Album Notes

Guitarist Joe Cefalu composed and recorded Fear Itself drawing on the influences of the guitar heroes of his formative years. “The playing styles of guitarists like David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Brian May, Hendrix and Jimmy Page speak to me most loudly”, says Joe.

“Through the years, as you develop as a musician, different players and the music they make have an impact on your approach. You can’t help but be affected by different bands and guitar players and even by different musical “fads” that come in and out of fashion through the years. However, when the smoke clears, for me, it still comes down to those classic guitarists who play from their hearts and whose styles are defined by emotive and soulful playing, rather than sheer technique alone”, explains Cefalu.

Joe recorded the tunes on Fear Itself as they were composed, without any preconceived concept for the overall collection of songs. As a result, the tunes are varied in style, ranging from riff-driven Rock to Gospel-tinged Blues, from lush arrangements to more sparse, power-trio numbers. There are even some Jazz flavored lines and Fusion compositions on the album. However, there is never a sense of any hodge-podge collision of genres. Instead, the songs are represented in a fluid, cohesive manner thanks to Cefalu’s dynamic playing style.

“My goal was to write what I was feeling in the moment and to play what I heard in my head and felt in my gut. For example, the motivation for a “keeper” guitar solo was not that it was technically perfect or was difficult to play or that it would leave others players astonished at its speed or complexity. Rather, if it had some cool little expression or quirkiness, some colorful ornamentation to a phrase, I’d keep it and try to stay in that vein. Basically, if it was a visceral, honest expression and held true to the spirit of the tune, it stayed. If it was fast and clean but lacked human feel or spontaneity, it got canned”.

Fans of melodic, gutsy guitar playing and adventurous, groove-driven music will find plenty to enjoy when they fire up Joe Cefalu’s: Fear Itself.