“Some women can walk in with a lot of cleavage showing, and suddenly they’re Jimi Hendrix.” No, Aleks Sever doesn’t mince words. “There are a lot of female players working who wouldn’t be if they were men. There is so much more competition for a man—they really have to be great to even get any attention at all.”
A devil’s advocate or a scorned, lesser-abled 6-string sister might point to the cover of Sever’s new release, Danger Girl—on which she’s shown in a seductive pose, decked-out in a Bond girl-like outfit—and accuse her of talking the talk but not walking the walk. The reality, however, is that although Sever is not afraid to flaunt her good looks, she would have been chewed up and spit out by the star-making machine by this point if all she had to rely on was that.
“If you get to a certain level, it all comes down to the music, and no one—male or female—is going to get hired unless they can play,” she says. And play, she can. Any of her blistering solos on Danger Girl could tear the head off countless run-of-the-mill, Dumble-clone-sporting Robben Ford-wannabes—man, woman, or child.
Sever, who is of Croatian descent, grew up in Aalen, Germany, and first explored her creative side through art. She entered her oil paintings in competitions at the age of 7, and at 12 picked up an acoustic guitar for the first time. Two years later, inspired by blues players like Stevie Ray Vaughan, she switched to electric. And although her paintings had begun to win her accolades in competitions throughout Europe in her teens, the musical itch eventually won out and she packed her bags and headed to L.A. to pursue her dreams. “Being an artist can be very isolating because you spend a lot of time alone, and it is very easy for me to do that,” Sever confides. “Music always gives me a way out and makes me connect with the world. That’s when I’m the happiest.”
Soon upon arriving stateside, she landed gigs at prestigious venues like the Baked Potato and quickly made big waves, getting acclaim from industry giants like Dave Koz and Lee Ritenour, who says of Sever’s playing, “Your mouth will probably drop open like mine did.”
Sever’s latest release—her first all-instrumental album—was produced by multiplatinum producer Matthew Hager [Simply Red, Mindi Abair] and may very well catapult her to guitar-hero status. We caught up with Sever to talk about the making of the album, the gear she uses to get her blistering tones, and how she immigrated to the states and broke into the hardcore L.A. music scene.
Although you’ve received critical acclaim for
your guitar work over the past decade, Danger
Girl is your first all-instrumental release. Why
did you wait so long to put it out?
This is my first guitar instrumental record
and it definitely feels like a breakthrough. I
released two vocal records before this, but
it took me a while to realize that a guitar
record in a funk/rock style could be very
strong, even without vocals. And it feels as
if I found something I was always looking
for. I’m a much better guitar player than
singer, and it made it so much easier to
only focus on my strengths. Danger Girl
started out as a vocal record, but I realized
having the guitar featured throughout
would be exciting.
Danger Girl showcases many sides
of your musical personality. Who are
some of your influences?
I don’t really think about my influences,
but I’m sure I’ve been influenced by
every player I’ve listened to, if I liked
their playing. I wanted to combine a lot
of different styles on this record—from
rock to blues and jazz—but always with
a funk/soul undertone. James Brown and
Prince were big influences on this record.
My early influences were Eric Clapton,
Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and
B.B. King. I was so impressed with their
sound and feel that, after hearing their
music, I became obsessed with playing
electric guitar. Oh, and definitely Bonnie
Raitt—I just love how soulful she is.
Your playing goes beyond
the vocabulary of some of
those influences, though.
For instance, “City Rain”
and “Nightclub Art” have moments of
burning jazz/fusion lines. Where do
those influences come from?
The jazz/fusion influence really came
from listening to Maceo Parker, with his
kind of bebop melodic lines, and other
horn players like David Sanborn and
Ernie Watts. I love the way horn players
phrase, and it’s always a great challenge for
me as a guitar player to try to play with
that kind of phrasing. At the moment,
I’m working on some new music very
much inspired by Miles Davis and John
Coltrane. I love how free they are with
intervals and keys—they’re not locked in
box licks like guitar players sometimes
are. I try to stretch myself past the clichés.
Guitar players who influenced me a lot
in this direction were Buzz Feiten, Jeff
Beck, and Lee Ritenour—they make me
reach further and be more experimental. I
also love Larry Carlton and Robben Ford,
because they play with so much passion
and commitment. When I first had the
idea for this record, I decided I wanted to
have a model for each song, kind of a road
map to know where we were going. “City
Rain,” for instance, was inspired by “I Got
the Feelin’” by James Brown. The other
song you mentioned, “Nightclub Art,” was
inspired by the Usher song “Yeah.”