Hi all. First, I would like to thank Guitar Player Zen for selecting me (Paul Willis) as a featured artist- it is quite an honor.

I will start off with a little about myself. I am 39 years old, living in the burbs of Pittsburgh, PA with my wonderful wife of 8 years, and the greatest kids anyone could ever ask for (a 5 year old boy, and my daughter who just turned 3). I have gone through many changes throughout my life, some more challenging than others, some terrific and some disappointing. But looking back now, I wouldn’t have changed anything because it is those experiences that have lead me where I am today.

I began playing/studying the guitar on March 13, 1978, 18 days before my 10th birthday. Don’t ask how I remember details like that, I just do. Anyway, back to the story. At that time the goal was to be able to play like the band KISS. It wasn’t long before I had tackled that goal and was in search of loftier challenges. My interests turned to jazz. Great players that still amaze me today like George Benson, Larry Carlton, Par Martino, Steve Morse/Dixie Dregs and most of all, Joe Pass, became the focus of my attention. In my quest, I discovered that music theory was and still is a great passion for me. It answers all questions, it gets me out of a musical rut when I find myself in one, but most of all, it is a never ending challenge to understand and assimilate that newly found knowledge into my playiing. I could go on forever, but that is another story for another time. Then, the 80′s came. All of a sudden there were guitarists like Viv Campbell (DIO), Warren Dimartini (RATT), and Randy Rhoads. Finally, that heavy driven guitar sound that drew me to KISS was being played by musicians that wanted to play more than just a great song, but also thrill the crowd with skill. The likes of Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony Macalpine, Vinny Moore, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai … followed shortly after, raising the bar even further. I had found my happy place.

In 1982 I formed a band with 2 friends from school (bass and drums- both excellent), and my brother as the other guitarist (an amazing player). We played a lot of shows, and became very popular locally. We went on to win a 4 month tristate battle of the bands and believed we were on our way to the top of the charts (one of those disappoinments I alluded to earlier). We did manage to get signed to an independent label, and we released an album [yes I am old enough to have released an album (cd's were just starting to become popular at the time)]. We continued to play, write, and dream. Then, Metallica’s Ride the Lightning was released. What a gift. I was reminded of something that I hadn’t thought about since my Jazz years- rhythm guitar playing can be as exciting and challenging as playing/improvising solos. Unlike most other “Metal” music of the eighties, the rhythm was no longer just a reminder to the audience and lead guitarist as to what key the song was in, it was in the forefront. No I-IV-V chord patterns here. Now you know where I’m coming from, and if you listen to my music, I hope it will be evident.

So, why did I call this episode of diarrhea of the mouth (or in this case of the pen) Life is Full of Surprises? Because life doesn’t always take the turns you think they will. I played in my band all through college, every day believing that we would be discovered, eventually becoming rich and famous. Well, as you already know, that never happened. Maybe I needed to move out of Pittsburgh, maybe Kiss was right (Keep It Simple Stupid) and our music was too complex. No matter the reason, it just wasn’t meant to be.

My life took one of many major turns right after college. I applied for medical school, cut my 14 inch pony tale off before interviews, and got accepted. This was a very time consuming and taxing endeavor, and for the first time I couldn’t just pick up my guitar whenever I wanted to. I used to play 6-8 hours every day, and now found it difficult to find time to remove my guitar from its case let alone play it- well, at least for the first few months anyway. I soon found that organizaion, and maximizing my utilization of time were the keys to finding time to do more than just study medicine. First and foremost, don’t procrastinate. I can’t say that I am never guilty of putting off until tomorrow what I can do today, but if I ever expected to even look at a guitar, let alone play it, I had to get the work done. I found that I was spending more time worrying about what I had to do than actually doing it. I could do all the worrying that I wanted, but it didn’t get the job done quicker. Also, when doing the work, I had to focus on that particular job. I couldn’t let my mind drift. Daydreaming is not time working/ studying, and it is not time spent playing the guitar either. It is time lost that could have been used productively. At first it was hard to keep this mindset and very exhausting. Over time though, it became habitual. The more I tried to focus, the better I got at it. This allowed me to complete my studies faster, leaving more time for other things. There was another unexpected benefit though, I found myself more focused while playing the guitar as well. I got more out of 1 hour with my trusty axe than I would have out of 3 or 4 hours in the past. This meant I didn’t have to sacrifice sleep just to do some of the other things that I enjoy in life.

Well, after 4 years of med school it was off to surgical residency (six years if you count the year of reseach that I did). Back in the not so distant past, when I was in surgical training, there were no limits on the number of hours a training doctor could work per week (now they are limited to 80 hours). It was common for me to be in the hospital 110-130 hours per week, and I promise those numbers are not a typo. Now top this off with the fact that I met my now wife during my second year there (how did I find enough time to do that?). Well, armed with my new found organizational skills, and the unfortunate understanding that there will never be more than 24 hours in any given day, I came to an understanding. I will never again be able to play my guitar 8 hours per day as I once had. There are too many commitments and responsibilities in my life for that to happen ever again. I had to readjust my expectations. I had to aim for pure quality rather than quantity of time. If I was writing a new song, I could’t expect to finish it today, tomorrow, next week, or even next month. I had to be content with progress no matter how slow it developed. Once I came to terms with this, I found myself much more relaxed, less resentful, and just plain happier with life. I found myself looking forward to the time that I could spend with my instrument, rather than being discouraged by the time that I couldn’t spend with it. In fact the song that Guitar Player Zen is so kindly featuring, Influence, was written, arranged, and recorded (as were many other songs) during the years of my surgical training. If you add in the fact that I was responsible for every aspect of the recording [including playing all other instruments (drums, vibes, horns, piano, etc.) on my Roland guitar synth], I think I accomplished a lot.

Well, in September 1999 I got married. We were together so much while we dated for the previous 4 years, that things didn’t change much, but on July 10 2000, I began my surgical practice. I joined an already established group, so there was no down time as the practice began to build. Fortunately, practice is not like surgical training- I don’t work 130 hour weeks anymore. It may not sound easy to some, but 60-70 hour work weeks on average with every other weekend off is like Heaven after what I had just completed. I felt like I had all the time in the world, and then my son was born to be followed 2 years later by my daughter. Well, I know I love my guitar, but I would throw it away forever for my children. They come first- always. My time once again became very limited for personal pursuits.

As of today though, I find that my children keep each other busy, and my time constraints are slowly loosening again. I am playing more now than I have since I started med school 17 years ago, and I am finally catching back up technically to where I was 17 years ago. Interestingly, I think I am a better guitarist today than I was then as all of my lifes experiences (which are not limited to the above) have added feel and passion to my playing in a way that only personal experiences, both good and bad, can. Although it still takes me forever and a day to write and record music, I am once again doing so, and hope in the not too distant future that I will have the opportunity to share those with you as well.

Thanks again to Guitar Player Zen, and thank you for reading. Until next time, have a productive day

Paul
Paul Willis Project

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