Of course after meeting a musician with such personality and history, he wouldn´t be out of Hard Blast.
I hope you enjoy the interview and promote Marcelo Barbosa´s work.
Stay Rock!

CHECK THESE LINKS TO KNOW MORE!
www.marcelobarbosa.com.br
www.almah.com.br
www.khallice.com.br
www.gtr.com.br
www.myspace.com/almahedufalaschi
www.myspace.com/marcelobarbosagtr
http://www.marcelogtr-eng.blogspot.com/
http://marcelogtr.blogspot.com/2009/08/novos-videos.html#links

Maila-Kaarina: Who reads your biography get surely impressed by the number of activities you dedicate yourself into. You´ve got 3 bands, an instrumental project and a music school. How do you handle so many things at the same time without conflicts?

Marcelo Barbosa: Well, I think I might be hyper-active or something like this... hehe. And parallel to the projects you´ve mentioned I also dedicate myself to several teaching projects. I´ve been recording some videos for the Youtube which will be part of a DVD. It´s a series called “Guitarosofia” (something like “Guitarsophy”) and 2 videos are already available through http://marcelogtr.blogspot.com/2009/08/novos-videos.html#links. Of course there are moments in which conflicts happen but we must know how to  handle and control the situation. I like everything I do and it would be painful to me giving up on anything. I know someday it might happen but while it doesn´t, I carry them out the best I can.

Maila: Well, besides workaholic you might be extremely organized, am I right?

Marcelo: For some things I am but for others I´m a complete disaster. It´s difficult for me to accomplish deadlines and this is why I developed the habit of asking for longer ones. I try to keep things organized but I do so many things that if I start to worry about it all the time I will get crazy. The truth is that even when there is an apparently mess I´ve got my own method. Many times if someone cleans up my desk I get completely lost and can´t find anything I need. Everyone knows they shouldn´t touch anything. In which concerns to art I believe many good ideas are born from chaos. In moments of deep lack of balance and disorganization a lot of good stuff can be produced. You only  have to be clever enough to take advantage on the situation.

Maila: Among all your bands, Almah, a project started by Edu Falaschi (Angra), is the one we most see in the media. Is it your priority?

Marcelo: Nowadays it is. We all invested a lot of time and energy on this project  and due to the fact that Edu and Felipe Andreoli play in the band we got good space in the scene very fast. This is something we cannot ignore. No one should grow oranges during apples season. But it doesn´t mean I stopped my other projects. I just had to re-adapt my life to this new reality.

Maila: Except by Edu Falaschi and Felipe Andreoli, who live in São Paulo, all the other members of Almah, including you, live in different states. How difficult is it to keep the synergy living far from each other?

Marcelo: Thank God we´ve got a good relationship! Of course in any group, being or not a music one, there is always someone you feel more connected to. I´m always in touch with Edu and talk a lot to Felipe. I like Paulo (Paulo Schroeber, guitar) and Moreira (Marcelo Moreira, drums) a lot but sometimes we spend quite a long time not in touch since we live very far from each other and our lives are very different also. Even so, whenever we are together we have a great time and a lot of fun. In Almah we´ve got excellent chemistry and synergy. This is great and I hope it keeps up for a long time.

Maila: As we´re talking about synergy, one of Almah´s highest qualities is the connection between you and the other guitarist, Paulo Schroeber. We don´t see a single solo guitarist in the band, everything is shared between you guys and it fits perfectly. This connection is not common in power and melodic metal bands. Was this connection something natural or it was already part of the project and you had to search for it technically and mechanically?

Marcelo: Even though it was a premise in the project, this connection happened naturally,  Paulo is not only a great guitarist but also a great guy,  very calm and we admire and respect each other a lot. It made everything easier when we had to share our duties. It´s interesting to tell that Even though we met each other just a little before recording the CD, we were able to define a music and guitar language which is really interesting in our work with Almah.

Maila: I read on your website that you intend to release a full length instrumental album this year. Will it really happen? Who will participate?

Marcelo: This is the idea but as you said, there are many projects... I´ve been making music little by little and my intention at the beginning is to register it here in my city, Brasilia. I haven´t defined who will participate yet. I´d rather have all songs ready and then choose it according to the CD profile who will be playing the songs.

Maila: What about your other bands, Khallice and Zero 10? Anything going on now? Concerts, recording, composing...

