Bulb (via MySpace)

Some know him as Misha Mansoor; most know him as Bulb.  He’s a talented, independent multi-instrumentalist-with-a-mean-guitar-streak whose MySpace currently has well over 600,000 views.  The statistics may be even higher on Soundclick and wherever else his music has ended up.  People beg him for tabs/video demonstrations of his songs day in and day out, but I decided to beg for information instead – and he delivered.

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about the man behind the Djent, now is the time to get acquainted.

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1. You have an arguably huge following on the Internet, one that continues to grow every day. In the most general sense, I would say that the majority of your fanbase is attracted by your work ethic. How do you write and record so many songs for so many projects and not get burnt out creatively? Where do you find the time to fit it all in?

Honestly dude, i dont know haha! If anything i feel like i dont write enough. I dropped out of school to pursue music on the condition that i would work full time on the side, over the years i have been very fortunate in that my parents have been extremely supportive of that decision and that nowadays i can make a living off of recording other bands which affords me a lot more free time to work on my own stuff than a 9-5 used to. Because of this i feel like any time im not making the most of it and recording something is time wasted. I often have ideas of some sort flowing through my head (whether they are good or bad is a whole other story haha) but i feel guilty if im not constantly writing and making the most of my free time. I also feel that the better i have gotten at my craft the more i realize i have yet to learn, so im always eager to get better at writing and recording, and the best way i know to improve is just by doing it!

2. Taking that last question a step further, there are so many songs that you have written over the past few years. To this date, excluding the improvements you’ve made in your recording set-up and how you produce your music currently, which one do you think is your best work? Why?

Oh man, thats a tough one. I know im really hard on myself, i cant really help it though and i find it hard to take a good objective look at my songs, because i really think they are ok at best, i never get excited about a new song for more than a few days, and then it becomes just another song to me. Every once in a blue moon ill go through my back catalogue to see if there are any cool things i forgot about or missed that i may want to update or use in new ideas or whatever, and sometimes i do find cool things i forgot about, but oftentimes i feel like im listening as an outsider because some of those ideas are really old haha, i cant even remember or relate to where my mind was at the time and why i went where i did with it! Now that i have prefaced with all of that nonsense i guess out of recent memory im pretty happy with the way Press Enter came out cuz its kinda different and i think i did a decent job of not overthinking it, its definitely not finished (i dont think many of my songs are haha) but i think thats a decent song for sure!

3. I first discovered your music through the official Meshuggah forum, as I’m sure many others have. One thing I’ve noticed out of that forum and others is the huge amount of at-home musical projects that have been launched using, at the base level, Drumkit From Hell and Line 6 amp modeling equipment. Where do you think you would be as a musician without Meshuggah, Drumkit From Hell, and amp modelers? How do you think this technology changes how people make and popularize their music?

Oh man, i dont even know where i would be. I started recording when i was 17 or so just to be able to jot ideas down (i have really bad memory and forget my ideas all the time) and i was just micing my shitty practice amp and my crappy drum set to get basic ideas down. But having modelers and drum machines really opens up your world, both in your ability to record ideas well and compose. I cant say that i wouldnt be anywhere without those, because knowing me i would have just made do with what i had, but i definitely would have been limited in a lot of ways, such as when and how i would be able to record and i think it would greatly have affected my style of writing and playing. It would be kind of interesting to see how everything would have turned out in a parallel universe where i didnt have those things!

4. You have a unique sense of humor when it comes to your music. You’re one of the few musicians I know of who has song names like “Buttersnips” and “Unleash the Pwnies”. Your Soundclick page once said something to the extent that you write metal or at least “what you would call metal” songs for your own enjoyment. Do you take yourself seriously as a musician, or at least as seriously as others (your fans, especially) take you and your music?

