The Award Goes to...
Ronny North, ‘Best Male Guitarist’

RN: Well thank you. I’m so honored that I won the award. It really has inspired me to turn it up a notch and become the player I know I can be. It really was fun attending the 2006 All Access Music Awards Show. It was my first award show and to get a win the first time out was just incredible!! I’m actually working on a few things right now. I’m currently finishing up my new EP ‘DISCONNECTED’. It’s a collection of much heavier material than I have ever released. I plan to have it out before Christmas. I wrote a bunch of heavy dark songs after I had some bad stuff happen to me earlier this year. Since they didn’t fit in with any of the other material, I decided to put them all on one EP. We have been playing the songs live now for a couple months and the fans have been digging them. I’m also working on my acoustic instrumental CD titled, ACOUSTIFY. It is completely acoustic and I think people will be surprised by my acoustic playing... I really do dig playing acoustic guitars. The CD will even have one song with a guest vocalist. Last year I did a small acoustic tour throughout LA and San Diego and I tried out a lot of the songs. It was very rewarding but hard. After getting a great response from the shows, I decided to make a CD. That’s how ACOUSIFY was born. Last but not least, I will be releasing a guitar instructional DVD titled, PSYKO GUITAR I’m very excited about it. The DVD shows a lot of the exercises and licks that I have thought up that have helped me with my dexterity and speed. The DVD will be available at hothousestudios.com, and set for release before Christmas. I have seen some of the footage and it looks great!

RN: Both my parents are musicians but neither of them ever in a band. My mother plays piano and my Dad plays guitar. I started playing piano at age seven. I really wasn’t into it and the lessons were boring. I actually went to Yamaha Music School, back when they had the schools everywhere. Eventually, I got kicked out because I beat up the kid next to me (He deserved it!!) My Dad then made my brother and I take guitar lessons several years later from a guy a cross the street. Well, once again it was useless. Finally when I was 13, I got Kiss Destroyer for Christmas, and this changed my world. I immediately wanted to be Ace Frehley. Then in May I got a copy Les Paul and a small practice for my B-day. Then, that summer my dad took the whole family to see KISS at the LA Forum during their Love Gun/Alive II Tour. This was in 1977 when KISS was at their peak. It was the greatest concert and I was hooked! I progressed pretty quickly and on a related note, my brother also got a drum set and we would jam in our garage .We had a bunch of bands and I actually played the world famous GAZARRI’S on the Sunset Strip for the first time when I was 14. After that my brother and I performed at all the clubs in the area. Opening for WASP, GREAT WHITE and tons of other local big bands of the time. I like to note that my parents were very supportive of me being a musician. I think that was a very important factor in my musical growth, when I was young.

RN: I had a blast in Arlington for the show. My good friends from Bergeron Guitars flew me down to play at their booth. Even though, they do not endorse me. They are great people and since none of my endorsers were doing the show I was glad to be able to help out friends by playing at their booth. They really are great people and they make a very unique all metal guitar. My demos were packed through out the show. I signed so many autographs and took so many pictures with fans throughout the show. It was great!! I also gave out some pointers on how to shred a bit. It’s always great to be able to help out young players if you can. It never gets old when I show someone something and they grasp it right away and it immediately helps their playing. That makes it all worthwhile to me. I also met a lot of my, Myspace friends at the show. I’ve done so many trade shows this year that people are starting to know me. We only took two steps in the Arlington Convention Center on the first day where the show was being held and a woman recognized me who had seen my clinic at the Chicago show. Texas really does rock and the people are so cool and way into guitar. I met so many great people at the show and Larry and his wife Teri Briggs who run the show are just the coolest and have actually become friends of mine since I see them all the time when I play all their shows. I was also fortunate enough to be invited to perform on the first night of the show. I had a blast going up and jamming and the crowd went nuts, it was cool to be invited to play. I jammed a couple songs and got to use both a Bergeron and a very cool Warrior Isabella guitar that my friend Dran at Warrior Guitars was kind enough to let me use for the jam, great guitar. It was a crazy few days in Texas.

RN: I’m really excited about my cable show! My band actually appeared on my friend’s show on the station (The Billy Mo Show). After the show I asked Tony Cantillo, who runs the studio and in charge of all the taping, if we could meet and talk about some ideas I have for a cable show. I wrote up a show treatment and we had a meeting a few days later. Tony liked my treatment and we were off. I did have to take a course at the studio first to learn about how a cable studio works that was very educational. Then we started working on the show in the summer. It got a little side tracked for a bit when the station was taken over by Time Warner. But, I was recently told we’re on again. The show is going to be a Music/Action Sports Show. I will have guests and a monthly guitar instructional segment called PSYKO Guitar. This will teach players how to shred with exercises I have come up with. It really has been a learning experience seeing how cable shows are made. The whole editing bay thing is just nuts. On that note, everyone at the station has been really cool to me especially Tony Cantillo, he has been a great help. The show was supposed to start running in the fall but with a few delays, we’re now shooting for early 2007. It will definitely be worth the wait. We’ve already shot some great stuff and have some great guests planned. It will air on Time Warner Cable in Bellflower and in surrounding cities. Check my website for more details, I’m definitely cable ready!!

