, country, and everything in between in their own idiosyncratic way. Guitarist Guthrie Govan (Steven Wilson, Hans Zimmer, Asia, GPS), bassist Bryan Beller (Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Dethklok), and drummer Marco Minnemann (Steven Wilson, Joe Satriani, Steve Hackett) form a trio that knows no boundaries live: tight, loose, surprising, and full of playing fun. ‘Finding the balance between accessible or melodic and crazy is an important part of what we do with The Aristocrats,’ says Guthrie Govan, who is on tour with film music composer Hans Zimmer’s orchestra during the interview.

Compositions & Improvisation

‘One of our compositional missions is to create something that we ourselves would enjoy listening to, in the hope that people who think just like us will want to listen to it. One of the strengths of this lineup is the improvisational aspect of playing together. Because we are a trio and not a larger ensemble, and seem to understand each other well as musicians, we can take risks on stage without having to fear that the entire performance will derail. In fact, sometimes this leads to pleasant surprises that make every performance unique. That keeps us creative and enthusiastic throughout the tour. Nevertheless, we do find it very important to actually play compositions. Our improvisation skills are not the primary focus of what we do. I would say that both factors are equally important to us.’

Read the full interview with Guthrie Govan on the Gitarist website.

Photo: Victor Peters | Text: Kevin Pasman