If you haven't seen a StSanders video on YouTube you're really missing out. You're especially missing out if you're a musician because, like jazz, they need to be understood before they can be appreciated.  What StSanders does is simple: he finds footage of famous guitar players, he takes out the audio and he overdubs his own poorly executed "shredding."  However, the cringe-worthy solos he records are so well synced up to the guitarists' hand movements that many musicians have been tricked.  StSanders was nice enough to answer a few questions for us via email. 

Indaba: Who are you?  How old are you?  I have a theory that you're an accomplished music producer who moonlights as a comedy-cum-music video creator.  Am I right?
StSanders: Not quite, but close enough. My name is Santeri Ojala and I am a 32 year old Media Artist who just happened to notice how comedic some musicians can look while performing.

Indaba: Your Shredding videos, though clearly not what is being played, match up insanely well to the finger movements we see on the video.  How long does it take you to match that up?  Do you record each part in one take or do you record each little part separately?
StSanders: It all depends on the clip. For example the Marty Friedman clip took only a few hours to complete, because there was just one guitar and an audience. But for example, the Santana clip took many days to get together. Sometimes things come out just right and I get almost a whole clip recorded on only one take, but usually I have to go back and forth and really concentrate on what the performer seems to be "playing".

Indaba: Which video was the most fun to make and why?
StSanders: I think Santana shreds. There was just too much going on onstage. The funniest thing was to come up with the odd instrument configurations. I mean take a look at the stage drummer. His drum set consists only of toms and cymbals. What kind of a drum set is that? It takes the whole "don't know how to play" concept to another level. This guy doesn't even know what the drum set is supposed to be!

The Santana clip was also a great one to hide little hints of some of the major difficulties that musicians have to overcome in their playing. For example the drummer - he just hasn't practiced enough to make his drum roll regular and even. The other is the keyboardist with the fat fingers. He can't even play the "The Final Countdown" part without losing interest half way through.

Indaba: Your latest, Iron Maiden, seems to be your most ambitious.  How long did it take you to put it all together?
StSanders: The hours are really hard to count afterwards, because usually I make these if I have spare time. So it's like an hour here another there. But I think maybe around 30 hours.

Indaba: How did you get into this? Had you ever seen anything even remotely similar before?
StSanders: I got into this partly for the laughs. The other reason is more of a subconscious one. I'm an artist and I have a need to create something new. In this case the creation is an odd world in which the level of professional playing is at "shreds" level. I have seen something like this, yes. But not quite. There are similiar things I've seen online, but nothing quite like this.

Indaba: I see you videos like Jazz in a way - If you don't know much about music, they're not as good.  As someone who plays a bit myself I can appreciate some of the more subtle musical jokes.  Do you hear similar sentiments from musicians?
StSanders:Yes. But I've also heard that studio professionals have been fooled into thinking it's real!

Indaba: Have you made any money off these videos yet?
StSanders: All the videos in my YouTube Profile are free of charge and no money has been made off of them. I've had requests from bands all over U.S. to "StSanderlize" their upcoming video or a live performance.

Indaba: What advice would you give to a kid whose guitar skill level sounds like one of your shredding videos?
StSanders: Keep practicing. When you get better, you can go back to being bad.

Indaba: Have you heard from any of the bands or people you've dubbed over?  Do you pick your targets at random or is there a reason for the bands you've chosen?
StSanders: None have contacted me directly, but I've heard Steve Vai finds them hilarious.  Sometimes I think of an artist that could be great to get "shredded". If I find a good clip of the performer, I go for it.

Indaba: Who is next?
StSanders:  Don't know for sure. Sometimes the shreds don't come out right and they are abandoned. Like the Metallica live I did. It just got boring so I let it go. (But I must say in that clip Kirk did have the most dominating wah in the market). If it's not funny, what's the point? But this much I must say. I've got three REALLY "shred-worthy" clips in line. So, let's see.

A Few StSanders favorites for all you readers...