Davide Lo Surdo, born on 24th July 1999, is an Italian guitarist who received the title of the ‘Fastest Guitarist In History’ by Rolling Stone magazine. Officially recorded, he was able to hit an unbelievable 129 notes in 1 second on his guitar. He’s shared the stage with some phenomenal and legendary musicians like Michael Angelo Batio, Steve Vai, Neil Zaza, Mike Stern and has received congratulatory feedback on his record from artists like Alice Cooper and Jordan Rudess.
Joining the musical celebrations this year, Davide shall be performing at the Mumbai Guitar Day on the 24th of July 2021. One of India’s premium music festivals that celebrates some of the finest guitarists from around the world, the Mumbai Guitar Day is curated by Neil Banks and produced by Gigatainment. Keeping in mind the pandemic, this edition of the festival shall be hosted online. Diving into an insightful conversation with Surdo, BeatCurry explores the story and inspiration behind this young maestro’s career.
Tanya Sujan | BeatCurry Team
It’s indeed such a huge thing to get to see artists like you who set such innovative examples in front of a generation of players and students of music from around the world. How have you gone about crafting this artform, what were those signs and indications that you observed as a kid that made you envision yourself as the world’s fastest guitarist?
The fastest guitarist thing actually came out very naturally. I started playing the guitar when I was 9. I remember going to some local jam sessions and a lot of people saying that my speed was very fast. They indeed believed in me. I started working on it but it came very naturally for me. And I truly believe that if you combine hard work with determination, nothing is impossible for anybody. That’s been the first step in my musical career.
“I recall one such incident when I was backstage with Michael Angelo. As he was warming up, he looked at me and said “You have to do what I do!” I have learnt a lot by watching such people and it’s helping me today. I am immensely grateful for all of this. It’s an amazing feeling.”
You have achieved a huge feat at such a young age. How did you get introduced to the guitar? What was the whole backstory?
So I started playing at a very young age since our neighbour who had a daughter used to play as well. One day I saw her playing some classical music with her dad and I was very fascinated by it. I found out about the music school she was attending and joined the same guitar course. This course was actually in a church and we were taught by a priest. My family bought my first guitar and I started going to this school. I was a fast learner so after 2-3 months, the priest would ask me to shift between guitar chords quickly, and I was able to do that.
After seeing my potential, he advised my family to get me private lessons with a professional teacher. So after that, I started going to a music school near my house and the teacher would teach me more advanced stuff like the ‘Spiders’ exercise. After a year with him, I changed teachers but eventually, I shifted to practising and studying music alone by watching videos of other guitar players. The big change occurred when I started playing with Steve Vai, Michael Angelo and all such legends. I recall one such incident when I was backstage with Michael Angelo. As he was warming up, he looked at me and said “You have to do what I do!” I have learnt a lot by watching such people and it’s helping me today. I am immensely grateful for all of this. It’s an amazing feeling.
“So I took three takes-the first was 99, the second was 103. In Italy we have a saying “there’s no two without three” and I gave it my shot. I was able to hit 129 notes in a second! I was so short of breath and I couldn’t believe that I did it!”
How did you go about clocking a massive record of 129 notes in 1 second that made you the ‘Fastest Guitarist’ today? How did it all happen?
I was headed to Mexico for a show. I met a guy over there who invented a programme that can count everything-that could calculate not just musical notes, but everything that repeats, something continuous and fast, like a beat. One day we were just hanging out and he said, “We should see how fast you can play.” So I took three takes-the first was 99, the second was 103. In Italy we have a saying “there’s no two without three” and I gave it my shot. I was able to hit 129 notes in a second! I was so short of breath and I couldn’t believe that I did it! On 30th June 2020, I was honoured by the title ‘The Fastest Guitarist of all time’ by the prestigious Rolling Stone magazine (Brasil).
Having showcased your tremendous control and dexterity through your music, how did you build your practice routine and what’s it like today?
It depends on where I am. If I am on tour, it mostly depends on the schedule. While you’re on the road, you hardly get the time to practice and the most I have done would be 30 minutes before the show.
I recall an incident when I was performing in India back in 2020. We landed on January 17th in Kolkata. All of a sudden, I got a call from IIT Kharagpur to perform at their tech fest. Even though I already had a line of shows booked, I took up the gig as an adventure. At 9 am in Kolkata, my hotel room suddenly got cancelled and a car was coming to pick me up at 12 noon to drive me to Kharagpur, which was a three-hour ride and I really wanted to get some rest before leaving. At 11 am somehow the hotel managed to give me a room and I got one hour of rest before leaving. I reached Kharagpur around 4 pm and as soon as I did, we didn’t have time for anything and they directly took me for the soundcheck. After the show, I had to ride back to Kolkata for three hours.
Even though not all tours are like this, these things do happen and while touring you really don’t get a lot of time to rest and sleep let alone make time for practice. When I am home and I am not touring, I do a lot of practice and work on my recordings.
How crucial is it for you to bring out your own sense of musical aesthetics, stand out and create a sound of your own? How have you worked towards that?
I think we owe a lot to our inspirations and all of us look up to our role models. Like most people, I have had examples throughout my life to look up to and follow. With experience, you try to put together the style of people you have been inspired by with what feeds your soul. When you start playing, you develop a style and sound of your own. The 129 notes that I accomplished, those notes were my style of playing.
Tell us a bit about your experience of sharing the stage with the legendary guitarist, Steve Vai.
I’d like to be honest here. Basically, Steve had come to Rome for a music clinic. I was a fan of Steve Vai and I was determined to play with him. Towards the end of the clinic, he started jamming and seeing that I said to myself “Look, I have to play with Steve. No matter what, I have to do it!” I was small and I had my guitar with me. I was standing in the first row and he saw me with a guitar bigger than my height. He asked me to come up on stage and he thought I would ask him a question. And I asked him to play with me. We jammed on the stage and he invited me backstage and shared some very great advice.
Having achieved such a huge feat, how do you look at it today? What are your thoughts?
I consider myself to be very lucky and I feel I’ve achieved something that seemed so impossible. To be recognised by Rolling Stone magazine as the ‘Fastest Guitarist Of All Time’ is the biggest achievement for me. There is never a limit to our dreams but with the Rolling Stones’ mention, I feel very happy and satisfied with where I am in life right now.
Catch Davide Lo Surdo performing LIVE at the Mumbai Guitar Day online celebration on 24th July 2021.
Head on to our events section and hit the LIVESTREAM option to enjoy the show.
If you’d like to know more about such unique and versatile forms and flavours of music,
Log on to www.beatcurry.com, subscribe and get your daily music updates from BeatCurry.com