Now just 18 years old, "Hamlette" Gareth Pearson has been playing the guitar only four years but has already performed as the invited guest of the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society in Nashville and will soon open for Tommy Emmanuel on his November/December 2006 UK tour. Like his mentor, Gareth aspires to take the fingerstyle guitar to new audiences and unprecedented heights.

Stephen Rekas
Guitar Sessions® editor

Personal/Biographical

Who or what events inspired you to play the guitar? Living in Wales, how were you first exposed to the music of Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed and Tommy Emmanuel?
I used to play soccer for my local team, but developed Osgood Shattler Syndrome in my knees so I had to give up sports. One day, I was bored in the house so my Dad put on a Tommy Emmanuel video to cheer me up. I can remember the day now; as soon as I saw him play, I made up my mind about what I wanted to be for the rest of my life. The video was Mel Bay's Tommy Emmanuel: Live at the Sheldon Concert Hall. You could definitely say that Tommy changed my life and made me a better person.

I'm gratified to hear that, Gareth. I was the first Mel Bay representative to approach Tommy about coming to St. Louis to perform and make that video. How old were you when you began to play? How old are you now?
I was 14 when I started (I got my first acoustic as a Christmas present in 2002) and I have just turned 18. I guess I have been playing for 3 years 10 months.

Have you had any formal music training, or do you simply excel at playing by ear?
No, I have had no formal music training and to say that I "excel at playing by ear" would be making out that I was gifted. It mainly comers down to hard work, although the more I play and listen, the easier it is to understand and hear what is going on.

How has your family influenced your music? Are your parents 100% supportive of your musical efforts?
My dad plays, although he has never shown me anything as such. If I ask him for advice, he will give it to me, but as he has never pushed me to play, it's a great relationship. My dad has a great collection of guitar-related music, although funnily enough, no Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed or Merle Travis. Tommy led to me to those players and I have searched out their music for myself.

My parents have been 110% behind me in my love for the guitar and dream to be a musician. I can remember playing at CAAS [the annual Chet Atkins Appreciation Society convention in Nashville] for the first time and coming home with a flame in my heart which was so much alight. I had to return to school and slowly, it was being turned off as the school was never interested in my music. They were not even interested in the fact that I had been to Nashville. One month into the new school year, it was obvious I was not going to make it in school for various reasons, so before I was actually pushed, my parents decided to take me out of school to pursue a musical career. The day after I left school, I was contacted to see if I would open for Ray Davies of the Kinks in Cardiff.

Do you play any other instruments besides the guitar?
No, just the guitar- although I am keen to learn other stringed instruments.

Besides Tommy, which I have to say qualifies as starting at the top- is there anyone you would like to collaborate with in a recording or tour?
Yep, they do not come better than Tommy.

I have all these ideas going through my head about who I could play with to take fingerstyle guitar to a new audience. I would love to open for rock acts in order to play before big audiences. Thinking about playing the likes of Chet, Merle and Jerry in front of audiences like Southside Johnny's etc. gives me a big buzz. It's one thing to play the music in front of a guitar audience, but to get out there in front of a different crowd and try to grab their attention- it's a different ballgame. There is nothing like a challenge and I'm always up for a challenge.

What musical avenues do you wish to explore in the future?
I am just beginning to write a lot more of my own music, which I am introducing slowly into my sets. What direction I will it take? I do not know. I just have all this music and sounds in my head that I really want to get down at some point.

When you first met Tommy at Ebbw Vale what specific advice did he give you about becoming a better guitar player? Does he teach primarily by example or did he have you work on specific musical elements on your own?
The best advice Tommy gave me was to record myself just for myself, playing it back and listening to every note. I do it to this day and it really does make you think about your playing. He also stressed timing.

