The frontman of Doha-grown rock band Winterburn, Naser Mestarihi, is the first and only Middle Eastern artist to be endorsed by Gibson Guitars. He speaks to us about his musical journey and his claim to fame as Doha’s first rock musician.

When did you first become interested in music and start playing the guitar?
I got into music before the age of 10. I grew up in a musical family so we had all kinds of classic records playing all the time at home. Aspiring to play the guitar started when I was around eight or nine years old. I first heard Guns N’ Roses – Live at the Hippodrome concert on TV, and that made me want to be just like Slash. Around the age of 12, I discovered (Jimi) Hendrix. At this point, I was also into Van Halen and an array of bands across various genres. That’s when I pestered my mother to buy me a Strat (The Fender Stratocaster electric guitar), so I could be like Jimi. I didn’t start learning how to play seriously till I was around 15 though.

What was the first song you wrote? Do you still perform it?
That’s an interesting question. I wrote a number of metal tunes when I was in my mid-teens, around a year after I started learning, but they’re forgettable tunes to me. The first proper solo tune I wrote was Phoenixon, my debut solo record. It was part of our setlist up till 2019 when we dropped it.

How did Winterburn come to be? Tell us about the other band members, where you met, how you got together and what you all do.
Winterburn is basically an offshoot of my solo band. I’ve been playing as a solo artist since around 2007 when I left my previous band. I always took the Prince approach to my music: play all the instruments, record and produce everything – although I didn’t take up full-scale production (engineering and not just arranging) till a while later. We’ve been recording and performing as my solo band from 2007 but around 2018, as we were gearing up to record Ivory Towers and preparing to do a UK promotional campaign and tour, I told my bandmates that I wanted to change the band’s name, both cause we’d been playing together for years and for the ease of marketing us to British audiences. My name isn’t easy to pronounce. So that’s when we announced the name change. Although we were initially a four-piece band, we’re now a trio. I sing and play guitars, Pope plays bass guitars and Perkison D’Souza is on drums. On record, I track all instruments except the drums, which has been pretty much my approach over the years.

Are you all full-time musicians?
Yes.

Your genre is rock. Is this what you also listen to when you’re not playing?
We’re a rock ‘n’ roll band that incorporates a variety of influences that range from classic rock, funk, rhythm and blues to metal. When I’m not playing, I listen to everything. I own thousands of records with everything from hard rock to funk, new wave, pop, soul music and so on. My motto is: good music is good music regardless of the genre, as long as it’s got instruments and real musicianship. I’m not a fan of electronic music for instance.

Who are your musical inspirations?
This is a difficult question to answer as I draw inspiration from literally hundreds of artists but if I could break down my main inspirations based on instruments I’d say the following: Guitar: Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Randy Rhoads, Slash, Jake E. Lee, Nuno Bettencourt, Tony Iommi and Michael Schenker. Bass: Geddy Lee, Flea, Larry Graham, Louis Johnson, Robert De Leo and Steve Harris. Vocals: Ray Gillen, Steven Tyler, Freddie Mercury, Rob Halford, Paul Rodgers, Bruce Dickinson, Ronnie James Dio and Michael Jackson.

Your most recent release was Ivory Towers. When did it come out and what’s the story behind the album?
Ivory Towers was released in 2021 but we’ve had several singles come out from the record with music videos and promo campaigns up till last year. The record is both an introspective album as well as my reflections on political events (on the title track specifically). I wrote about a lot of my personal struggles, for instance fighting Multiple Sclerosis (MS) which I was diagnosed with during the making of the record, losing a loved one to cancer, fighting against racism and overcoming the odds. The topics are varied. We started pre-production towards the end of 2018, which was when I suffered my first MS attack. I flew out to Los Angeles (LA) for a while for my son’s birth, then when I got back in 2019, we basically finished off the tracking, mixing and mastering. The only reason the release was put on hold was due to the pandemic as I was against putting an album out that we can’t tour or play behind.

You collaborated on the album with drummer Thomas Pridgen. How did that happen and what was it like working together?
Thomas is part of a circle of close friends and musicians in LA. He is a former bandmate of one of my best friends who went to Berklee (College of Music) with him, so when I was looking to collaborate with drummers, my buddy suggested Thomas. As someone who is heavily influenced by black music, I was instantly drawn to the idea so I reached out to him, sent him the demos, which he totally liked, and that’s how it happened. Thomas is great! I explained in words what I envisaged about the drums for each song, and he was able to translate that into music. He did this while on tour across Latin America. He’s got some awesome grooves down on the record.

You’re also the first Middle Eastern artist endorsed by Gibson Guitars, a huge thing both for yourself and for the region’s musicians…
Yeah, this was a massive honour as an Arab and Middle Eastern artist. Cesar (Gibson’s CEO), Eleonora (Europe’s artist relations) and all the team are like one big family and genuinely amazing and kind people on a personal level. What they’ve done to rejuvenate the Gibson is incredible.

How did that come about? It must feel like quite a responsibility.
I’ve been in the music industry for nearly two decades and struggled a lot but always pushed on despite the odds. A lot of my heroes were Gibson players so I’ve always loved and played Gibson guitars and basses too. You’ll hear them on all my records. So I reached out to Gibson, we met and when they said they’ll take me on, I was beyond honoured and grateful. It is a big responsibility but I’m committed to do them proud and put the Gibson stamp out here in West Asia.

What’s next for you as a musician personally and for the band?
Right now, I’m working on a follow-up record which I’m also producing. In the time since the release of Ivory Towers, I’ve written and demoed a ton of material. I’ve also tracked a lot of it so I’m currently in the studio, finishing off the new tunes and I’m super stoked about them. The new record is really diverse. We’ve retained our hard rock style but there are other genres incorporated like rock ‘n’ roll and funk on this one. We’re looking forward to putting the record out this year and making plans to go on tour.

Where can fans in Qatar see you performing soon?
We’ve not scheduled the 2024 dates yet but they’re in the works for Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. All dates will be announced on both our Instagram accounts and website. ✤

GO: FOLLOW @NASMESTARIHI @WINTERBURNOFFICIAL ON INSTAGRAM OR VISIT WWW.THEWINTERBURN.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION.