Tell us the first time you performed on stage, what was it like? What is your advice to those who want to perform but have stage fright?

My first time was back in high school and it was a mixture of emotions for me (excitement, joy, fear, etc.). The best advice I can give is to prepare well before hand, but once the day comes to play and you walk out on stage, stop thinking about every little thing and enjoy yourself.

Focus on the experience of making music, not on the technical details of playing The more relaxed you are, the better you will play. And definitely NEVER drink alcohol or take drugs before or during a performance, and of course I strongly recommend to never do those things at any time (I never have).

Could you tell us more about the band HESS and the type of music you play?

HESS is an all instrumental progressive and neo-classical band. Imagine the sounds of Dream Theater, Symphony X, Jason Becker, George Bellas, Yngwie Malmsteen, The Lord of the Rings movie soundtrack and 19th century classical music.

What is your most memorable performance? Why?

Either the Masters of Rock Festival in the Czech Republic or the Earth Shaker festival in Germany. These were the first really huge shows I’ve done (18,000 people in Czech and 30,000 in Germany). To look out and see a sea of people with hands in the air as you play is a very unique feeling, especially the first couple of times! I’ve reached a lot of my life’s goals…things I only dreamed about as a kid, but it wasn't until I walked out on the huge stages in Europe that I finally said to myself, “I’ve made it”, at least in terms of music business success.

It was also an amazing experience for me on that first big tour in 2005 because I was touring with Rhapsody. (My all time favorite singer is Fabio from Rhapsody!) So in that sense, all of the shows on the tour were great. 10 years ago I would have been happy to simply meet Fabio.

Who are your icons?

Fryderyk Chopin

Do you have a teaching method?

It depends on who the student is. I don't believe in a set method for all people. Certainly it would make my job 1,000 times easier to work with everyone in the same way, but that just does not work. My philosophy is basically this. Students are totally responsible for creating and then communicating their goals to me. My responsibility is to create and implement the knowledge, tools and strategies to enable the student to manifest his/her goals into reality. It is the students responsibility to be committed to staying focused on the results they want and follow through with doing the training. When students are dedicated to this process they always achieve great things. The ones who don't do this simply won't get the big results in the best and fastest way.

What keeps you busy nowadays?

I teach guitar players from all over the world through my correspondence guitar lessons programs. And I mentor musicians to become professional musicians.

What's next for Tom Hess?

There are lots of things on my plate all the time. In 2006, Magic Circle Music / SPV will release the debut HolyHell record and a world tour will follow late 2006 and into 2007. In addition, I have finished a solo acoustic and will release it later this year or early 2007. I'm also working with serious musicians (mostly rock guitarists) who want to become professional musicians. They are all a part of my Music Careers Mentoring Program. This is a huge time commitment but is very rewarding for me personally to help my students in some very big ways.

For more information on Tom Hess and to see his tour dates and the many articles he's written, you can visit his website TomHess.net