18 - Sam Kearsey
Sam is a 15 year old UK based guitarist playing both for enjoyment and for events local to him. Sam started playing guitar at the age of 7, and has been playing for the past 8 years going through a variety of genres of music. He started on a 3/4 size acoustic guitar, playing mainly blues and classical songs, being inspired by Muddy Waters, BB long and Piero Umiliani. However, when he got his first electric guitar he quickly moved onto rock and soon after onto metal. In the past two years he has been getting into jazz, and now mainly plays jazz and metal. He loves the bands Meshuggah and Periphery, but also enjoys listening to the gentle jazz classics of Wes Montgomery, Tony Mottola and Vernon Duke. He mainly plays local gigs and events, but also writes his own music ranging from Latin to Jazz to Metal.
Sam’s guitars:
Yamaha Pacifica 3/4 size (this was my first electric guitar, which I was given for my ninth birthday)
Epiphone Rivera custom P93 WR (I got this guitar at twelve when I was getting more into blues)
Martin Dreadnought (this guitar was given to me by my late uncle)
Chapman Ghost Fret Pro limited edition (I bought this guitar when I was getting more into metal)
Fender Player Telecaster (it’s a good all round guitar to have)
Fender Player Plus Stratocaster (another all round good guitar to have, but also because I was into 90s rock at the time)
Custom Telecaster model (I wanted to try to build my own guitar, and painted, varnished, and built the whole thing myself, but I still need to buy electronics for it)
Martin Smith 3/4 size acoustic (I wanted a travel guitar and to be able to do nylon string songs)
Ibanez AG59 DBS (I got really into jazz and so needed a good jazz guitar)
Schecter Hellraiser C8FR Black Cherry (a year ago I got really into Meshuggah and periphery and around a month ago I bought this guitar to be able to play all of those djent metal songs)
What was your first guitar and do you still have it?
My first guitar was a 3/4 size nylon string acoustic and unfortunately, it broke as it was not great quality so I do not still have it.
What's your favorite guitar right now and why?
At the moment, my favourite guitar would have to be either my Schecter or my Ibanez, the 8 string is so much fun to play on and the Ibanez just feels incredible to play and has such a nice tone.
What's your newest purchase?
My newest purchase is my Schecter Hellraiser, I wanted to be able to play all of the 8 string djent metal and so decided to get an 8 string, the Floyd rose I just thought would be fun to mess about with.
How often do you play?
I play every day, and try to do around 2 or 3 hours of practice every day.
What's the music you are creating, what's the mission behind it?
I make music that I like, in a wide range of genres, I have not published anything but I write songs and riffs that I think are cool.
