Guitar Player - July 2015 USA

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12/14812 G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M /J U L Y 2 0 1 5

g u i t a r p l a y e r . c o m

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GP C O M M U NI T Y16 We can all use a sense of community.

Share your photos, gear and CD/DVD

reviews, likes/dislikes, favorite amps

and guitars, tone and technique tips, gig

stories, and more with the Guitar Player

reader community. Come on join in!

O P E NI NG S HO T S

18 We get up close and personal with the gigs,

the gear, the guts, and the glory that make

playing guitar the coolest thing in the world.

R I F F S20 Sterling Balltalks about recording his debut

solo album at a spritely 59 years of age, Boz

Scaggschecks in, Joe Bonamassascores a

well-worn goldtop, a lost Les Paulinterview,

another cool excerpt from Jim and Dara

Crocketts amazing GPbook, and more!

COVER STORY40 Warren Haynes

The ever-restless creative soul that is Warren

Haynes discusses his Americana collaboration

with Railroad Earth, the Sco-Mule live sets

with John Scofield, and his thoughts on

playing with the Allman Brothers Band.

F E A T U R E S

28 Randy Bachman

34 David Torn

C L A S S I C A D

146 T.W. Doyle(from the April 1983 issue of GP)

L E S S O NS64 Under Investigation

A thorough examination of a particular style or player.

This month: John Fogertys Creedence-era work.

72 Youre Playing It Wrong You might thinkyou know how to play

classic riffs like Immigrant Song by Led

Zeppelin. Heres the absolute real deal.

74 Genesis Lesson

Layered 12-string magic from the prog masters.

76 Rhythm Workshop If 6 Was 12

78 Fretboard Recipes Melodic Motifs Pt. 1

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Guitar Player, Box 469073, Escondido, CA 92046. Guitar Player (ISSN 0017-5463) is pub-

lished monthly with an extra issue in December by Newbay Media, LLC, 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA 94066. Period-

icals postage paid at San Bruno, CA, and at additional mailing offices. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608.

Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.

J U L Y 2 0 1 5 | V O L U M E 4 9 , N U M B E R 7

Contents

S

14 G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M /J U L Y 2 0 1 5

Cover photo: Jay Blakesberg


15/148

G E A R

26 New Gear

81 Roundup!Eight semi-hollowbodiesrounded up and reviewed.

98 Two-Rock Akoya and Studio Pro 35

104 Field TestFishman Fluence Humbuckers

108 Field TestMontys Guitars PAF Humbucker Set

110 Accessory FileAlessandro headphones, Etymotic

Research MusicPRO Electronic Earplugs

112 Whack JobSquier Pointillism Stratocaster

114 Classic Gear1966 Arbiter Fuzz Face

M O R E O N L I N E !Expand your experience far beyond the pages of

Guitar Playerat guitarplayer.com

C O O L S T U F F 2 4 / 7! Hear the John Page Ashburn model at guitarplayer.com/video

Check out Jimmy Pages B-Bender Tele at guitarplayer.com/gear

Get tips from the stars at guitarplayer.com/lessons

See Steve Vai burn with Al Di Meolaat guitarplayer.com/artists

J O I N T H EGP C O M M U N I T Y !FacebookGet news and post comments at

facebook.com/guitarplayermag

GPForumDebate, shock, educate, and share with

fellow readers at guitarplayer.com

TwitterFollowdaily tweets at twitter.com/guitarplayernow

J U L Y 2 0 1 5 / G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M 15

F R E T S

53 Peter Finger

60 Guide to Acoustic Amps

62 Vintage Excerpt

Tony Rice on Learning to

Communicate (from the

April 1985 issue of Frets)

G E T S M A R T116 Jason Becker on Creativity

118 Carl Verheyenon Performance

120 Craig Andertonon Technology



GP Community

I T M A Y B E T I M E F O R A N

intervention. Biographies. You

know, those documents that are

supposed to provide media peoplewith the pertinent facts about

an artist, and, hopefully, intrigue

the gatekeepers enough to con-

sider the artist for coverage. Here

at Guitar Player, the staff is inun-

dated with CD packages and artist

bios every day. We scan hundreds

of bios a montheach one trying

to get us to say, Hey, this is worth

checking out.

