Q&A with Carl Verheyen

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen
Photos courtesy of Carl Verheyen

Carl Verheyen is a critically acclaimed musician who is commonly regarded as a guitar virtuoso who can play any style of music. He has been a member of the Rock group Supertramp since 1985. He has his own band: the Carl Verheyen Band and they tour all over the world. If you want to catch him Live this summer or in October in Europe, check out his website!

KB: Did you always want to be a musician growing up?

Yes! I got my first guitar on my 11th birthday after begging for one for over a year. From that moment on, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life and I never looked back!

KB: When did you start playing the guitar and who were your musical heroes?

My earliest musical heroes were Roger McGuinn (electric 12 string player from the Byrds) and George Harrison. After that, the list grows to at least another hundred guitar players starting with Duane Allman, Dickie, Betts, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and then into the jazz guys, the country guys, the fusion guys and the blues guys. As a studio musician for many years, I spent a lot of time diving deeply into the various important styles and studying all the great players in each one.

KB: You played with Supertramp for several years on and off: how did you became part of them and what is your fondest memory?

I joined Supertramp in 1985 following an unexpected audition. And I’ve been with them ever since with the last shows being in 2012. We had a massive tour planned in 2016 but it was canceled due to Rick Davies’s illness. I have many many fond memories, but if I had to pick one, it would be this: while playing in the ancient Arena in Verona, Italy, I watched the full moon rise between the 2000 year-old arches and realized this has been a venue for a very, very long time! It was pretty magical!

KB: In 2009 you and your band released “Trading 8s” with musical guests Robben Ford, Albert Lee, Joe Bonamassa, Rick Vito: All these great guitarists in one room! That must have been fun! How did you get them all together?

These guys are all my friends and over the years we worked together on stage or in the studio. Everybody was willing to do it, but in reality. it went down differently than you think. My band cut the basic tracks in two days at one studio, and then I took those tracks to various other studios and recorded the solos with each guitarist separately as an overdub. So only me and the other guitarist were in the studio, one at a time. We did play together and recorded our solos bouncing ideas off of each other in real time.

KB: Are there any current artists you would love to collaborate with?

There are many! I like John Mayer and Herbie Hancock.

KB: You can make an album with 7 of your most favorite songs (not your own): which would you pick and why?

The answer to that question changes all the time and is somewhat based on whether I could make each song my own. Currently I’m infatuated with “Strawberry Fields Forever.” But the Beatles version is so amazing, I don’t think I could make it different and I know I couldn’t make it better. I’m a big fan of the late Jesse Colin Young, he was a childhood hero, and I will be recording one of his songs on the next album. In the past, I’ve recorded two Bob Dylan songs and made them completely my own, so that’s the goal. I sometimes play with the idea of doing the complete album of covers and I do have a few in mind… So you’ll just have to wait!

KB: What are you currently up to? Any gigs, new material?

I will play at many festivals and have a West Coast USA run in the summer followed by a month in Europe in October! So far I have five new songs and hope to record them live this year because my fans are asking for another live album. So I am truly excited about the rest of 2025!

Check out Carl’s website: HERE

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