We think of child guitar prodigies as a product of the YouTube era. Li-sa-X shredding Scarified at eight years old. Nine-year-old Maituo going viral with death-defying sweeps. America’s Got Talent contestants wowing judges with guitars bigger than they are. But Thomas McRocklin was tearing up an Ibanez JEM back in the 1980s – and winning over some of the biggest names in guitar with abilities far beyond his years.
“I'd never seen a swirl before, never mind this seven-string with the handle,” McRocklin says of the Ibanez Universe – a priceless artifact now. “It's almost eerie to play that guitar. So much of Passion and Warfare was recorded on it. It's faded a little in color, but it's just as awesome as it ever was.”
His guitar journey began at four years old. By seven he was practicing eight hours a day and shredding in social clubs around his hometown of Newcastle, UK. “It was just an obsession. The guitar was right there all the time, on my lap. Even breakfast time when my dad would feed me: ‘Get that porridge down you, boy!’”
Nowadays, McRocklin – real name Thomas McLaughlin – is the definition of a modern-day guitar entrepreneur: he runs his own plugin company and teaching platform, and makes music as part of shredwave duo McRocklin and Hutch. He had a signature guitar deal with Kiesel and his sights are on a fresh collaboration with Strandberg.
But finding his place in a changing guitar world wasn’t easy. When shred gave way to grunge, McRocklin walked out on his childhood record deal – and before long he’d hung up the guitar entirely. When he came back the best part of two decades later he had to relearn everything, and abandon his Vai-isms to find his own voice.
What inspired you to pick up the guitar in the first place?
It was actually my dad. He was really into rock, metal, Van Halen, Ozzy, early David Lee Roth. He was never a big player, but he was into it enough to have one around the house. He would go to work and leave his guitar hidden behind the TV, and I would always drag it out. I would come back from school and pick it up straight away.
Once he saw that I had an interest he was like, “Let's teach him some chords.” He wasn’t a virtuoso or anything, but he knew enough to get me started. And once I nailed Thin Lizzy’s The Boys Are Back in Town chord changes, and it sounded like something real, that’s when the bug started. I was four or five at that time.
You developed into some serious shred stuff relatively quickly.
Between seven and eight is when the shred obsession came in, when I heard the early Roth stuff, all the EVH stuff, and the early Satriani stuff like Surfing with the Alien and Paul Gilbert.
By the time I got my Tony McAlpine B.C. Rich guitar, that’s when I got really into the shredding. That led to getting my first Ibanez. By eight to nine I was all over the place, tapping, trem dives – all the classic techniques were there.
You were gigging from a young age as well, right?
Often in places that I shouldn’t have been! That was always hilarious. My favorite place was social clubs, because there’d be strippers on. They’d hide me behind Marshall stacks, or I’d be booted out the place through the back doors, tthen they’d rush me onto the stage.
Gigs started for me really early; I think that was a good thing because it helped me to be confident. It was very difficult to get a conversation out of me when I was kid, which made for some horrendous TV moments – just so awkward. But being comfortable playing on a stage in front of people developed really early.
What did audiences make of it?
I think they were just in shock a lot of the time! They were expecting some nice little tunes, and then it’s a Marshall cranked up and there’s full fireworks. But it really caught people’s attention.
It’s that type of mentality and approach that led to my first big gig supporting Ozzy when I was eight. My dad was a bit of a chancer, let's say – he’d try things and often they’d just work.
Ozzy is playing in Newcastle and we're obviously going to go. Next thing, I’m a little kid dressed head to toe in leathers, big cowboy hat and boots five times too big for me – you couldn’t get Steve Vai-like boots in my size! – so I looked absolutely ridiculous!
But it worked. We’re knocking on the back door of Ozzy’s gig. Management, security – whoever – look at me and think, “What the hell is this all about? Drag him in.” Plug me into Zakk Wylde’s amp and next thing I’m going crazy. Harmonics flying everywhere! That leads to Ozzy going, “Let’s get him on tonight.”
How many times do you hear an amazing story like that now? It’s a different world.
They blew a Marshall stack up behind me – they didn’t tell me they were going to do that! That’s a natural reaction you see
Totally. But it’s that approach led to me meeting Steve Vai. We didn’t even have tickets to Monsters of Rock in ’88; we just drove down to Donington because David Lee Roth was playing. No tickets, no passes, no guestlist – just turn up, drive right through security, because I’m dressed like this little rock star kid.
We parked up right beside Steve’s caravan. I’d recently got a Steve Vai floral JEM. Little Gallien-Krueger amp powered up, sit in the back of the car with the boot lid up, and play. His guitar tech or someone saw me, spotted the JEM, and it's like, “Get him in the caravan.” Next thing you know, Greg Bissonette and Steve’s there, and the rest of the band, and I’m trying my best to play Tobacco Road.
How did the relationship with Steve evolve?
There was a bit of record label interest in the US. Interscope brought me over to play in their office, like, “Can we form a band around Thomas here?” So I was in California and there was a knock on the door. It was the Ibanez Artist Relations rep, who we’d been speaking to for a little while.