And, let me tell you, 90 percent

of those bios are pure excrement.

This is extremely sad, consider-

ing that bios are one of the critical

links to seducing the media to buy

into your act. Why would an ambi-

tious artistor even a weekend war-

rior looking to keep the club gigs

comingtotally blow something

as simple and as important as an

artist biography? Even some expe-

rienced publicists send us utterly

dreadful prose vomitus. Arrgghhh.So heres my contribution to the

bio interventionfive butt-simple

ways to devise a biography that

media folks (or, at least, the GP

editors) might actually read, enjoy,

and perhaps be jazzed enough to

contact you.

Deliver the goods.We need

your names spelled correctly, a

photo with all band members

clearly identified, links to any You-

Tube videos and your website, an

email contact, a phone number,

and which city you operate out of.

Dumb? Sure. And yet, I receive bios

every day that dont provide the info

I need to do my job. They go right

into the recycling bin. Its a big pile.

Dont scare us.Most media

peeps are frazzled by deadlines,

so if your bio is really long, they

probably wont have time to read

it. Keep it to a paragraph or two.Dont oversell.Hey, were

writerswe can see right through

hype. Calm down the self-congrat-

ulatory proseespecially if youre

a new artist with no real industry

credits or impactand give us

some fun facts.

Dont say stuff that doesnt

say stuff.Your words shouldmean

somethingnot just sound like

they mean something. Take this

actual example: XXX has trans-

formed his love for the art into a

reputable musical flare that bridges

most genres. Ack. Nothing pisses

off journalists like flowery crap lan-

guage deluged in self-importance

and sprinkled with a hint of vague

literary pretensions. Just sayin

Make credits count.People

dont care about bands they dont

know. If you were in Bruno Mars

group, say it loud and proud. Butdelete references to acts that never

went anywhere. You may think they

show you have experience, but, trust

me, forcing us to read about failed

mystery bands just gets your bio

tossed in the circular file.

NOIZE FROM THE EDITOR

FACTOID | LONG

LIVE

ROCK!The June 2015 issue was

a good one for mis-

takes. We misspelled

author Robert Alan Wit-

meyers name in his fine reviews

of the Z.Vex pedals in our Pedalma-

nia! feature, and we also published the wrong

photo of the Visual Sound (now Truetone) Route 66

V3. The correct photo is right here for all to see.

And in the May issue, we flunked geography. Reader Mike

Fitzgeraldwho rubbed it in by saying, Thanks for the chuckle!

alerted us that Estonia is one of the Baltic states. Its not the

Balkans as stated in

our article Country

and Estonian on Laur

Joamets. Our apolo-

gies to Joamets, Esto-

nia, the Balkans, and

our high-school world

affairs teachers.

OOPS!Yessir. Rock music is still alive and kicking. According to the

EMI Music 1 Million Interview Database, here are the countries

with the highest percentages of rock lovers amongst their

music-loving populations. (Pop, Country, and Urban were

the other categories.)

SOURCE: INFOGRAPHIC GUIDE TO MUSIC,GRAHAM BETTS [OCTOPUS BOOKS]

A U S T R A L I A 69%U N I T E D S T A T E S , E N G L A N D , I T A L Y ( T I E ) 62%

G E R M A N Y 56%

F R A N C E 54%

I N D I A 43%


17/148 J U L Y 2 0 1 5 / G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M 17

Partner

inCrime

FACEBOOKCOURT OF OPINION

Joe Lucasti

Chet Atkins

and Roy Clark.

Jack

Whitney

Reinventing

themselves

each night.

Bryon

Jackson

Best jam

band ever.

Sorry,

Grateful

Dead.

Anthony

Savarese

The sonic

guitar

tapestries.

Paul

Bifani

March

Madness at

the Beacon.

Robert

Fadley

Warren

and Derek

improvising.

