TORBEN ENEVOLDSEN

Shredder Charisma from Denmark - Profile of Guitarist Torben Enevoldsen
BY LINDA EAST BRADY

Torben Enevoldsen is a straight-ahead Euro-rocker, with a nitro driven fluid sound. His CD, GUITARISMA, features twelve original songs and arrangements. Enevoldsen plays all the guitar lines on the CD. Carsten Neumann and Christian Rajkai join him on bass, Kenny Lubcke on lead vocals and Torben Lysholm on vocals and drum programming.

Torben's ears were first piqued by the strings of Richie Blackmore, Eddie Van Halen, and Tony Iommi. "But the actual passion for the guitar and the drive in terms of getting some serious practicing done really took off when I discovered Yngwie Malmsteen," he declares. "I didn't really care for his band at the time, Steeler, but was blown away by his amazing technique and feel - and still am, by the way. Since then, I have been listening to a LOT of different music, but I can mention a few current influences: Dream Theater, Symphony X, Allan Holdsworth, Frank Gambale . . .but the list just goes on and on!"

Torben uses fairly consolidated equipment to achieve his sound. He says, "I love my Ibanez RG 620 which I recently customized, installing the Dimarzio pickups: Tone Zone and Humbucker From Hell. This truly made a world of difference in the studio. The heart in my setup is definitely my Soldano preamp, the amazing X-99. It kicks some serious..." Torben pauses, adding with a smile, " behind! Also I use Dean Markley strings, Blue Steel, which are really durable - great strings."

GUITARISMA originated on a home based four-track recorder. Torben was composing and working with some older material, and was encouraged by his dear friend /recording engineer Torben (same first name - different artist) Lysholm to pursue a demo. "Just in Case" was released in 1995. This work eventually evolved into the final GUITARISMA CD. "(GUITARISMA)was comprised by 3 older tracks and another 9 tracks, recorded in 97," Torben says. "We thought (Lysholm and I), that we simply added these 3 tracks to the master. The period of time in which these 12 selections were written spans over 3 years, with "Just In Case" being the oldest and "Indian Summer" the newest..."

Being a North Country boy, Torben really relishes working the summer festivals. "You know, huge gigs with a lot of different acts. It creates a great atmosphere and is a lot of fun... But I also like to play smaller venues, really intimate places."

Torben Enevoldsen has just wrapped up recording his second CD. "My current band has Fleming Hansen on bass and the amazing Mickey Hurricane on drums. On GUITARISMA, the guys are mainly hired guns, apart form Christian Rajkai, with whom I did play a few gigs."

Now comes the tough part - marketing. "I am getting in to the promotional side of the business," Torben says. "I am trying to get this next album a worldwide release, so I am contacting record companies and distributors around the world. When I get a deal, I`ll start planning some serious touring and do some heavy promotion!"

Despite having to deal with the nuts and bolts business side of his music just now, Torben keeps right on composing. "I write music all the time, so I have quite a lot of material that might be put out on my third release... But one step at a time..."