Monday, May 7, 2018 — Los Angeles — Like so many other budding guitarists, Joel Shearer was inspired by heavy metal in his early teens, cutting his teeth on stalwart bands like Iron
Monday, May 7, 2018 — Los Angeles — Like so many other budding guitarists, Joel Shearer was inspired by heavy metal in his early teens, cutting his teeth on stalwart bands like Iron Maiden, the Scorpions and Judas Priest. Coming from a musically inspired family — his father a Flamenco guitarist and his mother a music journalist — it wasn't long before Shearer developed the technical chops and became a well known session guitarist in Los Angeles and beyond. His credits read like a who's who of rock and pop music, having worked with folks like Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, Damien Rice and so many others.
More recently, Shearer's work has taken a bold and decidedly experimental turn, combining ambient soundscapes and harmonic textures built on intuition rather than conforming to traditional pop structures. He has released two projects in the last month: an ambient solo guitar project called Morning Loops, and an ambient/ electronic music collaboration called LiBella with longtime collaborator Carmen Rizzo. He draws inspiration primarily from his mind's eye, but the BAE Hot Fuzz and 1272 Module are often close by as he dials in the various sounds he hears in his head, while exploring new frontiers on the guitar.
"I am trying to basically take away all the attack so you get these really long drones," Shearer explains. "So the guitar can sound like a cello, crystal bowls or vibes. It involves a lot of volume pedal and delicate finger work. I often graze the strings to create this kind of whispy texture." Then there is a lot of shaping and sculpting sounds with EQ, reverbs and delays spilling into a whole, creating almost infinite, harmonic tones and frequencies. "You get a few of these going,