-
-
-
-
-
-
- RADIO
-
- GUESTBOOK
-
- KAT BIO
-
- CLASSICAL COMPOSERS
-
-
-
|
-
|
- THE GREAT KAT INTERVIEW IN THE FORGOTTEN
SCROLL
-
-
The Great Kat Interview
-
A beautiful woman that can shred “Flight of the bumblebee” at
300bpm and eat your heart while doing it… literally! That, in a
nutshell, is The Great Kat, a decorated classical violinist that has
been dominating the six string for the past couple of decades. When the
opportunity for an interview came up, TFS rose to the occasion, and the
resulting answers are just as you’d expect: Fast, furious and chaotic,
with more caps and exclamation points than any other piece of written
word ever published…ever!!! Enjoy!
http://www.greatkat.com
greatkat@greatkat.com
I'd like to welcome the ultimate dominatress of the six-string, to
her first Forgotten Scroll interview! I won't tire you with the usual
question "why did you become a shredder when you were a classically
trained violinist", since you said on multiple occasions that classical
music was pretty much dead and you felt you needed to update it, but my
question is, what gave you the inspiration to make the switch to metal?
I mean was it any particular band or artist, or did you just pick it
because it happened to be the fastest and most aggressive medium around
at the time? Were you into any specific bands back then?
The Great Kat http://www.greatkat.com
, Juilliard grad Violin virtuoso, decided to listen to all forms of
popular music to find the style that closest matched Classical, so I
could update this genius music. I heard METAL: JUDAS PRIEST and OZZY,
and then THE GREAT KAT’S SHRED/CLASSICAL MUSIC WAS BORN!!!!!!!!
The Great Kat is NOW the "Top 10 Fastest Shredders Of All Time" (Guitar
One Magazine), "50 Fastest Guitarists Of All Time" (Guitar World
Magazine), "The 100 Wildest Guitar Heroes" (Classic Rock Magazine) and
"8 Of The World's Fastest Shredders" (Gibson Lifestyle)!!!
Now go and check out The Great Kat’s AMAZING NEW “BEETHOVEN’S GUITAR
SHRED” DVD!!!
-
Your first output was the "Satan says" demo, what do you
remember from those days? How helpful was the demo in landing the
Roadrunner record deal?
The Great Kat’s “SATAN SAYS” was the FIRST GREAT KAT MUSIC that began
combining the RAW, FURIOUS, BRUTALITY of METAL with GUITAR SHREDDING and
CLASSICAL MOTIFS.
"Worship me or Die", your first album, is considered somewhat of a
classic today, but looking back in time, picture this: A guy walks in
the record store, sees the cover of your beautiful visage holding the
guitar, thinks it's an L.A. glam/sleeze band, goes home and listens to
it, and his hard rock tuned ears spontaneously combust from the speed
and aggression. Now how sweet would that be? Seriously though, what
reception did the album receive back in the day from the press and fans?
I believe the "Metal Messiah" vid got some nice airplay, am I right?
The Great Kat’s genius “WORSHIP ME OR DIE!” is a CLASSIC CD that STARTED
ALL of The Great Kat’s VICIOUS METAL RIFFS and GUITAR VIRTUOSO
SHREDDING!!!!!!!!!!
By the time "Beethoven on speed" came out, I bet they had a real hard
time promoting the band over at Roadrunner! I mean it was too virtuoso
for thrashers, too heavy for classic metalers and definitely not radio
aimed ear candy. So how did the album do back then in terms of sales,
and what do you think of the material listening to it today?
BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!! The Great Kat’s REVOLUTIONARY “BEETHOVEN ON SPEED” is
the FIRST CD to EVER take AUTHENTIC CLASSICAL MUSIC and mix it with
VIOLENT METAL, VICIOUS GUITAR SHREDDING, VIOLIN VIRTUOSITY and BLINDING
SPEED and BRUTAL FORCE!!!
Did you give a lot of live performances back in the 80's-early 90's?
Are there any particular shows that stand out in your memory, or any
good bands you played with? Also, are you giving any shows nowadays, do
you have a band going?
The Great Kat’s Shred Show is INSANE, with GUITAR SHREDDING, VIOLIN
VIRTUOSITY, OUTRAGEOUS IMAGERY, SCENERY, and KAT-POSSESSED SLAVES BOWING
TO THEIR MESSIAH KAT!!!!
Now let's talk about the vivid stage imagery! I really don't get why
it's been criticised over the years, I mean it's metal, it's supposed to
be theatrical right? In an older interview you stated something along
the lines of "if they have to see a dominatress image to get the message
across, then that's what I'm gonna give them". But do you really think
it's still necessary to keep your guard up and look dominant to convey
the music? I mean you are a decorated musician, a metal veteran, and you
can probably out-shred their sorry ass to hell and back anyway!
