THE CYNICAL SPHERE INTERVIEWS:

Hello and welcome to a Cynical Sphere exclusive interview where the readers and visitors to this website sent in the questions, the most popular of which, were asked in this interview. I’d like to welcome Paul Masvidal, guitarist / singer / songwriter from the bands Cynic, Portal and currently Aeon Spoke. He has agreed to talk with us today and answer your 20 most burning questions. Paul, first off, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to sit and talk with The Cynical Sphere.

Have you always been interested in music since childhood…how and when did you decide you wanted to play music and become a musician?

"I remember hearing songs in my mothers car on the radio and becoming incredibly curious about music and it's mysterious qualities…how did certain songs carry emotional environments? Also I was really impressed with the dynamics of an orchestra…my quest had begun. I got my first guitar at 10 years old."

What inspired you to pick up the guitar for the very first time and how did you learn to play?

"My older brother was playing a little guitar and had a friend who was quite good. When I heard him play, I thought I want to be able to do that! And it encouraged me to get deeper into the instrument and practice."

When and how did the initial incarnation of Cynic come into being?

"Cynic first became in the summer of 87’. Sean [Reinert] and I had numerous other bands before we decided on Cynic. We knew Cynic would be a much more serious project as we were becoming more serious musicians. Sean and I originally rehearsed in my mother's home, when she moved we got into playing at Sean's home (in his bedroom) and then eventually discovered we needed freedom to rehearse without neighbors complaining. So we got a rehearsal studio in south Florida that was an electricity (boiler) room, you could barely fit a drum set and amp into (beside ourselves) and we began rehearsing regularly. Eventually I had to go to school in NY and Cynic was a project in our minds that would eventually be. I returned to Florida in my junior year of high school and we picked up where we left off. At the school in New York, I met Mark Van Erp who moved down to Florida and joined the band as our bass player, sometime later he invited his friend Jack Kelly along to sing because I wasn't interested in singing yet, (although I was writing the vocal melodies). We rented out a larger rehearsal space/warehouse where Mark and Jack would live and began rehearsing."

Your chemistry with Jason Gobel on both the Cynic and Portal recordings seems to be perfectly matched. How did you two come to work together?

"We had put the word out that we were looking for a guitar player (in the local scene). Cynic had a gig at a party in Homestead, Florida. Jason happened to be at the party. We met him briefly that night and had him over for an audition a few days later…we knew he was a brother. It was a cosmic combination with Jason, amazing chemistry and rhythmic union between the two of us and with Sean. It was effortless and meant to be."

One of the most unique things about the “Focus” recording are your own vocals, which were produced by a Digitech Vocalist controlled with a keyboard. How did the idea for this come about?

"I was at the time struggling with our record having just raw vocals and I began exploring some melodic type of voice to be a part of our sound. I tried singing without the effect but it didn’t have the edge and otherworldly quality I was looking to capture. When I stumbled upon the Vocalist, I found a patch that with a little editing was perfect. It was computer generated yet sounded emotional, like a crying alien."

What was the general composition technique for the Cynic material? For instance, did you tend to think of the riffs first in your head and then translate them to your respective instruments or were parts discovered while ad-libbing during a band practice jam session?

"Both. We often composed at home and then came together as a band and played the ideas together to find the arrangement. Much of the original (embryo) ideas were conceived alone or with the two of us jamming. Often Jason and I would get together and just play. We also had our 4 tracks and would develop ideas on them."

Cynic was always known for their musical technicality, great song structuring and deep rooted, inspirational and spiritual lyrics. What are the meanings and thoughts behind the following songs:

I’m But A Wave To...

"Realizing how tiny we are in relationship to the universe…. Tension, release, tension, release, tension, release, tension, release, tension, release, tension, release, tension, release, tension, release, tension, release,…the music was built around that concept…. We weren’t conscious of this at the time,… just doing the work."

Celestial Voyage

"This song is about a visual meditation I would do to heal myself. The feeling of the music is about that exploration to the inner worlds."

How Could I

"Simply put, it is about self-love and how evasive and difficult it is to be truthful to ourselves. There is a lot of classical Bach influence in the chorus progression especially. It's a very classically rooted/inspired song. I think it would make an interesting piece as a symphonic orchestration."