Tony

Menown

Classic

American

bandnever

phoned it in.

Steve

Redenbaugh

Dont miss

anything

got albums.

Steve

Pappageorge

Sadly, the

road doesnot

go on forever.

Mark

Kay

Everything!

James

Nelles

The goose-

bumps theyd

give me.

George

Barberio

That theyll

never get

Dickey Betts

back.

What do you miss most about the Allman Brothers Band no longer

being an active part of our musical lives?

Cody

Sifford

Those

musical

builds.

Interact!JOIN THE GP COMMUNITY!

SOUND OFF! GET EXCLUSIVE NEWS.

COMMENT. CRITIQUE.

SHARE TIPS AND TECHNIQUES.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-NEWSLETTER.

FACEBOOK.COM/GUITARPLAYERMAG

TWITTER.COM/GUITARPLAYERNOW

GUITARPLAYER.COM

MICHAEL MOLENDA, Editor In Chief

[email protected]

ART THOMPSON, Senior Editor

[email protected]

MATT BLACKETT, Associate Editor

[email protected]

KEVIN OWENS, Managing Editor

[email protected]

PAUL HAGGARD, Art Director

[email protected]

GOT A QUESTION FOR YOUR COMMUNITY?

[email protected]

HERE ARE MY MAIN TWO GIT-

fiddles. On the left is my trusty 1963

Fender Custom Shop Reissue Strato-

caster. With its hotter-than-usual front

two pickups, its extremely versatile forseveral styles of music. On the right is

my 1954 Martin D-18which is one of

the best-sounding Martin dreadnoughts

Ive ever played. W I L L L O W E


18/148

GearROUNDUP


Opening Shots

Center Court

Zac Brown Band on stage at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York. The

famed tennis stadium and concert venue is once again hosting music after

having sat silently for over 20 years.

SOU

THERNREEL



BY MICHAEL MOLENDA

YOU HAVE TO DIG PRETTY DARN DE EP

to find something that Sterling Ball doesntexcel at. Hes CEO of the legendary ErnieBall/Music Man companyno small feat initselfand he still managed to keep a touringband, Biff Babys Allstars, together through-out the 80s and early 2000s (he playedbass). Hes currently a traveling professional

barbeque chef with a big helping of cookingawards pinned to his apron, and he doesnt

just work the grillhis Big Poppa Smok-

ers offers gear, sauces, rubs, and more to

other fanatics. Somehow, he finds the timeto give back, as well. His familys Casey

Lee Ball Foundation has raised more than$8.5 million for pediatric kidney research.

But when it comes to documenting hisown musical pursuits, the guy is simply tragic.

It took his buddiesbassist Dave Marotta,drummer John Ferraro, and keyboardist

Jimmy Coxto finally compel Ball into thestudio at age 59 to record his debut album.

The result is the aptly titledBetter Late ThanNever, a mostly instrumental record thatshowcases Balls deep groove and fierce

respect for a songs melody.

The album is also a tribute to a musi

cal family, as Ball performs songs thatresonated amongst his clan: OklahomaHills because his mom sang it (andwho passed away after the sessions)To You Sweetheart Aloha because it

was performed at his dads funeral (andhis grandfather specialized in Hawaiiansongs through his Ball Music Publishing)Boom Boom Boom Boom because he

covered it in his the Allstars (which fea-tured Ferraro, Cox, and, sometimes, hisbrother Sherwood), and so on.

And, wouldnt ya just know?Better LatThan Neveris no vanity project by someone whos successful in other areas, andsimply bluffs through his day as a rockstar. Balls musicality, phrasing, tone, and

taste really shine bright as he plays vari-

ous basses and electric guitars (all Music

A Long Time Comin

R ffsi

STERLING BALL CERTAINLY DIDNT RUSH

MAKING HIS DEBUT ALBUM



Man, of course), a Collings 000 acoustic,and a Collings ukulele.

Ill tell you, says Ball, Ive been veryfortunate to always play with guys who

are better than me, and I think that helps.Every one of those guys on the record isbetter than me. But I think Im better thaneverybody thought I was.

