The Base Sessions is back for 2012 with its mix of big names and new talent.
The Base Sessions team, from Base Studios in Stourbridge, hit the road to London for the first feature of the new year to meet up with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett.
Steve was a member of the supergroup during their rise to stardom and his pioneering playing style inspired many of rock's virtuosos including Eddie Van Halen.
New York Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Steve is heading for Bilston's Robin 2 for a gig on Saturday February 25 and says fans can expect to hear some seminal Genesis.
Steve said: "I still play quite a few of those numbers, I revived them in order to bring them into the new century but I feel because those things are classic it’s a bit like wearing a curators hat in a museum of your own making.
"You can’t really be a tribute to yourself but at the same time I still love that stuff. Its always going to be a part of me, its part of the Genesis legacy, you can’t really separate the two, it’s a thing that fired up a lot of musicians and a lot of fans. I still think that stuff is relevant."
Steve, who draws much of his inspiration from classical music, has worked with some of the biggest names in rock and continues to experiment and mingle styles.
He said: "There was so much acoustic guitar work with the original Genesis you couldn’t say some of that was folk music and some of that was rock, they were just as interested in sounding like Joni Mitchell as taking on board Phil Collins’s big band influences.
"There were a lot of different styles, I like to think I have kept that up and try and live dangerously."
The Base Sessions is recorded and produced by Base Media in Stourbridge.
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