Photo courtesy of Joe Stump
An Interview with Joe Stump of Alcatrazz
By Andrew Daly
Stepping out of the shadow of those who have come before him (oh, hello, Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai) couldn’t have been easy for Alcatrazz shredder Joe Stump.
Still, in the modern era, Stump has done just that. Moreover, he’s made the role his own, spearheading the veteran metal outfit to renewed glory via six-string heroics. Indeed, with Stump onboard, the future for Alcatrazz is burning brighter than ever, especially considering their latest effort, V (2019), was handily their best in years.
But Alcatrazz didn’t stop there, and they’re certainly not resting on their laurels. No, the spring of 2023 has brought forth yet another Alcatrazz long-player titled Take No Prisoners, which on so many levels, seems very Alcatrazzian, doesn’t it? And while the group’s newest offering contains many of the touches that have always made Alcatrazz great, still, one can’t help but pick out the proverbial “Shred Lord’s” tasty licks.
As he prepares to hit the road in support of Take No Prisoners, Joe Stump dialed in with ClassicRockHistory.com to run through his long history as it pertains to the guitar, along with his ongoing work with Alcatrazz and more.
What first inspired you to pick up the guitar?
I played for a short period of time when I was like 10 years old, taking lessons from some older dude learning out of Mel Bay’s Easy Way to Guitar but lost interest. I picked it back up when I was 13 or 14 and have been hooked ever since.
Who were your primary influences, and who influences you most today?
Back when I was a kid, it was the hard rock of the ’70s like Ritchie Blackmore with Deep Purple, Michael Schenker with UFO, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Marino, Jeff Beck, and Robin Trower. There are so many iconic bands and guitarists from that era. Later, I discovered Al DiMeola and was obsessed with his early records like Elegant Gypsy, Casino, and Land of The Midnight Sun.
I played a bunch of jazz, fusion, and also quite a bit of classical music while attending Berklee College of Music after high school, but then in the early ’80s, I decided to focus exclusively on playing hard rock and metal. My main influences then and still to this day are all the great European metal masters Ritchie Blackmore, Gary Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Uli Jon Roth, and Michael Schenker, as well as classical music like Bach, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Paganini, Beethoven, and Handel. These are just a few of my favorite composers.
Photo courtesy of Joe Stump
What new music are you working on?
I’m not really working on anything new currently as I’ve got two records to be released this year – the new Alcatrazz record, Take No Prisoners, comes out in early May, and the new Joe Stump’s Tower of Babel record comes out towards the end of the year. Looking forward to quite a bit of live playing/touring in support of both of those releases.
What makes your newest music your most distinct work yet?
My last three solo records – The Dark Lord Rises, Symphonic Onslaught, Diabolical Ferocity, as well as the Alcatrazz records V and Take No Prisoners are certainly my finest hour (s) and best work to date. And the reason for this is my relentless dedication to my craft; I work hard, play, compose, and practice all the time and continue to improve in all aspects of what I do.
It’s very gratifying to have my best work be decades into my career. As far as tunes go, I have my favorites amongst those records. One track, “Forever Moore,” is a tribute to the late great Gary Moore – one of my heroes – was awesome to do. Somebody told me his son Jack heard it and thought it was beautiful; that meant a lot to me.
Describe how you achieve your signature tone and vibrato. Do you feel vibrato is as important as it’s made out to be as a calling card?
Yes, I do. Vibrato, touch, and the tone in your hands are all defining elements of a player’s identity. My vibrato is an obvious product of all my heroes. I have quite a bit of that wide violin thing I got from Yngwie, the recklessness and rock attitude and aggression from Ritchie Blackmore, and the intensity and power from Gary Moore.
Tell me about your guitars. What are you deploying these days?
I’m a Strat guy through and through. I have 60-something guitars, mostly Strats. I’ve been an ESP endorsee since the late ’90s and have some killer Custom Shop Strats they’ve built me that I use for recording and touring, as well as quite a few Fenders. Yngwie models from all years and eras, Ritchie Blackmore models, quite a few ’70s Stratocasters, and a bunch of my ESPs, which are custom shop models, vintage plus series, and a few of the LTD STs they made a while ago, along with some SN models.
Do you prefer vintage or new? Is there one guitar that means the most?
I like both. I have quite a few ’70s-era Fender Stratocasters… love the big headstock). One of my favorites is a ’72 ash body natural wood Fender Stratocaster, which is the exact year and type that Blackmore used during the Deep Purple Burn era, as well as early Rainbow. That guitar really has it and sounds amazing. I also have three Fender Custom Shop 30th anniversary Yngwie Malmsteen signature Strat’s that I absolutely love, as well as my Custom Shop signature ESPs.
How about your pickups?
Since I have so many Strat’s, I use a variety of pickups in the neck. I use the DiMarzio HS-4 – the old YJM pickup, I’m a DiMarzio endorsee – and I’ll also use the DiMarzio FS-1 in the neck as well as the Seymour Duncan Fury. In the bridge, it’s the DiMarzio HS-3, Injector, Virtual Vintage Solo, Fast Track, and also the Duncan Fury. Since I’m a Strat guy, I’m always giving the switch a workout and going between the neck and the bridge. I have no clue when I’m doing it; it’s just an instinctive part of my playing. I hear the idea and the tone in my head as I’m playing.