So, um, you really wereforced into this.

Yeah. Basically, Dave Marotta wouldnt

let up on it, and it got to, Dude, youveput this off too long. We have the studiobooked. You better get your stuff together.If somebody gives you an opportunity to

test yourself, you take it. Whats the worstthing that can happen?

Why did your friends become so insis-

tent about making this album happen?

In 1984, I started a band called BiffBabys Allstars with Ferraro and Coxthats how far back we go. It was a bandin which I could play guitar, because Ivealways been a bass player. The problemwas I told Albert Lee about it, and he said,Well, I want to play. So that put me backon bass. Steve Morse toured with us, too.

So the guys knew I could play, but what

really triggered it was when I hosted a bigBBQ event, and I wanted to play guitar at

the pre-party. I did a solo version of ImSo Lonesome I Could Cry, and I must have

done it pretty good, because thats whenDave said, Okay, thats it!

Now, the first day in the studio, I wasntvery good, and it looked like a friendshipgesture from the guys. So I spent a lot oftime thinking about, Am I going to besome guy who just dabbles, or am I goingto dig deep? I decided to dig. The secondday in the studio, I think I surprised them.

You woodshedded that hard in one

night?

No. It was about a month, because thoseguys schedules are so weird. Wed grab a

day, and then it would be five weeks beforewed grab another day. So thats the time Ifigured it out. We ended up with two ses-sions for basics and five days for overdubs.

Did you do the basic tracks live with

the bass and drums?

Oh, yeah. Of course.Your phrasing and touch are exquisite on

the melody linesevery note really counts.

Thats the respect for the melody thatI got from my dad and my mom. In fact, itbothers me when I hear singers who dont

respect the melodywho use the melody

as an exercise. I think that when you have agreat melody, youve got where you should

stay. Solos are different for me. I think greatsolos challenge timethats what gives

them that spark. I interpret solos a bit dif-ferently. You might not think I end up where

I should, but, in my head, I know where Imgoing. I like surprising people.

You also dont use a pick, right?

No. I hate a pick with the guitaralthough I use one when I play bass. I justfelt that I could do the things I wanted todo on guitar better with my hands. For me,its about being more expressive, and play-

ing with my fingers helps me with that.I also dont use any effects. My effectspedal is a cable.

Any of your famous friends reviewthe record?

I dont want to say much, but I got anice note from Steve Vai that was really

beautiful and encouraging. He said, Youcommunicated who you werethats whatresonated with me.

Despite the fact you finally birthed this

baby, what do you feel is the most surpris-

ing element of the album?

I think the ukulele surprises more peoplemore than anything. Most guys dont solo

on ukulele. But Im a big guy with a tiny

instrument, and I just love everything aboutthe ukulele. g

BLAST FROMGPS PASTHeres an insight from the pages of Jim and Dara Crocketts new book, Guitar Player: The Inside Story of the First

Two Decades of the Most Successful Guitar Magazine Ever[Backbeat/Hal Leonard]a collection of oral his-

tories from the editors, photographers, artists, and advertisers who were in the magazines orbit during that era.

People still talk about and share my Guitar Playerinterview [March 1973] even today.

I was very comfortable with the interviewer, Michael Brooks [mistakenly credited as

Michael Pierce], which is saying something, because so often I felt challenged by men.

But Michael put me right at ease, and just by the sound of his voice, I knew there was

respect. I appreciated that. And the interview itself, I believe, gave me more respect in

the industry. What? A girl on electric guitar? Yup! For a while, it pretty much felt like

just me, Bonnie Raitt, and Ellen McIlwaine. That was about it. J U N E M I L L I N G T O N



Riffs

BY MICHAEL MOLENDA

BOZ SCAGGS KNOWS WHAT HE LIKES,

and he likes who he makes records withwhich made the sessions for his latestalbum, A Fool to Care [429 Records], anexercise in smooth confidence. And fun.Who wouldnt have a blast tracking most-

ly live with drummer Steve Jordan (whoalso produced the record), bassist WillieWeeks, guitarist Ray Parker, Jr., and key-boardist Jim Cox? Recorded in just fourdays at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, thealbum explores the love that Scaggs and

Jordan have for classic R&B, soul, androck, and it features a guest spot by Bon-

nie Raittwhich Scaggs called, one ofthe highlights of my career.