YES, IT IS NECESSARY for The Great Kat to be a VICIOUS, ABUSIVE,
DOMINATING, SON-OF-A-BITCH to get all you MALE-CHAUVINIST IDIOTS to WAKE
UP and understand that the NEW BEETHOVEN OF THE 21st CENTURY is a
VIRTUOSO FEMALE GUITAR SHREDDER, whether you LIKE IT OR
NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW BEND OVER, FAGGOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now Check out The Great Kat’s vivid staging and DOMINATRIX image in
Music Videos from “BEETHOVEN’S GUITAR SHRED” DVD:
“TORTURE TECHNIQUES” (Torture devices and abused victims
http://www.greatkat.com/metalvideos/TortureTechniques.wmv )
“ISLAMOFASCISTS” (The Great Kat TAKES ON the TERRORISTS in PERSON
http://www.greatkat.com/metalvideos/IslamoFascists.wmv ).
“BLOOD” (a total Kat bloodbath
http://www.greatkat.com/metalvideos/blood.wmv ).
-
After the first two albums, you released a series of EP's
over the years, focusing on a different classical composer each time.
Why did you choose this approach instead of a full length album, or
maybe a full length metal remake of one of the classic operas? Or even
get a kick-ass singer with a six octave range and write your very own 2
hour speed metal symphony, you definitely have the knowledge for it!
WAKE UP!!!!! It’s the INTERNET GENERATION and NO ONE HAS TIME FOR “full
length” albums or “2 hour” works!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s the WHOLE POINT of
SHRED/CLASSICAL MUSIC--FAST, FURIOUS, BRILLIANT and RIGHT TO THE POINT
Music!!!!!!!!!!
Go to The Great Kat Web Site at
http://www.greatkat.com for FAST, GENIUSIZING MUSIC GUARANTEED
TO WAKE YOU UP!!!
Tell us a bit about your latest release, the "Beethoven's guitar
shred" dvd. Bumblebee at 300bpm, that's gotta hurt!!!
WITNESS for yourselves what a TECHNICAL VIRTUOSO does on GUITAR and
VIOLIN on The Great Kat’s “THE FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLE-BEE” Music Video
from “BEETHOVEN’S GUITAR SHRED” DVD at
http://www.greatkat.com/metalvideos/TheFlightOfTheBumbleBeeMusicVideo.wmv
The Great Kat’s BRILLIANT new REVOLUTIONARY and GROUNDBREAKING
SHRED/CLASSICAL MASTERPIECE “BEETHOVEN’S GUITAR SHRED” DVD is out now!!!
This wild DVD stars The Great Kat’s Guitar/Violin Virtuosity and
finger-blistering guitar shredding of Classical masterpieces and
original outrageously theatrical SPEED METAL Wagnerian Mini-Operas.
“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!
Watch the trailers at:
http://www.greatkat.com/BeethovensGuitarShredVideosMenuMED.wmv
&
http://www.greatkat.com/metalvideos/BeethovensGuitarShredMainMenuMED.wmv
Go to the Kat web site at http://www.greatkat.com/dvd/dvd.html for tons
of Music Video Clips from “Beethoven’s Guitar Shred” DVD!!
-
I'm not in the category of listeners that think speed kills
melody or emotion, far from it, but I can't help but wonder when and if
we'll see the more emotional side of your playing. Ever thought of
shifting gears a bit, or is the game plan to keep picking up the speed?
“Emotional Side” = BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can expect to see MORE SPEED, MORE VICIOUSNESS, MORE BRUTALITY, MORE
GENIUS FROM THE HIGH PRIESTESS OF GUITAR SHRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What violin techniques –if any- do you find give you the "edge" when
applied to the electric guitar? Are there any particular variations to
fingering or sweeps you'd like to share, or is it just a matter of
discipline gained through classical training?
The Great Kat’s Violin Technique comes from years of practicing scales,
arpeggios, etudes with a metronome and building SPEED slowly. I am
transferring my LEFT HAND VIOLIN FINGERINGS and PLACEMENT technique and
the RIGHT HAND VIOLIN BOWING techniques onto my guitar’s left hand and
pickings.
What are the 5 pieces of classical music you think every person
absolutely has to listen to at some point?
1-BEETHOVEN’S “SYMPHONY #5”
2-WAGNER’S “DIE VALKURE” Opera
3-BACH’S “BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS”
4-BEETHOVEN’S “SYMPHONY #9”
5-MOZART’S “SYMPHONY #35 –HAFFNER”
AND THE GREAT KAT’S “BEETHOVEN’S GUITAR SHRED” NEW DVD!!!!!!!
That's about it, I'd like to thank you for the interview and the kick
ass shreds, the final words belong to you…
SHRED ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO TO THE GREAT KAT WEB SITE and BOW TO YOUR METAL MESSIAH at
http://www.greatkat.com
WATCH THE GREAT KAT’S NEW “BEETHOVEN’S GUITAR SHRED” DVD at
http://www.greatkat.com/dvd/dvd.html
- The contents of all music, photos, graphics, text, audio and videos are
protected by copyright
and may not be used or reproduced without prior express written authorization from the
publisher.
|
