songwriter/guitarist/drummer almost his entire life. He was also involved in
school bands while growing up, and church music as a
child and as an
adult. He is a member of the Carolina-based Christian music group
Sentforth.This week’s guest is Buddy
Clontz of Sentforth. Buddy is a man who has recorded several well
produced and highly acclaimed Christian Rock albums, with the help of
course, of some very talented musicians and singers. He joins many other
famous contemporary artists who share their faith through the glory of their
music.
Buddy is an active member of this vibrant community who uses Rock and Roll
to deliver a message to anyone who has an ear to listen. His music is rich
and textured.
For those who take the time to listen, I believe that you will find that his
music manages to touch the very essence of your soul, because of its strong
delivery and earnest promise.
I am a huge fan of what Buddy is doing in all aspects of his music and I am
proud to be able to include an interview with him in this series.
So who is Buddy and why does he do what he does?
Let’s find out for ourselves.
It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll recently caught up with Buddy and put him under
the spotlight.
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Buddy thanks for agreeing to an interview for It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll and
the Rickresource forum. So let’s get started.
How did you get your start in the music business?
Buddy
First, let me thank you for considering me as an interview subject in your
series “It’s Only Rock and Roll”. I am honored to be a part of this
series and it is a pleasure to be a part of this forum in which there is a
community of musicians that freely share their knowledge of music, technical
information, and love for music with each other. With that said…I got into
the music business because as a young child I loved music and wanted to play
music. This has been a constant in my life for 40+ years now.
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Tell us about your obsession with playing drums and how you eventually
became so inspired that you taught yourself to play guitar well enough to be
able to emulate some of your early rock and roll heroes.
Buddy
I think my obsession with the drums and music in general started when I was
very young…probably around the age of 3-4. For me, this was around 1965-66
and as we all know, there was a huge wave of change in popular music going
on at the time primarily led by The Beatles and other British Invasion acts.
I had a teenage aunt that was (and still is) a huge fan of The Beatles. She
was like a big sister to me and she played Beatles records and other popular
records around me all of the time. She also allowed me to play her records
when she wasn‘t around…which was very generous/reckless considering the
damage a 5 year old can do to a vinyl LP. In fact, I have her “Meet The
Beatles” LP to this day sans cover which my younger brother burned, and it
is covered with Model Airplane Cement on one side…and no, I was not
sniffing glue!
My earliest memories of music are of playing Beatle records at home. In
fact, the first records that were ever given to me around 1967 were the
“Meet The Beatles” LP and “Introducing The Beatles” LP. I still own
those original LP’s among others today although they are in pretty bad
shape now thanks to stylus damage and airplane cement! I used to play those
two records over and over and I would stare at the covers. I would obsess
over the way the Beatles looked and sounded. I would even think about it
when we would go to Myrtle Beach, SC and I would look out at the Atlantic
Ocean and think…The Beatles are on the other side of that water…at least
according to my mom.
At this age, I had a recurring dream that I was going to actually grow up
and somehow become one of The Beatles! I would dream that we were all
playing in a building with a glass front and that people could see us and
hear us play but not come in. It was kind of like being in a big display
case…LOL
Although I was crazy about the guitars and that sound of them especially the
Rickenbacker 12-string sound, I began to pick up on the beat and rhythm of
the drums first which led to my original obsession with playing music. I
began to really want to play the drums. I also thought the drums looked
cool…LOL
For me it was not enough to just sit and listen to music like many of my
friends. I wanted to know how to play the songs I loved, and I wanted to
know how to play every part of those songs. After several years of begging
and a few temper tantrums to boot, I got a real full-sized set of drums. The
time was 1969 and I had finally realize a major childhood dream in getting a
real set of drums to play. They were a well made 5 piece red sparkle set
with 2 cymbals…which was exactly what I had asked for.
For Christmas of 1970, I got a microphone, a small Gibson amp, and a cymbal
with rivets and a cymbal stand to add to my set….which continued to expand
until I sold them in 1977. That same Christmas, my younger middle brother
(Steve) got a cheap Strat-copy electric Guitar which both of us began to
play around with a little. The guitar seed had now been planted at this
point.
I replaced the original Red Sparkle 5-piece set with a custom sized 16 piece
set of Pearls around 1977…which was typical 1970’s teenage overkill. I
think that drum order was placed by my hormones instead of by my brain!
