In this episode of Ernie Ball: String Theory, Ernie Ball artist Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails discusses his beginnings with music and guitar, his love of playing, and his relationship with Ernie Ball. These are the top six things we learned:
1) What playing guitar has meant to Robin Finck. (0:28)
“It’s a super power. It’s an invisible cape. It’s a magic trick. It’s a tenuous operation of unfathomable nuance. It’s an ever-evolving stream of happy accidents. It’s a culture made up of weirdos and rule breakers, and geniuses of design and beach freaks and brainiacs and cavemen and beautiful little flowers…and it’s been a huge part of my identity for as long as I can remember.”
2) Let music lead your journey in life. (1:15)
“Playing guitar was a way out of town. It’s introduced me to people and places that I never would have dreamed existed.”
3) Channel your musical capabilities to make the best out of a bad situation. (4:43)
“We moved the summer before my high school freshman year and I didn’t know anybody and I was pissed. I didn’t want to be there and I didn’t want to meet anybody. I just sat in the basement and played on my guitar all summer long. I excelled more that summer than I ever have in my life.”
4) Playing guitar is a push and pull with a nuanced articulation. (10:04)
“That’s one thing that I like about the guitar. There’s not a lot of instruments where you have the push and pull and with such a nuanced articulation. You have both hands hitting the same string but in all of these different distances and at the same time.”
5) Create a connection with your instrument in any environment. (10:25)
“It’s all right here, it’s the strings and its the chords and they’re all really close to my body. I play alone in the kitchen all of the time and then I’ve been very fortunate to play on these exciting stages in front of so many people.”
6) Being able to carry your instrument anywhere is a personal experience. (11:08)
“Playing an instrument, especially one that you can you carry… lends itself to a very personal experience.”
String Theory
String Theory is a web series from Ernie Ball that explores the sonic origins of some of music’s most innovative players, including Steve Vai, Mac DeMarco, Avenged Sevenfold, Steve Stevens and many other amazing Ernie Ball artists. Watch additional episodes of Ernie Ball: String Theory.
Guitar Strings
Robin Finck plays Ernie Ball Regular Slinky Electric Guitar strings. Join the legacy. Try a set.
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