Gretchen Menn - Interview

R'n'R : How music came into your life ?

GM : Music was a part of my life as far back as I can remember. Both of my parents love music, and it was always playing in the house. They had diverse tastes—everything from classical to reggae. My mom loved old musicals, ballet, theater, so my sister and I were exposed to many different types of music, and were raised with the idea that it’s an essential part of life.

R'n'R : When you were a child did you live in a musical ambiance ? Any of your family members play an instrument ?

GM : My mom played violin a bit as a child, but she said it was more to embarrass and annoy her big sister than because she was a serious about the instrument. She always had a lovely voice, and I remember both of my parents singing me to sleep during my early childhood. My dad is a writer, and he studied music as well. For a time he was avid about piano and guitar. My sister sings beautifully—she could have had a career in opera, had she decided to go in that direction. She also plays piano, violin, and viola.

Click here to watch the video of Savages by Gretchen Menn

R'n'R : You chose to be in music business instead of being an airline pilot. The love of music is stronger ?

GM : Most definitely. My decision to get into aviation was to have an interesting and responsible day job so I could pursue music on my own terms. I always knew music is a difficult path and a bad financial decision. Flying is wonderful and presents fun challenges, but music has always been my greatest passion. Moreover, airline flying wasn’t the type of flying that I found enjoyable. By necessity it’s very sterile and routine. So I left the airlines and went back to flight instructing until I got so busy with music that I went to that full-time. I do still have my pilot’s licenses, though. You never know what the future holds.

Click here to watch the video of Oleo Strut by Gretchen Menn

R'n'R : You studied music. Is it important to study in a music school instead of learning alone or with only a music teacher ?

GM : I think it is different for everyone, and because the only path I know is the one I’ve chosen, I can only speak for myself. I loved studying music in school—it made college a true pleasure, and I was fortunate to have wonderful teachers. I am someone who likes structure and thrives in the academic environment, but it’s not for everyone. My boyfriend, Daniele Gottardo, is one of the most knowledgeable musicians I’ve ever met, and he is totally into self-study. I think it all depends on a musician’s goals and how they best learn.

Photo by : Max Crace

R'n'R : Why and how did you form Zepparella ?

GM : Zepparella is completely the idea of Clementine, drummer of Zepparella. She and I had met in an AC/DC tribute band (the first professional band I was in!), and we both wanted to play more than some of our bandmates. We formed the band so we could play more shows and because we knew learning the Zeppelin catalogue would be very musically enriching.

R'n'R : Where do you find inspiration ?

GM : I find it everywhere—in the music of others, but also in literature, visual art, nature... inspiration is all around us, if one is open to it.

R'n'R : What represents for you Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page ?

GM : Led Zeppelin was an entry point for me into more eclectically-inspired, guitar-oriented music. They were the music more of my parent’s generation, but like so many in subsequent generations, I discovered them when I was 14, though my best friend at the time, Ashely. It was unlike anything I had ever heard, and I was immediately intrigued. To me Jimmy represents an example of a guitar player with a wide view. Though the guitar carries an essential role in Led Zeppelin, he was able to transcend his role of guitar player and have a more universal view of the music—beyond the guitar parts, beyond the solos… he is in touch with the feelings, the moods, the balance in the music that makes for something synergistically unique.

R'n'R : In 2011 you released out your 1st solo album Hale Souls. Did you want to prove that you could play another music than Led Zeppelin and rock music ?

GM : It was more that I have always written music, and it occurred to me that unless I committed to putting it out there, it would never have a life outside my head. But recording my first album was intimidating, especially as the technical bar is set so high in instrumental guitar music. I had to let go of the idea of waiting to become the musician I strive to be before doing an album. I realize that the very process of doing the album is an essential step along the way of my musical growth. And I’m very happy to have done it. I did learn a lot—more than I would have expected—and the music is an honest representation of where I was in 2011.