For the next 10 years my basic music routine was to come home from school,
put on an LP, turn up the stereo as loud as I could, and play the drums to
one song after another almost every day. I would do this for several hours a
day…and I became pretty good at teaching myself to play and developing a
fairly decent technique by ear by I really had no technical knowledge.
People would hear me play and sometimes tell me what I was playing but I
just looked at it as playing. Playing drums came natural to me but I did not
ever get any formal training which I now regret. I hope to start over
eventually and correct this if I can unlearn my bad habits.
Soon I began to get offers to play drums with High School Rock/Top 40 Bands
as early as the 7th. Grade and so I would play in festivals, and at school
dances and similar functions. Some of the High School kids did not think it
was cool playing with a young kid my age and they were not so nice to
me…but most of the people at that time that I played with were very good
to me and more or less protective of me. Later after I grew up, this was not
an issue of course. This pattern of playing in local bands continued through
my High School years. I also began to formulate or “write” some song
ideas at this time but did not develop them until many years later. Some of
this stuff can be heard on You Tube and some of it is on Garage Band.Com if
you want to have a listen or a laugh!
Follow the links:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=BuddyClontz
or
http://www.garageband.com/artist/Buddy_Clontz
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Tell us a little something about the early history of your band Sentforth,
how it came to fruition and perhaps also tell us how you decided on the name
of your band
Buddy
Just to be up front about Sentforth, I am only a member and not the leader.
With that said, the origins or at least original musical connections of
“Sentforth” (a Praise and Worship group that I have played and recorded
with from time since the early 1980’s) began in 1976.
I was in High School and was fairly well known in the local area for being a
drummer. Our local High School had just hired a new Band Director named
Kenny Carter. Kenny was fresh out of college and newly married. He was 23 or
24 years old, a musical genius really, and we (students) thought he was old
at the time…LOL Anyway, Kenny came to town and began to build the local
Concert Band, Marching Band, and Chorus programs in our high school as the
Music Director.
Kenny also had some prior experience playing in Rock and Jazz bands during
his time in High School and College and brought his love for this music into
the class. To me and many of the band students, this was a cool thing to
have a teacher that liked to play rock music! As we all began to share our
musical thoughts in class, several of us discovered almost at once that we
had basically the same taste and background in music as our teacher (Kenny
Carter) in that we liked the Beatles, The James Gang, Elton John, Boston,
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, etc.
Because one of the kids in band was a Bass player, one was a Guitar player,
one was a Keyboard player, and I was a drummer, we began to kick around the
idea of having a Rock/Pop band in the High school with Mr. Carter as the
leader. Ultimately “The Kenny Carter Band” was born and we played the
typical top 40 stuff at many High Schools, Talent Shows, and even an
occasional paying gig. This lasted about two years. Looking back, Kenny even
at 23-24 years old was an enormously gifted musician…and still is.
High school kids are generally a tough sell on many things but we knew Mr.
Carter was musically “the real deal” and we respected his ability even
then however that didn‘t always translate in to absolute cooperation in
band class as I am sure he could tell you! Around 1978 Kenny left our High
School to teach in another state and pursue other opportunities…but before
he left, Kenny and I recorded a 45 rpm single in an actual studio owned by a
local Law Enforcement Officer. The man that owned this studio was named Al
Hayes and he actually had some good equipment and even better, he knew how
to use it properly. That single was called “Change Completes The Circle”
with a B side called “Together Is High”. Both songs were written by
Kenny Carter and he recorded all of the parts except the drums. This was an
8 track tape-based studio. I am going to have to put that recording up on
You Tube eventually in an MP3 format.
“Change Completes The Circle” was a diversion from the typical music we
performed in that it was “soft rock” and in the style of some of the
James Taylor music of the day. At 15, I was just thrilled to be on a record
and have my name on the label…LOL For a period of about 2 weeks, it made
me a musical legend of my class.
Back to Sentforth…before this little high school Rock Band called “The
Kenny Carter Band” dissolved, we were invited to play some Youth Festivals
in some Churches. I distinctly remember us thinking we were going to play
Rock music in Church and feeling that it was going to be weird but I went
along with it reluctantly.
One night before this youth rally performance Mr. Carter (Kenny) met with us
at practice and informed us that there had been a slight misunderstanding.