In my mind music is supposed to be fun. There are aspects of it that are very serious for me and i do take it very seriously in that regard such as improving myself as a musician, composer and producer and i definitely take the business side seriously, and i do get stressed out over it constantly. But at the end of the day (i should hope) most people are doing it for fun, and i am no exception. Im kind of a silly dude with a weird (read as: lame) sense of humor, so i just give my songs names which i think would be funny or cool, especially with the heavier or crazier songs, its just kind of a fun contrast.

5. Tosin Abasi released arguably one of the best metal albums of the year with his band Animals As Leaders, currently signed to Prosthetic Records. Though his MySpace page doesn’t mention you outside of the friends list, several forum posts on the official Meshuggah board and others linked you to the project. The rhythm and drum tracks certainly sound like your handiwork. Were you ever officially a part of this project? If so, to what extent, and why is there no mention of your work now?

Tosin is a really good friend of mine and a huge inspiration when it comes to playing. I have to get on him to credit me properly on the myspace page haha, but thats just due to lack of attention on both of our parts honestly and not because he doesnt want to give me credit or anything like that. I originally offered to produce the album for him and he accepted, however our writing chemistry ended up being so in sync that we ended up treating the project as more of a collaboration than anything. I would say only about half of the album’s riffs were written before hand, and we wrote the other half here. I ended up programming all the drums and doing all the electronic and synth stuff. I also wrote a lot of the layers and rhythm guitar parts and even some leads here and there on top of regular production stuff like arranging, mixing and editing. So i definitely put my fair share of work in, though honestly the album is still carried by Tosin’s incredible riffs and leads. As a funny side note I havent actually gotten a physical copy of the album yet so i hope im properly credited on there haha!

Anyways we are really proud of the way the album came out, so to those of you who havent checked it out please do! It definitely has a lot of both of us in it!

6. In other interviews, you’ve said that you try to avoid doing expensive things outside of music just so you can save up for better equipment/software and continue to make progress on your sound. This is going to be a multi-faceted question. First off, is there something about constantly improving your gear that keeps you inspired and dedicated? In other words, does the quality of your sound play a meaningful role in your ability to write bigger and better songs? Obviously, we know you’ve written great songs with less than you have now – but some people find a sound, even if it isn’t the best, and stick with it. Are you on a constant search for the best Bulb sound?

Haha well im just saving my money for things i like. I LOVE gear, and anyone who knows me well knows how much i obsess over gear, so thats just what i like to spend my money on. The quality of sound isnt always reliant on having amazing gear though, i know some people who have VERY minimalist setups and get amazing sounds (like chimpspanner/paul ortiz).

But new gear can definitely inspire you in its own way. At least for me, pleasing sounds always lead to inspiration. The better the mix, the better i feel about the song and the more the ideas will flow! Or sometimes ill play a guitar that just blows me away and riffs will just be flowing out, thats when i know i have found a nice guitar haha! But im never really happy with my mix and sound, so yeah im always always always working on it and trying to improve it! I think i have come to terms with the fact that i will never really be happy with it for very long before i start over analyzing or getting sick of it, but hey thats what keeps me movin forward i guess, i just gotta embrace it for what it is!

7. Your main band, Periphery, is something you’re very serious about. The band has been around for a few years in many different incarnations, with members leaving here and there and progress on the album going up and coming back down. You now have what seems to be a stable line-up and are also at the right stage in the album process to finally record the whole thing. After being in one spot for so many years, what do you see happening for Periphery once the debut is released? Is there any label interest in the band at all?

Yeah its been a bit of a roller coaster ride on every level but its been worth it! We have a great lineup and i feel confident that if these guys have stuck with Periphery through all the nonsense we have been through in the last few years that they will stick with Periphery for good! I see some serious moves happening for Periphery once the album is out. It has always been that one thing holding us back even when we had a full line up. We have been talking to labels for a while, but we really want to sign the right deal for us rather than just jump on a deal to be able to say that we are signed, we are talking about the long term plans and livelihoods of 6 people here, so its not something to be taken lightly or rushed. I think once the album is out, we should be able to get the kind of deal we are after and tour a lot supporting it and gain some good live experience as well as expand our fan base and just take it from there. I dont ever expect to be huge or anything, but for the band to be generating enough income for us to be able to support ourselves would be nice and that is our goal for the time being!

