Over the past five years, guitarist Tristan Auman has been fine-tuning his project known as Sometime In February. Soon joined by drummer Scott Barber and bassist Morgan Johnson, the trio has been crafting stunning instrumental prog rock and are set to release their second full-length album this Friday (March 21st). On the surface, ‘Where Mountains Hide’ thrives off Auman’s versatility, alongside Barber and Johnson’s rhymic energy. However, dig deeper and you’ve gifted a rich and colourful mix of sounds.
Whether that is Johnson’s twisting funk bass lines on ‘Palantir,’ ‘Mourning Bird’s stirring metallic charge, or ‘Outside In’s hypnotic guitar. ‘Where Mountains Hide’ is a nearly hour-long journey of instrumental proficiency. More often than not, Sometime In February throw multiple ideas into the melting pot, leaving you compelled. For example, ‘The Bad Fight’ is a chugging onslaught with dynamic drum work yet when it reigns in, you’ve given a distant saxophone solo. ‘Phantom Sea’ starts off with orchestral flourishes, before allowing Truman’s melodic riffing to take over. ‘Bury You’ teases some Latin percussion before diving head first into riveting black metal territory.
Aided by Between the Buried and Me members Paul Waggoner and Dan Briggs, as well as keyboardist Eric Guenther (The Contortionist), Tristan Auman succeeds by creating a collection that allows individual moments to stand out on its own. Take ‘What Was Said’ for instance. Here Auman and Barber exceptionally excel. Auman’s fret play is elastic, while Barber pounds his way through, threatening to take the spot light. Later on, ‘Funeral House’ is fittingly sombre and resolutely executed, yet leaves you in a false sense of security, as pummeling blackgaze drums rain down as Auman’s rapid guitars soars sky-high.
Although they’ve been somewhat lumbered with the instrumental prog rock tag, Sometime In February puts the genre in a strong, dynamic light on ‘Where Mountains Hide’. And while Barber, and Johnson, as well the cameos from Waggoner, Briggs, and Guenther all play their part, Auman’s guitar playing is most notable. The South Carolina-based native has gone from playing gospel in church services to embracing a host of guitar heroes, help shaping Sometime In February‘s melodicallly driven brand of layered instrumental prog rock.
To give us an insight into who has inspired Tristan Auman’s spiralling fretboard journey, he told us about five influential guitarists.
Guthrie Govan
I’ve seen Guthrie two different times, both in wildly differing circumstances. The first was with The Aristocrats at Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte (RIP) to maybe 100 people, and the next was with Hans Zimmer at PNC arena in Raleigh to over 15k people. He fits perfectly into both situations and despite it all, he still sounds like Guthrie.
He is the apex predator of guitarists. I don’t know of anyone more well-rounded than him. His technical ability is unmatched, and his taste and melodic ear is something to behold. And this all culminates in his perfect improvisational skills. I don’t know how he does it. His solos with Steven Wilson on ‘Regret #9’ and ‘Drive Home’ are my top two solos of all time.
Here’s another example, at the Hans Zimmer show, he had his first big solo moment, and he immediately broke his e string. Not skipping a beat, he picks up his slide, finds the notes, and continues to play the greatest improv solo I’ve ever heard, legit bringing me to tears. No one does it like him. I want to be Guthrie Govan when I grow up.
Recommended Songs:
Steven Wilson – ‘Home Invasion / Regret #9’
Steven Wilson – ‘Drive Home’
Guthrie Govan – ‘Wonderful Slippery Thing’
Plini
Plini is who I found after Petrucci, and he has proved just as influential for me, and so far it seems that way for many. He’s leading the current generation. What most appeals to me is his focus on writing and melody, how best he serves a song as a whole, and guitar is just his vessel for it.
Of course, he fucking shreds, but only when the song calls for it. His music is memorable and singable, which is the best quality you could have as an instrumental guitar music guy, and that’s what sets him apart from his other contemporaries. That’s what I strive towards.
Recommended Songs:
Plini – ‘Kind’
Plini -‘ Ember’
Plini – ‘The Glass Bead Game’
John Petrucci
John is the guy that really got my ass in gear to practice. Hearing Dream Theater in middle school was probably the best thing that could have happened to me, in terms of my musical journey. It gave me something to strive towards, a goal to always work at.
He’s simply unreal, he truly is that guy. The hype is real, everything you hear about him is true. I don’t know what else to say about him, his work in Dream Theater has changed the trajectory of so many musicians lives. Not only with his playing but his tone as well. You’ll be hard-pressed to find someone in metal that doesn’t count him as an influence.
Recommended Songs:
Dream Theater – ‘Octavarium’
Dream Theater – ‘Under a Glass Moon’
Dream Theater – ‘In the Name of God’
Alex Lifeson
Rush would not have worked without Alex. It’s hard to think of any of his peers who were more versatile when you look at everything Rush has made. He’s an arena rock guitarist first, but his creativity with effects and writing in general sets him apart. Is he the shreddiest guy? No, (though he does plenty of that) but that’s not what we like him for.
Working in the context of your band is one of the most important things for guitarists to learn and he is probably the best example I can think of. He made a three-piece band sound enormous.
One of the top three moments of my life was seeing Rush for the first time on the ‘Time Machine Tour’ when they opened with ‘The Spirit of Radio’. My hair stood on its ends and it still hasn’t gone down.
Recommended Songs:
Rush – ‘The Spirit of Radio’
Rush – ‘Freewill’
Rush – ‘La Villa Strangiato’
Tom Scholz
At the ripe age of 8, Tom’s work in Boston was the first time guitar caught my attention. The tone was unlike anything I could remember hearing up to that point. After hearing ‘More Than a Feeling’ for the first time, I immediately needed more shots directly into my veins. His ‘Rockman’ was the best sound I’d ever heard, and the stereo ‘wall of sound’ style was in your face and the melodies still stick with me.
Tom was kinda the original DIY guitarist, recording nearly everything himself for the self-titled Boston debut in his basement. At the time, it became the biggest-selling debut album up to that point. Talk about an inspiration!
Recommended Songs:
Boston – ‘Foreplay/Long Time’
Boston – ‘Smokin”
‘Where Mountains Hide’ by Sometime In February is released on March 21st on InsideOutMusic/Sony Music.
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