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Listen Here: George Harris Interview

Craig Garber:
Hey everybody, this is Craig Garber. Welcome to Everyone Loves Guitar. We had a great guest for this today with George Harris from the Raven Age. Quick note, I wanna just thank Dana Gordon for connecting us. Thanks, Dana. George is one of the founding members of the Raven Age. They’re a very tight, heavy metal band from London. They released three full length albums and an EP since 2017. George is the primary composer. He’s extremely prolific and we’ll talk about that actually. And one of the two guitarists. The band’s played over 400 shows internationally across 38 countries, including the main stage at Download, Rockin’ Rio, Wackin’, Hellfest and more, as well as touring with Kill, Switch, Engage, Volbeat, Shine Down, Alter Bridge and Iron Maiden. Their latest album is called Blood Omen. It’s really great. We’ll talk about it. George is a hell of a guitarist as well. And he’s actually the son of Steve Harris from Iron Maiden. And I will not ask you a lot of questions about that because I know you get enough of those.

George Harris:
That’s

Craig Garber:
Anyway,

George Harris:
so good.

Craig Garber:
man, thanks so much for your time. I appreciate you coming on the show.

George Harris:
Yeah, no worries Craig. Thanks for having me mate, it’s good to

Craig Garber:
You

George Harris:
meet you.

Craig Garber:
likewise. All right. So you started playing bass at age 12 and then you switched to guitar around 14. What, what prompted you to switch and how did your experience playing bass actually help you as a guitarist and a songwriter?

George Harris:
I mean, I think I picked up the bass, you know, my dad being a bass player They were just there a few bases lying around the house and I

Craig Garber:
Oh,

George Harris:
was

Craig Garber:
I

George Harris:
always

Craig Garber:
gotta

George Harris:
kind

Craig Garber:
believe

George Harris:
of intrigued

Craig Garber:
more than

George Harris:
Yeah,

Craig Garber:
a few.

George Harris:
yeah Like he had an acoustic bass in the living room just on a stand and I used to just walk past it and look at It all the time. It’s a full such a cool looking thing. I mean obviously so watch my dad playing it I thought how the hell do you play like that? I have no idea, but I just

Craig Garber:
Ha ha.

George Harris:
was interested in it so I just without even asking him I used to just pick it up and just and do around and stuff. And then one day I said, do you mind teaching me some stuff? So he taught me how to play Smoke on the Water,

Craig Garber:
Ah.

George Harris:
which I think is like, you know, every guitarist’s first riff they ever learned pretty much.

Craig Garber:
Pretty much,

George Harris:
But you

Craig Garber:
yes.

George Harris:
know, I learned like the guitar riff rather than the bass line, like the drone in bass line, I learned the actual guitar riff on the bass, if you know what I mean. Just like, you know, I was going to teach me a couple of things like that, which I recognize. And you go, oh wow, I can do that. And then, I kind of just, the enjoyment part that I got from it was learning stuff that I knew. Actually predominantly at the time maiden songs, just because that’s kind of what was around all the time and I knew

Craig Garber:
Sure.

George Harris:
a lot of the baselines and whatever. So you know, you get that sort of sense of achievement out of figuring it out for yourself. So I was like a learn it by ear kind of kid. And for whatever reason, I just kind of stopped after a year. I don’t really know why. And I was like, I’m gonna know about getting back into it, but my sister had this like three quarter size acoustic guitar in her room, which she never ever used. It was just there gathering dust. And I was like, again, I’ll just use to walk past it and go, that’s even cooler. That looks even cooler than

Craig Garber:
Ha!

George Harris:
the bass guitar. I don’t know why, something just, I just really was fascinated by the six string guitar. So I kind of stole it and… Same, same deal, just noodling around. I got my dad to show me, I mean, he isn’t playing much agile guitar at all, but he just knows the basic chords. I was like, can you show me the basic chords? And then I was away, just filling up with the guitar and kind of went from there.

Craig Garber:
Cool. Did anything that you got out of the bass help you as a guitar player or as a writer later on?