8. Do you ever wonder what people see in you and your music? So many people love what you do and are inspired to start playing their instruments again or for the first time because of what they hear in your songs, but what you usually say in interviews is that your style almost comes natural to you. You started off as a drummer and only moved on to guitar because you had to, but even I can still hear the remnants of a drummer’s mind in the percussive nature of your riffs. Do you ever take a step back and ask yourself why your music, as complex and experimental as it is, has caught on so rapidly?

I wonder about that constantly. I am a bit self conscious and cant really appreciate my own music on the level that some people seem to. Im really happy that some people hear my stuff and get inspired, but i dont understand why haha, and i probably never will, but its not really a big deal because i just write music for myself to keep myself happy, and if people dig it then thats just awesome icing on the cake! I would still do what i do even if everyone hated it!

I feel like im always finding my style, i think its cool that some people say they can recognize my style, im not really sure what “bulb” style would be, and i dont realy try to think about it. My rule with music is simple: if it sounds good, do it! I dont really care if its complex or simple or whatever, so i really dont put much thought into it, its just more of a feel thing. I jam on ideas and if i feel they might have potential i record them, if they dont suck then i might get inspired and track more ideas and then if the idea as a whole is decent then i work on it and post it up! I definitely have a drummer’s approach to guitar haha, i have been told by many a person that i play guitar like a drummer, not really sure exactly what that means, but it would make sense given the fact that i love the drums! I think that if my music has caught on at all its because of the internet. Things like myspace, soundclick and music forums really change the way you can deliver your music to people and open up a whole world of free marketing possibilities. That combined with the fact that i like giving my songs away for free i think has helped spread the word! Im not really sure exactly why people dig it though, you might have to ask them haha!

9. I just did a Google search on “Misha Mansoor,” and near the bottom of the first page was a link to a blog where a bootleg, I guess you would say, greatest hits compilation had been made for you using whoever made it’s favorite tracks. Not too many independent one-man metal projects get a “greatest hits” collection made for them, even if it is fan-made. As I said before, Periphery is your main focus and you’re very dedicated to it. A lot of the songs you’ve written recently under the “Bulb” name have turned into Periphery songs. But the band involves a lot of people, a lot of time and money, etc. ; with Bulb, you are one man doing whatever you want to do. Here’s a hard question: has there ever been a time when you had a passing thought about ditching the band and focusing on a solo career? We all want Periphery to succeed, but I assume thoughts like that might arise during low points in the past when you’re in a struggling independent band. Or, have you always had conviction with Periphery?

Honestly i would say that thought has never crossed my mind. I really love playing these songs and performing live, so i feel lucky to have a group of musicians who are able to bring these tunes to life so well. Periphery is my main focus honestly. I will always write music and i will write music that is not necessarily suited to Periphery, but i feel that Periphery is the band that i can take the music that we find the most fun to play and bring it to life! I wouldnt be able to do much on my own, i like playing with a full band, so if i focused on a solo career i would have to find a live band for that as well. Someday down the road i would like to focus some of my time on that, but for the time being Periphery is what im focusing all of my energy on! When Perphery is at a low point, or not capable of being productive in the moment for various reasons i have definitely tried to keep myself busy with side projects and what not just to keep my own personal momentum going, but the side projects are just that, and will never get priority over Periphery.

10. The final question is one I ask everybody, and it’s not deep at all! If you could go on tour with any band from another country, who would it be and why?

The obvious answer would be Meshuggah haha, amazing music and really nice dudes, what more could you ask for right?

BUT in the interest of giving a more interesting answer although the lineup would be a bit weird i would LOVE to go on to with Allan Holdsworth, god that would be amazing. If not him then Guthrie Govan for sure. They both seem like ridiculously grounded and nice guys, they are not human and i could learn so much from them. Someone set a tour up where we are opening up for both of them and i can die a happy man!