In a new interview with Mexico’s Loud! Metal Radio, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman was asked what piece of advice he would give to young musicians looking to break into the business. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): ”The first thing is very important, is you have to remember, you don’t have to know everything. A lot of young musicians think that I know everything, or their favorite guitarist knows how to play everything, or all the professional guitar players, they know everything, but it’s not true, and it’s not necessary. All you need to know is how to do what you love. That’s it. I don’t know much about jazz music. If I play it, I don’t play it very well. I can’t play like any other guitar players. I don’t know how to play like this guy or that guy. As soon as you realize, ‘Hey, I don’t need to play like that. I don’t need to play like my guitar teacher. I don’t need to play like somebody else. All I need to do is get good at what I can do.’ Concentrate on yourself. Don’t worry about the others. You don’t have to be better than someone else. Don’t compare yourself. Stay kind of in your own world and focus on learning what you love about music. That’s my advice.”
Asked if he learned more as a musician from studying and playing in a room by himself for hours or by playing live in front of people, Marty said: “Definitely, definitely playing live. I’ve almost never sat in a room and practiced or studied. That sounds crazy, and people get angry when I say that, but it’s kind of true. I started playing live when I was about 14. I was terrible. I didn’t really know how to play, but I was playing in front of people in a band, and I always did that.
“Playing in front of people, it speeds up the learning process, because it’s natural, when you play in front of people, [that] you don’t wanna make a mistake,” he explained. “You don’t wanna play badly. But alone in a room, nobody sees, nobody cares. Your body is relaxed. But when you do something live, after you finish that show, your mind goes over every little detail: ‘What did I do wrong? Where did I make a mistake? Why didn’t I hear this?’ It’s working so much harder than practicing in your bedroom.
“So I’ve always played live or created an opportunity to play in front of people, whether it be recording, rehearsing, playing a concert, jamming in front of somebody,” Friedman added. “If you play in front of people, that’s where you get the fast results. Playing by yourself, maybe your hands start to work good, but nothing sticks to you as well as when you’re playing in front of people.”
Regarding how he chooses which people to take advice from, Marty said: “I take advice from anyone who I respect what they’re doing. If I have someone who plays music that I like, I’m gonna listen to what they say. And maybe it doesn’t fit me, maybe it does, but one thing for sure is I can’t control whether people like my music or not. So, it doesn’t matter if someone doesn’t like what I’m doing — if I like it. If I don’t like what I’m doing, then I’m kind of lost. So I try to make sure that I only work on things that I’m gonna like.”
Friedman‘s June 13 concert at Teatro Cariola in Santiago, Chile was professionally recorded and filmed for a future live album and DVD.
As previously reported, Marty will follow the print release of his compelling autobiography last December, “Dreaming Japanese”, with an audiobook version via Recorded Books on June 24. The audiobook release is available to pre-order now across all digital platforms via Amazon.
Written with veteran music journalist Jon Wiederhorn (“Louder Than Hell”, “Raising Hell”),“Dreaming Japanese” debuted at No. 1 on Amazon‘s Heavy Metal Books chart and has received praise from major outlets including Rolling Stone, Guitar World, Decibel and Publishers Marketplace. The autobiography shares Friedman‘s inspiring journey from landing a gig as the lead guitarist for legendary thrash metal outfit MEGADETH during their peak years to his emigration from the U.S. to Japan, where he became a prominent television figure and Japanese pop culture household name as well as being appointed an official Ambassador Of Japan Heritage.
The “Dreaming Japanese” audiobook delivers Friedman‘s story with verve with a riveting narrative that captures his relentless perseverance as he struggled to start again from nothing. After spontaneously leaving his home in the U.S., to feeling lost in the middle of Tokyo with few connections or concrete plans, the story traces his journey to acclimate and assimilate into the inner core of an alien society, language and culture. In fascinating detail and clarity, Friedman shares how he gradually made inroads into the Japanese entertainment industry, becoming a household name and fixture on mainstream television and earning respect as a highly influential solo artist. “Dreaming Japanese” follows the wildly entertaining, inspiring, and above all, unprecedented path of a rock and roll guitar player who took the biggest risk: leaving worldwide success to start over from scratch in a country, culture and society far from his own and ultimately becoming an official ambassador of Japan.
From the adrenaline-soaked years touring the world with MEGADETH — where he co-wrote some of the band’s most iconic albums like “Rust In Peace” and “Countdown To Extinction” — to his surreal reinvention as a lead guitarist in J-Pop acts and host of over 800 Japanese television shows, “Dreaming Japanese” reveals the wildly entertaining, deeply human, and often hilarious story of a man who risked everything to chase a new dream halfway across the globe.