George Harris:
Yeah, I think so. Like, I actually went on after, I mean, obviously playing the bass is like a, it helped me naturally just tune my ear to music, I think, playing the bass for that year that I did when I was like 12. Because I figured out so many bits and bobs and songs and bass lines just by myself, which is what, you know, like I said, that’s kind of, that was a fun part for me. So I think that was like the foundations of training my ear for music in general. And then I actually joined a band playing the bass as a bass player when I was like 16. So I was in my first band with a group of mates at school when I was like 14 or

Craig Garber:
Right.

George Harris:
yeah, just 14 and a half, maybe 15 years old. Then I joined a band, my cousin was playing the drums and I joined a band playing the bass. I was in that band for a couple of years and playing, I wasn’t really getting involved with the songwriting or anything at that point. It was more like sitting in the back kind of playing along to what the other guys were writing. So I was being a bass player in a band gives you a different perspective of what the bass does and how it complements the guitars and the vocals and locking in the drums and shit like that. And, but along the side, I was kind of playing, it wasn’t really, I love playing in that band. It wasn’t really my full type of music. I was a metal guy, I was a metal kid. I wanted to play heavy riffs and especially the metalcore bands got me. sort of into playing guitar when I was around that age. So, yeah, I was kind of carrying on playing guitar along the sides, just kind of writing my own bits and bobs. And yeah, then guitar sort of took over again for me. After that, I just kind of thought, I met the right guy, actually, of course, what happened. I met the right guy and we sort of bounced up each other and we thought, oh, let’s give this a crack.

Craig Garber:
Very cool. You started writing that young?

George Harris:
Well. actually yeah I think one of the first riffs which I came up with which I was in my first band but the band was like you know it was very first my first band kind of style and it sounds a bit it sounds a bit stupid but I was like oh I’m gonna keep this riff to myself because I think this riff’s too good for the band so I can’t so I can’t

Craig Garber:
I mean, but that’s not, that’s like a normal thought when you’re that age, of course.

George Harris:
Yeah,

Craig Garber:
And especially

George Harris:
yeah,

Craig Garber:
if you’re

George Harris:
yeah.

Craig Garber:
like, Hey, especially if you had the awareness, like, okay, I know this is my first band and I know I’m going to be moving on. No, I don’t

George Harris:
Yeah.

Craig Garber:
think that’s unreasonable. It sounds funny if I know what you mean, but

George Harris:
But

Craig Garber:
I totally,

George Harris:
yeah.

Craig Garber:
that makes sense. Yeah.

George Harris:
So I kept that clue for a few years and that when I met the guy who I started the Raven Age with, who is now a manager, it’s all complicated, but we had our first jam session together and that’s the riff that I showed him. And then he loved it and we just sort of gelled and we ended up writing a song out of that riff in that first session we did. So yeah,

Craig Garber:
So it was a

George Harris:
it’s

Craig Garber:
good

George Harris:
like

Craig Garber:
decision

George Harris:
a long time

Craig Garber:
after

George Harris:
coming.

Craig Garber:
all.

George Harris:
I guess so, yeah.

Craig Garber:
Yeah,

George Harris:
I’m going to go ahead and close the video.

Craig Garber:
you must have been like, hey man, I’ve been holding this riff for five years. Just listen,

George Harris:
Yeah,

Craig Garber:
please.

George Harris:
yeah, I was like, oh god, I hope he likes it.

Craig Garber:
That’s a great story, man. You also write music and lyrics, which is like rare in a band situation. How did that evolve over time? Because it’s not common as you know.

George Harris:
Yeah, I mean, I honestly, when I was younger, I thought I’d be the last person to write lyrics. I just wasn’t very, I was a really shy kid and like not very sort of opinionated or outgoing. I wasn’t like expressive of myself especially. So I kind of just thought, you know, writing along to this music and we’ll get a singer in and they’ll write the lyrics.

Craig Garber:
Mm-hmm.

George Harris:
We’ll go from there, but where we went such a long time just me and him just jamming Because you know I was into writing melodies and stuff So all this would be like maybe this would be a cool vocal melody So I started getting some of that stuff down and again was just waiting around we didn’t we didn’t have a singer So I just thought you know what I’ll give it a go and It’s weird at that age when you first start writing you even feel you like kind of looking over your shoulder Make sure no one’s looking like I feel embarrassed to write in all this stuff just in case it’s, you know, and no one thinks it’s any good. I

Craig Garber:
Sure, especially

George Harris:
sort of,

Craig Garber:
if you’re shy.

