Soldier Of Sound: Jaime Gunter

An interview with Jaime Gunter, a multi-instrumentalist who teaches music and is a founding member and guitarist of the rock band Volatile. She's also heavily involved in session work, playing bass with Cats In Love and 59 Wooden Hearts, among others.

What projects are you currently involved in?
I'm currently playing for Volatile, Cats in Love and 59 Wooden Hearts (Kien Lim).

How do you juggle between work and music?
Having an organised schedule and not overworking! People always forget that you need time for a break and end up burning out. I work freelance doing graphic design and media management, and also teach guitar in the day. So it does help as my nights are free for rehearsals and shows.

What's the inspiration behind Volatile's music?
TOTO. Okay, not just Toto. Volatile's music is a reflection of our growth as a band. Everyone brings their own ideas to the table and they add their little signatures in the songs so the music sounds like a collection of everything the five of us have ever listened to and are individually inspired by.

How's the writing process like for Volatile? 
Usually, Sean brings an idea to the table and has a rough structure. He shows us the attacks and specific lines that are in the song and then we put in our parts and bounce around a few ideas till we find something we like. After the first few times we play a new song live, we'll change something we didn't like or add something new that might make the song better, so it's always evolving.

Any plans for another album? 
Definitely, even with Sean away, we have plans for the band in the future, and that does include another album.

What are your main musical influences?
Steve Lukather (Toto) is my number one. How he writes lines like those, is absolutely beyond me. I'm also a huge fan of Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), and a lot of '90s bands like Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden. Way too many to name. There's also the progressive fusion side of me that I love: Haken, The Scientist, Reign of Kindo, among others.

What was the first song that you learnt on guitar/bass? 
Totally ignoring the part where my first song was a classical piece like Greensleeves or something. I'd like to believe the first the song I ever played (on an electric guitar) was probably Smells Like Teen Spirit or Smoke on the Water! As for bass, it was September by Earth, Wind & Fire.

What are your weapons of choice?
My red Strat is my number one at the moment. I've been playing it for 3 years and it's never failed to deliver every time. That, my TS9 and my Mesa Flux Drive pedal are all I need, really. Everything else is just extra. For bass, I've got this absolutely sexy Dingwall copy. Sounds legit, playa legit. I love it to death.

If you had a chance to either perform or record with one of your idols, who would it be? 
It's a really hard toss-up between Steve Lukather and Dave Grohl. But I think performing and recording with Dave would be more fun and less stressful than trying to keep up with Steve!

What's your message to young aspiring musicians?
Music is a roller coaster of emotions because at some point you will have to work with other people. Learning how to be nice to everyone and keeping yourself in check is very important. Jobs are based on how good you are and who you have networked with. There's no instant gratification here but it's very rewarding in the long run. Just don't give up as it's all about perseverance and hard work. So cliche but it's so true.