We would not be playing our normal Rock Music set in Church but gospel
music. I remember being a little put off at this news…but to our surprise,
Kenny had already taken Biblical passages, Gospel Songs, and similar
ideas/messages and fused them with Rock and Roll music. He had already
written all of the parts for each instrument and the arrangements.
Shortly after this series of performances, I started to lose interest in the
drums and started to consider learning to play the guitar. One of the
reasons for this was probably my hatred for moving large sets of drums…LOL
In essence, this time and these events were probably where the seeds of
writing Praise and Worship music were planted with Kenny and at least the
first incarnation of what would later develop into Sentforth with me as the
guitarist although I did play drums also on some of the very earliest
Sentforth studio recordings.
I began to change my focus from the drums to guitar around 1979. My
grandmother who is now 96 gave me a guitar(Epiphone Genesis) for Christmas
which I still have, and I began to move over to that instrument as my
primary instrument. It was comforting to sit and play during this time as I
was reeling from the death of my beloved grandfather and my world seemed to
be collapsing around me.
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Who are the main songwriters in the band and what are the motivating forces
that drives you to write such powerful, sincere and compelling material?
Buddy
Kenny Carter has written almost all of the material for the Sentforth
recordings over the years…although a few others have had a role in writing
some of the songs with Kenny. Patrice Rhodes our female vocalist has written
some of the material with Kenny. Other occasional co-writers with Kenny
include Lisa Chaddock, and Jarrett Hucks.
Personally I do not read music or actually write it on paper, although if
someone puts a piece of paper in front of me with a sequence of chords, I
normally can read and play that “chart” with relative ease. For me,
playing music is a much more natural process in that I have always been able
to hear a song and play it or very quickly figure out how to play it.
Gifted…maybe…maybe not! That’s not to suggest I don’t need to
practice…because I do, however, learning to read music when I was first
learning guitar slowed me down so I always wound up going with my ears and
what I heard as opposed to reading from paper and by habit I have continued
this process. I now wish I had that technical background and knowledge to
write all of these ideas down properly. I have lost some good musical ideas
because I didn’t record them while they were fresh in my mind.
With this limiting factor of not reading or writing music…I did not have a
significant role in writing the songs for Sentforth (melody or lyric wise)
however, with Kenny as the leader of Sentforth, I was given complete and
total freedom to “compose” the guitar parts and use whatever
guitars/tones/amps I wanted to on every song I have ever played on or
recorded.
Kenny has always given me the freedom to do the lead guitars, rhythm
guitars, and guitar harmony parts, and has trusted my judgment to come up
with subject appropriate material and sound. This trust was probably
established from his recognition of my ability to “deliver the goods”
from the days when he was my Band instructor in high school back in the
1970‘s .
This was musically very liberating to me to be allowed complete freedom and
a blank slate on material that I didn’t write. I had no preconception of
what I would do until I heard it for the first time.
In live performances I was asked to “turn it down” a little occasionally
so maybe there was not quite as much freedom in that area…LOL. What is it
about Music Directors and Band Directors and volume? Once in a while during
the recording process, Kenny would make a suggestion about a specific guitar
part or I would ask him his thoughts after playing him an idea for a lead
part or rhythm part but largely the guitars were left up to me and that‘s
the way it has always been. By the way, Kenny is also an excellent guitar
player himself.
When Sentforth performed live, I tended to fuse the studio versions of my
rhythm parts and lead breaks into a single guitar part which is often how I
do a Rock/Pop/Blues covers on You Tube. I think this is a technique that I
developed naturally as a result of playing alone for years. I used this
process to play along with records and later CD’s at home, so I would
learn all of the parts for a song and sometimes I would fuse them. This
served to create an atmosphere of more than one guitar playing which worked
well with live Sentforth performances since Kenny and I were generally the
only musicians playing in live performance situations. We had a surprisingly
full sound which was very close to the recordings.
The motivating forces that drove and propelled Sentforth were those relating
to sharing a deep faith and belief in a Higher Power (God) and sharing the
hope and peace that salvation through Jesus Christ could bring into the
lives of people. Sentforth was/is a Christian based musical ministry. This
group was never about commercial gain, getting a contract, or the typical
path, but more of a group that performed to deliver the Gospel through
contemporary music and performance thereof.
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Tell us about the early days culminating with your first album and how that
came about. I sense a story here that needs to be told.