George Harris:
yeah, exactly. And I mustered up the

Craig Garber:
Yeah.

George Harris:
courage to show, to show down. And he was like, I think they’re really, they’re really cool. And, you know, I went, I just sort of carried on with it. Like I thought, okay, what other subjects can I write about? And I kind of just ended up getting into it and actually enjoying it in the end, you know. It was a bit of a grind to start with, but I’ve become, you know, I’ve become kind of fascinated with it. and yeah, just kind of snowball from there.

Craig Garber:
to have you changed as a result? Like are you less shy or are you still shy and then, you know, but you’re able to write the lyrics now because you have more life experience and writing experience or did it bring you out of your shell, so to speak?

George Harris:
I think it did, it did a touch. It’s like a way of kind of, I’d say with my lyrics, I often, I find it a lot easier to write about a completely different subjects, like, like a, you know, like we’ve got a track called Fleur Delis, for instance, which is about Joan of Arc. And that’s like specifically about one thing. So you can research and you can find facts and all sorts

Craig Garber:
Yeah.

George Harris:
of stuff. And then you can compile that into lyrics, which fit the melodies and stuff, which I find that a lot easier to do. And if you find something which sparks something in you, you can go, okay, great, I’m gonna get into this. And then there’s the other side of lyric writing, which you think, which, okay, I’m gonna write something personal. And I find that a hell of a lot more difficult just because, like I said, I’m just that type of person, but I tend to kind of hide it all in metaphors and stuff like that. So I know, I don’t think anyone really know sometimes what

Craig Garber:
Interesting.

George Harris:
the lyrics are actually about. I mean, it sounds

Craig Garber:
That’s

George Harris:
like

Craig Garber:
cool.

George Harris:
it’s about something completely different, but it’s… If I, oh, this means this and this means that. People go, oh, right. Ha ha.

Craig Garber:
Oh, that’s interesting. Does it help you? Is it almost like therapy when you do stuff like that? Like you’re getting something out, but you don’t necessarily have to make yourself. You know, you’re getting it out, which is like the therapy

George Harris:
Yeah,

Craig Garber:
part,

George Harris:
yeah.

Craig Garber:
but you don’t have to say, Hey everybody, let me announce this shit.

George Harris:
Exactly, yeah, I think it was that. It was like an indirect way of me sort of getting stuff off my chest.

Craig Garber:
Yeah, that’s cool, man. Well, it’s better to get it off and leave it in there. Trust me. I mean, a lot

George Harris:
Exactly.

Craig Garber:
of crazy, crazy people would never get it off.

George Harris:
Yeah.

Craig Garber:
What were some of the challenges early on as far as getting things up and running for Raven Age?

George Harris:
I guess the first hurdle was just getting the right bands together, actually finding the right band members. It’s been an ongoing thing up until, literally, till last year.

Craig Garber:
Right.

George Harris:
It took us a while, me and Dan were jamming away for a good few years. We got a bass player, Matt Ian, and it was us three playing along to a laptop for a couple of years. But then we finally got a full band. We did our first EP and first full-length album. You know, Dan at the time, who was guitarist at the time, the guy I started the band with, he was always, he always told me from day one, he doesn’t want to be like a touring musician. And he was kind of involved in marketing and management anyway, so he naturally fell into that position for us. He’s just lucky for us that he’s able to do it

Craig Garber:
Sure.

George Harris:
alongside his full-time job. So that kind of, that kind of happens. And Yeah, we realized, you know, a couple of things weren’t quite working out with the lineup and stuff. So we, we changed singers in back in 2018. We have MJ on board now we just you know, fit like a glove. And we now have we had Tony Maui, he joined us as guitarist for quite a good few years, five years nearly, actually. He was a great addition. And he’s a great songwriter. We still work with him now. But we’re now working with new guitarist Tommy Gentry, he was like an old family friend. of mine and he’s an unbelievable guitar player and it’s kind of like all these pieces have changed our sounds, developed our sound and it’s now confined. I finally sort of feel really very confident in the band in a live

Craig Garber:
That’s

George Harris:
scenario.

