GUS G.

One player  who’s been getting tons of attention lately is Gus G. The mastermind of Euro-rockers, Firewind, Gus checks in with a recap of the band’s recent activities. Says Gus, “I must say that we had some really great shows this summer. Looking back now most of the shows were highlights. Ilha do Ermal in Portugal was one of the best for us! We’re still amazed by the reception we got on our first trip to Turkey at  the Unirock festival; the ‘dream come true’ gig supporting the Scorpions at Greece’s Creta Festiva; me jamming with the Scorps later that night; the completely packed 15,000 capacity tent at Graspop; and our glorious return to Finland at the fantastic Tuska festival! Then of course there were the German shows. I’m glad we did both the Rock Hard and the Summer Breeze festivals: my personal favorite being Rock Hard – such a great vibe in Gelsenkirchen.”
No story about Gus would be complete  without mentioning his work with the ultimate Master-of-All-Things-Metal. According to Gus, “In between the festival madness, something truly unbelievable happened to me: I played a show with the Godfather of heavy metal: Ozzy Osbourne! I spent the best time of my life in L.A, rehearsing with Ozzy and his band and on August 22nd we played the Blizzcon video game convention in Anaheim, California. It would be stupid to go on about how cool and great this was. I don’t think these feelings and this experience can be described with just a few words!” Gus played again with Ozzy at the Sunset Strip Music Festival in September.
And what of persistent rumors of a Ozzy Osbourne album featuring the blazing guitarwork of Mr. G? Well, we’ll all have to wait and see.
Gus calls on different pickup configurations for different tones. His signature ESP Model is powered by a Duncan Distortion in the bridge and ‘59 Model in the neck. However, lately and especially for his work with Ozzy, he’s been moving towards the active tones of Seymour Duncan Original Blackouts. About these pickups, Gus tells us, “Blackouts are AMAZING!!!  I’ll put ‘em in the rest of my guitars! Big tone. Lots of distortion. And you get the classic Seymour clarity through them. I love it.”