Ron Jarzombek is an American heavy metal guitar legend. His dazzling fret wizardry in bands such as WATCHTOWER, SPASTIC INK and technical extreme metal act BLOTTED SCIENCE has earned him a reputation as one of the most exciting guitar players on the planet. Following up 2007’s mind blowing debut The Machinations of Dementia, Jarzombek and BLOTTED SCIENCE are planning yet another musical ass kicker… this time with an EP entitled The Animation Of Entomology that will contain 7 new BLOTTED SCIENCE songs, and is slated to run at approximately 24 minutes in length. Drummer Hannes Grossmann entered into Woodshed Studios in Landshut, Germany on January 31, 2011, with V. Santura (DARK FORTRESS, TRIPTYKON) engineering. Bassist Alex Webster (CANNIBAL CORPSE) is recording his bass tracks at his Hell Whole Studios in Tampa, while Jarzombek himself is locked away in his Live Oak Studios in San Antonio, Texas.
The Metal Den’s Randy “Rocket” Cody has conducted an exclusive interview with guitarist Ron Jarzombek for his loyal worldwide Den Headz.
Rocket: Where were you born and raised?
Ron: San Antonio, Texas.
Rocket: Do you come from a big family?
Ron: 2 older brothers, 2 younger sisters. We used to have little dog named Chrissy, and a cat named Mooch. I also had two ducks named WetHead and BedSpread, they are very messy. The wifey and I had 3 cats named Inkie, Barbie and Geddy. Now we have two ferrets (Jewelty and Bobo) and an iguana (Marshall).
Rocket: That’s one helluva family! Ha! Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Ron: Rush, Metallica, Judas Priest, Yes, UK, UFO, Al Dimeola, Steve Vai, Carl Stalling, Danny Elfman, Trevor Rabin, Elliot Goldenthal.
Rocket: Do you recall your first rock concert?
Ron: Styx and Angel, soon after Rush, UFO, and Van Halen.
Rocket: When did you first get into playing the electric guitar?
Ron: About 4th grade. I started with piano in 2nd grade.
Rocket: Watchtower is currently at work on a new album entitled ‘Mathematics’. When is the release date on that?
Ron: 10-15 years ago.
Rocket: Haha! Where was the album recorded and who produced it?
Ron: Some at various studios in San Antonio, some at Rick’s place, some at Doug’s place, and most of it here at my home studio.
Rocket: Who is doing the vocals on the record?
Ron: Not sure. We’re still looking.
Rocket: I am also a big fan of your work in Blotted Science. Can you tell us more about what’s going on
with that project?
Ron: We are working on an EP. It will be titled ‘The Animation Of Entomology’. We’re shooting for a release in a few/several months.
Rocket: Chris Adler from Lamb of God was originally involved in Blotted Science, correct?
Ron: Yep, he got too busy with his real band Lamb Of God.
Rocket: How does the songwriting process work in Blotted Science?
Ron: Since it’s a long distance project, we communicate via the net. I put everything together over here.
Rocket: What kind of guitars are you currently playing live and in the studio, Ron?
Ron: I build my own guitars. They have a weird shape. It would be nice if I could get a guitar company to build them.
Rocket: Well, hey, who knows… maybe someone will actually read this shit and give you
and your freaky designed axes a shot one day! What kind of amp rigs are you working with?
Ron: Digitech preamp, Mesa Boogie power amp, Rocktron power amp, Peavey and Line 6 amps.
Rocket: How many hours per day average would you say you practice guitar?
Ron: Sometimes I don’t have time at all, other times if I’m recording I’ll go at it for several hours, maybe more.
Rocket: Do you have a pre-show ‘ritual’ that you do before playing a gig?
Ron: If it’s a local over gig, be sure I have a bottle of Goldshlager.
Rocket: Now that’s my man! Who are some of the other metal bands of today that you enjoy?
Ron: Hmmm, I’d have to think about that for a while. There’s some good ones out there, but I don’t really listen to a lot of it.
Rocket: What is the one piece of advice you’d give to someone that is picking up the guitar right now – for the first time – with serious rock n roll aspirations?
Ron: Realize that guitarists who constantly talk about “shredding” can’t write a damn thing.
Rocket: Rock on, Ron! Thanks for rocking this out with me. Best of luck with your music. Any final words for your biggest supporters?
Ron: Yes, look for the Blotted Science EP soon. The bugs are coming…
Above Photo Credit: Martin Rugers
http://www.ronjarzombek.com/
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