Marcelo: Zero10 is a project of friends who like to play and gather to do it. Although it´s a cover band among all my stuff this is the one I play more gigs with. We play every week along the year at least once. Depending on the season we might have three or four gigs in a week. We actually recorded a copyrighted album a few years ago but at the end we decided to focus on the cover band style since each one of us had other bands with copyrighted material going on. It´s great fun and a very good complement in our budgets. Khallice is a prog metal band with a full length album, and EP and several compilations recorded. We got a very good space in the local and the national scene playing at big festivals in many different cities around Brazil. We´ve been working to finish our second CD that might be ready soon, probably this semester. We´ve been also preparing a concert in which we play one hour of our own stuff and then the entire “Images and Words” from Dream Theater. It´s great fun for us since we all loved this CD when we were teenagers. 

Maila: Besides the bands you are a businessman also and manages your own music school, GTR, which nowadays is a reference in Brazil in guitar teaching. You yourself developed the methodology and the school is now a franchising with 3 branches in Distrito Federal. Do you intend to expand to other cities and states? Are there proposals and projects on?

Marcelo: Yes. There is always someone asking information about how to open a GTR in other cities and states. At the moment there is a negotiation going on with a very big city but I´d rather not tell anything before it´s done. The main idea is to take a very serious and personalized music teaching method, with over the average quality, wherever there is someone willing to learn how to play an instrument.

Maila: Having so much to do can you still find time for hobbies and fun? What do you like to do in your free time?

Marcelo: I have to find it, right? It´s part of our lives! I love working on music so I usually have fun while working but I also love cinema so I´m always looking for a good film to watch. I like reading but this is something I do more during trips or while waiting for something. And the last thing, but not less important, physical activities. I´ve been practicing Taekowndo for over 15 years an nowadays I´ve been into a running training program. My idea is to run a half marathon, for example, and maybe, a full marathon someday, who knows? I´m also interested in wine so I´m attending a course to learn more about the subject.

Maila: When it´s time to listen to music, what´s in your i-pod?

Marcelo: My I-pod selection is crazy! You can find nearly everything there. I like progressive rock a lot so there is always Rush, Yes, Dream Theater and so on. I like rock from the 70´s as Led, Deep Purple, Hendrix, Aerosmith and from the 80´s and 90´s Van Halen, Queen, Nine Inch Nails for example. All these among rock stuff but I also listen to a lot of fusion, jazz and other types of instrumental music. Nowadays I´ve been into a band called Jellyfish, a kind of pop/rock very well done which sounds like a mixing of Beatles and  Supertramp but full of personality. It´s not a new band but I found them out this year by a friend´s suggestion. There is also “All the Right Reasons from Nickelback which besides great songs has an amazing and awesome guitar sound. And also Metallica´s Death Magnetic.

Maila: If you had the power to change anything in relation to music business, which would your first attitude be and why?

Marcelo: I would implement mandatory music teaching in all schools of the world. I think  people who understand and know music get much more sensitive, more intelligent. Even Nietzsche said: “Without music life would be a mistake.” I believe all ways of artistic expression are worth, well, I don´t mean to defend a specific position here, but there wouldn´t be dance without music. I know many painters paint listening to their favorite composers to be inspired, it´s common to listen the same kind of report coming from writers. There are several studies saying that children who had listened to classical music while they were babies are usually good at Math and all exact sciences. (all those who have studied musical theory know, coincidence or not, that music and math are deeply connected).

Maila: Which musician would be a dream for you to meet?

Marcelo: I´ve never had the dream of meeting any big musician. I´ve never thought of it. I admire the work itself much more than the person. I´ve had the opportunity to meet and talk a little with many of the musicians I admire. However I think it would be great to talk to Neil Peart from Rush. 

Maila: What would you ask him?

Marcelo: Well, since it´s a dream, could I watch a Rush´s concert sitting next to your drums?

Maila: What are the 5 main and necessary steps for those who intend to be guitarists like you?

Marcelo: I´ve never thought about it this way but let´s see what I can do. Well, first you´ve gotta know about music, learn how to listen to music and research the references. Second: study to learn. It can be done through a teacher, a good school or even by yourself if you think it´s better. Everyone must choose what´s the best way. Third: play with other people. It means nothing if you play very well but only to you bedroom´s wall. The relationship with other musicians in different musical environments is essential to anybody´s development. Fourth: be professional. It isn´t because you decided to work with arts that you are not a regular professional. You must see your career as a real job and make it as important as one. Last thing, never stop researching and studying. A professional who doesn´t go for constant improvement loses the chance of creating something new and innovative. Nobody is too good to stop learning.

Maila: A message to the readers, please.

Marcelo: Never give up on your goals even when they look impossible to achieve. Dreaming is part of living and it´s fuel to the soul. Who spends all the time with both feet on the ground loses the magnitude of flying. Don´t dream too much, though, work hard to achieve your dreams. Only dreaming won´t bring you anything and nobody will work for you.

I think that´s it...
Hugs to all!