Textures

"Musical freedom and Fripp inspired inspiration kick started this song and eventually it developed a life of it’s own and we just tried to do it service. We knew with this piece we would could leave everything behind and just explore! It was the last song we wrote before recording Focus"

It has long been rumored that Cynic was in the process of writing/recording material for a new album when the band split. Is there any truth to this rumor and, if so, will any of that material ever be released in the future?

"We had a ton of new material pre-Portal and even after. We hope to get some of it together and release it. The DVD is the next major task!"

Speaking of DVD...there have been many rumors and much talk around the Cynical Sphere of a Cynic DVD and possibly a Focus remaster and live recording to be released at an undisclosed time in the future. Is there any truth to this and, if so, what can you tell us about it?

"All of the above is true. We have a tremendous amount of video footage from the Cynic days and want to finally do something with it. We figure highlights of the recording of Focus would be fun to see, also a closer look at who we were when we were making and living Focus. A live CD could potentially be a part of the DVD. Roadrunner mentioned a Focus re-master this year. I’ll know more in the coming months."

It seems as if Cynic's popularity increases, even still. As time passes, more and more people discover Cynic's music everyday and the old fans remain fans always. Has a Cynic reunion tour ever been considered or even the same members starting a completely new band together?

"Unlikely, times have changed for all of us."

Recently, Jason Gobel, Sean Malone, Sean Reinert and yourself all got together for the first time since 1994 and recorded "A Shaman's Whisper" on the new Gordian Knot disk - Emergent. What was it like to be working with those guys again after nearly ten years?

"We didn’t actually get together for that recording. I recorded the guitar solos in my home studio without anyone else present. Sean recorded the drums at a much earlier time and Jason did guitars, I believe, in his home studio. It is a virtual track of us playing together on Sean Malone's song. Nothing live about it,…maybe some subtle collective energy is permeating the track, because it was the four of us playing, but it's not a Cynic track."

What does the song "A Shaman's Whisper" mean to you?

"I think of an Ayahuasca healing ceremony and chanting."

Explain how your own spirituality and SRF teachings has helped in your song writing and musical abilities.

"My spiritual pursuits have helped me to understand more about who I am and that has helped me as a songwriter trying to get closer to the truth."

How do you prepare for a live show? Are there any special meditations/practices that you do before songwriting or playing live?

"If I have a chance, I like to do some asanas (yoga postures, stretches) and breathing. I try to keep my mind present. With songwriting, sometimes the process unfolds itself and I just need to show up for myself. Other times it can be a labor of love, which requires patience. I’m giving birth every time a song is written and I try to be a good parent to the child along with the band helping to raise it."

What are some of your current favorite bands/albums to listen to? How have they inspired your own playing and songwriting?

"I’m listening to a lot of old vocal jazz these days. The standards are addicting. Some classical music… also songwriters like Amy Correia and Michael Miller. Everything inspires my playing, from a walk outside to a conversation with a friend to being alone to reading to looking at art, to listening, to crying, to screaming,…to not doing anything."

What other influences in your life do you draw musical inspiration from?

"The internal life is vast and complex. I draw huge quantities of inspiration from that world. Human relationships and spiritual aspirations are all tied in."

As you reflect back upon the music Cynic recorded on "Focus" and the 4 demos, how do you feel about each of those releases now?

"I hear a natural progression of a musician developing skill in the language of articulating music as an art form."

In your opinion, how has the music that you created with Cynic helped you to better refine your compositional skills and how does that affect the way you write now with Aeon Spoke?

"It’s all related. I have a bigger perspective on sculpting sound. Also it seems the artist lives different lives in the form and expression of their work, Cynic documented a period of my life. I feel the songs we write, capture moments like a photo album would, and now I have a whole new collection of pictures to reflect on. It feels like a rebirth in yourself when you have discovered another palette of colors in the expression of music."

Describe what a typical day is like in the life of Paul Masvidal.

"Awake! Yoga, meditation, prayer,…journal entry perhaps especially if dream comes into focus, light breakfast or none, business related matters (could be some type of work), errands, practice, study, read, write some music, play songs, go on a walk, talk to friends on the telephone, email, sing songs, daydream,…maybe record, listen… Band rehearsal… Wind down, read, write, and meditate… Dream…"

Do you have any parting comments or anything you would like to share with the visitors to the cynical sphere?

"Thank you Jeff for putting this together and for creating The Cynical Sphere website. Thanks to the readers for reading, visiting and sharing,… Love - pm"