$0In the past few years, YouTube
has become a multimedia classifieds
for guitarists. It’s opened
doors for fingerstyle wizard Andy
McKee, whose “Drifting” video
has 44 million views, and ukulele
phenom Jake Shimabukuro’s
“Ukulele Weeps” video has 10
million views. And for Queen
Extravaganza’s guitarists Tristan
Avakian and Brian Gresh,
YouTube might have assisted
them in their best gig yet.$0
$0Queen Extravaganza is the
official tribute band compiled
with nine musicians—four lead
singers, two guitarists, bassist,
drummer, and keyboardist—to
tour the US and Canada on
the legacy of Queen’s expansive
canon. The finalists were picked
via fan vote on YouTube, and
from there the band was assembled
by Queen drummer Roger
Taylor with help from Queen
guitarist Brian May and Spike
Edney—live keyboardist and
musical director with Queen
since 1984.$0
$0“I was blown away in shock!”
says Queen Extravaganza guitarist
Gresh about being chosen for the
show. After 16 years of playing
guitar, he is now living one of his
wildest dreams: performing on a
nationwide tour. “Once I calmed
down a bit, I called my parents
and they didn’t even believe me.”
[Laughs.] Gresh has worked as
a mechanical engineer at T.D.
Williamson in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
since 2006—performing with his
band Megatron on the weekends
... that is, until he submitted his
video audition for “Killer Queen.”$0
$0Queen Extravaganza’s other
guitarist, Tristan Avakian, is
much more familiar with the
music business. He’s collaborated
with Lauryn Hill, Mariah
Carey, Biohazard, toured with
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and
worked on Canada’s Rock of
Ages and Queen’s We Will Rock
You. “I feel honored that I made
one of the two spots because
Brian is my guitar hero—he’s
a legend,” says Avakian. “I feel
like Mark Wahlberg in Rock
Star when he joins Steel Dragon
and the band is doing the cool
rocker poses and he can’t stop
smirking. That’s how I feel
every time I think about playing
anything by Queen.”$0
$0“Tristan and Brian complement
each other so well,”
says May. “It’s great to see the
organic interaction, the body
language, and the evolution of
their relationship—both those
guys are so giving, share such
a joy when playing, and are so
individually charismatic that
something special is bound to
happen when they perform.”$0
$0Gresh and Avakian filled us
in on their precarious auditions,
what it was like to rehearse Queen
songs in front of Taylor and May,
and how gymnastics and guitar
playing can go hand-and-hand.
Bonus: Check out below for our special conversation
with May. $0
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How did you find out about
the Queen Extravaganza
contest?$0
Avakian: I actually heard about
it from a We Will Rock You fan. I
was initially reluctant because I’m
just not a big fan of the gladiatorial
competition in art or music.
Then I had a conversation with
Brian May and he let me know
about Marc Martel’s [Queen
Extravaganza lead singer] video
having millions of views and he
said it’d be a great thing to try out
for. I just realized that if someone
was going to represent Queen in
this capacity, I should at least tryout
since Queen’s music and Brian.
are so near and dear to my heart.$0
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Gresh: I just Google’d “guitar
auditions” and I stumbled across
it and by the time I realized it,
the deadline was just three days
away [laughs]. I figured I had no chance of winning since I submitted my video audition of "Killer Queen" so late- the night before the deadline.$0
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As the process and voting
was unfolding, what were
you thinking?$0
Gresh: Three days after my
upload I found out that I made
the second round and I had to
do another video—this time I
was told to do Queen’s “Keep
Yourself Alive.” I figured I’d go
all out and use all my moves.$0
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Avakian: Since I was initially
apprehensive about this whole
process, I was relieved once I
saw quality players in the band
that could potentially be honoring
Queen. I actually started to
worry in the second round when
players like Steve Zukowsky,
who’s in the Queen tribute band
Sheer Heart Attack, and Richie
Castellano, who’s rhythm guitarist
and keyboardist in Blue
Öyster Cult, appeared. And, of
course, young Brian Gresh scared
the crap out of me, too [laughs].$0
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Brian, describe your go-to
“moves” that you had in your
back pocket?$0
Gresh: [Laughs] I did a backflip
during the solo part of
“Keep Yourself Alive.” And
then during the live audition
of “One Vision,” I did another
flip, but I think I unplugged
Roy’s [another guitar finalist]
guitar chord when I landed so
I’m still sorry about that.$0
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Have you broken any bones or
guitars doing this?$0
Gresh: I haven’t broken any
bones, but I did break a $50-
eBay guitar when I didn’t
get enough height and it was
either my face or the guitar.
Thankfully the guitar sacrificed
itself and took the fall [laughs].$0
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How did you ever think to do
backflips while playing guitar?$0
Gresh: I remember having a
dream when I was in fifth grade
of a band that had their guitarists
doing flips during solos.
