Shagpile (Shagpile Spyker in SL)

Shaggy (Shagpile) has been doing gigs in Casa since February 2008. He was good enough to take time out of his very busy schedule to answer some questions for me.

1. Who are you and where are you from? Im shaggy, (jason vare) and im a solo acoustic singer songwriter from NE England , UK .. Geordie all the way!! hahahah

2. How long have you been playing? Ive been playing guitar now since I was around about 8 or 9 ... had a bit of a spell where i didnt play for a few years as i found other things to occupy myself.. Alcohol and Women hahahah..the worst concoction.. then got over my teenage years and picked it up again!!


3. Which instruments do you play? My first instrument is the guitar but i also play the piano, bass, drums, harps, all at different levels.. some just for fun.. I also had a few lessons on the violin at school but didnt like it so i snapped my bow and that was the end of that..

4. What was the first tune(s) you learned? Hmmmmmmmm .. thats a hard one.. long long time ago..hahha. some of the first things i learned were from easy chord books and I remember playing a lot of John Denver stuff and The Beatles .. 2 of the books i owned or picked up from somewhere really early...


5. Is your family musical? Yeah my Mother plays piano and we always had a piano of some sort in the house growing up and my Father used to repair and sell guitars and he also plays a little too!


6. Which famous musicians do you admire? Why? Bob Dylan is probably one of my favourite songwriters .. mainly for his lyrics and his scope on music.. The Freewheelin is my favourite album by the man himself.


7. Do you write everything yourself? For my original stuff I write everything.... It all gets done at the same time.. pick up the guitar .. play some chords and outcome the words...



8. Who was your first teacher? Other teachers? I learned everything by ear apart from some really early help along lessons from a guy called Paul Bambridge who i still catch up with now and then.. The first proper lesson i had was probably about a year ago from another friend called Brian Holmes.. but i only had 3 or 4 lessons and to be honest.. I dont think you really need lessons to progress with the guitar.. just a good ear for music. :)

9. Who are your favourite musicians? Groups? At the moment one of my favourite bands are The Kings Of Leon, and ACDC's new album is awesome.. Kelly Joe Phelps is one of my favourite acoustic artists .. just wish he'd come and tour the UK.. come on KJP, get your finger out!!


10. Do you perform in RL? If so where? Yes I perform lots of gigs solo as "shagpile" in as many venues as i can get myself in there.. also I perform as the singer/guitarist for a rock/punk band called "Stolen Tom"


11. How do you handle mistakes during a performance? Depending on the size of the mistake there is a lot you can get away with in live performances by just carrying on .. lots of people like to hear the music but dont really notice as many mistakes as a musician does.. Bluff ya way through it I say!!


12. Do you get nervous before a performance? Nope.. of course I used too, but once you have done a lot of gigs , it all gets forgotten about! The more gigs the more confident you become..


13. What advice would you give to beginners who are nervous? The only way to get rid of nerves in my opinion is to carry on doing live gigs..also a good tip is to play infront of whoever you get the chance too and also in as many places as you can.... the more you do it the less nervous you will get when performing..


14. How often and for how long do you practice? Practice... whats that? hahahahah - with the band I practice 1-2 times a week .. but for the acoustic music.. whenever i get a chance really!!



15. Where can people find out more about your music or keep in touch with you? Please add website/myspace details here.

http://www.shagpile.org/ - HOMEPAGE

http://www.myspace.com/shagpile69 - MYSPACE

http://shagpilemusic.wordpress.com/ - BLOG and NEWS

http://cdbaby.com/cd/shagpile - CDBABY

http://uk.youtube.com/profile?user=varesy - YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Just for fun:
¯ Person or thing you would most like to be reincarnated as? ohhh.. hmmmmmmmmmmm... JAMES DEAN ..

¯ If your house was on fire what one thing would you take with you as you ran out? (NOT a person) My taylor guitar.. its my baby!!

¯ If you were on a desert island and could take two things with you what would they be? again my taylor acoustic guitar. and a plectrum


¯ What is your favorite food and drink? oooooh marmite on toast topped with beans and cheese...


¯ If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? probably here!!! :)

http://www.shagpile.org/music/10.mp3 - Shagpile's Easy To Read





Shaggy is doing a set this Friday 7th Nov 08 @ 11amslt in Casa. If you are about make you dont miss it!! :))