ELECTRIC GUITAR Eli Schweyer
[ WM ] Tell us about how you got started playing guitar?
[ Eli Schweyer ] I actually started on clarinet back in 4th grade. That gave me a foundation in reading music, ear training, rhythm, and basic theory. But what I really wanted was to play guitar like my Dad. He played on our church’ s worship team, and I thought it was the coolest thing. So, I got my first guitar and started piecing things together.
I taught myself by applying what I already knew from playing the clarinet, and then just started learning by ear. My Dad and some friends helped along the way, but learning songs by ear really trained me to listen closely and understand how things were put together. That’ s still a huge part of how I approach guitar today.
[ WM ] Who were your main guitar influences?
[ Eli ] So Many! Early on it was blues and classic rock … Hendrix, SRV, Mayer. Those virtuoso Strat players. I also went through a singersongwriter phase and learned a lot of acoustic techniques by covering songs by Damien Rice, Glen Hansard etc. I also listened to a lot of U2, Coldplay, Muse, Radiohead and the Killers.
I was also really impacted by Jesus Culture and Kim Walker-Smith’ s music long before
I ever joined their team. It was the first time I saw excellence in music blended so seamlessly with spirit-led worship. Jeffrey Kunde was a big part of that, and eventually, when Jesus Culture moved to the Sacramento area( my hometown), I got connected and started playing with them. Jeffrey’ s now a friend and mentor- I’ ve learned a ton about musicality just from sharing stages with him. Similarly with James Duke, who I had the chance to play with on Kim’ s Wild Heart album. I’ ve always loved his creative approach to guitar, and I learned a lot in the process of that album. Both of those guitarists have taught me a lot about guitar playing, and how I approach guitar today.
[ WM ] You most likely have played worship guitar alongside many other guitarists on the
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