EMQs With Manuel Barbará

EMQs With Manuel Barbará

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with US Progressive Metal artist, Manuel Barbará. Huge thanks to him for taking part. 

What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

Name’s Manuel. I’m mainly a guitarist but I own a bass and basically do everything else for this project. This whole thing started about 6 years ago when I decided to take a bunch of songs I had written for failed bands and just record and release them under my own name. Since then I’ve been treating this as a vehicle to make whatever music I want (and hopefully more of it in the future).

How did you come up with your band name?

It’s my name, so I guess my mother came up with it.

What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?

I am from central New Jersey. There’s definitely a sizable scene, Symphony X and Thank You Scientist are both from here. 

What is your latest release?

I have a 4 song EP coming out September 13th. Depending on when this is published, there will be 1-2 singles available right now!

Who have been your greatest influences?

Along with the instrumental shred greats like MacAlpine and Loomis, Pink Floyd and Iron Maiden were very important to me when I was just picking up the guitar as a teenager. Dream Theater got me into prog right as I was starting to get really into playing. Nowadays, I take a lot from the classic modern djent and prog acts, Periphery, Tesseract, Meshuggah, etc. I also love the thing people call “classical” music, although especially the romantic period onward. I steal a lot of ideas from people like Debussy, Bartok, and Takemitsu.

What first got you into music?

A friend introduced me to rock and metal in High School. Shortly thereafter, I was able to study guitar with Matt Mills – who is truly one of the greatest guitar teachers of all time. 

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

There are so many I would love to work with, including a lot of friends’ bands. I would love to have Paul Wardingham do a guest solo on something. 

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

I would be incredibly excited to play any festival. I would particularly like to play something in Europe.

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

I don’t think I’ve ever received a gift from a fan.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

Thanks for listening! I hope you like it!

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

This is going to change depending on the day. Right now, I’m feeling Warrel Dane – that one was rough.

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

I love the act of making things and working with other musicians. I’m not a huge fan of having to play the social media game.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

I’d force the streaming services to actually pay us according to how much work we put into the music.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

It came out last year – “War of Being” by Tesseract.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?

CDs or Downloads. I’m one of those people who thinks Vinyl sounds worse than digital media. CDs are great when you have the space to store them. Otherwise, digital is fine.

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

I played a very fun gig at a packed bar in Long Island last year. It was nothing special, but everyone was having a great time.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

Same thing I’m doing now, working whatever job I can find that is chill and pays ok – just without the music.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

The actual answer is 5 of my friends, but if we’re talking famous people, a dinner party of Bill Murray, Claude Debussy, Isaac Asimov, Misha Mansoor, and Carl Sagan seems like a potentially interesting time.

What’s next for the band?

I’m hoping to start writing enough to put out at least 1 release a year. I’ve already got some great new stuff in the works that I’m excited to share.

What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

• Website: https://www.manuelbarbara.com/
• Instagram: @8stringalchemy
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8stringalchemy

Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?

As much as I genuinely believe British food gets a bad rap, my family is from the wrong part of Europe to answer this quest. I’ll guess Bap.

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

I hope your readers enjoy the EP. I’m very happy with how it turned out and I think it’s my best work to date. Also, check out my other projects, Necronomicon Ex Mortis (Death Metal band), The Airborne Sealife Podcast, and The Apocalyptic Sandwich of Doom (epic sandwich metal, coming soon).

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