Name : Laurent Wallace Hunaerts
Date of birth : 28.06.71
City of origin : Brussels
Material : Ibanez, Jackson and Gibson guitars. Di Marzzio and Seymour Duncan pick-ups.
Yamaha 12 strings acoustic guitar. Klika 6 strings acoustic guitar.
Marshall amps. JCM900 Vintage. AVT 150 Marshall head. Marshall Valvestate8080.
No rack or effects. Just the one on my Marshall head.
Cry Baby Whawha pedal.
Shure wireless system.
History : Started to learn and play the guitar when I was 16. Got involved in several bands with more or less success. I'm an 80s old school heavy metal guitar player, and that can be heard on stage or even in the studio. In 2005, with my previous band (Arawn), we played as opening act for Rage which was a great moment for us but also a real turning point in our career. We also played as support act for bands like Skeptical Minds, Mystica, In-Quest. We were invited in France to play for a local venue. Later, Arawn changed into Anwynn, the current band. I'm still composing most of the songs. Anwynn brings me inspiration and it also changes my way of playing.
Main influences : Iron Maiden, Nightwish, Epica, After Forever, Leave's Eyes, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Evergrey, Hammerfall.
Bands I like : Iron Maiden, Nightwish, Tarja Turunen, Epica, After Forever, Leave's Eyes, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Evergrey, WASP, Delain, Midnattsol, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Hammerfall, Children of Bodom, Mötley Crüe, Poison, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns n' Roses, and many others.
Musicians I like : Adrian Smith (guitar in Iron Maiden), Nico McBrain (drums in Iron Maiden), Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen (all three, guitar heroes), Tarja Turunen (vocals in Tarja and Nightwish till 2005), Sander Goomans (former guitar player and composer in After Forever).
Albums I like : "Number of the Beast", "Somewhere in Time", "Dance of Death" (Iron Maiden), "Once" (Nightwish), "Decypher", "After Forever" (After Forever), "Appetite for Destruction" (Guns n' Roses), "Follow the Reaper" (Children of Bodom), among many others.
Musician I would like to meet : Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden).
Best live souvenir : Probably a gig in Brussels on April 2009. We played really good that night. Great stage, perfect sound, great atmosphere on stage.
Worst live souvenir : A gig in Zaventem back in 2004 with my previous band where there was... just nobody in the audience. We played for the guys who came with us to build up the stage (which amounts to 5 persons, I think). There is a lot to say about that day. We were invited by a Harley Davidson club to play live in the afternoon. But all the drivers were on the road that day from 7 A.M. till 1 P.M., which means a long day with an early wake up. So when they came back from their ride at about 1 P.M. everybody was tired and everybody went home ! The party was over ! And we were on stage ready to play our first song.
Food : A lot... From foie gras to meatballs with tomato sauce. From lobster to spaghettis. From steak to pizzas. I like fish. I like Chinese food. I like all that's spicy.
Drinks : For soft drinks, I drink Coca Cola or Ice Tea or some fruit juices. For warm drinks, my preference goes to tea (almost all kinds of tea). For alcohol, I like beers, whisky, cognac, vodka... and many other things.
Books : Napoleon, sport books, celtic mythology.
Movies : "Lord of the Rings", "King Kong", "Napoleon", "The Tudors", "Aliens", "Jaws", "Starsky and Hutch" (series), "Braveheart", "The Dirty Dozen", "The Magnificent Seven", "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", "James Bond", "La grande vadrouille", "Le corniaud", "Fantômas", "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, "Camping", among many others.
LAURENT (guitar)
