Linzi Stoppard and Fuse Interview with JESTA Magazine.
The European String Teachers Magazine interviews Linzi Stoppard and BenLee from the band FUSE.
Amongst many questions the magazine aims to find out how young string players can find there way into the music industry.
‘JONATHAN BUNGARD MEETS FUSE – A ROCK VIOLIN DUO THAT IS REALLY MAKING WAVES’
Linzi Stoppard and FUSE JESTA front cover interview
“AS they walk through the doors of the hotel where we’re meeting, my first impression of FUSE violinists Linzi Stoppard and Ben Lee is that they’re impossibly glamorous”.
Very quickly added to this is the fact that they are both fantastically friendly people who are very excited about their new project.
I’m not surprised by this though, given that during my preinterview mugging up I discovered that they’ve both been made Ambassadors for the Princes Trust.
As I’m short of time, we get down to business quickly, and they’re both falling over each other to talk about what it is exactly that FUSE does. In case you haven’t come across them yet, FUSE is a rock violin duo that is taking the music industry by storm.
No conventional crossover act here – FUSE really do play rock anthems, and conjure sounds out of their Bridge electric violins that are quite simply unique.
I’m intrigued to know how they started off playing the violin, and the answers are reassuringly normal.
Both Linzi and Ben started learning the violin at an early age, taught by the Suzuki method. “I really think that that early training was the most important thing for me”, says Ben.
“The ability to learn by ear is one that I have used my whole life, and it’s incredibly important in the rock industry where music isn’t often notated traditionally.”
read more here…http://www.jesta.org.uk/fuse.htm