CAMERON MAYNARD AND ROBBY BACA
(THE CONTORTIONIST)
What does the word prog mean to you?
My dad and all of Cameron Maynard the old records from the ’60s and ’70s that he introduced me to over my earlier years.
Musical exploration. It Robby Baca tests the boundaries of what has come before it. It can be reinventive or nostalgic, or both simultaneously.
Who are your guitar heroes?
My ears have always
Maynard gravitated toward Alex Lifeson. A ton of his guitar tones were so innovative. I find myself using them as a barometer for achieving similar tones when I’m in the studio.
Pat Metheny for his phrasing and Baca fingerstyle playing. Dan Weller of SiKth for his exploratory and laser-precise riffs. Neal Morse of Spock’s Beard.
I had lost interest in prog music until I was introduced to Neal.
What are your favorite pieces of gear?
My Maxon PAC-9 analog Maynard chorus. I’ve not been able to find something that works as well as that unit in the digital realm.
Ibanez built me a custom ashbodied RG with a sandblast finish and a roasted bird’s-eye maple neck. Mojotone supplied the pickups, and Hipshot provided the piezo bridge.
What song in your catalog best exemplifies your approach to the guitar?
“Absolve.” It showcases a wide Maynard range of guitar techniques and tones, from super-clean fingerpicking and picked clean parts to octave fuzz and boosted guitar solos.
The title track from our last full Baca length, Clairvoyant, kind of checks all the boxes. Some riffing, some lead action, some chording and a touch of chaos.
What does prog contribute to the world of guitar playing?
Prog is like a scientific journal. Maynard
New music coming out is always fresh and new, whether it’s tested and true, or not.
Prog has taken a front seat in the Baca evolution of what a guitar is. We’ve seen countless new ways to design a guitar ergonomically, electronically and aesthetically.
Where do you hope to see progressive music heading in the future?
I hope to see more openness Maynard and less elitism. Prog is not an elite genre sitting on top of others; it’s in the middle of the spectrum, taking inspiration from everything around it.
I hope to see future proggers Baca continue to dream up the next iterations of prog. It’s an almost endless journey for this genre, and
I’m excited to see where it goes.