Bono Fouroux : Mindblowing Guitarist in SL- Seersha Heart reporting...

Bono Fouroux is a unique musician in SL.  He can make his guitar “sing” as he plays blues, jazz, or rock [no acoustic].  He also can *make* his guitar!  Bono constructs guitars from scratch “Always trying to make different characters of sounds.” Self taught from an early age, this Amsterdam native plays as many as three to four sets many days in SL.  He came to SL on the recommendation of friends and has been here since that time.  Here are what people are saying about him:

“THE GUITAR WIZARD and all it takes to agree is listen to him for a few minutes. Whether it's Blues, Rock, or Jazz, his smooth playing is filled with emotion, speaking to your heart.”

“CHOCK full of pure passion! Bono is one of the most innovative guitarists of the decade. His soul inspired techniques, styles and intonations are woven into wonderful melodies that only a truly gifted artist of his nature of his kind can produce!!!”

“A symphonic collision waiting to happen, Bono is a man with intense connections to his music. He delves into the very soul of it, inviting you to experience with him the joy, sadness, love and excitement of an amazing journey powered by a guitar that lives to sing under his fingertips.”

I caught up with Bono at the Guitar Museum in world to ask him a few questions.  I hope you will enjoy his personal anecdotes, they are great.

Interview with Bono

Seersha Heart:  Hello Bono.  I have read that you taught yourself how to play the guitar when you were very young, around twelve years old.  What lead you to that first guitar at such an early age?

Bono Fouroux:  Hello Seersha.  I heard albatross of peter green and that made me buy a first guitar, I was still in school, it was 1968 or so.  I earned my money for it myself

Seersha Heart:           When did you become ~passionate~ with guitar? 

Bono Fouroux: I already played a few years but soso then Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green was my main drive later…but this was my serious sign to work on the study for playing

Seersha Heart:           Do you customize your guitars?  You make a whole guitar?

Bono Fouroux: I started to make guitars about 5 years ago…but not all need to be customized ..some are so well made I don’t need to change them.  For the ones I make, I order great parts....well chosen and I make them fitting the other parts, because not all fit.

Seersha Heart:           Which part is hardest to pick? The neck?

Bono Fouroux:In fact every part has its own difficulties, a neck can be just slightly too thick for the body then I have to sand it very precisely, but mostly it will fit.  I do sanding fitting ,.,sanding fitting etc. until it is okay.

Seersha Heart:           Do you have a sound in your head that guitar should make?

Bono Fouroux: Not exactly....it is always a surprise how it is going to sound, but once I’ve heard it I can go on with that too.  I search my wiring diagrams and sometime I find even one myself by accident at some guitar, then I solder the wiring.  I look for good luxury parts what makes the guitar better quality too...so it is always a nice product  For instance a thing where I look for is nowadays 22 fretted necks.......because once I studied my songs at the neck ..I learned them to play on that way...and I use 24 fretted ones too but that is 2 extra for the really high notes.  Those necks are on ‘ready’ sold guitars, btw I get myself always locking tuners on my own products.

Seersha Heart:           I have read that you are also a composer of music.  Will you tell me the name of one of your favorite compositions?

Bono Fouroux:          I once made a piece called Confuse Me....it was a long time ago and it was a number of all different rhythms and riffs fitted together. I recorded it with a friend in his semiprofessional studio and in fact it never was ready to play. Too complicated for a band and to play it live, but it was great.

Seersha Heart:           I have read that you make the guitar sing with emotion.  How does that statement make you feel?  Are you flattered/happy?  Do you think guitars sing?

Bono Fouroux:          It is just nice to hear that listeners like what I do on guitar. That they enjoy what I play. It seems to be so that true listeners of me can hear in what kind of mood I even am. The most funny was the comment in local of a woman who heard me play and said after some songs in local:

“Bono your playing is so good and touches me so in the centre of my soul that I have to smack somebody in the face and since I am here alone with my husband, he will be the one.”

And a little later she said I did it. You understand that I laughed the hell out of it, And so did the whole room of the audience. That was so funny.

Seersha Heart:           That is hysterically funny!  I can read from your profile have many deep wonderful friendships in SL.  Your profile says no relations?  Why?

Bono Fouroux:          I am here just for the music and/but I tried two times to be with a woman here, but it didn’t work out and gave me a lot troubles in fact, so that I decided not to get involved here in SL anymore. I had not tried it in 8 years of my stay in SL and that was without any troubles in relations. I tried it two times and it didn’t work. The coincidence was that they both were having their birthday on the same day. 11/11 :) Another coincidence is that I answered your questions at the same date. Isn’t that funny.

Seersha Heart:           That IS funny and ironic.  What advice would you give other musicians interested in trying SL?

Bono Fouroux:          That it is fun to do and you get some appreciation for your playing on this way [in SL]. 

Seersha Heart:           Please tell me about the people you sing/play with in world.  Who are your best partnerships for performances?

Bono Fouroux:          Of course that is with Luvofmusic and Veronica Weksler.

The best partnerships are the ones where you are very close friends with somebody, so that you share the same feelings while playing and that happens with some of the ones. It is such a fun then to play together and to appreciate what the other does. It is too bad that there still is not a way of playing live with them on the internet so that we both can hear us well, without any problems. Sometimes they say try this and try that, but I play mostly with people from The States and that is for software what can make u share the music in real time together, not very easy. Normal dual streaming goes like in a chain. The first one plays his music and streams it uploading to the second one who receives the stream in his computer and ads his sound to it and that together he streams to the internet. So the first one doesn’t hear the second one. A recording of the sum of the two makes it all possible later to hear it for the first one.

Seersha Heart:           It’s been a pleasure Bono, thank you for your time.

Bono Fouroux:          Sure any time.

            Bono plays the guitar between three and four hours most days in SL.  Along with playing and building guitars he rides a Harley Davidson IRL.  He tried motorcycles in world but to quote him “suddenly u bump in too lag and u fly high un the sky with it ha ha ha”.

Sample listing of equipment Bono has on hand to use to play his music:  Fender Stratocasters, Fender 12 electric (Hockeystick), Gibson Les Paul, ES 335, SG Custom, Ibanez LP,
Marshall JCM 900 Stack, Fender Vibroverb, Peavy Combo, Sessionette 75
Digitech 2120, Roland V99, Ibanez PT-5, Dunlop Wah, Cry Baby, Deja Vibe