Synyster Gates Quotes

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Synyster Gates

Profession : Musician

Birth : July 7, 1981

Our singer, Matt, was reading Stephen Hawking and other physics-related books, and I was reading entrepreneurial books, and we all started discussing the new technologies that were taking over the world, from 3-D printing to space travel. These conversations starting leading us to think of how we could portray these things in a musical way.

Synyster Gates

We listen to a lot of hip hop. They're the ones that are trailblazing. It used to be rock, but it's really turned to hip hop, and they're doing really unique and cool things, and we wanted to do that, too.

Synyster Gates

My favorite punk rock song is 'Linoleum' by NOFX. That's pure harmony, the coolest chord changes.

Synyster Gates

Rolling Stones came later for me. I was a Beatles guy. All of us were pretty much more along the lines of Beatles guys than we were Stones or Elvis.

Synyster Gates

Korn is great friends of ours, so to be on tour with friends is usually our number one. We've been very blessed to meet a lot of great bands, successful bands, that we can go tour with.

Synyster Gates

I find that drummers are the coolest people in the world. I play a little bit of drums.

Synyster Gates

Just based on the primary adage of the necessity breeding innovation, it was just like 'Well, what makes me the guitar player that I am?' and I feel like I listen to so much different music, and I'm a student of so many genres of music, and I feel like it's fun to apply those things and anything super applicable to any type of music.

Synyster Gates

The thing about me is that I'm very fortunate to have had the opportunities with Avenged Sevenfold in songwriting. I really think it's helped to bolster my guitar playing as well.

Synyster Gates

We kinda were a radio-rock band. We were still pretty technical, but I think the prog people hated us because we didn't do a bunch of weird time signatures... which are cool at times, but I'm more interested in progressive harmony.

Synyster Gates

We're more about other things over odd timings: orchestration, composition, horn/vocal arrangements - that's where we get super weird.

Synyster Gates

We interact with the crowd, turn it into a party.

Synyster Gates

We listen to a lot of classical and a lot of jazz, and so you get some funky notes here and there. And we get a little experimental in some of the deeper tracks.

Synyster Gates

We're not gonna write a fusion song for Avenged Sevenfold, obviously, but I love having those elements and blending it in, and having the eclectic arrangements and stuff like that.

Synyster Gates

It's very important to focus on the music first. That's always number one. But after that, it's extremely important to just have fun with what you're doing.

Synyster Gates

I wouldn't be one-third of the player I am today if it wasn't for Avenged. They're an inspiring group of guys, and I'm constantly challenged to write things beyond my ability and then figure out how to play them.

Synyster Gates

In a studio situation, I'm able to dig deep and come up with stuff that all the guys think fits the vibe of the song. And I think that's partly due to the fact that I grew up listening to just about everything under the sun. I'm very open to music, and I like to do things in a traditional and musical way.

Synyster Gates

We have to do everything a hundred and ten percent when we're doing it. If we're on tour, we're constantly thinking of different ways to make the show better, or whatever it is.

Synyster Gates

We don't ever spread ourselves too thin. And sometimes it's a little bit to the chagrin of our fans; they don't get albums... I mean, The Beatles were doing two albums a year at one point.

Synyster Gates

I don't feel like we have that Paul McCartney gene, and I think the cool thing about us is that we know it.

Synyster Gates

I think, back when I was younger, I was a lot more confident about certain things that I would write, and I didn't need the band's blessing or agreement; I would just kind of fight for it 'cause I knew it was good. And then the problem with getting older, especially when there's some success involved, you have a different measuring stick.

Synyster Gates