GES : Hello Jean, at first felicitation for your album which is really exciting ! Can you please tell us more on who you are ?
Jean : Thank you !! I' m a 33 years old guitarist living in Bordeaux (France) … I' ve begun to play guitar in autodidact when I was a teenager … and never stopped ! I' m a graduate from the MAI since 98… I became a guitar teacher and worked in most of the Bordeaux music schools ….
Now I' m the instructional manager of AREMA Rock et Chanson (www.rocketchanson.com) … I have also recorded a solo instrumental album some years ago and also an instructional video. And to finish I participate to the interactive magazine Guitar Live (www.guitarelive.com)... That' s all !

GES : Are there some guitarists who gave you the need to practice the instrument, and do you still feel their influence in your actual guitar playing ?
Jean :Yes of course … Patrick Rondat has given me the thing that make me progress more on the guitar …It' s clear that his approach, the way he always goes in new directions is essential. Cyril Achard is also a very inspiring guitarist …. Recently Matthias Ia Eklundh and Christophe Godin have influenced me a lot both in their playing and the way they manage their carreer. 

GES : It seems that your Album « Boarding Pass » is not a solo Album as the name is Fantastic(s)3, is it a real Band ? Do you play together since a long time now ?
Jean : It ' s a real band we play for 3 years now. I' m very lucky to have met my drummer Pascal Biwandu and my bassist Wilfried Widmann …They are musicians that I respect a lot, with great personnalities … For me it' s really the dream team ...


GES : Did they get a great freedom on their interpretations, or did you already get a precise idea of what they had to play ?
Jean :We compose together … Everyone writes his parts and can come with his ideas … We try them and keep what is the best …If we are not ok we make a vote … It' s very democratic !
The advantage is that each oen of us can participate …But in the other hand, we need to be very tolerant and open mind …I really wanted to play in this kind of band but it' s really hard to find the right persons … I feel very lucky to have met them….


GES : How have you recorded it ? It sounds very professional I guess it' s in a professionnal studio...
Jean :Bass and drums have been recorded in 3 days in a professionnal studio. I' ve recorded all the guitar parts at home during one week …. The mix has been done by our sound engeener Roland Lanoé who has done a fantastic job during 4 days …
The sound was very important for me, it gives another dimension to the album… Also, as a guitarist I wanted to put my sound signature …

GES : What is your actual gear ? It seems that you work with a guitar constructor !
Jean :Yes I' m endorsed by a luthery, Xavier Petit (www.xavierpetit.com) who has built a fantastic signature model …
I use a Mesa single rectifier head with a 4/12 Engl on which I mix the sound with a 2 /12 XL NOS(www.nameofsound.com) with a precise sound…


GES : What' s the most important thing for you when you compose ? Are you a methodic compositor or is it all by instinct ?
Jean : A beat of each, I' m a big worker …but it depends of the track… In this album I' ve tried to make everything very accessible…in each track there is a melody that the auditor can sing, but when you listen carrefuly you hear that it' s really more complex …
Also, we wanted to have very different and varied tracks … they have their own colors, and it makes the music exciting from the begining to the end …

GES : When we listen to your guitar playing it sounds very mature with many different technics, are there some you prefer ?
Jean : I try to work on every technics to expand my vocabulary … but my preference goes to the up and down picking … To my taste it' s the most usefull one but needs a lot of work… a lot of work is needed to have fluidity and to accentuate some notes …. I also try to work on my phrases to have my own identity… For a musician the sound is like the sound of your voice… that' s the most important thing …

GES : Have you planed to tour, and if so is it easy to find places for instrumental rock ?
Jean : Yes we actually works to make a tour… it' s not easy for this music style... but we won' t surrender ! I think we are going to play in some guitar festivals. Because I' m a guitar teacher I can also animate masterclasses.

GES : What are you listening to actually ? 
Jean : The last Patrick Rondat album « An ephemeral world », the last Freack Kitchen …. the last Greg Howe with Chambers and Wooten that I really appreciate a lot… The last Meshuga is also fantastic ! And I wait for the next Gojira... 

GES : Do you have other passions than music ? I have noticed that some pictures have been taken in an aerodrome, was it just for fun or is it a place you usually goes to ?
Jean : In fact the pictures from the aerodrome was just for the album… The idea comes from my drummer Pascal … My other passion is Formula 1 …I have been very lucky to ride a Formula 3000 … my dream was to be a pilot …


GES : To conclude, do you have other projects for the near futur ?
Jean : Now the priority goes to the album … We look for a singer for a parrallal project … the same musicians with a singer …. If some singers read this interview feel free to contact us we still don' t have find the good one ….

GES : Thank you very much Jean for your time, I wish you all the best, and let you the last words !
Jean : Thank you for all the work you do, it permits to musicians like us to exist !