1. What was it like recording at Middle Earth Studios with MOS?
A blast! Those guys are a great deal of fun to just hang out with but when they start getting creative it's a bit out of control. In the best way, of course. I appreciated how open they were to collaboration... I wasn't just brought in to read lines and sing lyrics but also to lend my ear and suggestions. It was grand.
2. Are there plans for you to continue with the role of DR. Shelley and other characters for MOS albums?
Well that's all very hush hush but I'll let you in on a wee secret. Yes.
3. Do you have any fond memories or stories to tell about your experience in the studio?
No it was absolutely miserable. Just joking it was all great. Really just getting in their and mixing it up. Joking around and making something wonderful.
4. How are the guys in MOS to work with?
Quite lovely. They'll make you a hot cup of tea and keep it full!
5. Is it true you cut off your hair and donated it? We think that's really cool!
Indeed. It was through a wonderful American organization called "Locks of Love" They take your hair and use it to make hairpieces for financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss. You can find them online.
Hello Cyrus, first I would just like to ask how you got interested in the guitar?
I listened to a lot of heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden and Dio among others and I just
loved the guitar. After I heard guys like Malmsteen I fell completely in love with
the six string!
When you were growing up, what bands inspired you? What bands inspire you now?
Good question. I was inspired by bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Leatherwolf,
Dio, Dokken (yes Dokken), Stevie Ray, Vai, Joe Satriani and so on.
Now - I love Symphony X, Rhapsody, Kamelot, Vanden Plas, Children of Bodom, Iced Earth,
as well as all my old favorites.
If someone asked you to describe Masquerade Of Shadows, how would you describe the sound?
I would say we are a mixture of traditional metal with mild progressive influences smattered with the spice of Theater and Movie music.
What type of guitars and amps do you use?
I do a lot of direct recording as well as a Vox AD60VTX and a new Vox AC4TV it rocks!! Most of my guitars are Ibanez and Fender. I have a couple Ibanez RG08LTDs with seymour Duncan Blackouts, a couple of Ibanez RG350DX and RG350EX both modded out with different pickups. I have a really cool custom guitar from a local builder Mike Fleck - can be seen on youtube. I also am in the process of having a custom guitar built by a phenomenal luthier. It will be Nessie 2 and amazing. When it is closer to completion there will be pictures of the process up on the website. I also have some modded out Fender strats. Norman Anderson lets us use any of his guitars also.
What CD's are you listening to at the moment?
Iron Maiden - Symphony X the entire collections! I tend to listen to one to 3 artists at a time and just go nuts with it for a few weeks at a time.
What has Masquerade Of Shadows been up to lately?
We have been working hard on recording our new album The Harvester. It should be quite heavy. Also, we have been mixing our second album Wolfman.
How did you develop your incredible and fluid technique?
Hours and hours of practice and playing. Not only is it important to practice techniques - I believe it is very important to play and feel - use groove and rhythm in your leads.
What is it like working with the guys from Masquerade Of Shadows?
Those guys are all very cool! Nik is awesome!!! Not only is he a great player, musician, and songwriter he is a good person as well. The Bey brothers are an interesting pair and let me leave it at that!
What other things inspire you, besides music?
Family, Books, and Film mostly.
Are you working on any solo projects or ideas?
I am working on an instructional DVD and a solo record with my brother Tyrus but MOS comes first.
People want to know, where do you get those "Oh So Cool!" masks???
I can't tell you that. Okay - I get them from the Phantom.
If you were stranded on an Island, what are three things you would take with you?
My family, My music and My sanity!
Where do you see Masquerade Of Shadows in 5 Years?
Hopefully like Dream Theater - a self sustained unit making money and releasing several dozen albums/DVDs and maybe books.
And lastly, do you have any pets?
I have a DRAGON
Interview with Nik Sharshak
1. What has MOS been up to lately?
MOS has been hard at work on some great new material for the upcoming albums. Trying new things and experimenting with different sounds to try to caputre something new, but something that still has our sound. The music has been coming out very very cool.
