CM: You’ve had the chance to record
and perform with an impressive list of
established and well-known musicians.
Tell us about some of the things you’ve
learned or picked up from players over
the years. the love of music and embrace the journey.
SR: I’ve learned so much by listening, observ-
ing, and analyzing. I’m continuously inspired
and eager to learn because of my fierce love
for music – especially from the knowledge-
able greats. One of the most important things
I’ve learned is that you must never stop the
fight to be heard. Zero compromises. Above
all else, be true to your work. Do it purely for SR: Rob Fraboni has become a major in-
fluence for my music and me. It’s a great,
great honour and privilege to know him,
to learn from him, and to be working with
him. His musical knowledge, experience,
and success make him a legend. His philos-
ophy and approach towards recording and
music in general is a phenomenon. If Keith
PAUL
PAUL
KINMAN
KINMAN
CM: Are there any concepts or tech-
niques you’re currently working on, or
would like to improve upon in the near
future?
SR: As a rhythm guitarist, I’m currently work-
ing on expanding my knowledge on finding
the groove, learning simple yet effective
techniques to add diversity to my playing and
inspire my songwriting. I’m also starting to
dabble with leads. It’s a thrilling time for me!
CM: How did your creative relationship
with Rob Fraboni come to be and what
has Rob’s influence on your music been
like thus far?
Richards says he’s a genius, he’s a genius!
I’ve never been as inspired musically as I
am right now.
Paul Kinman is a live and studio session guitarist boasting an impres-
sive list of collaborations with major artists, producers, and engineers.
He’s known for skillfully adapting his playing into many different styles
and situations and specializes in remote session work.
www.paulkinmanguitar.com.
CM: Give us a breakdown of your go-to live rig these days.
PK: My go-to guitar is my custom Prestige guitar, based off of their
spalt maple Heritage Premier guitar, a [Fender] Princeton Reverb, a
Line 6 M13 [stompbox modeler], a JHS Charlie Brown [overdrive],
and a Mission Engineering VM-PRO, which is honestly the best
volume pedal that I have ever used!
CM: You specialize in online sessions. Tell us a bit about how
you first got into that and how your recording set-up has
come together.
PK: I wanted to find a way to diversify my income playing music
and figured that doing sessions remotely had to be a thing, so I
Googled it, and found Soundbetter.com. It’s a service that facilitates
doing sessions online and they’re fantastic. I am currently a “Pre-
mium Provider” through them, which is their top tier provider, and
as a result, have been lucky enough to play on a ton of really great
tracks. I get a lot of my online work through them!
As for my recording set-up, I have [a Universal Audio] Apollo
Twin, a few different mics, a Palmer PDI-03, which allows me to re-
54 • C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N
cord amps directly into my interface, which is very handy, and some
UA plug-ins, which are fantastic. I have been demoing the Friedman
plug-ins lately and they’re really lifelike – and this is coming from a
tube snob!
For guitars, I have a ton of different guitars, but lately, 90 per
cent of my tracks are my Prestige custom. That guitar is so versatile.
CM: You’ve done a lot of work in the country world of late.
How do you ensure you’re keeping well rounded in other
styles when you spend a lot of time focused on one?
PK: The funny thing about modern country music lately is that you
have to be well rounded in so many different styles to succeed as a
player. I heard a producer recently say that, instrumentally anyway,
country music is having an identity crisis, and I definitely agree with
that. One of the few things that it still has consistently from its past
is the twangy lead vocal, but as a musician, you have to be prepared
to play metal, pop, reggae, blues, or sometimes, actual old-school