Ben Starkie is a guitarist based near Chertsey, Surrey. He has almost a decade of experience in music which includes playing with a variety of bands and professional musicians since the age of 14.

A Q&A WITH BEN:

Q: Why did you start playing guitar?

A: When my dad played me the album ‘Appetite for Destruction’ front to back when I was 9. Since then I’ve been completely obsessed with the guitar whether that’s playing or listening.

Q: What was your biggest challenge when learning to play?

A: Definitely learning the shapes for chords and scales. Most people tend to give up at this point because it’s an extremely tedious thing. Once I made it past that point it felt very rewarding.

Q: Fender or Gibson?

A: Myself I have a Gibson Les Paul so I’m quite biased towards them. However, both create amazing guitars that are very versatile used across multiple genres.

Q: What are your top 3 albums of all time?

A: In no particular order, I would say ‘Appetite for Destruction’ by Guns, Black Holes and Revelations by Muse, and The Dark Side of The Moon by Pink Floyd.