Buddy
Well…as I said earlier, I picked up the guitar around 1979 and started
learning to play. During the 1980’s I got married, started a family, began
my career of teaching Chemistry, Physics, Physical Science, worked in a
cabinet shop I had, did some Commercial Airbrush Graphic work , and spent
time building and flying giant scale Radio Controlled Airplanes. These other
interests were activities I had participated in periodically since my
childhood so I had always been a very busy person and was always involved
with a lot of side projects at any given time.
I basically began to settle into domestic life like 99% of the rest of the
world and with all of these other projects I had going on simultaneously, I
would come home from work and would play music a little in the afternoon as
in the past but more often than not, I would be too tired to really feel
like doing much musically. This was a time that I didn’t play much of
anything for several years and for all practical purposes, I laid down my
musical instruments! I remember actually being concerned and having guilt
about doing this…but I was just too busy to get back around to playing.
By the mid 1980’s I was getting the urge to play again when Kenny Carter
called me up one summer and said he had moved back to the area and was
playing down in Myrtle Beach, SC. He asked me if I would like to play
again…and I accepted. After all it was fun! Through the late 1980’s
Kenny, myself, and some other characters had a top 40 group that played in
clubs, at resorts, and social functions during the summers in and around the
Myrtle Beach, SC area. It was nice because it provided a source of income
and allowed me to do what I liked doing during those early “domestic
years“. This all ended around 1989-1990.
By the early 1990’s I again became so involved in other areas of interest
like building reproduction furniture, building and flying giant scale R/C
airplanes, and doing Graphic Art work that I basically laid down the guitars
and drums again! After all there was only so much time in a day and I had a
lot to do. I essentially didn’t play at all for another 4-5 years.
By this time is was 1994 and my life was about to change again. My mother
“Dana” became very sick with Pneumonia and unexpectedly died 4 days
later at the age of 57 in April of ‘94. For many reasons, this shook me to
the core as it would most people. Over the next year or so I began to think
of life and spiritual matters on a much deeper level than I had before. In
part, I began to turn to my music again to help me to get through some of
the grieving process of losing my mother. Music for me was a healer and a
way to be at peace with myself.
Within the next few years, I started to sit down and write a few songs from
ideas I had in my head. I would record parts on cassette tapes and crudely
mix them to see how they sounded. One of these was a song called “For
Dana” which I’ll be posting on You Tube soon. It was an instrumental-
based on me thinking of her spirit rising to Heaven but considering the
sadness of losing her so abruptly. The song has a lot of mixed guitar styles
that I fused and that came out of a lot of mixed emotions I suppose.
As technology began to improve and the cost of multi-track digital recording
became affordable, I purchased a small 8 track digital recorder and some
microphones, along with a 16 track mixer to sub-mix my drum parts. I began
to lay down a few ideas(some of which have never been finished to this day).
This interest in the new technology and the relative ease to now record my
musical ideas got me back into playing again on a regular basis and although
I was not in a band, I could multi-track all of the various parts I
performed and sound like a full band by doing the Guitars, Bass, Vocals, and
sometimes even very basic keyboard parts. This was very gratifying to me to
be able to hear what was in my head playing through the stereo and
making/playing music became fun again for me!
By this time almost 13 years had passed since I had done any live
performance at all or really played music with anyone else. In 2002, I got
another phone call from Kenny Carter, and by this time, his oldest son Eric
had become a recording engineer. Eric came to visit Kenny with all of his
Pro Tools digital recording gear, computers, etc. and Kenny realized this
was a golden opportunity to get a few songs recorded properly.
By this time, Kenny had left the secular world of music and was playing
Christian themed music almost exclusively. He was also no longer a
Teacher/Band instructor but was a Minister of Music in a local Church. Kenny
recorded a song which can be found on the Sentforth site called “Trust In
The Lord”. It was a country/rock flavored Gospel song that reminded me of
the music of the Eagles.
He asked me if I would play guitar on it and I agreed. I brought in my Red
Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster, listened to the song a couple of times,
and then recorded the rhythm and lead parts that I played one afternoon.
To hear this song click on this link.
http://www.sentforth.net/AudioPlayers/T
... player.htm
After recording, mixing, and mastering, Kenny was so pleased at the sound we
got that he very quickly wrote another song. That song was “Jehovah Jireh”.
