Mundo Juillerat: ‘Life in pursuit of guitar solos’

Steve Marcus

Mundo Juillerat, a guitarist with “Le Reve,” grew up in Hawaii playing the ukulele. He later became a “shredder,” a rock guitarist who plays fast, then formed the Hot Club of Las Vegas, which plays Gypsy jazz. “I get to reinvent myself,” Juillerat says. “After being a sideman for so many years, I’m doing something I love.”

By Kristen Peterson (contact)

Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Name: Mundo Juillerat, guitarist

Age: 46

Education: Guitar Institute of Technology at Musicians Institute, Los Angeles.

Titles: Founder of the Hot Club of Las Vegas, guitarist in “Le Reve”

Gypsy jazz: Juillerat started out playing ukulele in Hawaii and became a “shredder” — a rock guitarist who plays fast — in various bands and production shows. Then he learned about Gypsy jazz and Django Reinhardt, the Gypsy guitarist who formed the Quintette du Hot Club de France. He read about the guitarist, transcribed his music and attended seminars and lessons at Django festivals.

Hot Club: Hot Clubs are largely instrumental groups with a violinist and guitarist. Juillerat wanted his own sound and added a vocalist and cajon drummer. He also brings his funk and rock background to the band. “There are purists. But some Gypsy jazz groups come from a Croatian folk music and they add that to it.” Other band members are Chris Davis on contrabass, Gabriel Santana Falcon on cajon or box drum, Marlow Valentin on rhythm guitar and Carol Linnea Johnson on vocals.

Starting out: As a child he spent his afternoons at the hula studio where his mom, aunt and cousins were dancers. During breaks, he’d play the ukulele that the hula teacher used to drill his students. His aunt caught him once and taught him his first chord. Soon he was ripping through jingles and songs from TV on one string of his mom’s uke, including the theme from “Hawaii Five-0.” By 13 he was playing guitar in a youth Polynesian show. He also played Toere (Tahitian log drum). By 16 he was making $40 a gig subbing in a group for his guitar teacher. He’d take the bus into town, then ride home with hula girls, realizing then that he’d pursue a career in music.

Shredder: In high school his parents moved to Sparks and Juillerat joined them. He realized he was strong in Hawaiian music but nothing else. That changed in high school band, where he learned other types of music and moved on to professional gigs and a “life in pursuit of bitchin’ guitar solos.”

Getting to Las Vegas: In 1988 he came to Las Vegas to play with a group that had the misfortune of losing all of its gigs and freelanced at every “dive in town.” He left town and returned to play with Anita Sarawak for almost 10 years at Caesars Palace. He later joined the production show “Storm,” where he met his “musical big brother,” Jerry Lopez of Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns. (He’s now his brother-in-law.) He played for “Mamma Mia!” during its run and has been at “Le Reve” for a year.

Having his own group: “I get to reinvent myself. I enjoy being a shredder, but I’m getting older and it’s fun to do other things. After being a sideman for so many years, I’m doing something I love. Now I have a musical product. It’s scary because there’s no distortion.”

Inspirations: Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson and his aunt, the matriarch of the family, who plays guitar and sings. “She’s really a big part of who I am. She’d always have me play for her. She’d say, ‘That’s good, but you have to play it from the heart.’ ”

Other interests: Cycling, tennis, chess. “I love being a dad.”

Sticking around: “Yeah. If I get a job touring I can still make Vegas my home base. They just fly you out of Vegas. You don’t have to live in L.A. anymore.”