It may also describe how Muller’s co-competitors felt after the John Scofield-inspired ax master completed his set at the Music Council of Australia’s 2004 Freedman Fellowship Concert in Sydney. All fellowship applicants had previously proven successful in Australia, but only one would walk away with the big, life-changing booty—significant funding to help the winner launch an international career. After emerging as the Freedman Fellowship’s Man of Steel, Muller—who was inspired to pick up guitar at the age of 12 after hearing Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”—used his well-won awards to travel to New York City and record Kaboom with drummer Bill Stewart (Maceo Parker, Jim Hall, John Scofield) and bassist Matt Penman.

As greater details from the Kaboom story reveal, there’s also at least one other possible interpretation for the album title—it’s the detonation of self-esteem for mere mortal guitarists upon learning that Muller’s exquisite album was recorded in a single, six-hour session after just one 70-minute rehearsal with Stewart and Penman. “Kaboom,” indeed.

Who were the biggest influences on your phrasing and tone?
Sco is kind of “the guy” for me. In terms of guitar, I like all the greats: Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Allan Holdsworth, Wayne Krantz, George Benson, Jim Hall. At different times, I’ve tried to sound like all of them. I’m also a huge fan of all the great horn players, pianists, drummers, and bassists.

Can you pinpoint your first big music theory “lightbulb” moment?
Yeah. First was finding out that jazz players improvise chord per chord. In rock, you just ask, “What key is this in?” and then play the blues scale or the relative-minor blues scale in that key—maybe with the occasional added ninth or sixth. Nine times out of ten, that works. My first teacher explained that in jazz each chord change has its own scale or mode. Things made a lot more sense after that. The other big thing was seeing Scofield’s On Improvisation instructional video when I was 17. He goes through all the relevant scales and modes and explains how you make music out of them—as opposed to just running through them. It was a real revelation.

Tell me about your gear.
I played a Gibson ES-333 on Kaboom. From 2000-2004, I played a custom Tele-style guitar built by Jeff Mallia. Before that I used a Steinberger GL that Chad Wackerman [drummer for Allan Holdsworth, Steve Vai, Dweezil Zappa, and others] loaned me. For the last couple of years, my main guitar has been a 1980 Ibanez AS 200 with Seymour Duncan ’59 pickups and Gotoh tuners. As far as amps, for about ten years I pretty much just used a Rivera Jake combo—which is indestructible. I recently got a Custom Audio OD-100 head, which has a really bright, fat clean sound. I run it through a Ledford 2x12 cabinet with Scumback H55 and H75 speakers. I also have a Vox AC30CCH and AC15, and my friend, John Bettison, just gave me an amazing amp he made. It started out as a dilapidated Fender Vibrolux, but he stripped it and turned it into a Dumble-type amp. It sounds fantastic!

How about effects?
I just got a great chorus pedal—it’s an Arion Stereo Chorus that’s been modded by a company called EWS. I love it! I haven’t used chorus for years, but now I think it’s time to put it back on the pedalboard. I also use an Ibanez TS-9, a Sherlock Electronics Tremit tremolo, a Boss DD-6 delay, a Boss FV-500H volume, a CryBaby wah, an SIB Nick Nitro octave fuzz, and a T. Miranda Fat Drive.

How did you record the guitars on Kaboom?
I just used the amp that was in the studio. It was a Peavey Classic 30—and it would not break up no matter how loud I turned it up. So my tone on the album is a lot cleaner than it would normally be. We put a Shure SM57 up close, and used a Neumann for a room mic.

Can you describe your ideal tone?
I’ve always loved that slightly overdriven sound—but not with an overdrive pedal. It has to be natural tube overdrive. Unfortunately, that sound doesn’t work well for chordal stuff, so I think I’m going to try a two-amp setup, with one for solos and one for chords.

For someone who prefers tube-amp overdrive, you have quite a selection of overdrive pedals.
I only use overdrive pedals to get that really saturated sound, which I rarely use these days. I’d love to find a pedal that just adds a bit of fur without changing the fundamental tone. I think every guitarist is looking for that pedal.

What would you like to improve in your playing?
I’d like to improve my right hand. I started out as a very legato player, picking every third note or so. But, these days, I’m liking the sound of the pick more and more. It gives you more control of the tone and your rhythm. The most difficult thing about picking is changing strings and changing direction in a scale or line. I make up my own little exercises to practice getting better at that, but they’re not very logical and are probably only effective for me. Still, I don’t want to lose the legato thing either. I’m constantly trying to improve all facets of my playing—sound, melody, harmony, rhythm, composition, and listening.

You, Stewart, and Penman have killing grooves on Kaboom. Do you have any tips for developing that—besides practicing with a metronome and playing with lots of other musicians?
So many things contribute to a good groove—the way you swing notes, how much of a lilt your eighth notes have, how you accent certain notes and ghost others. Also, the melodic contour of your lines plays a strong part. Then there’s the way you fit that in with what the rhythm section is doing. When you start analyzing the groove, it sounds complex, but when I play I’m never really thinking about that stuff. I just try and feel it. But it’s something to listen for when you’re digging a great player and trying to work out why their phrasing feels and sounds so good. No two players do it exactly the same way.