11th January 2024

Exclusive Interview: David Scafidi talks Musicians Institute, Self Titled EP and Aspirations!

A one man Death Metal army with plenty of ammunition, David Scafidi wears his bullet belt with pride, loving nothing more than ripping guitars with a side order of science and philosophy. A seasoned musician with several projects on the burner, the multi instrumentalist took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about his December released self titled EP for this exclusive interview…

You’ve been a part of Acidious Mutandis and Toxins and are currently playing in shred group Blastfinger so how do you go about keeping the sound of those projects separate to your sonic creations in your solo project? “Blastfinger is much more heavy rock based and mostly instrumental. The toxins was my first thrash punk band from the 90’s I shared vocal duties and played guitar mostly influenced by west coast punk and thrash from the 80’s. Acidious was my last active death metal band where I played guitar exclusively. I took a lot of my sound from where I left off in that band. but now that i play all the instruments in D.S. I have a lot more control and I plan to continue to develop my sound. My ideas are pulled from several subgenres of metal.”

What was it like studying guitar performance and recording at Musicians Institute where Chris Broderick (Megadeth, Inflames, Act of defiance) was your private tutor? How do you feel that benefits you when it comes to creating your own work? “Going to M.I. was fucking bad ass and definitely one of the best experiences of my life. The place was chock full of massive shredders like Chris Broderick, Paul Gilbert, Johnny Highland, and Dino Cazares just hangin’ out playing with everyone giving open counselling’s. I got to play “Self Bias” resistor by fear factory with Dino there and I totally bombed the “solo” when Dino pointed right at me! hahah! Chris’s job as a private instructor was to make sure I knew the curriculum well enough to pass. Chris had a very intense professional presence yet very humble and he was just a good dude! He actually gave me a D once cuz my attendance was poor due to a funeral I had to attend. Before I met Chris I thought all these pro Metal dudes were party animals with no work ethic. He proved to me that you don’t need to get wasted, do drugs and act like a douche to be a total badass ripper and a world class player! His open counselling’s were the best! Five or six of us in a little room with our guitars trading solos in E Hungarian minor with Chris Broderick! He actually left about half way through my time at M.I. to join Megadeth. I was ok with that ! HAHA! I hung out with him backstage at a Megadeth tour and I ran into him a few times in LA. He was more than happy to drop a dope ass solo on my upcoming single and he gave me the bro deal!!”

Vocally the single you released before the EP in “Psycho Logic” is different; do you feel like you’re still formulating your sound in Death Thrash or are there no limits when it comes to your creations? “Performance wise Psycho Logic worked out better for me vocally in a live situation. I takes so much for me to do growls and screams it kinda fucks with my guitar playing.. The music for psycho was written in a totally different time of my life using who knows what method. it was one of the only works i was able to squeeze out during my battle with drug addiction. The only limits to my project are that i stay true to myself. i dont want to step to out of a certain vibe feeling a dark atmosphere.. I will keep using blast beats double bass kik drums, exotic and chromatic guitar work. Vocally i will continue to variate and focus on what works best live”

If we’re the product of our genes and our influences, who are your influences and what are in your jeans? “I have lint in my jeans thank you! lol JK. My biggest influence is Metallica at an early age I would bring the and justice for all tab book with me everywhere even to the toilet. Sonically that album is what I shoot for in the mixing room not so much guitar tone but the overall finished mastered sound.. I wanted to play like Kirk when I was a teen.. My Dad was a huge influence on me. He is not a musician but a lover of music. He always showed me the coolest guitar music like Hendrix, Satriani, Van Halen, and Al Dimeola. Muhammed Sucimez was a massive influence on me in the early 2000s and it really killed me when he just ended Necrophagist. I seriously didn’t know what to do.. and strangely enough i almost gave up like him in my darker days.. Cannibal Corpse and Deicide was the first death metal I heard. And it changed my life. Now I look up to multi instrumental artists that are similar to what I want to achieve. People like Galder of Dimmu Borgir, Putrid Pyle, and Navene K. of Entheos”

What are your aspirations? Do you see yourself fleshing the project out into a full band to play these cuts live? “Yep I plan to and already to perform this live using backing drum and bass tracks. I started D.S. because i cant find suitable people to for a whole group. I’d love to just play guitar exclusively in my band. Its just what I do best”

What’s next for David Scafidi? You’ve mentioned completing a single with Chris Broderick mixed by Kristian Kohlekeller in Germany; how long might we have to wait for that one to arrive? “I plan to release a lot of singles I self produced every 6-8 weeks. I want a good portfolio for people to backlog when I drop the Track I did with Chris summer 2024. By the end of 2024 I want to work with a producer, possibly on a full album or another EP. I was thinking of traveling to Germany to work with Kristian again. I might look into working with Dave Otero since he lives in my area”

“Self Titled” by David Scafidi was released on 18th December 2023 via Black Tar and is available here.