He brought the Passion and Warfare prototype seven-string guitar, which would go on to be the guitar that was on the record cover. And then there was a cassette of Passion and Warfare, unreleased. I listened to it and I was absolutely mind blown.
What were your memories of the Audience is Listening video shoot?
I had to learn the song as best as I could so it looked realistic. They blew a Marshall stack up behind me – they didn’t tell me they were going to do that! That’s a natural reaction when you see me tense up; and they had snakes and spiders on the set, which I hated.
The best part was seeing Steve shoot his end scene, where he’s doing the “I am the passion, I am the warfare” speech. Being there in the sports hall with a big blue screen, and seeing Steve do his performance, was pretty cool.
You were also writing songs with Steve during this time for Bad4Good’s debut album, Refugee. What’s songwriting with Steve Vai like?
He was writing songs which I think, in hindsight were a year or two out of touch with Nirvana and Pearl Jam. The Bad4Good band didn’t love the Refugee record or the songs, so we’d always spice them up heavily when we played them live. I’m much more fond of that record now.
Steve would send me tapes and tapes and tapes, and it was all somewhat produced Steve Vai riffs like David Lee Roth meets Whitesnake meets Passion and Warfare. It was something of that time. From a guitar point of view, very, very cool – but commercially it was out of touch with what was happening with grunge.
A guy was like, ‘Sounds just like Steve Vai!’ I was like, ‘Oh, s**t. This can’t happen again’
You were the youngest person to play the Jason Becker benefit concert. What are your memories?
It was so chaotic. You can imagine all these guitarists arriving for soundcheck! There was a little bit of friction – one of the guitarists, who was assigned to be with me, saw me play and he was like, “Eff that little bastard! I’m not playing on the stage with him!”
A lot of the guitarists, in particular Zakk Wylde, had something to say about that. I ended up playing with Zakk – he was all for it. By the end of the songs we played together, I was on his shoulders!
The only thing I remember is my final solo on the top of Zakk’s head. I’ve got this JEM, and it’s probably bashing all over his head. He’s swaying around; he’s had a few drinks, and I’m sure I saw my dad almost ready to catch me!
When did you realize Bad4Good was over?
When I walked out of the whole record deal. We were doing a lot; I was on tour with the band, we’d support Joe Satriani for a couple of months, and I’d do three, four months in California, and then a week or two in my hometown, Newcastle.
In a lot of ways it sound cray – it was the absolute dream to be living in Hollywood and LA and doing all these things. But by the time I was 13 or 14 it just felt like the tables had turned. Every time I’d come back to Newcastle, I just wanted to do regular things.
So I walked out of Interscope Records. That took a lot of people in LA by surprise. But fair play to my dad, because he always said, “As soon as it isn’t fun, no matter what you’re doing, we’re going back to whatever you want to do.”
Why did you walk away from the guitar in general?
After I walked out of the LA thing I was 15 or 16, and then I became obsessed with drum and bass, breakbeat and jungle music. At that time it was difficult to incorporate guitar into electronic music. I stopped playing, and it just didn’t occur to me for many, many years to pick it up.
It got to the point where, after so many years of not playing, it felt so alien – all my mechanics and motor skills and dexterity, the strength, everything, just felt horrible.
In 2016 I picked up the guitar again and I was just starting to get on social platforms. I posted a little clip playing a Fender Stevie Ray Vaughan Strat. And there was like a big reaction that I wasn't expecting – people were like, “You’re back!” I was like, “Wait a minute – it’s been 20 years since I did anything. How does anyone remember?”
But from there, the obsession came out of nowhere. The spark came back, and the love of playing came back, and then the obsessive personality came in, and that was it. I was practicing hard because I had so many years to make up for, and that began the start of the next journey. But it was a very difficult and long first year just to really work on the actual techniques again.
I immediately became the player that I was when I was at 13 or 14. I went to Bogner Amps’ factory and I was jamming around on an amp, searching for tones that I could relate to as a player after so many years off.
One of the guys walked past and he’s like, “That sounds great – sounds just like Steve Vai!” I was like, “Oh, shit. This can’t happen again.” As amazing and lovely as Steve is, I didn’t want the Vai association again as an adult.
So the hardest thing was how to find a new sound that’s my own and identifiable. I spent a year or so breaking every habit I’d built. I was drawing from drum and bass, electronic music, Skrillex. I love rap music, hip-hop – anything but guitar in terms of phrasing.
There’s a Strandberg currently sat in your lap. I know your endorsement with Kiesel recently came to an end… what can you say about where you’re going next?
If something makes you want to pick up the guitar more, go with it. It doesn’t matter what it is
I’m really excited by these Strandbergs. They work so well for me – first of all they sound and play really nice. Second, they're so light. I’m at a keyboard and mouse all day; I have this guitar on my lap so much.
And having played the same type of guitar for a long time, to play something that’s fresh gives me that extra bit of inspiration. If something really resonates with you and it makes you want to pick up the guitar more, go with it. It doesn’t matter what it is.
I’m not at that stage where we have anything official. But so far I’m really enjoying playing them. That’s all I could ask for at this stage – that I don’t take 20 years off from playing again. Because I think you’d see me with a walking stick, playing banjo or something!
- For more information, head to McRocklin.com and Polychrome DSP.
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