Trivium frontman Matt Heafy recently appeared on Gibson TV to talk about gear, his first guitar and recalled the first show that changed his life. During the interview, the frontman shared the reason behind playing Les Paul, and the story of his first guitar:
“I was obviously very lucky as a kid that at 11, 12 years old, my dad decided that once he saw my passion for music, he got me a Les Paul custom. So I went from zero to a thousand as far as guitars go. I had a starter, I mentioned that I started really loving it and started getting into metal, and he wanted to foster that. From what he’s told me, before he ever had a son, he always wanted his son to be a Les Paul player, so it was genetically imprinted on me to be a Les Paul player.”
Although Heafy doesn’t tour with his first guitar now due to its blueprint and value, the one show he did in his earlier days with his first guitar was the show he can’t forget. He recalled his earlier days with the band and shared his gratitude for being able to play with his first guitar all over the world:
“Obviously, we started touring in a van for the first several years, so that was the guitar to bring it on tour. And that thing, thankfully, got to go all over the planet before I retired it. I keep remembering when I think of that guitar, and I’m sure the first memory of every one of 18-year-old me wearing tight girls pants, wearing a small shirt that was too short with a palmated hair straightened for the Download show in 2005.”
A sudden change in the lineup occurred, and the band had to make changes in their set. He continued:
“We were slated to play the fifth stage in the middle of the day, but our band started picking up some traction in the UK and upgraded us to the main stage, 11 in the morning. Then we’re going up there at 10.59 on the side stairs, holding my guitar that used to be super low, and there was no one in that field.”
Although they were disappointed to see no one in the field for their show, the unexpected happened. Heafy revealed how the show became unforgettable for him:
“And right at 11 o’clock, when our set started, 40,000 people came from the field, and everyone happened to know the lyrics. And we were a newer band at the time, so it was one of those life-changing moments, but that entire show was with that guitar.”
The rocker used his first Les Paul guitar on the band’s earlier shows and the three studio albums, ‘Ember To Inferno,’ ‘Ascendancy,’ and parts of ‘Shogun.’ To this day, he still uses a Les Paul and even has his own signature custom Les Paul.
Below, you can see the interview.
