Music Talks: Alex “Feather” Akimov
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Hey guys! I have a special treat for you today, remember Alex Akimov? Well I got in touch with him a...Hey guys! I have a special treat for you today, remember Alex Akimov? Well I got in touch with him and he has agreed to answer some questions! If you haven’t yet heard of Alex, check out my assessment here.
Alex Akimov and one of his trusty Tom Anderson guitars.
What was it like coming to Los Angeles from Russia and getting your start as an American artist?
“That wasn’t easy at all I am still working on becoming an American artist! I came to study at the Los Angeles Music Academy, I have never been in the United States before so it was very complicated for me at first, but I met some very good people along the way who helped me out a lot to get on my feet! After graduating I got my on my first tour around the US! That was a crazy experience. I always liked to travel, but traveling around America for the first time was amazing! I enjoyed every second of this tour! I started touring when I was 15, but in Russia it was absolutely different. We were traveling on the train or a plane and usually you are going just for a couple of days, in America we went for a whole month and were driving the van! After that I started doing a lot of studio work and just trying to do as many gigs as I could. Along the way I was hired to work with Irene Nelson, I started as a guitar player but when her manager quit I was asked to take over management as well because I knew English and Russian. I said “Yes” and was combining two jobs: playing guitar and doing management routine! That was crazy, but I learned how the show business works from the inside, we got her a deal with Universal Music Group and got her song charted in the Billboard! I learned so much from it and got a lot of connections in the music industry, so after it got a little easier to get gigs!”
As a musician, it is important to keep the fire going. What inspires you?
“My biggest inspirations are my family, my girlfriend and my fans! My dad was always telling me to work hard if I want to get somewhere and his words got stuck in my head! Music industry is changing so fast that if I am gonna lose it for a second it would be hard to get back, so I am trying to be on top of everything! My fans are also a very big deal for me overtime somebody buys my song or writing me a comment or just saying “Hi” after the show I feel that today I made somebody a little happier and I want to keep doing it and bring more positive feelings in this world!”
Is there anyone you look up to as an artist?
“My favorite guitar player is Greg Howe since I started playing guitar, also Richie Kotzen. I would love to collaborate with him someday! I like Muse a lot! Matt Bellamy knows how to play guitar and he does it like nobody else! I saw them live a few times and even got a chance to meet the band. Probably he is a very big influence for me right now!”
What sort of gear do you use when you go touring?
“I am using Tom Anderson guitars, they are the best! I really like how they are made and how reliable they are, my telecaster survived craziest tours and gigs! Also I’ve recently started using Ugly Amps it’s just an 18 watts but it sounds so freaking good! For pedals I’m using Aspid Drive by a Ukrainian company called Zmey, what I like about it is that no matter what amp you are using it is still sounds great! I need to depend on my gear a lot because playing guitar is how I make my living so I have to choose wisely, sometimes it takes me months before I can trust my new “toy” and take it on the road with me.”
Lastly, you’ve collaborated with some prominent figures, including work on the Eminem ft. Rihanna hit, “Love the Way You Lie”, Greg Howe, and Britney Spears. What was it like?
“It was very very fun! I did a remix on the song “Love The Way You Lie” and I’d never expected it to blow up like that! The video got more than 2 million hits on YouTube and even got recognized by Billboard.bz! That was nice surprise for all of us! For Britney I did a guitar track for her song “Hold It Against Me” that was cool because I got a chance to use my Zvex fuzz factory pedal, we just plugged it straight in to the SSl console and got the track! Working with Greg Howe was a completely different story, I didn’t get hired to record with him like my other gigs I actually collaborated with him I was learning guitar transcribing his songs and I got a chance to be with him on the same track!! Crazy! So exciting! The song that we did together called “Search” and it will be featured on my debut album called “About The Rain”
It’s already available on iTunes, and I hope soon it will come out as a physical record. I am in negotiations about distribution right now so we will see what’s gonna happen!”
INTERVIEW WWW.GUITARS.RU (RUSSIAN EDITION)
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?? ?????? ? ??????? ? ?????????, ??????? ????? ? Lita Ford ??? ??????? ??????????????. ??? ? ?????????? ?? ?????? ???????? ?????. ??? ???? ? ???? ? ?????? ? Frank Gambale. ??? ????? ?????????? ? ?????????? ?????????? ??? ??????. ??????? ?????????? ???? ?? ????, ??? ?????? ???????. ?? ???? ????????? ????? ???????????.
