Interview | Pete and Vinnie Play

Pete Napper and Vinnie Minotto are two of our BMus Popular Music Performance alumni who have become social media hits with their engaging content. 

The pair bonded in the classroom over their love of the guitar greats and have now established themselves on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok with their thumb-stopping videos.

With content ranging from cover versions to event reviews and reaction vids, the duo has now launched new artist project, No Writer. 

We caught up with both Pete and Vinnie to learn more about the new band, their musical approach and secrets to social media success...

How did you first meet? 

Pete (P): I always wanted to study music as I'd been playing guitar since I was 12. I'm from the US originally but my dad is English so I have a UK passport. I knew I didn't have to worry about getting a visa and when I did my research, ICMP looked like a great option.

Vinnie (V): I'm Brazilian and joined ICMP as a mature student. As soon as I first arrived in London, I worked for a few years supporting myself. I got to a point in my life when I thought it was time to stop the office job, and study what I have a passion for - music. I joined ICMP at the age of 30 with this dream of pursuing a music career. 

We met on the course because we were the only two shredder, metal-heads in the class. We then clicked because of our shared passions."

We come from the golden era when people were playing the most extreme guitar - Richie Kotzen, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman - they were the best players. 

Where did the idea to create content come from?

P: At the end of the second year of BMus, for the Live Performance Workshop class, the final exam was at the now-closed Nambucca in Upper Holloway. In the second year you could choose your band and songs as well. We chose to play 'Technical Difficulties' by Racer X as it's one of the ultimate shred anthems.

V: It took us a while to get the confidence together to do it - it's such a challenging song. 

P: We played the gig, it went really well, and everyone said how much fun we were having playing. 

V: By this point, I was experimenting with YouTube, had a solo channel and had already made some videos. We had a great night, then woke up the next day and thought - we've got to take this to YouTube.

It was our first cover video and very recently, it's reached 300,000 views on YouTube. It's pretty crazy how people are still watching a video from five years ago.

Did you utilise the Careers and Industry Hub at ICMP?

P: Yes I definitely used the Career Hub fairly often while studying at ICMP, as it was a great resource available to students, in whatever way you wanted to use it.

For me personally, I liked to go to the Career Hub to get advice about where my career trajectory seemed to be heading and if I was on track to achieve something and carve a path within the industry that aligned with my personal and artistic goals as a musician. Their valuable industry insight really helped me to keep a clear focus in mind when I was working to establish the foundation for my music career, and I would strongly advise any current student at ICMP, and alumni as well, to take full advantage and all the other valuable industry resources that ICMP offers to students.

V: I used the Career Hub at ICMP several times during my course of study for advice on numerous things such as being a session player, staying on top of industry trends, and how to diversify my portfolio as a guitarist/musician. I've also utilised it as an alumni for job and career advice, which was really helpful to me as the team are always very willing to go out of their way to help. They really care about the students.

Most recently we've used it for help with release strategies for our debut single, and how to make sure the release reached its maximum potential.

How have you grown your audience? 

V: With YouTube, we started off playing covers. Covers can be tricky and time-consuming - you have to learn the song, record it, mix, and make the video, it can take a couple of weeks.

We were doing this to begin with, then started to expand our ideas. We soon realised that what people liked the most was the chemistry and interaction between us, our friendship was the story.

We started doing vlogs, going around filming and making funnier content too. That started working really well. One of the big turning points was when we started doing reaction videos. So you watch a performance or video and talk about it, and this really took off on the channel. 

We still do this mix of content to this day. It's a mixture between playing and other forms of content. 

So brands/events are now coming to you to ask to partner? 

V: At this point, we are being approached, we get offered free gear for us to play, showcase and test. The video endorsements started happening a few years ago. 

P: That started when we made ourselves present at these guitar shows. There is one in Birmingham in February, there is NAMM in LA.  When you start meeting people in the flesh, more opportunities open up. It shows the importance of networking and meeting people in person. 

V: 

You have to take what you do online into the real world. It needs to translate so building relationships in person and at events are a big part of this." 

It sounds like a fun way of making a career in music? 

V: It is fun. At these events, we go out, shake a lot of hands, try a lot of gear. Then at the end of the day, we all go to the same hotel where we meet in the bar and seal various deals. 

Then you come back home, get in touch, and that's when brands and reps respond asking us to endorse their gear.

What is the new band project, No Writer, all about? 

P: The band idea has been on a back-burner for a while, we've always wanted to do it.  

V: We've always wanted to write original music. People only respect you to a certain extent for being a YouTuber and making content. However, as a musician, at some point, you need to show the world what you can do. Then the magazines suddenly want to talk to you, you can get radio play, and the people who already know you are impressed by this new side to your abilities. 

The plan was to work on YouTube, gather a fan-base, then do music - many of us have done the band thing where you start with gigs and you play to six people on a Tuesday night. 

Once you have your fans, you can do anything. After three years of YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, whatever we release now, it will actually be heard. Social media was a great tool for us to find our audience. 

What is the song 'The Wheel' all about? 

P: We're starting with a five-song instrumental EP so we can show what we can do with guitars. The music reflects the anxieties and chaos of modern life.  

V: The full song is totally harmonised, it's really fast, it's 100 percent shred. We wanted to show people that guitar is super fun. It's unashamedly shred, we are a shred duo after all, we come from that golden era of guitar, and we wanted this first song to be a big statement. 

It also has this modern metal feel too. We never just wanted to sound super-eighties. We want to be as modern sounding as possible. 

What's next for the project? 

V: We are going to put together some more videos, more music from the EP, then we're looking to gig with a drummer. We have started doing guitar clinics and masterclasses, then gig at the same time. After this EP promotional cycle, we're also interested in working with a singer. 

P: We'd love to do a full-length album. We're always writing ideas and jamming riffs. 

V: When we decided to do the EP, we both booked time off work for two weeks, we met every day and worked our way through it. Some people paint the creative process as this ethereal thing but we like to dedicate ourselves to it, let's sit down and attack it. 

Sometimes you waste a whole day, you have all these parts you can't use, then you'll work on it again, and something will come up that's brilliant. It's all part of the process. 

Do you have any advice for content creators? 

V: The main thing to remember is that good is better than perfect. You need to start posting and don't worry if your camera isn't that good or you feel a bit shy, you will get better at it. 

The other thing is consistency. It's more important to be consistent and post every week rather than waiting for the perfect video. For Instagram, we get together every couple of months and we do eight videos in a day, then post once a week. That's how we maintain consistency. 

P: You also need to be authentic, as an artist you want to express yourself. The whole point of social media is to use it as a platform for you to share what you do, your art and what is meaningful to you.

People can get into a mindset that they should post what people want to see as it will make them go further. It's easy to do that but you should focus on being authentic to yourself."

V: We like to entertain people, to make people's days a little bit better. Sometimes we teach so share educational value.

But as Pete says, being yourself is the most important thing, it's the only way people will connect to you, the only way you can stand out. 

Connect with Pete and Vinnie Play:

YouTube | Instagram | Website | Spotify

Watch the video to 'The Wheel' below: