Black Pick Student Interview: Kris Tapley
Kris Tapley - Black Pick Student Highlight - Interview
What are your earliest memories of music?
“Bruce Springsteen. Born in the USA. That’s my earliest memory, period. The summer of ’84. I actually got to tell him that, because back in January I went to the set of the movie they just made about him (Deliver Me From Nowhere) and got to meet him. But strangely that’s what leaps to mind because that was not just a first music or pop culture memory but just kind of my first memory. Springsteen. It was just in the ether. The image of him with the American flag, and the song was everywhere. It was part of the fabric of life at that time. Reagan used it in his campaign. I was probably around 3 or 4. I’m a super-fan now, but it wasn’t until I was in high school that I started getting into the music.”
Was there a band or artist that first made you want to play guitar or music in general?
“I really liked Pink Floyd. David Gilmour. Something about his playing style… But I also like a lot of music that’s simple, for lack of a better word. I’ll listen to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers or something like that and think I feel like I can play all this stuff and I want to learn it. I was turning 40 and I decided to go for it, which is when I signed up for Guitar Ninjas.”
How old were you when you first picked up an instrument?
“In 5th grade, we had recorders. But I think I got my first guitar in middle school. I got a Fender acoustic from Kmart. I think I asked for it for Christmas. It was like a scavenger hunt in the house - they acted like they didn’t get it for me, and then it was the last gift hidden in the closet. That would’ve been like ’95. Freshman year of high school. Or 8th grade maybe.”
Had you ever had prior experiences with other instruments or lessons?
“I played cello in middle school which was the first instrument I took lessons for, it was about 2 1/2 years. My school gave music classes and we could pick from cello, violin or the viola. I picked the cello. I also played clarinet in 6th grade and high school band. So a bit of guitar, clarinet and cello were all around that same time. I remember playing ‘Happy Blues’ on cello, it was kind of like a nursery rhyme like Mary Had A Little Lamb. A walking bass line. I still kind of remember how it goes. And my son is playing the cello now.”
What were your favorite bands or genres growing up? Favorite artists currently?
“Growing up, I used to listen to 45s (records). I had a 45 of “Bad” by Michael Jackson that I used to listen to all the time. I was in middle school in like ’91, ’92, ’93, and at the time, the music that was around was grunge. So that’s just my music. I liked Soundgarden and they’re still my favorite band. And Faith No More. Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog, that kind of stuff. I got to see Soundgarden in 2011 and I saw them again later on a tour with Nine Inch Nails. And I saw Chris Cornell do a solo show at the Orpheum and I got to see Faith No More a few times in like ’97 and some time around 2010.”
How did you find Guitar Ninjas?
“Just a Google search. I saw it seemed mostly kid-centric but that there were some adult folks too so I thought ok, well maybe I’ll try this.”
What was your favorite song in the GN course? What about the most challenging or difficult?
“ The most difficult was definitely the ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’ solo. I kind of want to go back to it now and see what I can do with it. ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ was my favorite. That was kind of a watershed moment for me. There’s a lot going on in that solo…”
What did practicing look like for you during your time at GN? How often did you typically practice at home, and what was your most successful method?
“I work from home, so my guitar is always sitting right next to me. It allows me to kind of just pick it up and use spare moments throughout the day to practice. There were stretches where I’d have more discipline and set aside time to practice. I try to at least get 30 minutes in per day. Over the 3 1/2 years at Guitar Ninjas, I probably averaged about 3 - 4 days per week, 30 minutes per day. Luckily I didn’t have to square away the time too often because the guitar was always just right there. I would feel sort of bad if I didn’t practice. The method depended on the song. It was kind of a mish-mash. I would often take a while working out the parts of each song before I wanted to play to the actual recording, and then sometimes I would just use the audio tracks and sometimes the Play Along videos.”
Was there ever a moment in your journey that you realized or made a conscious decision that you were going to make it to the end no matter what?
“I would say Johnny B. Goode, but that’s right near the end, that’s just when I knew I was going to make it. There was this moment when at the end of the Blue level, I actually asked my instructor Walker if we could go back and re-do all of those songs. I just felt that by the end of that level, I had recognized that a lot of the concepts, chords, etc. were going to be applicable going forward, and so I just wanted to feel like I really got them and could play them more than just once in a test-out moment. And now I know Wonderwall perfectly, it’s one of my go-to songs and one that I just instinctively play when I pick up the guitar.”
Why do you think Guitar Ninjas worked for you as a method to learn guitar?
“I was just talking to my wife about this the other day actually. In-person lessons, it’s like working out. Accountability. It makes you go somewhere to do it. It’s another extra layer of effort. There was a period of time where I was driving to Burbank every week to take my lessons with Walker. Even though that was a bit of a drive for me, I really liked working with Walker and was reticent to stop going so long as he was there. Honestly, maybe THAT’S when I knew I was going to make it to the end of the program, because if I was willing to make the drive every week, I was probably going to stick it out to the end.”
What has been your proudest moment with the guitar?
“Learning ‘Stairway to Heaven’ in its entirety was pretty cool. Having learned it all, I know now that it’s possible. It’s not something insane, which is not how you might describe it, but I just mean you learn that [Zeppelin] made that, it’s a real thing that you can play. It kind of de-mystified it if that makes sense. Johnny B. Goode was really cool too. It’s like THE guitar song. Being able to play it almost doesn’t feel real.”
What are you excited about next? What are your future goals when it comes to guitar and music generally?
“One of the things that started to click for me near the end recently was when we were reviewing a lot of music theory, scales, soloing within a key… it opened up the door a little more for me to be able to pick up a guitar and not necessarily just play a song I’m listening to, but to be able to hear another person playing guitar and play along with that person. To be able to talk with it a little more. Reviewing the relativity between major and minor scales as a method for soloing, that’s the kind of thing I’m excited to do more of at the moment. I want to be able to look at the fretboard and see the matrix.”