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??, ? ????????? ? Greg Howe. ? ???????????? ? ??? ?????????? ????????. ?? ????? ????? ??? ???????? Tone Merchants. ? ???????? ?? ? ??????? ????? ?? ????? ? ???? ????????? ?????? ? ??? ???????????. ???????? ???? ? ???, ??? ??????? ????????? ? Orange County. ???? ? ???? ??? ? 2 ???? ??? ? ??? ??????????? ???????? ?? ???? ? 8 ????. ? ?????? ??? ?? ?????, ???? ?? ?????, ????? ????????????? ?? ?????? ?????, ????? ????????????? ?? ?????, ???? ?? ?????? ? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ??????! ???? ????? ?????, ?? ??? ?????? ????!
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??. ? 2008 ???? ? ????????? ?????? ??? ?????????? «Live Fast, Die Young». ???? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ? ????? ????? ??????, ? ????? ??? ?????????? ???????? ??????. ??? ??? ???????????? ????.? ????, ??? ?? ??????? ? Irene Nelson, ??? ???????
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??? ????? ????? Russ Castella. ? ???????????? ? ??? ????? Irene Nelson. ?? ??? ?? ??????????. ?? ??????? ? Christina Aguilera, Lil Wayne, Britney Spears ? ???????? ??????????. ?? ??? ???-?? ???????? ? ????????? ???????? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? Eminem ft. Rihanna «Love The Way You Lie». ? ????? ????? ?? youtube ?????? 2 000 000 ??????????. ????? ? ??????? ??? ???????? ?????? ??? ????? Eminem ft. Rihanna «Love The Way You Lie (Part 2)». ??? ??????????? ??? ?????? ? ?? ????????? ???? ???????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? Britney Spears «Hold It Against Me», ??? ??????? ?? ???????. ???? ??????? ????? 500 000 ????? ????? ??????? ? ??? ?????? ???? ??????? ????!
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? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? Tom Anderson, ? ???? ? ???? ????????. ? ???? ???? ????? 30 ?????, ?? ? ?? ??? ??????, ??????? ?????? Gibson Les Paul Custom. ?? ??? ?????? ?????????? ??? ???? ?? ??????? Gibson Custom Shop. ? ????????? ????????? Ugly Amps, ????? ??????? ??. ? ???? ???????? ?? ??????????. ?? ??????? ? ????????? ??????? ???? ???????, ? ????????? ?? ???????? Aspid Drive. ??? ????? ?????????? ? ?????? ????????? ? ?? ????? ?????? ???????. ? ? ??? ??? ????? ???????????, ??? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ?????????. ? ???? ????? ????? ???????. ???????? ?? ????? ?????? Britney Spears, ? ??????? ? ????????? ??????, ? ??????????? ZVex Fuzz Factory. ??? ??????????? ??????. ??? ??????, ??? ?????. ?? ????? ????? ??????, ??? ??? ??????.
? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? Ugly Amps?
??? ????, ?????????? Kevin Wiggs, ??????? ???????? ?? ?????? ? Christina Aguilera ? Tony Bennett ??????????? ??? ??. ? ???????? ?? ? ??? ??? ????? ???????????. ? ???? ??? ???? ?????? Fender Twin Reverb. ??? ?? ????? ????????. ??????????? ?????? ????.
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Muse. ??? ????? ????????, ??? ?????? Matt Bellamy.
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Greg Howe. ? ?????? ?? ???? ??????????????. Richie Kotzen ??????????? ????????, ? ?? ????? ? ??? ??????????. ?? ????? ?????????? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ???????. ?? ?????? ? ??? ???????? ??????, ? ????? ???? ??????? ? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???????? ???????. ????? ?? ??? ?? ???????? ?????? ?????????, ??????? ?????????? ? ??????? ??????????.
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? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????. ??? ?????? ????? ? ???????? Greg Howe, Frank Gambale. ? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ? ??????, ??????? ???? ????? ???????????, ????? ? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????. ? ??????? ? ??? ? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ?? 4 ??????.
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