I can remember Tommy's words so clearly now; he said it was our job to go out there and take this style of guitar to other players. I have tried to do that in Wales. Also, I have to stress that no one is doing more for the acoustic guitar today than Tommy Emmanuel. When you notice the countries that he is visiting and inspiring youngsters to play the guitar, the full effect of Tommy's work will surface in a few years' time. There will be young guitar players springing up from everywhere.

You've got an album called Pick Me Up. What's your favorite cut on the record? Are there any other Gareth Pearson CDs available?
The CD is no big deal and was produced just to make a little bit of money at gigs. It was recorded at 2 a.m. in my brother's bedroom in one take. I play all the tunes differently now, so as for a particular favorite, I don't have one. I will redo some of the tunes again. Hopefully, I will have a new CD out for the tour with Tommy.

How did you get the nickname "Hamlette"? My coworkers and I believe that Shakespeare's Hamlet resided in Denmark, not Wales.
This is a long story. I'll keep it short. My Dad is a big Leo Kottke fan. He met these guys called The Tab Pigs via the Internet back in the 90's. [The Tab Pigs are dedicated Kottke fans who advocate fingerstyle playing in general.] My dad had given up playing the guitar, but when he found this site with Kottke tabs http://www.tabpigs.org/core.htm, bingo- his interest in the guitar was reborn. Bob Evans, a great Canadian picker who also happens to be a Tab Pig, gave me the nickname of Hamlette for some unknown reason, maybe because I am considered to be the youngest Pig!

Technique

At such a young age, how did you assemble such an impressive body of technique?
Practice, practice and practice. It's really down to hard work. I am forever searching for that groove that sets Tommy apart from any other player out there. Then there is the passion.

Do you have any particular practice techniques, such as maintaining a log of practice time?
I go over my set list to keep the dust off. There is no particular amount of time set aside for practice as I play all the time anyway. I listen to a lot of music such as Lenny Breau, Tommy, Chet, Jerry Reed etc. I also try to teach myself a little theory along the way, but spend most of my time playing and trying to get different tones out of the guitar.

What do you feel are your technical strengths and weaknesses?
That's a hard one as I believe I have so many weaknesses it's hard to name my strengths.

Please describe your practice routine.
I have a new tune called "Adrenalin Rush" which is a left and right-hand workout. If I can nail that, my practice is over and I then just get to work on some new material.

What do you do to keep your repertoire sounding fresh?
I have fun on stage. I do not go on stage with any pre-determined lines or set list. I have a number of tunes that I can play, and play what I feel at the time. Along with having fun with the audience, I can never get bored. Sometimes I will play "Caravan", and do the bass line with my nose, sometimes I may not even play it. It's all about having fun and being spontaneous.

What do you feel are the key elements of your technique/style that set you apart from other players?
Technique-wise, I would not know. Style-wise, as I mentioned above, I want to have fun when I play. It's something that I learnt from Tommy.

Any suggestions on how to prepare for a concert? Do you get nervous? If so how do you handle it?
Sometimes I play all the way to the concert in the back of a car. I am learning to take it easier though, and play less. As for nerves onstage, I do not suffer from them. Being nervous is chatting up a great-looking girl when you know you have a big spot on the end of your nose. It just doesn't get worse than that! (Lots of laughter)

Creative Process

What inspires you to write music? Do you read tab or standard notation?
The idea of exploring and creating original ideas is my inspiration. When I see the smile on Tommy's face when he plays, that inspires me. When I wake up in the morning and the first thing I see is my guitar- that inspires me. Boy! I could go on and on.

I read tab but cannot read music. I feel lucky that I had tablature available as a learning aid, but I feel it's important to break away and use your ears to learn tunes.

Do you ever get the feeling that the notes are being given to you, or that you are a conduit for a higher intelligence or power?
I suppose some people would call it a gift, or even talent. All I know is that it requires hard work and making sacrifices to obtain what you want in life.

