Bill Lonero

In this world of musical labels and genres, none describes the capabilities of the true guitar musician than guitarcore. Based totally on talent, rhythm and melodies… “Guitarcore© is for all those people that love the guitar but hate the excessive soloing and arpeggios and constant time changes of typical instrumental rock….” “Music is about grabbing a listener by the soul and pulling them in. If you can do that then that’s all that matters…” says Bill Lonero who coined the term guitarcore and is setting the standard for this new genre.

Currently, LoNero (the band) are writing and recording their much anticipated follow up to their acclaimed second album “Relentless.” I talked recently with Bill LeNero a man of infinite conviction and a true musician in every sense of the word.

Your new album is being produced by Michael Rosen. What are we going to hear?
A very well produced and written Guitarcore album. There will be plenty of harmonies, solos etc but it will focus on songwriting and groove. I think our fans are really going to love this album. There are also a couple of instrumental punk songs that we call Punkstrumentals that are a nod of respect to bands like Social Distortion who I absolutely love!

Who or what inspired you to pick up your first instrument and how old were you?
I was 7 and it was Angus Young. Hearing him play was all it took. Before that I was and am heavily influenced by Elvis Presley. He is the first and still the biggest rock star ever. No one will come close to the impact that man has had on not only music but on society as well.

Remembering back to your first time in front of a live audience, what comes to mind?
Fear. It was a small club but all my family and friends were there. After that show I was nicknamed “Stand Still Bill.” I’ve since outgrown that.

What has been your biggest triumph as an artist? Greatest challenge?
Biggest triumph would be gaining the fan base we have. Our fans are immensely loyal and they always send us emails telling us how much our music has touched them. When I started this band I started it with the hopes of reaching people that don’t normally listen to instrumental rock because of its excessiveness. The other day I looked at our page on iTunes and there’s the section that says “Listeners also bought,” well on our page it says “Listeners also bought Ozzy, Metallica, Guns N Roses, Megadeth, Disturbed, Elvis Presley, Van Halen, AC/DC, etc.” The one thing that stood out was none of those bands are instrumental. That’s exactly the audience we want. The problem with the instrumental rock genre is that they are all concerned about playing the fastest and out arpeggiating the other. They can do that all day long. We’ll be writing songs.
Greatest challenge would be getting the suits and ties at the records labels that “think” they know what people want to hear to listen to us. It’s amazing how arrogant those people are. They are in a position of power and they flaunt it like nobody’s business. Half the time they have no clue what they’re talking about and the other half they’re just plain ignorant.

If the whole world were listening, what would you play? And why?
Wow! Great question. I’d probably play our new song “Giant.” It has a very peaceful and positive melody. You can listen to that song and hear hope and feel like something good is going to happen. It has a very positive vibe to it. Or maybe I’d play “Amazing Grace” from our last album “Relentless.”

For those that don’t know, What is “instrumental guitarcore?”
Guitarcore© is about the song. It’s not about 20 minute guitar solos and complicated rhythms. When I write a song I start with the rhythm. That’s the most important thing. Without that you have nothing. The rhythm has to be solid and it has to groove. From there I add the melody. That has to be catchy and it is more important to me that it is memorable than it is complicated. I’ll play one note and hold it if it sounds good. Guitarcore is for all those people that love the guitar but hate the excessive soloing and arpeggios and constant time changes of typical instrumental rock. Think of us as the AC/DC of instrumental. Simple is more important. That’s not saying that our music doesn’t have some complexity because it does. It’s just not overdone and ego-driven. We don’t let the complexity dictate the song.

What do you want fans to get from your music?
I want them to understand that instrumental doesn’t have to be non-stop shredding and boring rhythms. Guitarcore is no different than vocal music. Instead of using a vocalist we use melodies and a guitar to speak. We aren’t concerned with impressing other guitar players. Being the fastest guitarist or the most technical has never been a concern of mine. 9 times out of 10 it has no musical value. Listeners want to be moved and taken somewhere. You aren’t going to do that playing at lightning speed nonstop. Music is about grabbing a listener by the soul and pulling them in. If you can do that then that’s all that matters. I want listeners to hear words when they listen to our music and in fact we have had many people send us lyrics that our music has inspired them to write.

What is your favorite song to perform live? Why?
That would have to be “Whatever.” It’s an upbeat song that has a fun solo to play. It has a very positive vibe. It’s hard to name just one though. I love playing them all. The songs from the new album are going to be a lot of fun to play live.

What do you value most in life?
Integrity. If you say you’re going to do something than do it. The music business is filled with people that have lost integrity years ago and they don’t seem to care. To me if you don’t have that then you just have an empty shell that can’t find direction. They spend their whole life on a quest to get as much money as they can. I have never heard a eulogy for a billionaire that started with “he had lots of money.” When it’s all over I want people to say “He never gave up, he followed his dream and he had integrity and guts.”

If you could, is there a band or artist that you could recommend (Who they may not know about, but you think they should.) to our readers?
Absolutely! A good friend of mine named Mark Castrillon. He’s a great guitar player, great singer and great songwriter and a wonderful human being. If you like good music then check him out at www.MarkCastrillon.com.

I would like to thank Bill Lonero for his participation in this interview.
~Denise Smith (interview 2010.02.15)