Talking with Lance Seymour of Gear Talk

It’s funny how the world is small at times. I’ve been following Gear Talk (and the other various Gear Talk sub-groups) on Facebook for years. Just like a lot of you. I personally like the Facebook ‘groups’ vs forums because it’s honest and people can’t hide behind anonymous forum handles. For the most part, the discussions / comments are extremely informative, often funny and for the most part civil. Reading Gear Talk posts has become part of my daily routine, which I think is absolutely cool.

Secondly, I follow Gear Talk on Instagram, the discussion is a little different since it’s started by the image that Gear Talk posts with comments following. But just like Facebook, Gear Talk’s Instagram account is something I love to see in my feed. Gear eye candy.. how can that be bad?

About a month ago I posted about the Mission Engineering Delta III distortion and featured a video demo by Lance Seymour (check out his YouTube channel). I liked the demo and reached out to Lance and we became friends on Facebook. During some conversations, it came out that he was one the one that started Gear Talk. What? I had no idea, one of those things I never paid too much attention too.. Who started it all.

So, I thought it would be cool to do a mini-interview with Lance and see what this guy is all about.

– Where are you based out of, and how long have your been there?

I am based in Atlanta, Ga. Very hot this time of the year, but I dig the city and people. Tons of friends here. I have been here about 12 years, I am originally from southern CA, but have been in the southeast for about 15 years.

– Going way back, what originally got you interested in guitar?

Girls. Seriously. I had a crush on a girl in middle school who was dating a guy that played guitar….so obviously, i had to get a guitar ASAP.

– A what point in your musical career, did things became more serious – from casual hobby to something you wanted to do professionally?

Um….I pretty much started as a pro guitarist from like 16 on. I never had planned on being a musician. I wanted to get a degree in psychology, or something like that. I started getting gigs around 15 and I never stopped getting gigs. Making money ect. I am happy I went this route.

– What originally got you in the business of demo’ing and reviewing gear?

Hard to say, other than i had a platform like Gear Talk and had tons of friends who our builders and wanted to showcase their products to the Gear Talk community. Mojohand FX and Cusack pedals were the first guys to really let me demo their stuff. I am super grateful to Brad and Jon.

– Besides demos, are you in any bands or musical projects?

I do mostly session work from my house these days. I don’t tour as much anymore. I really gotta get back to recording music for me! hahaha

– What are your favorite things to demo? Likewise, what are your least favorite items?

Man, hard to say. I often tell people “i do not demo crap gea”. Meaning, that the level of products I am fortunate to demo are the best in this industry. None of it sounds bad.

I think for myself, and a lot of demo guys, overdrive and fuzz pedals can get a little old, because everyone makes them and they pretty much do the same thing. Having said that, i still love ODs and fuzzes and am thrilled when a new one blows my mind.

I love weird pedals and noise makers, like the Chase Bliss Audio stuff and Red Panda Lab pedals.

– When did Gear Talk start?

Gear Talk was born a little over 4 years ago.

– What got you thinking about starting Gear Talk?

I was tired of the big anonymous forums. I wanted a small group where I could talk to my trusted professional guitarist friends. Facebook had a great platform for it and it blew up very fast.

– Do you manage all the Gear Talk groups and social media by yourself?

No. I have the best network of admins who are all very good friends of mine who help me admin the groups on Facebook. I also have the same friends running several different instagram pages for me. The only thing I do on my own is @GearTalk on Instagram.

– What do you want to see for the future of Gear Talk?

Well, I have a ton of projects I am working on. Some website ideas that are different than forums. Things that gear heads will be incredibly entertained by.

I also see the demos and reviews going into another level. I am currently building a team of artists, engineers, designers and video guys to do some of the best work in this industry. This is about the busiest I have been in my life and I love it!

Do you follow Gear Talk on Facebook and/or Instagram? Let me know what you think by commenting below!