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 THE GREAT KAT INTERVIEW IN DOMAIN CLEVELAND

 

Photos Courtesy of The Great Kat
 

LarryMac: First, just let me say thanks for taking some time out for us today. I, personally, have been following you since the glory days of metal back in the 80's so this is definitely an honor.

The Great Kat: Thanks! Now The Great Kat http://www.greatkat.com  is the "Top 10 Fastest Shredders Of All Time" (Guitar One Magazine)/"50 Fastest Guitarists Of All Time" (Guitar World Magazine)/Juilliard Graduate Violin Virtuoso-turned Guitar Shred Virtuoso/REINCARNATION OF BEETHOVEN!!

The Great Kat is NOW Bringing BACK THE GLORY DAYS of METAL AND CLASSICAL music with The Great Kat's NEW VICIOUS, SHREDDING, RIPPING, BLISTERING BEETHOVEN'S GUITAR SHRED DVD!!!!!!!!!

BEETHOVEN'S GUITAR SHRED DVD Features:
7 Outrageous Shred/Classical Guitar Music Videos, including:
-"The Flight Of The Bumble-Bee"– The Great Kat shreds this famous work at the finger-blistering speed of 300 BPM on guitar and violin!
-Beethoven's "5th Symphony" – Listen to The Great Kat's Metal version of the world's most famous symphony!
-Paganini's "Caprice #24" – Kat dazzles on this technical virtuoso showpiece on guitar and violin!
-Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto #3"- The Great Kat shreds on Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto #3" on 6 guitars & 3 violins!
-"Torture Techniques" – Watch Kat's arsenal of Torture devices and abused victims! -Plus MORE Theatrical Speed Metal Madness!
4 Shred BONUS Features:
-Hot Kat Shred Photos! Shred Geniuses!
Kat Kartoon – A crazy cartoon of The High Priestess of Guitar Shred!
AND MUCH MORE!!!

Watch the trailer at: http://www.greatkat.com/BeethovensGuitarShredVideosMenuMED.wmv

Watch more DVD Video Clips at Music Videos Clips at: http://www.greatkat.com/dvd/dvd.html

L.M.: Obviously, your claim to fame is your speed. Did you set out to make that your calling card or did it just sort of evolve that way?

G.K.: The High Priestess of Guitar Shred is a Classically trained violin virtuoso. My goal in recording and performing EVERY Virtuoso piece of music on the VIOLIN and GUITAR is to play as FAST as POSSIBLE, with technical precision and impeccable technique and bravura, PLUS WAKING YOU UP with VICIOUS SPEED, ENERGY and EXCITEMENT!!

Check out music clips from The Great Kat's HIGH SPEED GUITAR SHRED on the Kat web site at http://www.greatkat.com/music/music.html

L.M.: Most people who know of you know that you graduated from Julliard with a background in classical violin. Perhaps fewer people know that you actually toured as a violinist for a while afterward. What sparked the move from that to heavy metal?

G.K.: After touring as a violin soloist, I realized that CLASSICAL MUSIC was DEAD and DESPARATELY needed to be UPDATED. That's when I discovered Speed Metal, which fitted perfectly with the speed, POWER and virtuosity of Classical Music. I started taking my violin solos from Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, etc. and mixed it with Speed Metal and SHRED/CLASSICAL MUSIC WAS BORN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

L.M.: You've obviously maintained your love of the classical music, is there any other part of that life that you miss?

G.K.: NO!!! The Great Kat's MISSION is to UPDATE this genius ART FORM for the future!

L.M.: Apart from the occasional appearances of the violin in some of your Great Kat material, is there any part of that style of play that you carry over? Does the violin playing influence the guitar playing, or is it completely set aside once you start the serious shredding?

G.K.: The Great Kat's violin virtuosity totally influences my guitar shred virtuosity. I take all my Left Hand and Right Hand Techniques from the violin (fingerings, shiftings, positions, bowings, and other technical aspects) and place them directly on the guitar.

L.M.: Back in the '80s, you had artists like yourself and Yngwie Malmsteen, who borrowed heavily from the classical masters, and bands like Savatage reprising the likes of Mozart and Grieg but we haven't seen that lately. Is there still a place for those influences in metal? Has it evolved past that or does the new stuff just suck?

