This is the second half of the interview with Mickey Richardson from ShareMyGuitar.com, and if you liked the first part then I’m sure you’ll enjoy it from start to finish. Mickey gets to talk about the music he’s been inspired by, and all of his favorite artists.

It must be said that he’s got an excellent taste in music. Read on, I’m certain that if you check MusicKO regularly you’ll find he’s keen on the very same artists that you love.

PART II

MUSIC & YOU

When did you become interested in music? What was the first album or single you ever purchased?

I have been interested in music for as far back as I can remember. My parents had an old piano in the house. I gravitated to the piano and taught myself to play by ear. Then around 13 years of age I acquired a drum kit and messed around for a few years before migrating to the bass guitar. I played bass for many years and joined a bunch of bands that gigged all over Los Angeles and Orange County. Listening to music, playing and creating original music has always been very important to me. Funny enough it wasn’t until I started SMG that I really ever even tried playing guitar!

The first album I can remember purchasing was Van Halen’s “1984” on vinyl from a record store called “Best Records” in Simi Valley, California.  But before that, I would listen to my Dad’s old records. I remember listening to stuff like “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John, various Beatles albums and all kinds of other 50s and 60s music. The music was great and it left a strong impression on me from a really young age.

Are you in a band yourself, or have you been in a band in the past? Is there a clip on YouTube or elsewhere we could watch?

I’m not in a band currently. There are songs posted on my SMG profile from a previous band that I co-wrote and recorded on and I still enjoy listening to those songs. Hopefully I can find the time to play live again sometime soon.

Musical likes and dislikes? Favorite artists?

My favorite music includes anything that sounds good to my ears. I used to rule out county and rap music when I was a kid. But I have heard some amazing country artists and some good rap too. I think it’s important to keep an open mind but if you checked my iPhone you would find music from Alice in Chains, Guns N Roses, The Beatles, AC/DC, Bad Religion, Ozzy, Queen, The Sex Pistols, Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin… okay, this list gets pretty long, so I will leave it at that. Continue reading →

Fresh from my summer vacations, I’ve got some great interviews for you. The first one is with Mickey Richardson from ShareMyGuitar.com, a superb social network for guitarists that was reviewed on MusicKO last month. You can read the original post here before delving on Mickey’s great answers. Pay special attention to the in-depth advice he gives when asked about the obvious mistakes to be avoided when launching a music-related startup.

And the second part of this interview (“Music & You”) can be read here.

Mickey Richardson From ShareMyGuitar.com

Full Name: Mickey Richardson
Age: 39
Startup: ShareMyGuitar
Position: Founder/CEO

PART I

THE STARTUP

Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?

The site was conceived mainly because I had taken up playing guitar. Like a lot of people do when they start playing, I was looking for a way to find good quality online lessons, as well as a way to get answers to my many questions I had about playing guitar like: What kind of strings should I use? What is the correct way to hold a pick? What songs should I focus on learning? What scales should I practice? The list goes on and on. The thought process was that if I could find a community where I could exchange questions, ideas and so forth in a format much like Facebook but just for musicians, it would be the perfect way for me to connect, network and progress on guitar. That’s how SMG came about.

One of the most distinctive features about SMG would be that it is a niche guitarists/musicians network. Our members can connect and become friends with other musicians who are located in nearly every country in the world! Connecting with others is easy because of nice features like the wall feed, live chat and a host of other cool features. To me, one of the coolest things about SMG would be that no matter what culture our member’s come from, their guitar speaks the same language.

What was the original launch date?

Well, I guess I should first explain that the idea for the website was initially for a social network for guitarists, but due to complications with finding the right developers to make it all happen and work out all the logistics, I launched the SMG Blog prior to the SMG social network. The Blog was launched in August 2009. The SMG social network followed the Blog, by the end of December 2009.

What has been the response so far? In which countries has it been more successful?  

The response has been really great. Our members have provided us with a lot of useful feedback to allow us to constantly improve and grow the site. It’s really funny when we look at the early versions of SMG and then compare them with what is here today. It’s like night and day! It’s so much better, not only in the layout or design but also in the stability of the site. Although we tend to get a lot of positive feedback, which we really appreciate, its also the people who have let us know what works and what doesn’t that has allowed us to make the site that much better. The most common response has been “Cool, Facebook for guitarists!” and we take that as a tremendous compliment.

The USA leads with the most active daily users. Next would be user from the United Kingdom, Australia and followed up with an even mix of users scattered throughout Europe. In any given day, you can find that new members have signed up from South America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia as well. As long as there is an Internet connect, people can log on and join SMG! Continue reading →