Craig Garber:
awesome, man.

George Harris:
Our albums, our writing and all that stuff. So I guess that was, it’s tough when you spend, it’s a tough industry to be in. Like everyone’s got to be fully in it. Like, okay lads, are you okay to go away? from home for two months time and for not much money and just enjoy the experience. And everyone’s gotta be like, yes. And especially

Craig Garber:
Yeah.

George Harris:
when you get into this kind of age, it’s like, it gets more and more difficult, but you keep plugging away and I think like your hard work ends up paying off basically.

Craig Garber:
Oh man, thank you. Let’s talk about, I wanna talk about a few of my favorite Rave Reneige songs because I went through your catalog. Dying Embers of Life from, the Dying Embers of Life from Conspiracy. I thought that was like such a, like an awesome classic rock bout. It was like the new wave of British heavy metal style. You know, it was like,

George Harris:
Yeah.

Craig Garber:
it’s like everything I grew up with is perfect, you know? I was just, now this may be interesting. given what you just said about lyrics being metaphors. Is this a track about someone stranded on an island, like literally, or maybe inside his mind or?

George Harris:
It is exactly that. It’s actually, it’s based off of a book I read. Oh, you know what? The name of the prison, I was just slipping my mind. I visited Alcatraz

Craig Garber:
Holy shit,

George Harris:
in San Francisco

Craig Garber:
out in San Francisco,

George Harris:
and.

Craig Garber:
yeah.

George Harris:
in San Francisco, I think his name is Thomas something. Can’t remember the guy’s name now. I’ve got the book somewhere, but this is way back when, I think I started writing this song like about 10 years ago or something

Craig Garber:
Oh wow.

George Harris:
maybe. So yeah, I went on that trip, read the book and I just found it really inspiring. Just the sort of, I guess the two… completely different. It’s like an oxymoron. He’s saying about it being a blessing and a curse. All of the prisoners wanted to be on the top level, on the left hand side, because you could see out the windows and see the city.

Craig Garber:
out.

George Harris:
But then the downside of it is you’re seeing the city where you want to

Craig Garber:
Everything

George Harris:
be and you’re

Craig Garber:
you

George Harris:
stuck.

Craig Garber:
can’t have.

George Harris:
Everything

Craig Garber:
Yeah.

George Harris:
you can’t have. Yeah, I just found that really powerful

Craig Garber:
Interesting.

George Harris:
kind of message. Yeah,

Craig Garber:
Very.

George Harris:
and that’s what that song’s about.

Craig Garber:
Oh, that’s cool. I love that track, it was really good. And then you had one called Fireflies. On the video, it’s called Grave of the Fireflies, if anybody wants to check it out. And that’s from Exile. I really liked that track, and the video I thought was really cool. It was about a soldier in World War II. I mean, this whole thing was an interesting story. The premise is like, The guy has guilty feelings about the people he’s had to kill. And I was, w which is a, cause I’m sure that’s like a very common thing, but I was curious what triggered the idea for that song because it’s not an easy story to develop.

George Harris:
Yeah, I mean, funnily enough, that story Grave of the Fireflies, well, I was just researching some stuff online. I don’t even know what I was doing. I don’t even think I was actively searching for some ideas, but I come across a book on like on Amazon or something called Grave of the Fireflies. And I just thought that’s a cool title. I wonder what that’s about. And I looked into it and it’s actually I found there’s a movie. studio. Ghibli’s like a Japanese anime.

Craig Garber:
Oh yeah, I know Totoro, Studio Ghibli.

George Harris:
Yeah, yeah,

Craig Garber:
Yeah,

George Harris:
my

Craig Garber:
I

George Harris:
neighbor

Craig Garber:
watched

George Harris:
Totsuro,

Craig Garber:
that with my daughter

George Harris:
yeah.

Craig Garber:
when she was a little girl, man.

George Harris:
Yeah,

Craig Garber:
I just,

George Harris:
I…

Craig Garber:
you know, she’s 23 and she came over two weeks ago. We watched it again just for that,

George Harris:
Oh brilliant, yeah

Craig Garber:
the

George Harris:
I

Craig Garber:
nostalgia

George Harris:
mean I used to watch that

Craig Garber:
of

George Harris:
as

Craig Garber:
it.

