Xander Demos, American Rock and Metal guitarist. 
Xander Demos Interview
1. Xander demos how has the reception for your latest album guitarcadia been? It has been very positive. Most of the reviews have been great and I have been highly appreciative of it.
2. Where does the name guitarcadia come from? Well, the word “Arcadia” basically means a place of serenity and simple pleasure. So I just took that word and added “Guitar” to it and came up with the name that way. So it’s a place of serenity and simple pleasures… with guitars. You just can’t go wrong with that!
3. How is the music scene in your area? It’s okay. It could be better. There are some very talented musicians in the area and I am very fortunate that I have been able to play with a lot of them. As far as venues, there’s enough places to play but we always hope for more. There seems to be a big gravitation towards cover bands and I had one going for about 6 years but since then I have only concentrated on the original project at this point along with Sabbath Judas Sabbath.
4. What is your favorite piece of gear as a guitarist? Well, I am proud to say that I have a pair of signature guitars being built for me by David Thomas McNaught (a 6-string and a 7-string) and they WOULD be my favorite piece of gear but since I don’t have them yet, I have to say my Fractal Audio Axe-FX Ultra tops the list.
5. Any tours lined up in the near future? At this point, just the opening gigs for national acts as they pass thru Pittsburgh and some local venues but I think that next year is really going to be the year to do some touring. I have to get working with a promoter for the USA as well as potential overseas gigs. All of this will be posted on my Facebook as well as my website.
Check out Xander Demos Online www.XanderDemos.com
6. What do you think of the music industry today and where it is going? That’s such a hard question to answer. The industry is still trying to make profits but I think that there are more “products” out there than there should be. I wouldn’t have the faintest idea of where it’s going. I can say, with some confidence, that because of the Internet people can tune in and watch or listen or download what THEY want. And I think that’s a good thing!
7. What could we find interesting in your music collection at home? Well, Interesting is a fast and loose word there :) however, I know you can find 80s rock, 90s Eurodance, some ABBA, some New Age, plenty of movie scores with the likes of Hans Zimmer and Steve Jablonsky and some good old Hair Metal and tasty AOR rock like Journey and Boston.
It’s all over the place!
8. Could you describe what goes on in a day in your life as a musician? I usually try to play at least 1-2 hours a day and during that time I will write riffs and see how they come together. If over a small period of time I have something that works, I fire up my ProTools rig and start recording scratch tracks. Other than that, I’m pretty boring – I so don’t live the “rock star” life, haha.
9. What do you think of the new amplifiers coming out versus the classics? I love it! The Fractal Audio Axe-FX has finally proved that you don’t need tubes for killer tone. I still appreciate good classic Mesa Boogies and some Marshall amps but I have found that some of those
classics don’t have good support and since necessity is the mother of invention, there have been incredible alternatives made since then. I am stoked about the advancements.
10. Any words for future musicians? Keep practicing – learn several instruments and listen to all kinds of music. If what you do sounds good and FEELS good, don’t ever let anyone tell you “you’re doing it wrong”.