Defender of the Riff returns with an especially significant episode that teams host Daniel Dekay with Blake Ibanez of Power Trip and Fugitive for a proper deep dive into the musical origin story of the veteran guitarist.
Especially noteworthy, the conversation is just prior to Ibanez's epic return to the stage with Power Trip as part of the Los Angeles area takeover for No Values Festival weekend. A focal point of the fest and the slate of satellite shows, the week would mark Power Trip's long-awaited and very much celebrated live return following a four year pause fin the wake of the tragic loss of beloved frontman, Riley Gale.
Starting from the very beginning, Ibanez revisited his earliest memories of music and credited his father for first cementing a foundational soundtrack that spanned from The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Who to Talking Heads and Jimi Hendrix. Going beyond the pedestrian diet of 90's radio, Ibanez found himself gravitating towards guitar-driven music and expressed he wanted to participate.
That interest was encouraged with even more nourishment, as Ibanez's dad began introducing a broad a range of curriculum ranging from Pete Townsend to The Ramones - all of which resonated with the young musician. The combination of Ibanez's skateboarding, his immersion in the era of 90's radio and his fascination with Pete Townsend destroying an amp and Hendrix lighting a guitar on fire established a framework that would stick with the guitarist for life.
Ibanez framed his profound love of music by recalling what it was like to be beholden to the rotation of the radio. Ibanez knew his love for music, even then, was something special, given that he would sit through all the music he didn't like, just to hear the songs he did. Ibanez recalled appreciating rotation heavy bands like Smashing Pumpkins and Third Eye Blind and understanding that even his pop sensibilities, all revolved around guitar.
Ibanez started his journey as a player around 10 years old. While he had an acoustic guitar prior, his first ever electric guitar gave him the freedom to begin tinkering to find riffs that he could wrap his head around. He recalled quickly identifying "Santa Monica" by Everclear and used that as the first step in finding his way around the instrument. Developing an ear, Ibanez understood that his approach would be to identify a riff and find his own play to replicate it on the guitar.
Ibanez equated learning by doing as seeing a roadmap of sorts on the guitar. Once he could spot where the music was going on the instrument itself, he figured out how to follow, then eventually take the wheel so to speak and begin steering in different directions. It was then that Ibanez went from repeating, to riffing on his own and establishing his own sound.
That spirit of DIY would be something that would become part of Ibanez's DNA as a player moving forward. Focused less on theory and the formal education of guitar, learning through repetition and being surrounded by other like-minded players only motivated Ibanez to always maintain focus on fine tuning, He would credit guys like Wade Allison of fellow Texas band Iron Age as being instrumental in his development. Emphasizing technical aspects like the importance of tone, Allison would also be the guy that would bridge metal and hardcore for Ibanez, creating a bridge that merged both circles - proving especially formative for the guitarist of a band like Power Trip.
Citing "Death Camps" from Cro-Mags' 1989 LP Best Wishes as his "Master of Puppets" riff, Ibanez explained that was the eye-opener. He explained that song was what propelled him to want to play the kind of music he now is known for and still serves as a driving motivator to this day. Coupling bands like New York's Leeway along with Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All and Madball Ibanez quickly drilled down the specificity of what he liked and further cultivated his own creative core with classic crossover. Learning what they did, in much the same way he first learned 90's pop rock standards, Ibanez charted their map, then forged his own.
Ibanez took it back to the formation of Power Trip and set the scene of what it was like during those formative first years, immersed in the robust scene of Texas-bred heavy music. Just teenagers at the time, Ibanez recalled being in a hardcore punk band called Reality Check that fizzled, right at the same time that Riley Gale's previous band Balls Out called it quits. As fate would have it, the guys would find one another and the rest, is crossover history.
Referring to that Texas pedigree, Ibanez spoke about the creative identity that is specific to the state. He cited heavy integrity of fests Chaos in Tejas and the diversity of Fun Fun Fun as examples of how the region has had a long history of nurturing art of all kinds, which loans itself to versatility of Texas artists. Ibanez credited that kind of hardline, know-your-roots ethos, along with an ever-evolving musical periphery that was encouraged in his circles as part of what makes Texas such a unique place in the landscape of heavy music and beyond.
Delving further into the ethos at the core of music and art, Ibanez professed his love for Motorhead. While the band has riffs for days and remain iconic long after the passing of Lemmy, Ibanez explained that the band has always been more about attitude. He credits their presence, their delivery and their fierce independence as more of a way of life than anything else. The energy, the attitude - these were the important takeaways for Ibanez and that ethos of the band is part of what has defined him as a guitarist to this very day.
It's those myriad of influences that have steered Ibanez towards his current rank. Less focused on the flash, his grasp of substance over style led him to being the kind of player more concerned about quality songwriting over notching style points. Connecting with other like-minded creatives as a result, Ibanez has been able to build a legacy that with the kind of catalog that is as dominant as it is durable - understanding from the getgo that the classics never go out of style.
The full episode of Defender of the Riff with host Daniel DeKay featuring special guest, Blake Ibanez can be found - HERE