George Harris:
a kid as well, yeah it’s

Craig Garber:
Yeah,

George Harris:
so good.

Craig Garber:
oh, phenomenal, yeah.

George Harris:
So I decided to like rent this movie online, I thought this is worth watching and I was like I didn’t really know what to expect, I know obviously the title seemed quite somber and stuff and I was like you could see it was like a war-torn story but I was like Jesus it hit me And it’s a true story as well. It’s written as like a, almost like as an apology type thing. But

Craig Garber:
Interesting.

George Harris:
the young guy in it, his parents are killed. He has to look after his really young daughter. And they’re just basically trying to survive through the war. They run into, they try and go to other family who don’t take him in, because there’s not enough food. And he’s basically… in the story, he sort of says, I was quite selfish. I probably should have just stuck around everyone, but I was too proud. They went out on their own and his little sister dies. And he just feels so guilty about it. And that’s just that, that’s kind of the story of the song. And

Craig Garber:
Wow,

George Harris:
he

Craig Garber:
this is heavy.

George Harris:
tried, it’s hard to put, yeah. I mean, the lyrics are, yeah, they’re quite. It tried to tell the story and get the feeling of the story and the movie across as best as possible. And it’s hard to recreate that in a video as well. You know, you just do the best you can. And it seems to have become a bit of a fan favourite, that song. Even though it’s like an eight minute track, you know.

Craig Garber:
No, it’s a great track and it’s really the lyrics are very emotional. I thought it was great. And the movie that it’s called Grave of the Fireflies. That’s the movie

George Harris:
Mm. Yeah,

Craig Garber:
I’m

George Harris:
yeah.

Craig Garber:
going to have to check. Is it an English movie or an American movie?

George Harris:
It’s a Japanese anime by Studio Ghibli.

Craig Garber:
Oh, OK, it’s

George Harris:
They,

Craig Garber:
right. OK,

George Harris:
yeah,

Craig Garber:
right.

George Harris:
so it’s all the guys that made, you know, Mano Buototaro and Spirited Away and all those films.

Craig Garber:
Yep.

George Harris:
So

Craig Garber:
Okay.

George Harris:
you can watch it in, I don’t know if you read English, but I kind of, I prefer watching the actual thing in Japanese with, and just reading it in English. It kind of gets the

Craig Garber:
Get

George Harris:
essence

Craig Garber:
the emotions

George Harris:
across a bit

Craig Garber:
better,

George Harris:
better.

Craig Garber:
yeah.

George Harris:
Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Craig Garber:
do that with TV shows. I need it.

George Harris:
Yeah.

Craig Garber:
We watch a lot of British TV here actually. But except when they switched to shows from Scotland, then I need the English underneath it because I can’t understand.

George Harris:
Yeah, you know, if you get a strong enough like Glaswegian accent or something, it’s tough to understand.

Craig Garber:
And even my wife, like I said, she’s from there. I’m like, what did they say? She goes, I have no idea.

George Harris:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Craig Garber:
When the, when, what are exactly are the fireflies? Because you have this one lyric, it says, mother and father will dry your eyes now that you sleep with the fireflies. That was like heavy, man.

George Harris:
Well, that’s at the part of the story when the young girl dies. So

Craig Garber:
Oh,

George Harris:
her mother

Craig Garber:
OK.

George Harris:
and father are already passed away. So the idea is that she’s now with her mother and father.

Craig Garber:
Oh.

George Harris:
And because she’s asleep with the firefly, it’s basically because they kept these little fireflies in a tin. And it was like an ongoing thing they had. And they used to look at them and it just gave them a bit of… bit of joy and one day they looked in there and the fireflies had died as well. So it was like

Craig Garber:
Oh man,

George Harris:
a bit

Craig Garber:
this

George Harris:
of a

Craig Garber:
is

George Harris:
metaphor.

Craig Garber:
like a lot of work you did to put this track together.

