About Roland
Nipp
“The guitar stands for freedom” -
The Edge
Roland Nipp is a
self-professed guitar geek, music nerd, and one-trick
pony. When
not playing guitar, he is usually thinking about
guitars, teaching guitar, listening to music, reading
music magazines or tinkering with gear. While
admittedly not very well-rounded, he is quick to point
out he can make a good grilled cheese sandwich.
Eastside Stories
is Nipp’s 13th
solo record, and continues his quest to offer emotional
electric guitar music to people who like electric
guitars and
songs. As
with his previous albums, the songwriting is front and
centre - in Nipp’s world,
gratuitous, show-boating guitar playing ends up on the
cutting room floor.
During the creation of
Eastside Stories, Nipp wore many hats: he wrote, produced,
engineered and played all the instruments. In reference
to other multi-instrumentalists who choose to
make one-man recordings, he says “some of my favourite music comes from
people like McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Tom Scholz, who created really
powerful and personal music by working this way. There are no
rules, no judgment…anything is possible.”
In 2005, Nipp was
selected and featured by Guitar Player
in their prestigious Spotlight column. He has also
appeared in Vintage
Guitar and 20th
Century Guitar magazines.
·
“Guitar instrumentals from the wank-free zone.” - Canadian Musician
·
“Engaging and enjoyable instrumental music
without indulging in the annoying grandstanding endemic
to “guitar” albums… maintains your attention through seduction rather than
coercion…this is an instrumental guitar album that even
non-guitarists will like.” - Guitar Player
·
“…riveting…strong melodies, outstanding
tone and dynamic accompaniment. First class all the
way.” - TV Week
·
“…guitar
fans who enjoy smart
instrumental guitar playing will thrill to In the Cool of the
Dawn…his latest CD masterpiece.” - Music Web Express
3000
·
“…In
the Cool of the Dawn…continues bringing beautiful
guitar music to those lucky enough to find it.” - The Georgia
Straight
__________________________________________________________________________________
From
an interview with 20th Century Guitar
Magazine:
Musical
Background
The
family radio was always on and the pop/rock songs of the
day became ingrained in my psyche. In fact, while in the
5th grade, I remember playing Name That Tune, and being
able to identify songs and artists within the first few
notes. I recall the teacher and kids looking at me in
disbelief.
My life forever changed at 13, when I first picked up a
guitar. Even though I couldn’t yet make any musical
sounds, I loved just holding it, how it looked, even how
the case smelled! Shortly thereafter and not
surprisingly, I began opting out of after-school sports.
Although I had some formal lessons, I am primarily
self-taught, spending countless hours on my bed with a
cassette deck trying to mimic my heroes. At school
dances, I’d be at the front of the stage staring at the
guitarist’s hands oblivious to the fact that people were
actually dancing.
Writing and
Recording
When
writing songs, I ask myself: “What do
I want to hear as a music fan, what qualities
do my favorite CDs have, what brings me back for
repeated listens?” The answer comes pretty quickly -
it’s all about the songs. My goal is creating music to
connect, not to impress. Once this ground rule is set,
it’s easy to write and play from the heart, and the
songs usually write themselves. To paraphrase Santana:
“to play with soul and purpose, we must first get our
ego out of the way.” I am also drawn to the thinking of
the late Philip Sudo, who,
in his book, Zen Guitar, says: “true guitar
virtuosity is beyond technical mastery - it’s about
playing with virtue, honesty, integrity, compassion, and
gratitude.”
Roland
Nipp - Interesting and not so interesting facts
Place
of residence:
Favourite
guitars: SG,
Telecaster, Stratocaster, Les Paul
Favourite
guitar players: Jeff
Beck, SRV, Clapton, Gilmour, Brian May, Lifeson, Page, EVH, Lukather, Santana, Hendrix, Knopfler, Mike Campbell, Warren
Haynes, Django Reinhardt, Tommy Emmanuel, Daniel Lanois,
The Edge, John Mayer, Vince Gill, Pete Anderson, Albert
King, Roger Fisher, Nancy Wilson, Tom Scholz, Billy Gibbons, George
Harrison, Terry Kath, Rik
Emmett, Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Crichton, Jeff Healey,
Colin James, Neil Geraldo, Elliot Easton, many others
Favourite
guilty pleasure: 70s
pop music
Discography: The Blue Room
(1999), By Night (2004), Little Victories (2009), All We
Desire (2012), Ragged Hearts (2015), In the Cool of the
Dawn (2017), Better Days (2018), VIII (2019), Like a
Siren (2020), We Were Free (2021), All the Miles in
Between (2022), Saturday's Child (2023), Eastside Stories (2024)
TV
show least likely to watch: Anything with
the word “Idol” or Talent” in its title
Store
least likely to frequent:
Ikea
Activity
least likely to do for himself: Shop for
clothes
Topic
least likely to be thinking about: Home
improvement
Personal
care item no longer required: Hair dryer
Task
happy to avoid: Writing
lyrics
Social
fad least likely to do:
Take Selfie, post to
Facebook
Favourite
question to be asked:
Which guitar would you like…the red one or the
white one?
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