Your guitar parts are so in the pocket

on this record. Do you work them out, or

just play by feel?

Im a feel player. Im not trying to getthis kind of sound, or that kind of sound. I

have my own style of hearing the material,and my own style of playing it. Workingwith Steve Jordan and the rhythm sec-tion, the whole story is right there. All I

have to do is fill in the blanks. Ill try a

few passes, and the tone will tell me what

to do. The vocal is already on the trackeither a finished vocal or a roughandthat informs me what to step around withthe guitar. Theres no planit just workswhen it works.

What about your vocals?

On some of the songs, I worked out

my vocal approach. Id pick a key, and usea little rhythm box to make a very cursorydemo to send to Jordanjust so we had anidea where the vocal would fit in. Tempois extremely importantmore importantthan most people give it credit for.

What was the main gear you used forA Fool to Care?

My standard, go-to guitar for thestudio is a Fender Custom Shop Stra-tocaster, but Ive always wanted a one-pickup jazz guitar, and I found a GibsonCustom Shop Herb Ellis model aboutfive years ago. I promised myself when Igot the time, I would get it set up, and Iused it on just about everything on the

new record. It plays like a dream, and ithas a really wild tone when you put itthrough a little distorted amp. I also used

my home guitara 51 or 52 Martin

D-28 thats difficult to record because i

has such a big sound. But it worked oujust fine. Then, theres my Gibson J-45that always records beautifully. Blackbird Studio brought me a beautiful, vintage plexi Marshall that I used for thelive tracks. The plexi will go anywhereyou want it to go. You can get the richest clear and warm sounds out of it, o

you can push it. I guess its my favorite amp in the world. I also have a Suhampan 18-watt, with a 1x12 cabthaIve been using at home in my studio foabout ten years now. I use it live, too. I

has a punchy, Marshall-like sound.I know a lot of care and work went into

the album, but it seems like the sessions

were almost effortless.

Yes, its all very easy and natural. Youwant it right, but you also want to havefun. Steve likes to hear his drums a certainway, and I like to hear his drums any way helikes to play them. Its all about the musicand all about the way the musicians inter

pret it. Were veterans. Were not trying toput anything in there thats not us. Wevbeen around, we know what we want, and

we know what we like.g

Boz ScaggsLets It Flow



IN 2008, AUTHOR MARTIN MCQUADE

a consultant for Bing Crosby Enterprisesinter-

viewed Les Paul for a planned article on his

musical relationship with Crosby. The interview

produced a transcript that spanned 40 pages,

and, due to other projects getting in the way,

it was never published. Now, to honor what

would have been Les Pauls 100th birthday,

GP is excerpting part of McQuades interview

for the next few issues. We feel its an excel-

lent lost discussion, and its a great way tohonor two great musiciansLes Paul and Bing

Crosbyon the occasion of Les centennial year.

How did you meet Bing Crosby?

I heard him in 1939. I loved him, and I loved

[guitarist] Eddie Lang. Who could you pick

better than who Bing picked? That was Eddie

Lang. So, consequently, I carried this love for

Bing straight through my career until I ended

up in New York broadcasting with Fred Waring

five nights a week. One day, I told Fred, Im

leaving. Im going with Bing. He said, I knew

someone was going to grab you. Tell me how

it happened. I said, It hasnt happened. Bing

has never heard of me.

You had a positive outlook.

I sure did. I packed the car up, and I headed

for California with the idea of somehow get-

ting to play for Bing. When I got to NBC in

Hollywood, I saw where Bing would come to

rehearse on Thursdays.

