line6 - Gary Mullins - Professional Guitarist

Playing Wicked with LMTO – The London Musical Theatre Orchestra

September 29, 2015PermalinkLive Work, Theate Workchoir, incredible, line6, LMTO, london, music, musical, of, orchestra, piece, play, show, Sound, theatre, through, wicked Leave a comment

The London musical theatre orchestra is a relatively new organisation designed to take famous works and extend them to orchestral playing. The integrity of the original works is kept, however where necessary additional parts are arranged to accommodate extra members of the orchestra not normally present in the show’s stage counterparts.

The most recent production, that I had the honour to perform, was the music of Wicked, as part of a 100 piece orchestra which included 40 voices!

The music was orchestrated for two guitars of which I was Guitar One. This particular part had the majority of the electric guitar parts and included passages requiring me to use an Ebow and Seek Wah sound amongst typical heavy distortions and shimmery cleans. There were a lot of interesting suspended chord voicings, searing lead lines and some delicate chord and arpeggio work. A real workout!

There are many ‘corners’ in the music of Wicked, involving lots of time signature changes and variations in feel. In order to navigate these we had a rehearsal in the afternoon and a full run-through with the choir in the evening. The sound was incredible, and it was a real buzz to play this music in such a setting.

It was a shame we couldn’t perform the music to an audience (due to rights issues), however I am hopeful that the opportunity will arise in the near future. The next show will be the Sound of Music, however I will be otherwise engaged elsewhere, so I will have two wait for the next one! Do check out the LMTO, as it’s a fantastic organisation!

Avenue Q with Berkhamsted Theatre Company

November 10, 2014PermalinkTheate Work60, aer, avenue, berkhamsted, compact, fender, group, guitar, ibanez, line6, nigel, plaskitt, q, theatre, Variax Leave a comment

This week I’ve been playing on Avenue Q in Tring for the Berkhamsted Theatre Company. It’s been a real pleasure to be involved in the show, and a particular privilege because of the calibre of the performances. Reviews have compared this production to a similar if not better level than pro touring shows, so congrats to all involved.

Guitar-wise the part is very interesting. It’s pretty pacey throughout, so you need to be well prepared and have your wits about you, and it’s well written with lots of interesting voicings of chords to get your fingers around.

It also has a banjo and acoustic requirement alongside the electric guitar, and some of the changes can be a bit tight! To make life a bit easier I’ve used my Variax Acoustic to cover those bases, and my Ibanez RG3120 for the electric stuff. Very trusty!

Apparently the pro show will be touring next year, so be sure to get your tickets!

This is the puppet man himself – Nigel Plaskitt – with the cast. Nigel is the man who makes the puppets and is also the man behind the monkey from the PG Tips commercials amongst many other credits. Amazing!

Jesus Christ Superstar

April 23, 2014PermalinkTheate Work24, acoustic, andrew, christ, custom, electric, guitar, jesus, line6, lloyd, martin, musical, paul, pod, reed, royal, slough, smith, superstar, theatre, webber, windsor Leave a comment

Just before Easter I was involved in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. While I didn’t get to see the production itself, it sounded fantastic as the band were great musicians directed by a fantastic musical director. We were left largely to interpret the music how we saw fit, which gave me a lot of room to express myself and put my own stamp on this iconic musical.

I used my Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 Artist pack guitar for the majority of the run, along with my trusty Martin acoustic.

The music is consistent throughout the show, and there are no natural opportunities to change from electric to acoustic, therefore I had have my acoustic mounted in a playing position beside me so I could play it still wearing my electric. This system worked ok, although it wasn’t ideal! Still, I’d have rather have a true acoustic sound than compromise, so it was worth the stretch!

I had to use my POD as an amp sim to keep the volume down in the pit, and I thought it sounded lovely, and took the sound of my pedal board well.

I felt the run was brilliant – really consistent and a great show with fun music to dig into, be expressive and delicate in equal measure. I can’t wait to do it again!

Sound of Music Dress Rehearsals

May 27, 2013PermalinkTheate Workacoustic, guitar, line6, music, new, of, oxford, Sound, theatre, Variax Leave a comment

Today I have two dress rehearsals for the Sound of Music, and we’re half way through the first act of the first run. It’s pretty interesting as this is the first time I’ve played in a room separate from the pit, and with a headphone mix/video feed. It’s taken a little getting used to, but it’s starting to feel really good. It is a bit odd being in a different place to the rest of the orchestra, and there is a lot of creaking overhead from the performers moving about on stage. It all makes for a very interesting experience, but it does a good job of forcing you to concentrate really hard. One other benefit of being in this room is that there’s quite a lot more space than I’m used to! Real luxury!!