How did you find out about
the Queen Extravaganza
contest?
Avakian: I actually heard about
it from a We Will Rock You fan. I
was initially reluctant because I’m
just not a big fan of the gladiato-
rial competition in art or music.
Then I had a conversation with
Brian May and he let me know
about Marc Martel’s [Queen
Extravaganza lead singer] video
having millions of views and he
said it’d be a great thing to try out
for. I just realized that if someone
was going to represent Queen in
this capacity, I should at least try-
out since Queen’s music and Brian
are so near and dear to my heart.
Gresh: I just Google’d “guitar
auditions” and I stumbled across
it and by the time I realized it,
the deadline was just three days
away [laughs]. I figured it was
already a “win” since I had sub-
mitted a video of “Killer Queen”
the night of the deadline.
“Tristan and Brian complement each other so well,” says Queen guitarist Brian May about Queen Extravaganza
guitarists Brian Gresh (left) and Tristan Avakian (right). Gresh’s main axe is his “homemade” ‘ 86 Ibanez Roadster,
while Avakian goes purist with his Brian May Guitars Antique Cherry Red Specials—one even has the Fryer/Brian
May Treble Booster on the strap. Photo by Jasen Petersen
As the process and voting
was unfolding, what were
you thinking?
Gresh: Three days after my
upload I found out that I made
the second round and I had to
do another video—this time I
was told to do Queen’s “Keep
Yourself Alive.” I figured I’d go
all out and use all my moves.
Avakian: Since I was initially
apprehensive about this whole
process, I was relieved once I
saw quality players in the band
that could potentially be honor-
ing Queen. I actually started to
worry in the second round when
players like Steve Zukowsky,
who’s in the Queen tribute band
Sheer Heart Attack, and Richie
Castellano, who’s rhythm gui-
tarist and keyboardist in Blue
Öyster Cult, appeared. And, of
course, young Brian Gresh scared
the crap out of me, too [laughs].
Brian, describe your go-to
“moves” that you had in your
back pocket?
Gresh: [Laughs] I did a back-flip during the solo part of
“Keep Yourself Alive.” And
then during the live audition
of “One Vision,” I did another
flip, but I think I unplugged
Roy’s [another guitar finalist]
guitar chord when I landed so
I’m still sorry about that.
Have you broken any bones or
guitars doing this?
Gresh: I haven’t broken any
bones, but I did break a $50-
eBay guitar when I didn’t
get enough height and it was
either my face or the guitar.
Thankfully the guitar sacrificed
itself and took the fall [laughs].
How did you ever think to do
backflips while playing guitar?
Gresh: I remember having a
dream when I was in fifth grade
of a band that had their guitar-
ists doing flips during solos.
The biggest part of learning to
do the flip with a guitar was
not having any arm lift because
you rely a lot on the momen-
tum of your arms going up to
get the necessary height for the
flip, so I had to build up my
leg strength. The first live per-
formance that I did it was my
high school’s jazz band concert
my senior year—I think I really
shocked a lot of people doing it
there [laughs].
Tristan, did We Will Rock
You prepare you for this gig
or was it almost a handicap
because you were so close to
the material?
Avakian: Honestly, it was a
liability. To fit within the for-
mat of the musical, music was
chopped up, played in differ-
ent keys, even within the same
songs because two different
characters were singing it—a
villain and a hero—and every-
thing is mixed together in a way
that benefitted the show and
onstage performance. Rarely
did we play the material in
standard, true-to-form package,
which will happen throughout
the Queen Extravaganza where
we’ll reference their early live
days as a feral four-piece band.
How did the final auditions in
L.A. work out?
Gresh: Everyone was nice and
didn’t have any egos. I was the
only guy that hadn’t ever gone
through an audition, but every-
one was very professional. We
actually had to work together
throughout the finals because
they grouped us into pairs of
guitarists with the other con-
testants making different band
combinations. Then, we had 90
minutes to come together and
figure out who would take what
leads and rhythms, who would
stay back during certain parts,
and when we would synchronize
our parts for a harmony effect.
We had to be a team to survive.
Avakian: I wish I knew
[laughs]… I had done a show
with Night Ranger in Louisiana
the night before and the only