Was that for theKraft Music Hall?Yes. I had to somehow get into the broad-

casting station so that my trio could play for

Bing. There was no way. He was surrounded by

so many people making sure he wasnt harassed

by me [laughs]. I figured out a way. I got my trio

to back into the artists entrance at NBC when

the people took a break for lunch. There was

quite a commotion with all the people leaving

to go to eat and drink. I yelled to my bass player,

Did you bring the music? Hed say, No, I left it

on the piano. The guy guarding the door said,

Make room for these fellas. They have to go

back and get their music.

That was a subterfuge, was it?

Thats right. When I got into the build-

ing, I looked at the studios that werent

being used. So I took Studio B. I set up my

trio. I said, At least were in the building.

So we set up our music, and we were play-

ing Back Home Again in Indiana.A fellow

came in, and said, I am the contractor for

NBC, and I dont see anybody listed for thisstudio. I said, Well, I have to level with you.

We dont belong there. He looked a little sur-

prisedand amusedand he said, What is

your purpose? I said, Well, I want to see if

I could get Bing to hear us. I think we would

be great to be with Bing. He said, Stay here

for a minute. And he came back with the

vice president of NBC, who was an old friend

of mine from Chicago! M A R T I N M C Q U A D E

Next month: Does Les plan work out for

him?g

Celebrating Les Pauls Centennial

Left to right:

Les Paul,

Jimmy

Atkins,

Donna Day,

Ernie

Newton,

and Fred

Waring.


24/148

Riffs


ITS TIME TO TELL ANOTHER

tale ofguitar safari goodness:a story about a much playedand lovedbut not abused1955 Gibson Les Paul Stan-

dard, one of the first batch ofTune-o-matic equipped LesPauls produced in late 1955.

As you can see from the pic-ture, it has been played heav-

ily but miraculously it hasnever been cracked, broken,or repaired in anyway. I thinkI was the first person to everlook at the control cavity, giventhe years of nicotine, liquor,and rust this guitar had accu-mulated on the screws after

so many years playing in thebars and juke joints of the NewOrleans area bayou and south-ern Louisiana.

To set the scene, we findourselves having a day off inNew Orleans on a cold grayMonday. As usual, my tech Mike,

Colin (our bass and keyboardtech), and I are bored. We doa quick Google search of areaguitar shops, and were off towreak havoc on the local mer-

chants. On this particular daywe hit three shops without anyluck. It is now about 4 oclockand there is one shop left on

my list but it isnt nearby. Itscalled International VintageGuitar.

We show the driver theaddress and he asks, Are you crazy?

Thats a pretty rough area, fellas. Beingadventurous (and seekers of great gui-tars and guitar stories) we convince him

to take us over the bridge and into Algiers

Point. As we get closer to the shop, the

neighborhood gets more residential anda little scarier. Finally we pull up to a littlewhite house with the smallest blue guitar-shaped sign out in front. We head around

back to a small shack behind the house.

Not exactly a prime retail location, but

the store is not only open butalso full of cool vintage gui-tars and amps.

The fi rst th ing I noticeupon entering is a mint brown

1962 Fender Princeton amp.I am a sucker for these choc-olate-colored Fender amps. Icant get enough of them. (Icurrently own 17 of them indifferent variations). I quicklymake a deal for the amp andcontinue to look around. Mike

shouts out, Hey dude, checkout this goldtop back here!I go around back behind themain room and see whatwould come to be known as

the Ragin Cajun hanging onthe wall. It was honestly loveat first sight. Being a guitar

of the south, it has that greatgreenish patina and check-ing you only normally see inhigh humidity climates. Interms of my personal tastein guitar collecting, I loveguitars in mint condition orreally worked over. Becausethis guitar was definitely in

the latter category, I immedi-

ately grabbed it and plugged itin. There is usually a reason aguitar becomes that beat upover the years. Most of thetime the reason is becauseit sounds and plays great! Afive minute chat and a little

chiseling on my part and theextremely nice shop owner and I reachan agreement on the price.

