Talented Musicians Blog: Meet Rene Avila

An Interview with Rene Avila

Hi Rene, where do you reside?
Hi Deb, I live in Kinnelon, NJ.

How long have you been playing?
I started playing guitar at age 13 and started singing at around 21.

What musicians influenced you?

I am mostly influenced by the 80's hair metal bands. My favorite guitar player that made me want to play guitar is George Lynch of Dokken. There are a lot of singers that I love and have been influenced by, but I have to say that my favorite rock singer is Kip Winger.

What’s it like to tour or gig?

I can't tell you anything about touring because unfortunately I never did one of those yet (but endlessly hoping too) LOL. I'm just trying to get whatever gigs I can get and try to stay fresh in everyone's minds without having long gaps in between. Consistency is what I'm always looking to have.

Tell us about your gear?

I mostly use Ibanez electric guitars, Ovation, and Takamine acoustic guitars. I also use an ENGL guitar head.

What advice would you give a newbie musician?

There's a lot I could say to newbies in the music industry, but I guess it all depends on what their goals might be. I guess just to keep it short I would tell them to constantly practice and get better at what and how you want to play. Get to know yourself meaning know when you should and shouldn't be playing in front of people because as always you want to have a good report from whoever's listening. Always keep in mind that there will always be someone that will knock you down for whatever reason that might or might not be true.

What was one of your accomplishments as a musician or what are your goals?

One of my big accomplishments was of course finally putting out a CD and as for goals well my whole mission in life has been to play my music all over the world and finally get going on that tour thing you asked me about earlier.