George Harris:
Yeah, it’s one of them things. It’s like it’s such a heavy story. You think you’ve got to do that. You’ve got to do your, you know, you do diligence and try and do it some justice. But so, yeah, I did. I watched it a few times and it’s, well, I can’t say it was a difficult one to write. I actually, once I got in the flow, I really enjoyed writing it just because it’s such a strong story, you know, and it tends to just, it’s one of those ones I didn’t musically, we wrote the song musically first, and I didn’t really realise what concept we were going to go for. And I didn’t also realise that it needed such an emotional sort of song lyrically to match the music. But when I started writing it, I was like, you know, even the break part when it starts telling about how, you know, that’s the part when the sister has died, and it just all flows and it kind of just matched together. Like,

Craig Garber:
That’s awesome.

George Harris:
yeah, it just worked out.

Craig Garber:
That was really well done, man. Awesome.

George Harris:
Thanks.

Craig Garber:
I have a guitar nerd question. I played along with that track and I thought, I hope I’m correct, it’s in like A flat major, which is not a very common key. So I assume it’s A major, you just tune down half step.

George Harris:
Yeah, we just, yeah, we tuned down. I always…

Craig Garber:
Lost you. No, it’s good. I know it’s all good. I lost you. Did you, you know, I had Richie Faulkner on here. Didn’t he play with your sister for a while? Yeah. Oh my, I had him on here a few weeks ago. He was funny as hell. Interesting. Oh, yeah, I’m sure. So I’m sorry. You said it is it is it in a major and you tune down. Okay. Oh, dude, I don’t I can barely play guitar tongues, strong standards. So I’m not like you’re talking now like a foreign language to me, to be honest with you. Oh wow. Yeah. That’s awesome, man. Well, making you a better player, better rider. Uh, the new record blood omen changing of the guard is the opening track. I, that was really cool. That acoustic, uh, opening, but you’ve got like strings in there, timpani flute behind the guitar was, was that like an actual string section? Or is that like a synth? Sure. That’s awesome. Well, I love that track. I thought it was such a really cool way to open the record and then, you know, the track builds emotionally as well as in volume. So, uh, tell me, my question was, is it harder to write a track where you’ve got like a deliberate crescendo in a climax like that, or how does that evolve? Oh, that’s clever. Very cool. That was great with the strings. I thought it was cool. And my next question was of course was about Tears of Stone. Uh, funny enough. Um, I thought that was like such a good anthem is that would be like an awesome show encore, is that what, what is that? Any chance that’s what happens with that track? Is it, is it your encore? Awesome. It’s such a cool track, man. I really, really enjoyed it. And Jai’s music, his role in your band is pretty critical. I mean, he’s really doing a great job driving everything and his timing is like freaking Swiss watch, man. He’s, I mean, a hell of a drummer. Hahaha! Yeah. Yeah, well, he’s phenomenal. He’s really like a hell of a drummer. This is interesting. I listened to an interview with you and Matt, and you guys were talking about the differences of how audiences all over the world react. And you said, sometimes it’s difficult, depending on where you are, it makes it difficult to gauge whether you’re connecting with them or not, or how they’re feeling. And I’d never heard that. I’d just like to hear you elaborate on it. That was really interesting. Okay. Just not verbal. Oh, so you don’t, yeah. Interesting. Well, yeah, I could see you being like almost insecure up on stage and just standing there and like, uh, are we just hello? You know, like I can understand that. Yeah. Interesting. All right. So. No, no, go ahead, I apologize. That’s wild. So, so don’t feel awkward. Spill the beans. How are the fans in America? And are they different in different sections of America? That’s interesting. Yeah. That’s nice. Interesting. Yeah. Because when I first met my wife, when I’d go over there and I’d talk to her mom, you know, and then like I’d put Ann back on the phone and she would say to us, she goes, does he shut up? So I think… Yeah, it was really funny. And my wife would just be like, oh, he’s American. He’s American and he’s a New Yorker on top of that. Yeah, right. But that was interesting. I’m glad I saw that interview. I know you’re still early in your career, but what would you say so far? Top three musical experiences you’ve had and what made them so much fun? Oh, no worries. It actually sounds better. Uh, I said, you’re still early in your career, but tell me the top three musical experiences you’ve had so far and what made them so much fun or so memorable. That’s nice. Ah, yeah. Wow. Yeah. That’s