R'n'R : Tell me the story with Bures-sur Yvette in France ? (when i was a teenager i lived to Les Ulis very close to Bures-sur-Yvette)

GM : I lived in Bures-sur-Yvette for a summer as a teenager. The father of one of my fiends in California was a professor at Stanford and was taking sabbatical there. My friend’s parents allowed her to bring a friend so she wouldn’t be alone in France. It was an amazing opportunity for me. We took the RER into Paris every day to study at the Alliance Française. We explored the city. We made friends with other students from all over the world. But it was my first time away from my family for so long and I was horribly homesick. To make matters worse, I had to leave my first teenage love back in California, and I knew the relationship wouldn’t survive with me gone so long. I have always been a naturally happy person, and it was the first time I had to fight darkness. I would take long, long walks alone. I read Dostoyevsky. I thought deeply about happiness—what it is and how to find it when it seemed elusive. So Bures-sur-Yvette represents an almost holy place for me… the place where I spent some of the most difficult months of my life, in gloriously beautiful surroundings, yet struggling to fend off depression, and eventually finding a truly independent happiness—one that transcended my present circumstances and came from within.

Click here to watch the video of Bures-sur-Yvette by Gretchen Menn

R'n'R : Tell me about your second solo album (2016), named Abandon All Hope. Why did you choose to base it on Dante’s Inferno ? Did you find the concept before writing tracks ?

GM : I had been interested in somehow intertwining literature and music for some time. The title of Hale Souls is taken from a Shakespeare quote. But the concept of Dante’s Inferno was brought to me by Michael Molenda, former Editor in Chief of Guitar Player Magazine. He had heard Hale Souls and approached me about doing something bigger. I had no idea what he had in mind, but as soon as he conveyed the idea of doing a musical journey though the circles of The Inferno, I immediately knew what would be the focus of the next few years of my creative life. I read The Inferno, listened to lectures on it, then read it again. All the tracks were written in service to the concept, and the concept pushed me in new creative directions. It took some real consideration to figure out how to write Limbo, for example. If western tonal music can be reduced in its most basic form to tension and release, the challenge was to write a piece of music without resolution, as the concept dictates, but still feel like a coherent piece. So it challenged me to try out different ideas—tension moving to other forms of tension rather than resolution. I don’t think I ever would have tried that had the concept not needed it, and so I had the opportunity to expand my imagination in the process.

R'n'R : I feel many influences by listening to your album Abandon All Hope : Django Reinhardt, Jean-Luc Ponty (on Savages), Jeff Beck, Brian May but also classical musicians like Mozart, Stravinsky. Where did you get all those various inspirations ? And who are the musicians who play with you ?

GM : Wow ! Thank you so much ! You named some of my all-time greatest heroes and inspirations! I love so many types of music, so I imagine it’s natural that varied influences would find their way into what I do. I was so very fortunate to work with a dream team of musicians on Abandon All Hope : Thomas Perry played drums and percussion. The string quartet is one of the elite of Italy : Glauco Bertagnin is the first violinist, featured prominently throughout the album, and Matteo Marzaro (second violin), Alessandro Pandolfi (viola), and Giordano Pegoraro (cello). Daniele Gottardo played bass and helped with the artistic production (he is a virtuoso guitarist and composer in his own right). My sister, Kirsten Menn, is the gorgeous soprano you can hear on Shadows, Limbo, Mist and Grace, and she also played organ. Salome Scheidegger is the wonderful classical pianist. Angeline Saris (former Zepparella bass player) made a cameo on upright bass on Limbo.

Click to watch the video of Shadows by Gretchen Menn

R'n'R : Does Grace mean something for you ?

GM : Grace is a piece of redemption. To me it is the notion that through insight, perseverance, and personal responsibility, we can honor that which makes us human, yet transcend our lower selves and allow our higher intentions to prevail.

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R'n'R : What are your plans for the months to come ?

GM : I’m working on material for two new albums—one that will be a solo guitar album, and one more orchestrated, in the same general direction of Abandon All Hope. I have been doing monthly lessons for Acoustic Guitar Magazine (both video and print), and am working on an extensive online course which should be available later this year. Add to that my own daily practice and study—I’m always working to learn and grow as a musician—and a busy performance schedule with Zepparella… Every time I think I can’t get busier, I get busier ! But it’s all with things I love, so I’m very grateful. I just wish I could function on less sleep, as there are never enough hours in the day !

Click here to watch the video of Minor Swing (Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli) by Gretchen Menn

R'n'R : Thank you Gretchen for answering my questions. I am a big Led Zeppelin fan and i love the way you play Jimmy Page’s guitar parts. And i love Bures-sur-Yvette :)

GM :Thank you so much. It’s absolutely my pleasure, and I’m so grateful for the interest and support.

Click here to watch the video of WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS by ZEPPARELLA