Hailing from Italy, 21-year-old Davide Lo Surdo has made a mark on the world as a global touring guitarist. His quintessential trait is the lightning-fast speed with which he plays the six-stringer.
This sobriquet can be backed by the fact that Lo Surdo is capable of playing multiple notes in one second (playing 129 notes for his world speed guitar record). Having received congratulatory feedback from seasoned veterans like Alice Cooper and Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess, Lo Surdo has definitely achieved a lot at a young age.
Currently, the guitarist is all set to perform at the second edition of the annual event Mumbai Guitar Day that is curated by Neil Banks and is an initiative by Gigatainment. Due to the pandemic’s after-effects, this edition would take place online with Davide Lo Surdo joining a talented performance ensemble comprising of 4-time Grammy winner Ah-V-Lah and 13-year-old child prodigy Sshivin Shirodkar.
Here are a few excerpts from a conversation that Team Score had with ‘the fastest guitarist in the world’.
Was being ‘the fastest guitarist in the world’ always your intention or did it come naturally to you?
Since the beginning of my journey with the guitar, I have always been very fast. Being very fast has always being very natural for me. Also being recognized “The Fastest Guitarist of All Time” by “Rolling Stone” Edition Brasil is a huge honour for me.
Tell us about a few guitarists who have always inspired you.
The guitarists that actually inspired me are Steve Vai, Jeff Loomis and Batio.
When did you start learning the guitar and what was your learning process like?
I started playing guitar at 9 years old.
When I was younger, I was with a neighbour close to my house and one day, I saw her and her dad playing a classical guitar and I got fascinated by that.
I started taking guitar classes in a church with a priest and after some months the teacher said to my family to let me study privately with professional teachers. Then, after years I started playing touring with professional guitar players and I actually learnt a lot from them.
Based on your musical experience over the years, what would be an important tip for all aspiring guitarists?
I think two important tips are the determination and work hard because if you do both of these things, nothing is impossible.
How has the pandemic impacted you and your music?
Unfortunately, like all the musicians, I have not been able to tour for the pandemic but I am very happy for all the achievements during the pandemic. I have been on the biggest magazines in the world, I released my first original song, I did collaborations with famous players such as Jeff Loomis, Angel Vivaldi, I have been on Televisions around the world, I took new sponsors… so, I am very satisfied of all what achieved during this pandemic but of course, I can’t wait to come to a normal life and tour again.
Can you tell us a little about your upcoming musical projects?
I am planning to release my first album next year. I have tours confirmed in Bangladesh, China, Japan and also, I have a plan to come back to India on tour.
What do you plan on performing for the upcoming Mumbai Guitar Day?’
For the “Mumbai Guitar Day”, I will be performing my original song “Resilience”. It’s actually my first original song that I released.
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