00:00Dup and Slash and Matt had played together so much that they always kind of went.
00:05You know, kind of surrounded Matt and I wasn't.
00:10So I was kind of like, hey, I felt like a little kid.
00:13Like, hey, what are you guys playing over there?
00:15You know, like, hey, can you show me that chord?
00:17Hey, what's up?
00:18It's Paul from Guitar World and I am here.
00:20We're here with Dave Kushner.
00:21Now, in case you don't know who Dave is, Dave.
00:25I was in Velvet Revolver.
00:26We go back a long way because you had reached out to me.
00:30I was just starting out at Guitar World and I was like, oh, my God, the guitar.
00:35Player in Velvet Revolver is reaching out to me.
00:37This is awesome.
00:39So.
00:40Here we are now meeting for the first time since then.
00:44In New York.
00:45In New York, we're here at a Guitar Center event at the Bowery Electric.
00:49This is.
00:50This is part of your Guitar-a-thon event.
00:53Yes.
00:53Am I correct?
00:54But the thing is.
00:55What I think most people don't know is that you are now working for Guitar Center.
01:00You are the Senior Director of Music Education Experience.
01:03Yes.
01:03So tell me about what you're doing.
01:05Well, I'm running the lessons program with another guy who's a bicycle.
01:10Vice President named John Bianchetti, and we are tasked with.
01:15Giving kids and adults and whoever the opportunity to.
01:20Experience music basically the way I did, the way Slash did Slash and I.
01:25took lessons at the same place on Fairfax Avenue in L.A.
01:29And.
01:30You know, we had a teacher and I walked in and I said, hey, can you show me how to play
01:33Purple Haze?
01:34And I was.
01:3515 and you know, and then.
01:37But the teachers, I think, really are the.
01:40Ones that kind of, you know, are the gatekeepers almost to that education.
01:45And I mean, it's a gift to be able to give that to.
01:48So you're basically in charge of the front.
01:50line of of of educating all these kids and people who are interested in.
01:55Really learning how to play guitar or whatever instrument, right?
01:58Yeah.
01:58Well, I mean, we have.
02:00Guitar, bass, drums, vocals, there's some DJ lessons at certain places there.
02:05There's home recording lessons, but the bigger plan is to.
02:10Expand on that, you know, I, I, you know, I was a composer after Velvet Revolver.
02:15And I, I didn't know how to do anything.
02:17You know, I didn't know any of that language.
02:20And I want to be able to, you know, teach that to other bands.
02:25And guys that are like, you know, what am I going to do now?
02:28I'm a, yeah, it's.
02:29And so.
02:30All these things and, and guitar center has this amazing infrastructure and this.
02:35Amazing lessons program at pretty much every store, except I think.
02:40There's seven stores out of 300 that don't have lessons, but every guitar center.
02:45Has a lessons program.
02:47So you have an actual, you actually carved out a space within the store.
02:50To be, to implement this.
02:51Yeah, absolutely.
02:52So I think we have.
02:54Three.
02:55Three.
02:56Three.
02:57Three.
02:58Three.
02:59Three.
03:00Three.
03:00We have many students throughout the country.
03:02And we've taught millions of.
03:04Lessons.
03:04My kids.
03:05took lessons at Guitar Center. They took them online during COVID. I took lessons.
03:10So, it's pretty awesome.
03:12How did you discover this or how did you say, I know.
03:15I need to do this. I want to open this up.
03:18After Velvet Revolver, I did the...
03:20the theme song for Sons of Anarchy and that was kind of my start into that whole world.
03:25I had done my own master class for guitar.
03:30Intermediate and beginner guitar players because I went to music school when I was right out of high school.
03:35And I just got really interested in teaching that to other people.
03:40Like teaching guitar and then wanting to do another one with TV and film composing.
03:44And that...
03:45And that kind of grew into this role.
03:50I happen to be doing that. My wife's best friend.
03:55is the Senior Director of Visual Merchandising at Guitar Center and...
04:00and she was just talking to me about it and I was like, I want to do that.
04:04I want to work at Guitar Center.
04:05Because Guitar Center is...
04:07You know, I've been...
04:08I grew up in Hollywood.
04:09You grew up with it.
04:10It's like...
04:11I remember when Guitar Center was on the other side of Sunset.
04:13You know, before they moved and built a big...
04:15But that was very much a home base for a lot of LA musicians.
04:19You know, everyone...
04:20Yeah.
04:21From slash George Lynch.
04:22You can name them.
04:23They were all there.
04:24I was talking to Robert Trujillo.
04:25The other day.
04:26And he's like...
04:27You know, because we play still now in infectious grooves and...
04:30He's like...
04:31Dude, I remember taking the bus from Venice to...
04:35You know, Hollywood to go into Guitar Center.
04:38He's like, I remember seeing Randy Rhodes in there.
04:40Before he was in Ozzy's band.
04:43He was still in Quiet Riot.
04:45He said, I remember seeing Eddie Van Halen in there.
04:47Trying out keyboards.
04:48Because, you know, for the jump...
04:50On tour.
04:51And as the Senior Director of Music Education...
04:55I want to also start telling those stories.
04:58You know?
04:59And also...
05:00Start talking to, you know, peers of mine.
05:05About why...
05:06Lessons matter.
05:07You know?
05:08Because we all...
05:09I mean...
05:10Trujillo went to Dick Grove School of Music in the Valley.
05:13I went to MI.
05:14Yeah.