awesome. Congrats, man. That’s awesome. Very cool. What is our do people still walk around masks over in the UK? Yeah. Good, yeah we have that here occasionally. It’s not very common but you still see it once in a while. On planes you see it quite a bit. All right. So it’s the only question to ask related to that. I was just curious. What are some lessons you learned from him as far as things to do and maybe even things not to do like a mistakes to avoid making if you’re comfortable both in life and in your music career? Yeah. That’s really great advice, man. I agree with you. I think it’s both good for life and for music. Yeah. Without a doubt. Again, you’re so young. This may not even be a relevant question, Joyce, but what were some of the low points or dark periods you’ve had to deal with and how’d you get through them? Ah, that must have been so disappointing, man. Yeah. Well, you’re pretty driven and that’s why you probably, I mean, you seem super driven. And I mean that in a good way, cause I, you know, you get a good work. I think you’re driven to me. That’s a better quality person. And when you’re driven like that, it’s hard to be like, well, it’s okay. I’ll do nothing for awhile. That’s just not because I’m that way. And it’s like doing nothing is not in my fucking DNA, you know, like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I get it, man. Well, thanks for sharing that, and I agree with you. As far as guitar goes, is there anything you’re currently working on, like for personal enjoyment, as opposed to stuff for the gigs and for the shows? Interesting. Hahaha That’s interesting. Ha ha ha! That’s interesting. and smoke on the water. That’s awesome man, that’s cool. That’s great. That’s awesome. What is your go-to guitar right now? And what other two guitars round out your top three? Like the Les Paul looking one? Okay, that’s a great looking guitar, man. The binding around there is really pretty. Okay. What’s that acoustic that you always do along? No. I haven’t, I just wrote it down, I’m gonna check it out. I’ve never even heard of that, the Kingman. I’m gonna definitely check it out. Very cool, man. Tell me the funniest or most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you in the studio or on stage. Sure. Okay. Ha ha! Uh… Right. Ha ha. Yeah, that’s funny, man. That’s funny. That’s horrible. Well, that was a good answer. Thank you, man. Hey, tell me your top, uh, top desert island CDs in no particular order. And just for today, cause I know that changes. Wow, that’s a switch. Yeah. Wow. Yes, yes. Wow, that’s interesting. I like the old Fleetwood Mac, like with Peter, Danny Curwen, and there was another guitarist, but like, because I’m a blues guy, so I like some of their old, you know, the Peter Green stuff, of course, like that. Yeah, yeah, I love that stuff. Yeah. Yeah. That’s awesome, man. Good man. Great man. All right, George, tell me about a change you’ve made or a specific experience you had that changed either your outlook on life or how you look at yourself. Your hands. had I had another Yeah. Interesting. Like meditating? Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Wow. You know, um, it’s interesting. I grew up in a very stressful environment. So I tended to make decisions throughout most of my life. That would put me back in that environment. Cause that was my norm. But about in 2008, you know, 2010 I had a bunch of like everything just fell apart. Lots of different stuff. And I, I realized, I wrote it down even on a little index card. I realized that a lot of the stress I was dealing with was my fault. And I vowed to myself that I’m not going to do that. That, you know, you’re going to have life’s going to give you enough stress on its own, but I really made a conscious effort. And so what I’m saying is if you do that, it’ll, it’ll work because I’ve totally turned my whole disposition around. I mean, I’m having the happiest time of my life and yeah, yeah. Yeah. So you can, you can definitely do that. You just gotta, you know, when you’re used to. Good. Yeah. Yeah, well, I wish you a lot of luck, man. You’re a super bright guy. So I know you’d be able to put your mind to doing anything you need to do. So I just wish you a lot of luck with that. And so that’s yeah, man. Yeah, for sure. Thank you for sharing that flip side. What do you like most about yourself? Nobody does. This is like a horrible question for a British person, especially. You got, I know, sorry. We don’t like ourselves. That’s awesome. But I disagree. I mean, see, this is this is where that work ethic thing comes because you just told me like all the research you I watched that movie three times. That’s what you said to me, right? That’s not like not a lot of people. And then you created this masterpiece, right? Not a lot of people are willing to do that. And the guys that think I’m not, you know, I’m blessed. I’m you’re working your ass off. It’s just that it’s a passion