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Guest Blog: CIRCUITRY Guitarist CHRISTIAN COLABELLI Outlines His Day Job at EVENTIDE, Work as a Teacher and More [Exclusive]

New Jersey metal quartet, Circuitry are fresh of the March 1st release of their album, Untouched By Human Hands (Instrumental). While the group work on new material featuring their revamped line-up, we connected with guitarist Christian Colabelli to learn about his day job at Eventide Inc. working as a guitar pedal product specialist.

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Long Branch, New Jersey-based metal quartet, Circuitry are fresh of the March 1st release of their eleven-track album, Untouched By Human Hands (Instrumental), which features instrumental versions of the same songs found on November 16, 2018’s album of the same name (both releases can be found on Bandcamp here or Spotify).

While there are currently no new tour dates scheduled, fans will be happy to hear that Graphic Nature Audio is currently mixing a new four-song EP which includes the band’s revamped line-up. So, while we eagerly await some new tunes, shows, and other fun announcements, check out this awesome, exclusive piece we compiled with the help of guitarist Christian Colabelli who discusses at length the ins and outs of his day job working at Eventide Inc. as a guitar pedal product specialist.

Check out video with Guitar World tech editor Paul Riario chatting with Christian on the Rose stompbox.


Guest Blog: Guitar Pedal, Guitar Lessons & Other Groovy Work:
– When I’m not out touring in Circuitry, I work as the Guitar Pedal Product Specialist for Eventide Inc. as well as teach my roster of private students at our studio in Central NJ (during the little free time that I have). I am proud to say that I am working in music full time which is super inspiring. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Eventide is an audio broadcast and communications company based in Little Ferry, NJ that manufactures digital audio processors, DSP software and guitar effects. My specialty is the latter, of course. I wear a lot of hats in this job position. I travel around the country to play/demo at tradeshows, help with product testing, shoot demo videos showcasing our gear, handle one facet of artist relations, answer support questions, and lend my English skills to help with press releases and copy.

Check out this slick gallery of photos of Christian Colabelli working away. This man works hard!

A typical day at Eventide is usually crammed with everything that I previously listed! For instance, today I corresponded with two of my recent artist signings, Ken and Buz from Unearth, vigorously tested our new synth algorithm, HotSawz, to make sure if it was free of any bugs before we send out the final software update, edited the press release for said new algorithm, provided support on one of our pedals sent to Blonde Redhead and answered a bevy of new artist query emails. I recently returned from a two-week long trip to Los Angeles, San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth where I demoed at the LA Amp Show and subsequently the Amigo International Guitar show. The rest of the trip consisted of daily store visits to demo our products and check in with sales and inventory.

Right after I returned, I had a week-long stint at AES which was held at the Javits Center in NYC. These tradeshows are often hectic. They are packed with industry people and there is virtually no downtime. I usually have a guitar in my hands for eight hours a day. The booth setup requires a lot of hard work, dedication, time management and a killer team which I’m lucky enough to be a part of. I had my own pedal station where I was showcasing our entire pedal product line through extensive demos, answering questions and letting tradeshow goers play through the pedals to get a sense of the incomparable high-quality audio and intuitiveness they provide. Industry giants, such as Stevie Wonder, Tony Visconti and Chris Lord-Alge made their way over to hang and hear about our latest developments. All in all, it was a super successful show for Eventide, which I was thrilled to be a part of.

Hear what all the fuss is about with a stream of the entire Untouched By Human Hands (Instrumental) album.

Shifting gears a tad, I teach a dedicated roster of private students. I’ve been doing this when I have spare time since I graduated Berklee College of Music. Most of my students come to me to learn an advanced progressive guitar approach and to brush up on their chops, theory and overall harmonic knowledge. Oddly enough, I’ve had certain students come mainly to check out my Custom Shop Strandberg Bodens which they’ve been lusting over, which I think is hilariously awesome. (I’ve been a Strandberg endorsee for the past couple years.)

I absolutely love teaching as there is no better feeling than to see a student implement presented concepts to create their own unique voice. Often times I feel teaching is a two-way street: I not only get to impart my 22 years of intensive playing experience on my students in hopes of musical growth, but I gain valuable insight from them as well. After all, no two players approach the instrument in the same fashion. Thus, there is a world of revelation to comprehend. For more info on this, check out: http://www.christiancolabelli.com/lessons.

As I stated earlier, I consider myself extremely blessed to be working in music full time. I’ve modeled my life in such a way that this has become a reality through hard work, persistence and extremely thick skin! The Eventide gig has provided me an incredible home base to utilize my skillset when I’m not out playing on the road. I’m eternally grateful to hold such a cool position at the company. Teaching has kept me grounded and inquisitive which is paramount to a successful musical journey. The phrase, “Don’t quit your day job(s)” has never rung more true!

The album Untouched By Human Hands (Instrumental) dropped on March 1st, 2019.

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