Of all instruments, the guitar is essential to singers, songwriters and musicians. It has evolved over the course of time and is solidified as an essential element in a variety of musical genres.

Aaron Kusterer masters the guitar’s very essence, as its strings lay the foundation of his melodic messages.  With his blistering guitar riffs, and his powerful stage presence, audiences are buoyed by the high-energy and force of his meteoric talent.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Aaron about the latest music, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I grew up in southern Missouri in a little town called Festus. If you think that is strange, the name prior to Festus was Tanglefoot. No kidding. On occasion when people ask about where I’m from, I’ll throw that in just to see the reaction. Makes for an interesting conversation. Regarding music, I tend to lean towards an edgy rock sort of sound with a slick side to it. Sort of a Toto meets Queensryche meets Yes type of sound. But, I was brought up with a lot of different styles of music and I enjoy pulling from all of them as influences.

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

Well, my mother was a piano teacher and had me start playing around 7 years old. That was tremendous and I still play to this day despite being primarily a guitarist. Around age 9-10, my dad got me my first guitar and at that point, the rock and roll corruption was beginning to take shape. Years later after studying music in college and working in many different bands and situations including a 13-year stint with the Air Force Band as a guitarist and music director, I have come to genuinely enjoy crafting a good musical product (cover or original music, it can be either). That is the motivation for me: to continue to work towards excellence both in my own practice as well as working in a band setting. I absolutely love the prep process, building a product, and seeing it come to fruition on stage.

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

This release is different in that it takes on a darker subject, lyrically speaking. The Borderline shooting in Thousand Oaks, CA was a little over a year ago and the lyrics were pulled from that tragedy. That being said, I wrote the lyrics in a way that essentially draws parallels with many of the difficult and tragic things happening in our world today. It is a message song and I suppose the only thing that I wanted to accomplish was to get people to think.

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

Standing out in the crowd. You hit the nail on the head using the word over saturated. There are millions of people putting music out and standing out can be difficult. The average person’s attention span is exceptionally short and so trying to capture and hold attention for anywhere from 3-5 minutes for a song is really hard. The song has to be good but even then . . . it can still be hard. The accessibility of technology, both from a music-making and music distribution standpoint, is mindblowing and I think it’s all in how you use it. It has helped me in that I can bring music to a wide range of people rather quickly. I can control that distribution and control the image I have online. I don’t need to have a third party handle it, all of the tech is there for me to handle it myself should I so choose.

What was the last song you listened to?

Billy Joel’s Why Should I Worry.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

CDs all the way. I do stream music as well but I absolutely love holding a physical CD in my hands. I really dig reading the liner notes (who produced it, who played on it, the lyrics, etc.).

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I primarily use Spotify actually. Despite the mixed feelings in the industry regarding the business model, Spotify has absolutely nailed the ease of getting a song to a listener. They have redefined accessibility for music-lovers. That being said, they don’t always have certain albums and that’s usually when I go to my local record store to dig around and see if I can find what I’m after.

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

I’m on a handful of social sites but I tend to be on Facebook and Instagram the most. Please feel free to connect with me on either.

Anything else before we sign off?

Thanks so much for asking me to do this and please stay posted for new releases. I am planning to put out several more songs this year.