He called me back and asked me to come in the following Saturday morning and
record the guitar parts for it as well. This song was very different from
“Trust In The Lord“, and was almost a hard rock styled anthem(although
one with a Christian message).
Knowing that I didn’t read music, and that Eric was going to be leaving
soon with his equipment, there was some urgency to getting this song
recorded. Kenny wrote out the chord sequence on paper for me and handed it
to me when I walked in the door with my Gibson Flying V.
I listened to the parts that had already been recorded, ran through the song
a time or two and literally recorded my parts with Kenny directing me as I
was playing/recording my lead and rhythm parts. I got the idea for the
guitar harmonies while Kenny stepped out to talk to someone. Eric and I laid
them down in just a few minutes and put them into the song before Kenny came
back in. He liked what he heard so they stayed in the mix…LOL
This whole song went down in probably less than an hour after I walked in
the door with my guitar. The finished track is also on the Sentforth site
for anyone who wants to listen or download it free.
You can hear “Jehovah-jireh” by clicking on the following link.
http://www.sentforth.net/AudioPlayers/J
... player.htm
I left after all of this and Kenny and Eric finished the recording. Eric
added some acoustic guitar into the mix also which was a nice touch.
We now had two good songs…and the seed for a new edition of
“Sentforth” was planted. In the following weeks we began to kick around
the idea of going out and playing live again. This created a need for other
people to do harmonies, etc. thus enter Patrice Rhodes, and Teddy Bullard.
Patrice had sung with earlier incarnations of Sentforth in the early
1980’s so we knew she could do the job well when she was asked to come
back into the group. Teddy was also known locally for having a very good
voice and was a great guy to work with. Over time, more songs were written
and recorded and this quickly grew into out first CD and the start of our
live performance music ministry.
As a group we performed live and recorded over the next 5 years. Currently
we are on hiatus. For more information about Sentforth, visit
http://www.sentforth.net
and look around. There are a lot of free MP3’s on that site and some of
them have my Rickenbacker Guitars in the mix!
It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll
Your second album is full to the brim with great material. How was this
recorded and what did you do to promote it.
Buddy
The new CD, Sentforth II (soon to be released), was recorded primarily on
Kenny’s 16 track digital recorder. I would record my guitar parts after
Kenny had the Bass, Keyboards, Drums, and basic vocals laid down and roughly
mixed.
Usually, Kenny would give me a disc with the basic tracks and I would bring
it home and listen to it. From there, I would develop Lead and Rhythm Guitar
parts that I thought would add something to the song.
I would then record sometimes up to 5 guitar parts/song on my digital 8
track recorder each on separate tracks, then burn them to a disc. I would
then take them on disc back to Kenny. Kenny would record them onto separate
tracks of his 16 track machine and proceed with mixing and mastering. After
all of this was done, all of the members were given the opportunity to come
in and provide input on the mixing sessions and we all gave our opinions
freely…LOL
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Your band continues to have some amazing success. Tell us about those
successes and how they might ultimately translate to fulfilling your goals
and dreams.
Buddy
Success can be defined in many ways and considering what Sentforth set out
to do, I think we were successful in our music and our music ministry…but
that never has translated into making lots of money, or any real commercial
success. Keep in mind, we were not focused on this as one of our
goals…although I am not opposed to having some more money!
We always could draw a good crowd. Local reviews of our performances were
always positive, and we were usually invited to come back and play
again…which was a good sign! The website
http://www.sentforth.net
has been very successful in what it was set up to do and we have a fan base
that reaches many countries and many age groups.
I do feel that we could/should have been better at promoting our music and
group than we were. It was just something we didn’t focus on at the time.
I believe that some of our material would stack up against anything in the
genre’ it is associated with but we were not nor have we been promoted
professionally up to this point so Sentforth did not go as far as a musical
group as maybe we could have gone. The potential was and still is there but
who knows?
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Who are the musicians and producers that are responsible for the latest CD?
Tell us how they inspire you to produce such high quality music. It’s
really world class in my opinion.
Buddy
Kenny Carter is the primary musician in the group. He is responsible for
most of the writing(along with Patrice Rhodes, Lisa Chaddock, Jarrett Hucks).
Kenny plays the bass, Keyboards, and many other instruments. I was
responsible for all of the guitars in both Rhythm and Lead capacities. I
would also do some drum parts on some of our earlier recordings but I am
only playing guitars on this new CD. So mainly in terms of the recordings,
it’s just Kenny and myself who are the musicians. Kind of like what Tom
Scholtz did with Boston on that first LP I suppose.
