POTENZA PICENA – The virtuoso Italian guitarist Luca Stricagnoli will be the next musical guest of the Mugellini Festival: the concert of the musician who uses a guitar with three necks, one of which is upside down, already performed last night in Ascoli Piceno, will take place in the Contadini chapel in Potenza Picena, today, Sunday 8 October, at 5.30 pm. Combined with the concert is the exhibition of Andrea Silicati’s works.
Luca Stricagnoli, what program will he perform?
«I will range from covers of songs I like to original compositions, playing with different techniques. Maybe even with the kitchen knife and with your feet.”
Foreign fashion…
«When I encounter obstacles I go to find solutions that allow me to play as I want, to hit the strings even in particular ways like these. Sometimes I almost get paradoxical, but for example with my feet I only perform one piece.”
You play fingerstyle, do you also do fingerpicking?
«Picking is a particular technique included in fingerstyle, but I don’t play with picking. I generally play all the guitar, but for fingerstyle I dedicate myself to a percussive style.”
Is it difficult to play a triple neck guitar?
«Difficult yes, but it’s not necessarily different from the others, if I use a barre which I do with the edge of the hand, or the elbow for the percussion part».
Were you inspired by Steve Vai for the three-neck guitar?
«To tell the truth, there are also ones with more handles, but not for mine, I wasn’t inspired by Vai, just as he certainly didn’t think of mine. Our two three-neck guitars are different, I play the three necks at the same time, while many people play them alternately. In mine there is the first inverted handle in history, this way I can also do tapping or many other things.”
When did you discover this great passion for the guitar?
«I was 10 years old when I fell in love with this instrument, which I played every day. It was a classical guitar. Then at 16 I left and started doing judo: a friend showed me a video of an artist doing fingerstyle, it struck me, I wanted to imitate him and then I got here.”
You decided to open a YouTube channel, why?
«There was the fingerstyle boom some time ago and an artist’s video was published on all the YouTube home pages by the record company. I wrote to the label sending an arrangement and they released me. The feedback has been very positive.”
You now live in the USA, but are you excited to return to Italy to play?
«Yes, I live in Nashville, in the USA, and when I come back it’s a great joy for me. It’s not easy to have a musical career of my level in Italy, I’ve played a bit everywhere, everywhere, but I did my first tour in Italy in December, last year. I saw my family after 10 months and, playing in Italy, I can speak Italian even during interviews!”.
What would you say to young guitarists who want to pursue a musical career?
«Without a doubt I would tell everyone to try. As beautiful as it is, however, the world of music is not easy.”
Do you have a myth that inspires you?
«Maybe in the beginning it was Andy McKee, but now I have to say no. Maybe because being in the profession I understand the differences between everyone, I don’t know. However, there are many that I like to listen to.”
2023-10-08 08:09:58
#play #kitchen #knife #feet