G.K.: The Great Kat IS TAKING NOTE-FOR-NOTE CLASSICAL MUSIC SCORES and RE-ENERGIZING this POWERFUL MUSIC for the MASSES, WITH METAL and SHRED GUITAR BLAZING INFLUENCES!!!!!!!!!!!

L.M.: What guitarist, other than yourself, should all metalheads know and respect?

G.K.: Rhoads. Hendrix. The Great Kat.

L.M.: Are there any new artists that you'd recommend or that you think can take up the torch?

G.K.: NO! The Great Kat carries THE TORCH for the ENTIRE MUSIC WORLD!!!! This job is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT and NEEDS EXTREME TRAINING!!!!!!!!!!

L.M.: Ever since Beethoven on Speed, you've released short EPs. Why haven't we seen a full-length in so long?

G.K.: WAKE UP! THIS IS THE INTERNET GENERATION!!! FULL LENGTH ALBUMS ARE DEAD!!!!!!! EVERYTHING IS FAST, MULTIMEDIA-Music Videos mixed with crazy imagery, virtuosity and outrageous shows!! Go check out You-Tube to see what I'm talking about!!!!!!!!!!!!!

L.M.: After Bloody Vivaldi, we started seeing a couple of years pass between releases. It's been three or four years since Extreme Guitar Shred – what's been keeping you busy in between?

G.K.: PROMOTING, COMPOSING, PRACTICING AND RECORDING INSANELY TECHNICALLY DIFFICULT MUSIC FROM PAGANINI, BEETHOVEN, BACH, THE GREAT KAT and OTHER VIRTUOSO GENIUSES!!!!!!!!!

L.M.: So, tell us what makes Beethoven's Guitar Shred different than your previous stuff. Why should people rush out to get a copy? Especially the people who have Beethoven on Speed, which also has "Flight of the Bumble-Bee", "Beethoven's 5th" and "Paganini's Caprice 24"?

G.K.: The Great Kat's new DVD BEETHOVEN'S GUITAR SHRED FEATURES THE UNBELIEVABLE ACTION of THE GREAT KAT GUITAR FINGERS UP CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WITNESS FOR YOURSELF!!!!!

Check out video clips from BEETHOVEN'S GUITAR SHRED DVD at http://www.greatkat.com/dvd/dvd.html

L.M.: In the "Shred Geniuses" extra, you put forth Beethoven as the greatest composer. What drew you to him, as opposed to composers like Mozart and Tchaikovsky, who were more known for faster paced compositions?

G.K.: BEETHOVEN = POWER and VIRTUOSITY!!!!!
Beethoven is the most POWERFUL and BRUTAL CLASSICAL COMPOSER in HISTORY, PLUS he incorporates HIGH-SPEED, COMPLEX TECHNICAL VIRTUOSITY!!!

L.M.: You've got a nice mix of people in "Shred Geniuses" as well as some interesting views on them. Were they all hand picked by you?

G.K.: YES! The Great Kat chose EVERY GENIUS on "Shred Geniuses" (Bonus Feature on BEETHOVEN'S GUITAR SHRED DVD). "SHRED GENIUSES" features some of civilization's great geniuses, like Beethoven, Bosch, Madame Curie, Washington, Roosevelt, Wagner, Mozart, Bach and much more!!!! Check out these geniuses, so you SEE THE PERSONALITY of a REAL REVOLUTIONARY who DOES NOT FOLLOW THE PACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

L.M.: Is there anybody else you would have liked to have added to the list?

G.K.: Stay tuned to the NEXT Great Kat DVD for more Geniuses (Like Vivaldi, Paganini, Tchaikovsky, Schumann, Einstein, Shakespeare, Alexander The Great, Edison and more).

L.M.: Well, thanks again. Any last words from the Great Kat for the readers?

G.K.: SHRED ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO TO THE GREAT KAT WEB SITE at http://www.greatkat.com
WATCH VIDEO CLIPS FROM THE NEW BEETHOVEN'S GUITAR SHRED DVD at http://www.greatkat.com/dvd/dvd.html
The Great Kat at greatkat@greatkat.com