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
When you play live what sort of gear do you use and how much effort is put
into planning and implementing your show?
Buddy
When I play live, I use essentially the same setup I used in all of those
You Tube Covers I did of some of my favosite Rock and Pop Songs. My setup is
very simple. I use one Fender Hot Rod Deville 4-10 amp, and on a very rare
occasion, a Marshall 100 Watt Stack. I also tend to use a Yamaha DG Stomp
for any compression, delay, rotary effect, and chorus if I want to add that
into the signal chain. I use a Boss Super Chorus CH-1, Distortion DH-1, and
a Dunlop Crybaby Wha Wha as well from time to time. In terms of planning,
Kenny took care of most of that end of things and scheduled practices, etc.
We would all determine the set list for a performance based on the venue we
were playing.
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Buddy, how many instruments do you play and what is your main role in the
band?
Buddy
I play Guitar(Lead and Rhythm) , Bass, and Drums. My main role in Sentforth
is the guitar in both lead and rhythm capacities. In other bands that I
played with in the past, I played either the guitar, or drums. Once in a
while I would also do some vocals although I did not do any vocals with
Sentforth…which was by my choice. I always felt like I had enough to
concentrate on without worrying about vocals when we were playing live, so I
stayed away from the vocals. I kind of wish I had chimed in on some of the
songs now…LOL
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
When you discuss business matters with the band how is that handled?
Buddy
Kenny usually will meet with us and tell us what the terms and details are
for a given performance. We discuss it as a group, and since all four
members have an equal vote about how things are handled, we vote on it. We
always split the expense and the profit equally if there is any. I have to
say that Kenny has always been more than fair in this capacity since most of
this music is really his music.
It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll
Buddy, this has become somewhat of a stock question in my interviews, never
the less it is an important one in the grand scheme of things. Where do you
see yourself and this band in five to ten years?
Buddy
I really don’t know where we will be in 5 years because right now we are
all sort of doing our own things and taking a break but I would like to keep
playing. Sentforth as a group became pretty intense and busy for a while and
we all decided to give it a rest for a period. We all are still open to
playing more in the future and doing more recording so where that will lead
us , I cannot say for sure but I hope that we will continue to produce some
good music, play live on occasion, and keep our material available on the
internet in some capacity. I also hope that the new CD will be heard by some
folks in the industry that can recognize what they are hearing and maybe
open up some new opportunities for us. I also would like to get a Rock Band
going to do some covers and a few originals…just for the fun of it before
I get too old to get out there and do that sort of thing anymore. One last
hurrah just for old times sake…so to speak…LOL
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Does the band have an agency in North America lined up to promote their
appearances or if not how are you looking after that aspect of their
management?
Buddy
No, we do not have an Agency…but if anyone out there is reading this and
wants to talk, contact us and we‘ll listen to what you have to say…LOL
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
How have you handled the release of your latest CD? What medium are you
using to get your product out to your target market and why?
Buddy
The CD is initially going to be available through Café Press.com and will
be for sale along with other related items via an online store that will be
linked to the
http://www.sentforth.net
site and possibly to my personal graphics/music/fun stuff website
http://www.infinityvisualgraphics.com
.
The current plan is to set up a separate online store just for this CD and
items directly related to this project. Some of the songs will be available
as FREE downloads via the sentforth site. This store is now operational and
the CD should be available for sale within the next 2-3 weeks.
The link to the site where the CD will be sold is
http://www.cafepress.com/sentforth_shop2
so keep checking in and in a few weeks the CD will be up for sale. Other
promo items will also be made available.
I did the graphic work for all of this stuff on this site.
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Buddy are you comfortable not being signed to a major record label?
Buddy
I guess so. I have never been signed to any label much less a major record
label. When I was a teen, I may have had some fleeting delusions of being a
“rock star/drummer” but eventually I grew up…LOL Now if a major label
thought I had something to offer, and they showed their interest with the
right offer, I would consider going into the business full time…but this
is not something I really concern myself with. I play music because I love
to play music and it is just that simple.
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Let’s talk about your ability to play guitar. I believe that you are a
natural born guitar player. Am I right or did you in fact have to work at
being so good on this instrument?
