We caught up with Second year Performance student Garry Daniel in our latest student spotlight…
What projects are you currently working on?
I have a launch gig to celebrate the release of our new single called, ‘Rain’, taking place at The 13th Note on: 23/04/22. We are being supported by a band consisting of six students from Music Performance, Year 2. Click here to purchase tickets!
Tell us about your musical background and influences
I’ve been playing guitar since my late 20’s. Black Sabbath made me want to pick up the guitar as soon as I heard the Masters of Reality album, especially the song ‘Into The Void’. I’m a major “Metal-Head” and bands like Iron Maiden, Queensryche, King’s X and Rush are still an influence on me. I love all kinds of music especially jazz from the 50’s to 70’s. I also have a love for progressive rock music – bands like Yes, Pink Floyd, Rush, Genesis have really expanded my playing. I also play bass and admire many players such as; Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, Steve Harris and so on. I used to play Bass in a punk band called ‘Rodent Emporium’.
Currently I play guitar in a band called ‘Butler’s Experiment’ which I founded back in 2017. I’m working on new material and hope to have some new songs out this year. I released a new song called ‘Rain’ on Spotify, earlier this year as part of the Performance course.
I also host a podcast on Anchor.fm called ‘Butler’s Experiment Podcast’. I love music so much that I wanted to set up a podcast that concentrates on the artists or bands that have influenced a guest musician. I limit it to three artist/bands and ask how they influenced them on their instrument and song writing style. I also play the guests music and ask them about how the artist/bands can be heard in the songs. The podcast really aims for bands/artists that are not on major labels etc as I’m not doing this for any monetary gain-just for the love of music. Of course, I certainly wouldn’t discount a band on a major label, I just want that to be clear. If any bands/artists want to contact me for an episode, that would be great.
Why did you want to study at Riverside Music College?
I wanted to study Music Performance as I felt I had reached a dead-end with my knowledge in writing songs and my technical skills on guitar, I needed to consolidate what I have learned into a more cohesive approach and this is why I chose to study at Riverside Music College.
How has the HND Music Performance course helped you – which skills, knowledge/ or which modules have been the most useful for you?
All of the modules have helped. With the Song Writing module I have learned so much in terms of how artists have written their songs in a particular way in terms of melody, harmony and what form of lyrics an artists’ employs. I love this part of the course.
With Music Theory I finally had many theory questions answered. I have also improved my sight reading and how to read a chord chart. The Music Business For Musicians module has been an eye opener to the world of the music business and I really enjoyed learning about the Collection Societies such as P.R.S. and M.C.P.S. as they will provide a source of revenue if you sign up to them as an artist. With the Live Performance module I have learned more about stage performance which I didn’t really pay attention to years ago, so that has been very useful.
What are your future plans?
My future plans are to finish my second year of Music Performance. I also intend to continue my podcast, I have several artists waiting to be interviewed. I also hope to have a new ‘Butler’s Experiment ‘album out this year as I’m currently working on new material.
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