One of Rock’s finest guitarists, Follow No One’s Pedro Murino Almeida from Lisbon, Portugal joins us today for a rare and exclusive interview.
ME: Welcome Pedro. So glad to finally catch up with you. Can you tell us about how you and Rich came together as Follow No One?
Hi, thank you for having me! At that time, I had recently started living in Brazil and I was looking for someone to collaborate with in musical projects. I tried a platform intended for the purpose (I don’t remember the name) and that is where we met. The first song we did together was “Guardian Angel”. I sent the instrumental parts, Rich did his thing, we exchanged some ideas for the song and after a couple of adjustments the song took the shape that you can hear in the first Follow No One EP “5”. The next song we did was “Reflection” which is on the same EP. This time Rich sent me a song he already had and then I ‘ruined’ it. He seemed to like the way I ruin things so after that, we decided to assume a project together on a steady basis. And that is how Follow No One came to be.
ME: Your earlier musical journey is an interesting one. Can you tell us how you got started and what led you to Rock Music and most importantly the guitar?
Well, while growing up I always had an interest with music and I was either singing or fiddling with some musical instrument. On the side of the family I grew up in, no one plays an instrument but my father listened to a lot of music. Mostly the old-school rock bands like Yes, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd or other stuff like Scorpions or Santana. Another big influence on me was a cousin of mine that was an avid collector of rock, especially heavy metal music and we would spend some time in our house recording his latest findings.
Then at some point in my teenage years, I wanted to start learning the drums but because we lived in an apartment, my intentions didn’t last long because of the noise constraints. I really wanted to get more involved in playing and making music so I picked up a classical guitar that my grandfather had bought (but never played) and started using it to play the bass parts of the songs I liked. I was about to enroll in a music school to start learning the bass but on the weekend before that, that same cousin showed me “Mr. Crowley” from Ozzy Osbourne. After hearing those solos, I was mesmerized by its beauty and it was clear to me that I wanted to be able to do that! Then I ended up enrolling in a guitar school and I guess the rest is history.
ME: Your guitar style seems to come from many different places. Who were the guitarists that have most impacted your style?
That is kind of funny because while I was learning guitar, I remember my teacher saying something like “if you take the best parts from great guitarists and incorporate those in your playing then you will become a super guitar player with its own style”. It’s not that I am super, but that advice resonated with me and I started to actively pay attention to the characteristics that made me like a particular guitar player. Then I would try to emulate the sounds and techniques. Mostly I played by ear and adapt the techniques to something that felt more comfortable to me. This is why I can pinpoint what I took away from my influences. The main ones are Randy Rhoads, Nuno Bettencourt, Brian May, Pete Lesperance, Malmsteen, John Petrucci, Zakk Wylde, Gary Moore, Jeff Beck or Andy Timmons. Each of these contributed with something that shaped the way I play guitar either because of melodic, rhythmic and expressive characteristics or overall approach to guitar arrangement.
ME: Were you surprised to be recognized so early into Follow No One’s career after winning the award for best rock act at the JMA Awards in 2019?
To be honest I wasn’t expecting it. I mean, we were happy with the work we were doing and submitting was a possibility so, we did it. But it’s not something that we were focusing on. It is great to have this type of recognition though, and we were very happy for winning it. Especially because it opened some doors and helped to increase the reach of our music.
ME: What’s most important to you: Sales/streams, Awards, or Critical Praise?
We would love that our music could be heard by as many people as possible, at least the ones who are into this type of music. So, I will have to say that streams can be more important as a way of gauging our reach and how people are accepting the music we are making. I suppose that Awards and Critical Praise are a consequence of that work and in the end, they also help to extend that reach. But these are things that happen as a consequence of our journey. As with sales, that are a consequence of the work and its impact on people, of how much they want a part of us with them and to contribute to our journey.
ME: You studied Music at UK Sheffield and you are also an educator, and we understand you have your own online music school. Can you tell us about it?
Of course, thank you for asking! Alongside with playing guitar, my main interest in music has always been music composition and I love teaching about it. By sharing my knowledge and experience, I wish to help people who somehow struggle to make music, that may have creativity issues and help them to find their own musical voice. Basically, it makes me happy to be able to contribute to a positive development of another person and helping to achieve their goals in music. And that is why I created a blog called Beyond Music Theory, a space where you have access to lots of materials about music theory, creative strategies, tips, courses and online lessons. The blog is relatively new and it will continue to grow with more options for people who wish to learn about and how to make music.
ME: What can we expect next from Follow No One (Tour, new music?)
We have been working on a concept album and we are very happy with the music we are making for it. We are nearing the final stages of the production and we can’t wait to share it with the fans, the music and the stories behind it. Stay tuned!