You must have several guitars by now. Do different guitars in your collection inspire different types of tunes?
I have two Matons, one old K .Yairi and a Telecaster which are all used as tools. I just pick them up and play. I have played some beautiful sounding guitars, e.g. Nick Forster, C. Fox etc, and would be inspired to write different music on them but for now, I just use the guitars I have and can afford as tools of the trade.

Gear

Inquiring minds will want to know about your preferred guitars, strings and recording mic? Do you have any product endorsements?
I have only one endorsement; it's with G7 Capos http://www.g7th.com/.

What's special about the instruments you play? Is there anything on your wish list as far as equipment or instruments?
I have two main guitars, both Matons from Australia . My first Maton is my main stage guitar. It is the 808 Artist model and was given to me at the Windsor TommyFest in 2004 as a gift. At the festival, a guy (who has since become a close friend of the family) who is also a big fan of Tommy's music had seen me play and thought I deserved his Maton. The guitar means so much to me for obvious reasons.

It has three signatures on it- Tommy's, Bob Saxton's and Simon's, the guy who gave me the guitar. If ever I need inspiration or need to be reminded of my roots, I look at those three signatures. When I see Tommy's, it inspires me to reach greater heights and how to conduct myself. When I see Bob's, I hope to live as he has and have that warm smile that he always wears, and when I see Simon's, I think of how generous some people are in life.

My second Maton is my spare stage guitar. It is a Custom Maton TE808, but without the CGP signature on the 12th fret. I am not a CGP ("Certified Guitar Player", Chet Atkins' tongue-in-cheek title for himself and a select few followers) and never will be so I could not justify having that monogram on my guitar. Both guitars have their individual acoustic sound and plugged in, both are great. I also have a Fender Telecaster for playing until two in the morning so that I do not keep anyone awake in the house, but it's my stamping foot that usually causes problems. I will probably order a Maton cutaway at some point and also a buy myself a good nylon-string guitar.

I use an Alesis Midiverb II for slight reverb and an AER compact 60 amp. That little setup is all I need for small gigs. If I am supporting a band, I just feed a line out of the AER into their PA. My sound check is very quick, taking no more than a couple of minutes when supporting a band. I can have my equipment off stage in 1 minute which is pretty important.

For strings I use D'Addario EJ16s and could do with an endorsement as a set of them lasts me all of 2 hours. (Hint and lots of laughter)

Do you ever use a thumbpick or a flatpick? Do you prefer to use bare fingertips, nails or acrylic nails?
I use a Dunlop medium thumbpick and flesh. My right-hand fingertips have calluses and they are really hard. I use a flatpick of no particular make for some tunes.

Current

Tell me about the Green Man Festival. Is it an annual event? Where is it held? How did you end up being invited to this festival?
The Green Man Festival is held annually here in the beautiful countryside of Wales. It is a great festival with a sort of diverse folk music background. I was recommended by a friend to the organizers and it went down so well the first year, I was invited back again this year. Hopefully, I will be invited next year.

When does your UK tour with Tommy Emmanuel begin?
The tour begins on November 23, 2006 and runs until December 15.

What other projects do you currently have in mind?
There is no specific project as such, as I am now focusing totally on the tour with Tommy.

Apart from music, what are your interests? How do you balance your involvement with the guitar with the life of a "normal" teenager?
That's a big problem, as a normal teenager's life is not one of a professional musician. This year at the Green Man Festival, I invited one of my old school friends along for the weekend and he could not believe this is what I am actually doing with my life. My life revolves around the guitar and everything that goes with it. I go out with my close friends now and again, but the guitar is my life and passion.

Are there any other music-related interests that enrich your life?
I love getting together and sharing music with people. This was the reason Tommy invited me to CAAS, as he knew I would meet other guitar players from around the world. Just being around people, talking and having fun with music- what could be better in life?

Congratulations on your youthful success, Gareth. You realize we all expect even greater things from you now!
Many thanks for inviting me to do this interview. I have just looked at your past interviews and feel honored to be among such great guitar players.