OUT OF FRAME: GREGORY JAMES PAINTS A SELF-PORTRAIT WITH VOLA GUITARS
BTS photo of Greg Hojnacki, taken by Mike Thompson
Let’s face it. It’s really fun being friends with musicians.
Earlier in 2021, we worked with our longtime friend Greg Hojnacki and his band Annapurna on a music video for their song ‘Vallonia’ and it was a blast.That’s not always the case, but Greg is familiar with our work and trusted that we’d develop something that would match his song. Sometimes, there are just certain people you click with.
Recently, Greg hit us up about a solo project fittingly entitled ‘Self-Portrait’ with guitar brand Vola. Obviously, we were interested.
My interest in how this project came to be grew as I watched the playthrough in post-production and, of course, Greg obliged my questions.
What was the inspiration for 'Self-Portrait?
The real goal for the video was to capture where I’m at in my creative journey as a musician, and even more specifically, as a guitarist. It was ultimately inspired by a recently discovered effect called ‘Pitch Delay’. I was listening to another artist called Bumblefoot and he featured it on one of his tracks and was even kind enough to make a tutorial that explained how to dial in the tone and delay effect. The second I got it loaded up, it was game over. I was hooked. From there, I fumbled through enough notes to eventually string together something of (relative) worth. After the general structure of the song was laid out, I went and wrote the drum parts, tracked some rhythm guitars, and sprinkled in some synths. Then we saved the final lead tracking until we shot the video so we could get a live take. It all came together pretty quickly!
What is 'Pitch Delay'?
Pitch delay is a wild effect that essentially gives you two notes for the price of one. For instance, when you strike any given note, a second one will be produced 1/16th note later and pitched up a perfect fifth. It’s surprisingly intuitive and responds really accurately to timing and variation. There are all sorts of differentiations and adjustments you can make to tweak the sound, and I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface in terms of possibilities. One really cool thing that happens when you strike the string harder is you get this warbly, gargled, space transmission-esque tonality from the delay. I was able to tie that in during a few transitions throughout the track.
How did you get linked up with Vola Guitars?
I have been a big fan of their instruments for a while now, but I finally got a chance to try them out at Mom’s Music store (here in Louisville) about a year and a half ago. It was kind of serendipitous because they are one of a small handful of stores in our country that carry their guitars, so I was ecstatic to find that they were sold in my region. After purchasing one of their 7 string models shortly after, it’s been a non-stop source of inspiration. So, when the time finally came to release the video, I reached out to them via their website and asked if they would be willing to help premiere the playthrough. I heard back from them in no time and they agreed to help me do the damn thing. Moving forward, I would love to be more involved with their company and continue to help highlight how versatile their instruments are!
Did you find their guitars to be as inspirational for 'Self-Portrait' as you found the 'pitch delay' effect?
Undoubtedly, the tonal range of these guitars continues to blow my mind. They can handle anything from groovy Neo-jazz to some disgustingly heavy metal, and everything in between. My particular 7 string, one of their Vasti models, features some additional pickup selection offerings and gives me a whole slew of options when it comes to locking in a specific sound. I have owned a decent amount of lackluster guitars throughout the years, and the second I got a hold of a Vola, it instantly set a new standard for the level of quality that I will look for in an instrument moving forward. I recently got a hold of a 6 string OZ model from them, and that has been a cool point of comparison to the other one I own. Totally different sounding from each other, but both offer something unique.
Think fast. Favorite guitarists. Go!
In no particular order:
What's the plan for yourself and Annapurna for 2022?
We have a bunch of new material that we have been developing over the past year or so but haven’t had a chance to finalize and record it yet. So that’s going to be first on the priority list. We did start recording our latest single, a tune called “Cosmic Curiosities”, and are almost done tracking that. It features a wildly talented guitarist and singer from Atlanta named Gabriel Levi. Considering how much fun it was working on together, we’re hoping we can continue to collaborate with our other musically skilled counterparts as we work on new material. Aside from writing and recording, we want to be a lot more active in playing shows, events, and festivals around town. Obviously, the past year didn’t really afford us many opportunities to get out and perform, but we did get to play a couple of venues here and there. At some point, we’d love to get involved with Waterfront Wednesday, WFPK Live Lunch, Poorcastle, and even some benefit concerts to try to give back what we can. We’re stoked to see what this year brings us!
Check out the playthrough below and stay tuned for more collaborations with Greg and other talented musicians we’re lucky to call neighbors in Louisville.