2. What kind of guitars do you like and why?
When it comes to my instruments, Im very much a purist. I'm not too into the flashy finishes and crazy graphics, mostly because I think the instruments are way too pretty to play, and I'm affraid I will scratch them. I definetly like guitars that are all about feel and sound, as long as it feels great and sounds good in my hands, I don't really care what it looks like.
3. What have you been listening to recently?
Lately I have been listening to the older Symphony X albums, also the early Dream Theater. I have also been listening to a lot of the new Meshuggah and Epica. I just recently dicovered a new band called Operatika. Their new CD has Michael LePond on it from Symphony X, it's what I've been listening to the most.
4. Which guitar of your is your favorite?
Definetly my white Les Paul Custom. It's the guitar I've always wanted, kind of like my Holy Grail :D Lately though I have been writing a lot of music on my Ibanez 7 and 8 string guitars, so for now, those are my favorite.
5. What is the musical direction of the new album The Harvester?
I think we're definetly going for an album that is just going to rip your face off. Very aggressive, rhythmic, and just a lot of groove. I imagine it's probably going to be the heaviest record that we might ever release, maybe.
6. How often do you usually practice guitar?
Nowadays, it's not as much as I used to, I still absolutely put in at least 2 hours a day, so i don't loose my chops. When I was first getting into the guitar, I remember playing as much as 14 hours a day! When I'm rehearsing or writing music, as of late, I have been practicing about 4 to 6 hours. Got to keep the fingers in shape.
7. What's it like to be the MOS band?
It's really cool! The fact that I'm even in the band is a huge honor for me. I always though Cyrus was an amazing guitarist and the chance to write and play music with him and the rest of the band is pretty awesome.
8. How do you like working with NKA in the studio as engineer/producer?
Well, for the most part it's exciting. Sometimes he is brutaly honest, he tells me that I am worthless and need to go play guitar more haha just joking. He is always very nice and pretty much never tells me i'm doing something bad unless it's really really wrong for the part. He is a great producer and engineer.
9. Does MOS have any plans to do any tour or live shows?
Well at this point I think we want to really focus on the new album. Once it gets finished then maybe will will focus a little bit on making a video and playing some shows, but we'll see what happens.
10. Are you working on any projects independent of MOS?
Yea definetly. I actually have my solo album coming out very soon. It's going to be kind of a mixture of middle eastern music, a bit of electronica and progressive metal. Hopefully that will be out sometime durring fall. Also I am a huge fan of dance music, and have been writing a lot of dance songs, and maybe at some point I will release an album of that music as well. I have also agreed to do a few Jazz tracks for a friend of mines album, so, to answer the question, yes there is a lot of stuff going on.
11. How do you come up with ideas for actualizing new techniques?
Most of the time I will listen to guitarists and musicians that I greatly admire. A lot of the time those guitarists will be Michael Romeo and John Petrucci. I just steal from them haha just kidding :D Lately I have been treading into the more extreme players, like Rusty Cooley and Francesco Fareri. Those guys have techniques and ideas that at one point I would have thought would be impossible to play on a guitar, it's very inspiring to see players reach that level of technique.
12. Do you have any preferences as to what kind of amplifiers you play live?
For me, It's really only about Marshall. I do use a lot of processors, but definetly running a Marshall JCM800 is what it's all about.
13. What is your take on Guitar Hero the video game?
I think Guitar Hero is great, It's definetly making kids inspired to pick up a real guitar, and I think it's bringing soloing and playing fast back. I think it's actually kind of funny but for me the game is harder to play than a real guitar!
14. What kind of picks do you use?
My main pick that i use is a Dunlop H3. I have tried everything, and for some reason it just feels the best for me.
15. Where do you see MOS in the next 10 years?
Well, I hope that we have at least 5 albums out, and we are playing and touring all over the world. Hopefully all of that will come true :D
16. What do you do if you break a string in the middle of a song while your in a live performance?
That's a good question, but I use D'addario strings, the best strings in the world, They never break! (Please send me free strings:D) I guess if that ever happened, I would just try to improvise my way around the song we were playing, or just turn my guitar down. Most likely I would just grab another guitar and finish the song, or I could pull the Paganini thing and finish the song on one string...yea that's what I would do.