05:15Slash...
05:15Took lessons from the guy on Fairfax.
05:17I was playing the other day with Brooks Wackerman.
05:20Who...
05:21Chad Wackerman's brother.
05:22Yeah.
05:23Plays with Avenged Sevenfold.
05:24Yep.
05:25And in fact...
05:25Just grooves.
05:26He's like, dude, there was...
05:28There's no way if I didn't know proper technique...
05:30That I'd be able to last...
05:31Two and a half hours...
05:33Playing with Avenged Sevenfold.
05:34Yeah.
05:35So...
05:35It really is this foundational thing.
05:38Well, I think it's great because I think...
05:40You're a perfect fit because having you there legitimizes this lessons program...
05:45Because you have so much insight...
05:47You've been in the trenches...
05:48Yeah.
05:49And you have the stories.
05:50Right?
05:50Yeah.
05:51I got some stories.
05:52And the funny thing is...
05:53We were just talking a little bit before...
05:54You were just going to say about...
05:55You know...
05:56Being like learning songs...
05:57You know...
05:58When you were playing with the Velvet Revolver...
06:00You were always the guy on the outside trying to...
06:02Yeah.
06:03Can you tell me a little bit...
06:04Tell us a little bit about that.
06:05Oh...
06:05I was saying that...
06:06You know...
06:07When Velvet Revolver first started...
06:08Before we found Scott...
06:10You know...
06:11We were writing songs...
06:12At a studio in the valley for...
06:1410...
06:1510 months...
06:16We would rehearse Monday through Friday...
06:182 to 6...
06:19Every day and just...
06:20Write songs and look for singers...
06:21Whether it was...
06:22You know...
06:23Hey I got a guy...
06:24Or...
06:25Where it's...
06:26You know...
06:27Someone else...
06:28At one point...
06:29We got like these mailboxes...
06:30Full of...
06:30Like...
06:31Entries and...
06:32You know...
06:33We'd look for singers and we'd write songs...
06:34And...
06:35But Dup and Slash and Matt...
06:37Had played together so much...
06:39That they always...
06:40Kind of went...
06:41You know...
06:42Kind of...
06:43Surrounded Matt...
06:44And...
06:45And...
06:46I wasn't used to it...
06:47So I was kind of like...
06:48Hey...
06:49I felt like a little kid...
06:50Like...
06:51Hey...
06:52What are you guys...
06:50Lay it over there...
06:51You know...
06:52Like...
06:53Hey...
06:54Can you show me that cord?
06:55You know...
06:56So...
06:55But it was a...
06:56You know...
06:57It was an amazing experience...
06:58It changed my life...
06:59You know...
07:00Now you're teaching that cord to everyone else...
07:02That's right...
07:03With this new...
07:04With this new role...
07:05That's fantastic...
07:05I was in Texas...
07:06On...
07:07Saturday...
07:08There's this little kid...
07:09Named Lane...
07:10He came into this...
07:11Denton, Texas program...
07:12He was five years old...
07:13He had...
07:14Uh...
07:15Physical...
07:16You know...
07:17Troubles when he was born...
07:18And stuff...
07:19Five years old...
07:20Nonverbal...
07:20Came in...
07:21Started playing guitar...
07:22Then he started communicating...
07:24And the...
07:25The only thing he would say to...
07:26The instructor...
07:27Was he would go like this...
07:28Right?
07:29Go like this...
07:30That's...
07:31And then he started talking...
07:32And...
07:33And then they found out that...
07:34The guitar...
07:35The guitar center...
07:36Lessons program...
07:37Was the one place...
07:38He felt comfortable...
07:39Because no one...
07:40Picked on him...
07:40Because he was tiny...
07:41When he was born...
07:42He was like the size of my hand...
07:43Wow...
07:44Tiny little guy...
07:45Picked on at school...
07:47But he had that...
07:48You know...
07:49That program...
07:50To feel safe...
07:50Now he's this...
07:51Nine year old...
07:52Incredible guitar player...
07:53So I went out to this...
07:54Show...
07:55In Texas...
07:56And I looked at the...
07:57Playlist...
07:58And they were playing...
07:59Slither...
08:00Him and his dad...
08:00His dad takes lessons too...
08:01I mean...
08:02He plays drums...
08:03So he can play with them...
08:04And so I met...
08:05With the kid...
08:06And he was like...
08:07Bouncing up and down...
08:08And he's like...
08:09Oh my god...
08:10He's like...
08:11Hugging me...
08:10And I'm like...
08:11Hey man...
08:12How you doing...
08:13I can say...
08:14Hey can I play...
08:15Slither with you...
08:16And he's like...
08:17Oh...
08:15my god you know and he's like jumping up and down and but it was great and it's like
08:20i have a grammy i can look at that but it doesn't give me the same feeling
08:25that i get when i'm you know talking to this kid and hearing his story and playing with them
08:30and seeing how awesome he plays and it's like you know it's i've been
08:35lucky enough to have both you know what i mean and so now it's great to be able to
08:40do that with this program this program is cultivating the next generation
08:45of musicians yeah and you're spearheading that that's amazing yeah yes i am
08:50that's right well i am not going to waste any more time because dave needs to find
08:55more musicians out there to get into that lessons program so there you have it dave cushion
09:00from velvet revolver and now senior director of music education
09:05experience for guitar center i am excited to see what you do thanks man thanks
09:10good talking to you thanks thanks for having me
09:15thanks
Comments