Sydney Guitar Festival Focus: Claude Hay

Which act made you want to pick up the guitar and why? Kiss. I was very young and they were so cool, I snuck into their concert when I was about seven with some friends. My sister got Paul Stanley's lipstick. Not long after that, it was Van Halen and Ry Cooder.

What's your preferred guitar and amp set up? A solid body resonator I made from spotted gum with Graptech piezo/midi pick-up so I can get the bass midi thing going on. It has a Peterman bug on the brass cone and magnetic outs into my Valvetone custom amp... yum.

What are you going to talk about/play at the Festival? I do the looping, one-man band thing so I will dive into that area a lot, it's kind of a blues and roots slide-rock thing.

Are you planning to catch any of the other performances or workshops? If so, what are you hoping to get out of it? To steal as many ideas as possible.

What advice would you give to a beginner guitarist attending the Festival? Only do what you love to do in music otherwise it just gets boring.

If you could play with any performer, who would it be and why? Chris Cornell. It would have been just awesome to hear him wail that insanely amazing voice over a riff you played.

When and where can we catch you at the Festival? 25 Aug, Factory Theatre.