The biggest part of learning to
do the flip with a guitar was
not having any arm lift because
you rely a lot on the momentum
of your arms going up to
get the necessary height for the
flip, so I had to build up my
leg strength. The first live performance
that I did it was my
high school’s jazz band concert
my senior year—I think I really
shocked a lot of people doing it
there [laughs].$0
$0
Tristan, did We Will Rock
You prepare you for this gig
or was it almost a handicap
because you were so close to
the material?$0
Avakian: Honestly, it was a
liability. To fit within the format
of the musical, music was
chopped up, played in different
keys, even within the same
songs because two different
characters were singing it—a
villain and a hero—and everything
is mixed together in a way
that benefited the show and
onstage performance. Rarely
did we play the material in
standard, true-to-form package,
which will happen throughout
the Queen Extravaganza where
we’ll reference their early live
days as a feral four-piece band.$0
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How did the final auditions in
L.A. work out?$0
Gresh: Everyone was nice and
didn’t have any egos. I was the
only guy that hadn’t ever gone
through a professional audition, but everyone
was very professional. We
actually had to work together
throughout the finals because
they grouped us into pairs of
guitarists with the other contestants
making different band
combinations. Then, we had 90
minutes to come together and
figure out who would take what
leads and rhythms, who would
stay back during certain parts,
and when we would synchronize
our parts for a harmony effect.
We had to be a team to survive.$0
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Avakian: I wish I knew
[laughs]… I had done a show
with Night Ranger in Louisiana
the night before and the only
flight that would get me out of
Louisiana and to L.A. in time
for the auditions was going
through the East Coast first.
I was in a bleary-eyed, Keith
Richards haze without the substance
abuse by the time I went
to the live auditions.$0
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$0Brian May's Advice:$0
Work for the Greater Song$0
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$0Queen guitarist Brian May took a hands-on approach to mentoring
Brian Gresh and Taylor Avakian as the two pickers prepared for the
Queen Extravaganza. We asked May what it was like to see his music
through new eyes (and fingers).$0
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What sort of input did you have on the selection process for the
Queen Extravaganza?$0
This is Roger’s baby, but because he’s hiring guitarists I can’t stray
too far. [Laughs.] I went through some of the videos and made
notes on the players that I really liked and felt could do the music,
tour, and overall production at a high level.$0
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Queen Extravaganza is a much more stripped-down, band-only
endeavor compared to We Will Rock You. Is this what you
thought it would be?$0
We Will Rock You tells a different story and is part of a bigger overall
production of music, dance, and visual stimulation. I think with
Queen Extravaganza the music is the central focus since the songs
will be played in their entirety.$0
$0In the very beginning, I thought it would be very interesting for
it to be big and orchestral—it would still rock with a traditional
band, but with a full-scale orchestra bringing all of our compositions
to life … [laughs] much more extravagant if you will, but
Roger became very infused with the idea that the band would be
like us in the early days.$0
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What was it like for you when you saw Tristan and Brian playing
the riffs and songs that you spent countless hours creating
and recording with Queen?$0
I just enjoyed it thoroughly. In the beginning of We Will Rock You,
I tended to worry quite a bit about how the songs and guitar parts
were not done right. I actually would get quite nitpicky about the
details and how every note needed to sound. I’ve learned over the
past 10 years that it’s good to have a light touch when dealing with
art and music.$0
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Did you give them any specific advice beyond that when they
perform Queen’s music and your riffs?$0
What I tried to drive home to Tristan and Brian is that I wanted
them to bring themselves to it—I didn’t want them to be carbon
copies of me or my playing. Another thing I was keen on was
encouraging and making sure they felt comfortable in letting the
band organically evolve as a whole throughout the rehearsal process
and eventually on tour.$0
$0If and when I’m giving advice to guitarists in the situation of
Tristan or Brian, one of the things I always say is if you’re in any
way doubting what to play, listen to the vocals because everything
revolves around the voices and harmonies. Even when I was coming
up with these songs and writing these licks I would always
ask myself, “Does this make sense? Does this work for the greater
song?” In those periods, I learned restraint—a great tool for guitarists
and writers.$0
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Were you able to talk with the guys about gear or give them any
suggestions on their setup for the tour?$0
[Laughs.] For me, it’s simple—if it sounds good and sounds right
then it is right. Both those guys have their sound put together
already, so it’s not something I worry about terribly, but we did all
play through new handwired AC30 amps for the rehearsals and
the American Idol performance, which was a first for me. No matter
what, you get something special out of any Vox—especially an
AC30. They’re just made different—even to this day—from most
any other amp as a class A, valve amp that’s hi-fi sounding. With
the negative feedback taken off that it creates a real rich, smoothness
that edges its way into overdriven tones or distortion.$0
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What are you goals and expectations that the Queen
Extravaganza does for you, the music, and the band?$0
I would like to see it become a thing of itself—maybe like my
orchestral idea years ago. For me, the most exciting part is seeing
what these fine musicians and singers will do with our music and
compositions because it’s inevitable that they’ll put their own stamp
and thumbprint on it. I hope they absorb and take enough of our
legacy—if there is such a thing as a legacy—and do their own thing
with it and form their own identity that’s new, exciting, and that
has to be seen and heard.$0
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