Today we change pace with a very unique artist. The one, the only:

(From Left to Right)

Guitar – Guitar

Steve Onotera – Guitars, more guitars, and everything else that could possibly be used as an instrument

“Born in the Manitoba prefecture of Canada, Samuraiguitarist, Steve-san Onotera, honed his discipline under the study of the country’s most powerful musical Sensei’s.

Bred on rock, raised on the blues, trained in jazz, Samuraiguitarist creates incredibly innovative videos that showcase his talents on the guitar.”

To give you an idea of why Steve is THE Samurai Guitarist, check out one of his most popular creations yet:

Für Elise

Q&A With Steve Onotera (aka Samurai Guitarist)

Noah: Before there was the multi-instrument-wielding Samurai Guitarist, there was Steve and his guitar. How did Samurai Guitarist come into existence?

Steve: July 2014 I posted a 15 second clip of me playing some flashy guitar on instagram. I got quite a few like from my friends. I did this again the next day with a couple hashtags, this attracted some attention outside of my friendship circle. “Hmmm” I thought, “there might be something to this”. I repeated this numerous times, trying to up the value of my posts everytime. Soon enough I had more insty followers than anyone I knew. I had to rebrand as “steveonotera” is not that marketable. samuraiguitarist was born. People really wanted full length versions of my posts. October 2014 the youtube channel was born.

N: Your first big video hit was your all-Ipad cover of “Don’t Fear the Reaper”, which even landed you some TV interviews! Can you talk a bit about the whole experience with the video, and how it may have changed things for you?

S: So while many videos got modest attention, that was the first big one. It hit the front page of reddit and really got this ball rolling for me. That was the reaffirmation that “ya you can do this, there is a market for this madness you are coming up with”. Without having a little bit of success like that early on, I am not sure I would be able to bring the confidence to each video that helps motivate me to engage in such time consuming and at times ridiculous ideas.

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult Cover)

N: From your videos on your YouTube page, it seems the most featured genre you play is the blues. Is this your favorite style of music to play? Is there any genre you won’t touch with a ten-foot guitar?

S: I grew up on the blues but wouldn’t say it is necessarily my favourite. I truly love everything that falls under the “Americana” canon, blues, country, folk, soul, rock, bluegrass, all that good stuff. I wouldn’t touch either classical or jazz because I don’t really feel I have the faculties to do those genres justice, and I have the most respect for both those things. I also wouldn’t touch metal because I just don’t listen to it and don’t have the knowledge to pull it off.

N: You have so many guitars you’ve played in all your videos. Is there one guitar that you prefer above the rest?

S: My 52 reissue tele – That yellow one I used in the “Kentucky Jelly” video. I saved up all my hockey reffing money for a year to buy that way back when I was a lad.



N: What’s the weirdest item you’ve used as an instrument in any of your videos?

S: Definitely the beer bottles in the “Cold One” video. The goal was to use beer bottles for as many “instruments” as possible. So I had to get prettay creative.

Samurai Guitarist and Velvedere – Cold One (Eric Church Cover)

N: Most recently, you and my good friend Jeff Gagne covered “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” TV theme song – which happens to be one of your most successful videos yet! I featured this video in one of my previous posts and mentioned some of the more “questionable” feedback you have received in response to the video. Were you at all surprised by this?

S: Yes and no. I go into each video trying to appeal to a large demographic. Each video is in a way “gimmick-y” and I embrace that. Some gimmicks I know for sure will attract attention such as “one guy plays five guitars”. With this one it didn’t have quite the same gimmick appeal but it also had a major level of nostalgia. I knew it had the potential to do pretty well but I didn’t think it was as likely as some of my others.

N: What is your favorite comment you read in response to this video?

S: “White people smell like play dough and hamburger helper” haha If that one isn’t great for your blog I’ve had people ask about other blues artists. To be the gateway to the blues for some people means the world to me.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Theme

N: Any info or sneak peaks you can give us of what is to come in the near future from Samurai Guitarist?

S: Stay tuned! The best is yet to come!