"Super Reliable, Professional, Fun and Charismatic!"
PAUL BACKMAN - Session Musician/Tutor
ABOUT
Affectionately known in the music industry as “Crafty” - a name he earned by being similar to what a handyman is to the building industry - Crafty is a highly sought-after musical handyman who brings a wealth of experience to a variety of areas in the industry he loves.
This wide variety of skills can be categorised into 3 main areas:-
Click on the page buttons above to view the further and an involvement in music that continues to grow and flourish.
CRAFTY!?
A quick summary of a week in the life of Crafty: A full-time musician that teaches/coaches music during the week, and performs on weekends.
A more in-depth look reveals a large range in which he teaches: being a range of schools and community organizations whilst coaching one-on-one tuition, music classes, ensembles, choirs and giving workshops.
As a multi-instrumentalist he is also not only regularly performing in a stack of solo/duo/band scenarios, but also runs open mic/jam night sessions and various music events.
He is also involved in regularly working behind-the-scenes either in recording studio situations or as a live sound/lighting operator.
With 25 years of hands-on experience under his belt, the most recent addition to his life is a new online presence. So for free music advice of all levels check out CraftyMusicTips.com - go on, you know you want to!
SO, WHO IS CRAFTY MUSIC MAN?
Allow him to introduce himself...
Q&A WITH CRAFTY
In a recent interview conducted by one of his students, Crafty answered the following questions.
1. How long have you been playing Guitar?
Whoa, I just added it up, 30 years, how time flies…
2. What Experiences have you had playing guitar Individually and in a band?
I’ll try and get this in chronological order:
At school/class
At family gatherings
At church
At school concerts
At local gigs
At festivals
On live radio
On TV
In video clips
At jam night/open mic sessions
At community events
At restaurants
At weddings
(There’s probably a heap more...)
3. What style of Music do you prefer to play and why?
I wouldn’t be honest if I said that I had one favourite music style, coz I truly enjoy lots of different music styles and these days thrive on playing lots of them, and as much as possible! However, I do remember back in the day when I was a similar age to you and all I wanted to do was rock out with a loud distorted amp playing power chords either in a heavy rock or heavy metal music style. A big thing that changed for me was studying music full-time after high school in various Certificate/Diploma courses and learning to play lots of different styles, sometimes I hated the music style that I was told to play but then miraculously got really into it once I had learned a few of the tricks and now actually really like it by choice. Weird. Another big moment for me was when I bought a really expensive/good quality acoustic guitar, this made the enjoyment of non-electric guitar music styles surprisingly enjoying and sometimes even the preferred choice, very different to how I used to be.
4. What kind of musicians/bands have influenced you and why?
As above, I will attempt chronologically…
Elvis Presley: they don’t call him “the king” for nuthin...
Victor Borge: comedy + great musician
Tommy Emmanuel: this guy does amazing things with the guitar, but in particular his video on learning to play helped me quite a bit as a young player
Jimi Hendrix: magic guitar playing/inspiring sound/showmanship
Kurt Cobain: making simple guitar parts sound so good
James Hetfield: kick-arse riffs!
Kirk Hammett: kick-arse solos!
Bands: The Beatles, Regurgitator, Silverchair, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Rage Against The Machine, Grinspoon (these bands, and many more, including Nirvana/Metallica, each gave me that special inspiration feeling to want to be pursue music). I could talk more about this for days on end, but I should probably stop now before the Internet explodes from my ranting...