an electric guitar for my birthday and I obviously picked the golf clubs! (sarcasm) From
then on it's just been better.
Vince
Local heavy rock trio
Wireless Soul, led by local 11-year old guitar
virtuoso and vocalist Vince Minogue, has built
a following the old fashioned way, by playing
dozens of live shows at festivals, nightclubs
(including House Of Blues, Reggies and Penny
Road Pub) and meet-and-greets. Vince and the
band recently signed an endorsement deal with
IE The band launched in 2012? How did it
come together?
VM: I was starting to get really bored with
guitar and I figured I needed to do something interesting with it so I signed up for a
rock band class at a local music school. I
remember when we had our last rehearsal at
the school we just said jokingly, "OK, when's
the next rehearsal?" At first we moved down
to my basement and then we needed a bigger rehearsal space so we moved to my
dad's warehouse where we currently
rehearse. I'm the only original band member
so I've seen everything happen from day
one until now and there's been a lot of
11•2014
Dean Guitars, logging another notch on their
belts. Vince emailed IE answering our most probing questions.
IE: You're quite the accomplished guitar
player, when did you first pick-up the guitar, and start taking lessons?
VM: I first picked up the guitar at the same
time I started taking lessons probably four
years ago. When I was first starting out, my
guitar teacher made me play an accoustic
guitar and I absolutely hated it! Practice
was just torturous. I had been playing guitar
for a few months before my eighth birthday
and I was still taking golf lessons. My mom
asked if I wanted either a set of golf clubs or
progress lately.
IE: You've played for thousands of people
this past summer at some pretty big festivals and clubs. Obviously you're not intimidated by large crowds? Or do the bigger
crowds motivate you more?
VM: Yes, because the more they're into it the
more I'm into it and it just goes back around
in a cycle. That's how it ends up to be a great
show!
IE: Now that school is back in session, how
do you balance your schedule between
school/homework and your rehearsal and
show schedule?
46 illinoisentertainer.com november 2014
Vince Minogue of Wireless Soul
VM: I don't! (laughter) I've just developed
some skills that I need for school, AKA different excuses I need for different homework assignments. But my teachers make
sure I get it all done.
IE: Most kids your age are generally into
pop music they hear on the radio or
Pandora, your influences go much deeper
into classic, harder rocking bands. When did
you start listening to those bands - and
what bands give you the most inspiration?
VM: I listen to the bands that are cool and
not the ones that are annoying to listen to.
I'm inspired by Megadeth, Metallica, and
most recently Avenged Sevenfold. I guess I
started listening to those bands around the
time I became interested in guitar. The first
rock show I got to see was Guns N' Roses at
Allstate Arena. Then I saw Van Halen,
Poison, Lita Ford, and Def Leppard. My
favorite show so far is Guns N' Roses. I also
got to meet Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) and
Vince Neil (Motley Crue) which was pretty
cool!
IE: What are the band's plans for the future?
Bigger venues? Local and national? Any
plans to make a Wireless Soul EP or album?
VM: Yes we are playing bigger venues both
locally and nationally. Our goal is to share
our (rock/metal) music with other people
and bring it back to mainstream America.
We just finished the second half of our first
album which consist of covers by popular
artists like AC/DC, Van Halen, Ozzy
Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Nirvana, Twisted
Sister, KISS, Audioslave, Metallica, Motley
Crue and more. We plan to record an EP
with our own songs.
Wireless Soul appears on November 7
at Tailgaters, Bolingbrook.