El Bastardo

Lead singer and guitar player for Italian rockabilly band The Motorsonics,
El Bastardo, in my book, is about as good a picker as you’re going to find anywhere.
I’ve been listening to him all week and was thrilled when he said he’d talk to me about his playing.


1) How long have you been playing guitar?

I've been playing guitar a lil more seriously since I was 17 years old, but I started in studying it when I was 12, in the meanwhile I started in playing Harmonica. I started playing with bands at 19.

2) What artist has influenced you most since you began playing?

Many! Too many! Elmore James, Cliff Gallup, Jimi Hendrix, JL Hooker, Tony MCPhee, Doc Watson, Robert Johnson, Jimmy Page, Dan Crary, Leigh Stephens, John Hammond Jr, Leadbelly, Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, Pete Townshend (I think the most), Jimmie Rodgers, Son House, Wes Montgomery,

Chet Atkins, Charlie Patton, Jimmi Page, Angus Young, Duane Eddy, Jim Croce, Sonny Terry, Little Walter.. Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington... I don't know exactly, really too many...

3) What artist would you most like to record or play a show with?

Surely, Doc Watson.

4) How are your acoustic fans compared to your Motorsonic fans?

Are often the same people, maybe Motorsonics fans are a lil younger and "Party Oriented" people but generally the same people...

5) What's in the future for El Bastardo?
Any new recording? Touring?

Yeah! In the next weeks Hank Records will re-release my first "6 Inches Blues" with some Bonus Tracks.. maybe ONLY in Vinyl (UAO!).. Now I'm recording a song for the next One Man Band compilation that will be released by Squoodge recs/Luna Sounds during 2009.

I started in preproducing songs for my next LP, think will be released at the end of 2009/early 2010. There will be some changes for this; there will be mostly original songs!

I'm planning a tour in Germany, maybe Switzerland, Austria, for next spring. Many gigs in Italy are coming, I think I'll be on the road from early March.

6) Tell me what the world needs to know about El Bastardo.

This is El Bastardo, Wood, Steel, Breath and Beat.
What you see is what you get.


Here's a clip of him playing ONE HAMMER FOR YOU



Thanks El Bastardo!