RN: Yes, we are talking with the Navy about going over seas in the spring. I’m honored for the opportunity to go over to play for the troops who are fighting for our way of life. If I can make their life a little easier for a bit with my music then I’m all about it, I can’t wait.

RN: High points: The top would have to be winning the award for Best Male Guitarist at the All Access Magazine Music Awards Show. Another, all the press I’ve recently been getting. I’m starting to finally get a name for myself in the industry. I’m definitely getting recognized way more these days. Another would be traveling all over and the great opportunities that I get all because I play guitar!

Low Points: Well, there are always people who are, all of a sudden your “best friend”, just because they saw you in a magazine or something. I recently went to a high school reunion and people who wouldn’t give me the time a day when I was in high school back in the day, were now trying to be my buddy, I’m so not into that. There’s also the thing where people try to take advantage of you. And the dark side of so called, “ fame “ with lets just say over zealous people..

RN: My band is drummer/ great guy, Nick Horn who is the best drummer I have ever had in my project. I met him from an ad I ran, looking for a drummer. He came in and just blew us a way immediately and I hired him after the first song, we played our first show a week later. As for a bass player we’ve currently auditioning bassists. We are looking for someone who can play and get along with everyone. They also have to have the drive to make it! Oh yeah, I’m the guitar player in my 3 piece instrumental project in case you haven’t figured it out.

RN: I have been a Minarik endorser for a few years now. I met them at the Santa Monica Guitar Show. One of my friends was playing at their booth and took me over to meet the Minariks and to try out their guitars. I thought the guitars played and sounded great but at that time the models they had weren’t what I was into, the body styles were a little crazy for me. A year later Bill Minarik approached me at the LA Guitar show. He introduced me to their new Diablo model guitars, then a few days later I got the guitar in the mail and it was just great right out of the box. A bound mahogany body, 22 frets, a Original Floyd Rose and Duncan pickups, It is a great looking guitar. Just recently at Summer NAMM we put my Minarik Diablo against a friends $3,000.00 custom guitar and mine blew it a way. My guitar sells for under a $1000.00! Great stuff!! People are always amazed that my guitar is stock. As for Jacksons and Fenders... everyone plays them and truth be told I own a few of them as well. Great stuff, but I like to be different and it’s hard to beat the Minarik Guitar. That being said I’m a proud endorser and it’s been a blast working with Bill and Mark Minarik. I’ve also been fortunate to be featured in some of the Minarik ads that have run in a few of the Guitar Magazines. My Diablo has become like my trademark and I regularly get asked about the guitar. You would be surprised how many times people have asked to get a picture with the guitar. Recently the Minarik guys gave me one of the brand new Lotus models. It has a very cool flame top, Duncan pickups and Grover tuning pegs. It’s a great guitar and I have been using the guitar almost exclusively for the recording of my new CD, Disconnected that I’m currently working on. Definitely check out the Minarik guitars if you get a chance.

RN: We were offered to play with Yngwie by the venue and it was quite the adventure. I’m a major Yngwie fan so I jumped at the opportunity. It was great to play to a sold out crowd and we definitely held our own and tore it up! Let’s just say Yngwie definitely didn’t make it easy on us in any way. If you ever heard any of the Yngwie stories, you’ll know what I mean. On that note, we have played with tons of national acts that were nice to the opening bands.

RN: I am scheduled to perform everyday at NAMM 2007 in Anaheim for several of my endorsers. I’ll also be playing at the Mills Acoustics NAMM showcase, I believe I’m headlining. I’m also going to perform in both Russia and Taiwan in the spring of 2007 as well as playing for the troops. AMT Electronics will be coming out with a Ronny North PSYKO DRIVE Distortion/Overdrive Pedal in January of 2007 and WB Guitar Pickups will be coming out with a signature Ronny North set of guitar pickups. They will have Black and Purple bobbins. I’m very excited about both products and It’s a dream come true to have signature products. I’d also like to thank my crew (My girlfriend and photographer Arlene Ferrar, My assistant Karen for everything she does, my manager Annie Miller from Big Z Entertainment. As soon as she came on board stuff-started happening ) this is Team North. My endorsers and of course my band! Thank you to all my fans, you are so important and the reason I can do what I do, I appreciate all your support.

I’ve had the chance to meet my fans from all over America this year and everyone has been nothing short of great. Most importantly I want to thank Debra Stocker from All Access Magazine for all her support through out the years. It was great to win at the 2006 All Access Magazine Music Awards Show, see you next year! Visit me at RONNYNORTH.COM and myspace.com/RONNYNORTH