What combination of amps are you using? Do you stick mainly with tube amps, or are you open to using a Kemper, too?
I’ve got nothing against the Kemper or the Fractal; they’re awesome, but why use those when I have all my cabs and heads readily available? Amp-wise, for me, there is only one, and that is Marshall. I have a killer collection of old Marshall heads from the ’70s, and I also have two of the YJM signature Marshalls.
For recording, the YJM 100 is my main amp, and I’ve used it on everything I’ve done since 2015. Imagine taking everything you love about an old Marshall and making it more high fidelity. Also, it has a 50-watt/100-watt switch, so it can be smooth, glassy, and compressed like a 50-watt Marshall or big and smashing like someone smacking you in the face like quintessential 100-watter.
How about pedals?
Pedal-wise, when playing live, I use a couple of different overdrives: the Blackmore-inspired BSM RPA Major, the old vintage grey DOD 250, or the Fender Yngwie signature overdrive. I also use a couple of different delays: an old Boss DD-2 for a multi-repeat bit and an MXR analog delay just to fill out the solos. And I use an old Crybaby Wah as well as an old Boss OC-2 Octave Box for the eastern evil Blackmore action. I’ll also use a phase shifter or flanger every now and then.
Are there any guitars, amps, or pickups that you don’t like?
That’d be hard for me to say as I only use what I like and have been using for years, so it’s just a matter of personal taste. I really don’t have a ton of experience using gear outside of what I always use. That being said, back in 2021, on an Alcatrazz U.K. tour, I had to use a Black Star as we were touring with Girlschool – a new wave of British heavy metal band – and they provided the backline. No offense to the good people at Black Star, but I wasn’t crazy about it. Luckily, a bunch of the venues on the tour had Marshalls as house rigs.
Do current trends alter your style and technique at all?
No current trends do not affect or alter my approach whatsoever. As I say to everyone, “I’m old school because I’m old.” Since I’ve been the metal specialist on the guitar faculty at the esteemed Berklee College of Music, I’m aware of just about every subgenre of all types of metal, and my music does contain a mix of quite a few schools of metal and hard rock.
You’ll hear everything from European power metal, thrash, black metal, neo-classical speed metal, old-school hard rock, and classic metal on one of my solo records. I take influence from all the music I love, channel it, and do my own thing with it. It could be Mercyful Fate, Accept, Rainbow, Yngwie, or Tchaikovsky. I’m always all in when it comes to guitar since it’s all I do, so it’s easy to stay immersed and inspired.
Older school shred techniques like fast picking, sweep, and economy picking have since been supplanted by hybrid picking and multi-finger tapping. Those techniques are awesome, and there’s a new generation of great young players employing them, but it’s just not for me. I’ve carved out my niche over the years and am quite happy to continue what I’m doing.
Does being referred to as a “shredder” bother you? How would you classify yourself now, and how might you shapeshift in the future?
No, not at all. I know who my core audience and fanbase are, and it is strange as I’ll have fans that only buy and support my instrumental releases. They’re not particularly interested in any of the vocal records I make with Alcatrazz and Joe Stump’s Tower of Babel. I’ve got no choice, so I wear it like a badge of honor. And all my records have always had those pretentious/badass titles, and many of them include the word “Shred” in the title, so there’s no escaping it.
I’m very dedicated to what I do but never take myself too seriously, of course. But there’s quite a bit more to my playing than just insanely fast and over-the-top technical displays. I write killer riffs and very strong melodies, and my solos have structure and are mini compositions unto themselves. On my last solo record, you have the Gary Moore tribute track “Forever Moore,” the Blackmore-induced “Snake Charmer’s Fate,” the thrash meets black meets power metal of “Maximum Damage,” the Baroque period inspired “Nacht JS Bach.” Of course, the full-tilt neo-classical shred fests “Burn it Down” and “Sneak Attack.”
So, I’m very diverse as far as subgenre action goes. Maybe at some point, when my fingers get arthritic in my old age, I’ll go more in an old-school hard rock/bluesier direction and do a record or two with a heavy ’70s vibe. Some like Hendrix, Frank Marino, Robin Trower, or blues-era Gary Moore-inspired type of thing. That being said, my playing continues to elevate, becoming faster, cleaner, more controlled, and more extreme. So, it’s full speed ahead for now.
What are the challenges of creating new music for a world with short attention spans? Does that factor into your thinking as you move forward?
No, it really doesn’t at all. I can’t do much about that other than post videos on Instagram ripping and shredding. It’s a shame the younger generation has such a short attention span. Many of them are not listening to full songs, much less entire albums. When I was younger, I’d be counting the days until one of my heroes or favorite bands was releasing a record, then I’d go out and get it the day it came out and, after that, obsessively devour it. I mean, I’m still doing it the old-school way, and record companies still release the music I put out. I’m just gonna continue to do my thing.
Joe Stump of Alcatrazz: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023
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