Buddy
Well…thanks for the compliment! I suppose I might be classified as a
natural born player. I have never had any formal training on drums, bass, or
guitar, but I have always been able to pick up an instrument and learn how
to get something reasonable out of it within a short period of time. I
probably do not play more than an hour or two per week at this point but
during the summers
(when I am off from my teaching position) I do play some each day…and I
still love it…even if no one ever hears a thing I do, I still love to
play. There is just something very gratifying about hold a beautiful
instrument like a Rickenbacker and hearing that wonderful sound come of an
amp and feeling the vibrations.
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Who does your band sound like in your chosen genre?
Buddy
I don’t know because we sound like a lot of people according to what
people say to us. Our influences have been the same as those on most people
that grew up during our time in the 1960‘s and 1970‘s. And as far as my
personal sound goes, I am all over the map…LOL
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Where can someone go to see your incredible band live?
Buddy
Right now…You Tube is about it…LOL Well..I guess you could all come over
to my house and we could watch it on the big TV…LOL Speaking of You Tube,
I have some live performance stuff of our group on video and before the
summer is over, I hope to get some of that stuff converted and uploaded for
anyone to see and listen to. Some of it is quite good and shows that what we
did on the CD’s was essentially the same as what we did in live
performances.
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Tell us about the one experience that you had playing in a live situation
that stands out for you and why?
Buddy
This is kind of a personal horror story…but one night we were set to play
at a Youth Rally in Myrtle Beach, SC and if I remember correctly, this was
our very first live performance in this later incarnation of Sentforth. We
all got to the location and began to set up our equipment, do the sound
check, and run through a song or two.
About 10 minutes before we started to play, I bumped a very small button on
my then new Yamaha DG Stomp preamp (which had all of my settings and preamps
for the guitar parts I was to use for that performance) and this thing went
into a different mode that I could not get it out of due to lack of
experience and owner‘s manual! I became very angry and upset at myself for
doing this which is not a good way to start off any performance much less
one at a Youth Rally. One of the functions of this preamp was as a volume
pedal that I used to control volumes between lead parts and rhythm parts.
At this point, it was time to go on…so I just plugged the Gibson Flying V
and the Fender Stratocaster straight into the amp and went for Tube
Distortion and clean tones direct without any preamp…which actually
sounded good…but control over volume levels etc. went out the window
immediately. This was a nerve racking experience for me because it was the
first time I had stepped out to play live in roughly 12 years! I got a few
funny looks from Kenny although the teenagers didn’t seem to mind!
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
What advice do you have for those who want to become a successful musician?
Buddy
Do exactly the opposite of what I have done…LOL I would advise a young
person interested in playing music to try to purchase a good quality
instrument and then look into getting some lessons from a qualified
instructor. Learn the technical stuff but don’t forget to play with some
heart and emotion because that is the soul of the music and the stuff that
will move people when they hear you play.
I would also say to others going into music to not be discouraged if you
can’t play everything immediately. Play your instrument but give it time
and continue to practice. Eventually, you’ll be able to play decently and
hopefully you’ll have a good time doing so. You may be able to play
hundreds of notes in a solo burst but is anyone going to remember your music
or feel anything from it? Play from the heat and soul.
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Where can we listen to and then go to buy your music?
Buddy
I am going to upload some of my personal music to You Tube and will possibly
make some of it available through my web site/online store called
infinityvisualgraphics.com
http://www.infinityvisualgraphics.com/
.
I actually need some help and some advice with the mixing and mastering on
some of this material before it is finished and ready to do all of this
with. Anyone out there interested in a project?
The music of Sentforth can be listen to, downloaded, or purchased from the
site
http://www.sentforth.net
and at
http://www.cafepress.com/sentforth_shop2
by anyone with computer access.
My guitars can be seen at
http://infinityvisualgraphics.startlogic.com/page8.html
for anyone interested in that sort of thing. I will also be posting a lot of
gear photos and some new pages on the website in the next few months so keep
checking in.
It’s Only Rock ‘N
Roll
Buddy on behalf of It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll and The Rickresource forum I
would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to
participate in this most enjoyable interview.
Buddy
Thank you for considering me as an interview subject. It was an honor and a
pleasure and I hope I haven‘t bored the readers too much. I look forward
to meeting many of our forum members in the future and maybe some of us can
get together for a jam session or two! Keep it fun and Rock on! -BC
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