Kire Najdovski - KNB, Al Chez & The Brothers Of Funk, Cherry Bomb, and TALAS | Assorted Guitars
"It wouldn't be fair to pick just only one! I incorporate all my guitars depending on what project and the style of music that particular band plays. My axes all have a different story and meaning to me.My first guitar was bought by my father when I was 9 years old. It was an acoustic guitar that was too big for me to hold correctly! So I would lay it on my lap face up and learned how to play a traditional Macedonian song using my thumb! My father and big brother were my influences to play guitar. My brother, Sasho, plays electric guitar in Macedonia!"
"My favorite instrument obviously is the guitar. I own and play several different brands of electic guitars but people are surprised when I say bass guitar is my favorite kind of instrument! I love how the bass guitar can make the groove of a song flow even better! Without that groove a song isn't the same!"
"My 1982 Fender Stratocaster, with a large headstock, was bought in Macedonia before I came to the States. I played it non stop for at least ten years and did a lot of amazing things with it.
I also own 2 Gibson Les Pauls, a 2013 Honeyburst Les Paul Traditional(Christmas gift from my girlfriend) and a 2014 Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Reissued 58’ that I bought at the House of Guitars.
Next is my pink Telecaster, The Dillinger nicknamed “The Purple Monster”. I acquired this guitar in 2016 which was built by an amazing guitar luthier named Leo Guitars out of Germany.
My last 2 guitars are my 2010 PRS(Paul Reed Smith) with 3 P90 pickups which was another Christmas gift from my girlfriend(I know I’m so spoiled lol) and my latest addition is the 2001 Red Gibson ES 335 with a Bigsby Tremolo.
As you can see, I own variety of incredible guitars of different brandsand types! Depending on the show, I usually play 2 or 3 of these guitars!"
Who is your favorite Rochester musician?
This is another hard question to answer because the list of musicians would be so long, So don’t get me going lol! But if I had to choose, I would say one of my favorite musicians is Don Torpy, the bass player from my trio KNB. He is such an amazing musician, bassist and songwriter as well. Of course it wouldn't be right not to mention Emmett Ientilucci, who is also a great drummer from my trio. Right now we are working on finishing up the second KNB record and hopefully it will be out soon. I am very fortunate to work with these two talented guys.
What is your favorite Rochester music venue?
My favorite music venue? Wow another great and hard question! There are so many good venues in the Rochester area, but I would have to say my top 3 venues would be Lovin’ Cup, Anthology and Iron Smoke Distillery. See it’s so difficult to me to answer that question with one answer!
Why do you love the Rochester music scene?
What isn't there not to love about the music scene here in Rochester! There are so many great and talented musicians in this city! There is such a great variety of local bands and music that Rochesterians can listen to every day of the week! Our music scene may not be as large compared to bigger cities, but we don’t lack talent! I think all the musicians here are good people who are very supportive to each other and the community. We should all be very grateful about that.