of yours. And you probably wouldn’t think of doing anything less. because that’s what you do, man. That’s like, you’re all in when you’re doing something. You’re not gonna give a 50% effort, you know? Yeah, and I found that it’s the lazy people like, oh, this is so hard. Well, I mean, you’re not really doing much. Of course it’s hard, you know? So, yeah. Yeah. And when you’re driven and you say, man, you want to put a good quality product out there, you know, so that’s awesome. Best childhood memory. Mm-hmm. Right. Oh, that’s cool. Six. Oh my God. God bless you. I couldn’t imagine. I’ve got three and I was like surrender with the white freaking flag. Six, wow. Oh my god. Oh, that’s cool. That must have been overwhelming as a young kid, like seeing like 30,000 people just like acting mental. Yeah. Sure. Yeah, interesting. That’s a very interesting lifestyle to grow up. It’s not very mainstream. You don’t see that, encounter that a lot. What’s your favorite place to travel? What’s your favorite place you’ve been? Which part? Which part? Which part of the states? Oh, that’s, dude, that’s like God’s country, man. That’s like so majestic. It’s beautiful out there, man. Yeah, it’s majestic. Yeah. Yeah, I could see that. I know you’re a big sports guy. Do you have any hobbies outside of music besides sports? And reading, obviously you’re a huge reader. Oh my God, dude, that’s a long time for a young. Oh my God. Congratulations. That’s cool, man. Alright. Right? Paddle ball, yeah. Dude, I grew up in New York City. Paddle ball was like big time there, believe it or not. It’s a fast paced sport, man. And you got to hit that ball hard. And yeah, that’s, it’s, you know what, man, they have a mat in New York city, massive paddle ball tournaments. And especially like Latins, mostly Latins are like Puerto Rican teams, Dominican team, they’re really into that. And these guys are just killer players, man. And they’re like taking this shit so seriously. Yeah. It’s a, it’s a, I played it when I was a kid, right across the street in the basketball courts, they had paddle ball courts. Yeah. It’s a fun. Yeah, it’s a fun. No, no, obviously not. No, no. Thanks, George. All right, hey man. No, it was funny, it was great. Last question, what’s giving you the most joy right now? Awesome. That’s a wonderful answer, man. Awesome That’s great. Awesome, man. Congratulations. I hope that you got a lot of years of that. All right. So let me tell people where to find you and what you got going on. It’s the Raven age and you can find them online at the ravinage.com. The new album is blood omen. Um, it’s George is just a phenomenal writer. I’d encourage you to check out the whole catalog. It’s really good. And it was really nice to see the band change and develop over time too. You know, that’s always, you know, as a listener, that’s nice to, to see that. And you know, you guys, just do things and you know, you get tighter and tighter, but your songwriting and I’m not blowing smoke is phenomenal for, for especially as prolific as you are. The band’s gonna be doing European tour starting in mid October, going through England and Europe. They’re headlining. So check that out and you can find it on the website, therebinage.com. Also you can follow them on their socials, Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok. I don’t even know. I don’t have Tik Tok. What is, do you get followed on there? What is it called? I don’t even know. I don’t know. It’s kind of hard to take that seriously. It’s like there’s so everybody all social media now, everybody’s given advice, right? And like, it’s just overkill, man. Like how many different people do I need to tell me all of a sudden that I should put strawberries in a jar? And I mean, it’s like, and like, what are your qualifications? Like, oh, I saw another guy do it. So I just did it. Like, what the fuck is I’m, I’m surrender. I don’t want to hear it. I just want to look at like, cat videos and like deer and bear that’s I just consider like innocent nature you know. Anyway man I really appreciate everything. Is there any final words of wisdom? Oh, my pleasure. I wish you guys a lot of luck and everything you do. You’re a phenomenal band. I hope you know everything that you’re looking to do. Yeah, man. That’d be awesome. That’d be awesome. Awesome. Well, hold on one second. If you come to Florida, you will get a message from me for sure. Hey, hang on one second, George. Thanks so much for your time. I appreciate it and best luck with everything with the band and everything got going on at home too. So hang on one second. Everybody. Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this, please share it on your socials. We appreciate your support. Thanks very much to George Harris who’s been in time with us and most important, remember that happiness is a choice. So choose wisely. Be nice, go play your guitar and have fun. Peace and love everybody. I am out.