I always say if guitars could talk, thestories they would tell would blow ourminds. The Ragin Cajun could definitely

keep us entertained for years.g

Joe Bonamassas Guitar SafarisTHE RAGIN CAJUN

RICKGOULD


25/148

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Features

BACK IN THE LATE 60S AND EARLY 70S, S IN GER /guitarist Randy Bachman was on quite a winning streak. Asa member of the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Over-

drive, Bachman had a hand in the creation of such classicrock staples as American Woman, You Aint Seen Noth-ing Yet, Takin Care of Business, and more. On his newalbum,Heavy Blues[True North], Bachman has gloriouslyreconnected with his hard rock side (as evidenced by suchass kickers as Little Girl Lost, Wild Texas Ride, and the

title track), and is joined by an impressive list of specialguests that includes Neil Young, Joe Bonamassa, Jeff Healey,

and Peter Frampton. Bachman was more than happy to dis-cuss his hard rock rebirth with Guitar Player, as well as hismemories of penning a 70s guitar classic.

How didHeavy Bluescome together?Geoff Kulawick, who is a friend of mine from Canada, had

taken over True North Records, and was interested in sign-

ing me to a record deal if I would do something new andexciting. At the same time, I was inducted into the Musi-cians Hall of Fame in January of 2014, and Neil Young wasthere, because his pedal-steel player, Ben Keith, was inducted

as well. Ben had passed away, so Neil was there to accept for

him. I told Neil I had a new record deal, and he said, Greatopportunity. Do yourself a favor: Dont do the same old stuff.Get a new band, get different guitars, get a different producer.Do something scary that youve never done before or havent

done in a while. Go into a strange room, challenge yourself,and see what happens.

Then, I happened to see Tommy the musical, in Stratford,Ontario, and I was sitting with Pete Townshend. Pete said tome, The drummer is amazing. The drummer plays like Keith

Moon. We went to meet the drummer, Dale Anne Brendon,after the show. I said, Dale, I have a chance to do an album.Do you want to do an album with just you on drums and me

on guitar? Well be like the White Stripes. She said, Great,Im in. When I told my manager and Geoff, they said, Nah,we dont want you to copy the White Stripes or the BlackKeys. Thats already been done. Why dont you just add athird member? Well, BTO got inducted into the Juno Hallof Fame in March of 2014, and while we were there, we sawa band called Ladies of the Canyon. They had long, scrag-gly hair, ripped flannel shirts, ripped jeans, and they did

this blazing country rock, like early Eagles or Crazy Horse.I thought the bass player, Anna Ruddick, was incredible.

We had lunch the next day, and she showed up with a John

Who Are You?RANDY BACHMANDELIVERS HEAVY BLUES

WITH A POWER TRIOBY GREG PRATOCALLIANN

E-BACHMAN

Bachman with drummer Dale

Anne Brendon (center) andbassist Anna Ruddick.


30/148

Features


RANDY BACHMAN

Entwistle t-shirt. I said, How old are you?

She said, 30. I said, You know who John

Entwistle is? She said, Well, I studied basscomposition and upright bass at McGill Uni-

versity in Montreal. We study all bass play-

ers, and Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten, John

Entwistle, and Jack Bruce were my favorites.

I said, Well, I have a drummer who plays

like Keith Moon. Do you want to come do a

power trio jam album? You can be like John

Entwistle or Jack Bruce, and Anne will bemy John Bonham or Keith Moon. Im writ-

ing some new blues songs. She said, Yes.

Sounds incredible.

And you enlisted Kevin Shirley to produce.

He said, Ill do this, but I only have five

days. If youre going to let me produce you,

you have to let me captain the ship. I dont

want any discussion. I want to tell you whatto do and I want you to do it, because Im

going to win the argument anyway. So just

let me win it, save a lot of time, and lets get

these tracks done. He flew into Toronto, we

all had dinner on Saturday night, we started

Sunday, and we cut 12 tracks in the next four

days. We had done them all live and got a

great sound. I used all old guitars and old

amps. And then Kevin called me and said, I

got my neighbor, Joe Bonamassa, to play a

solo on a track. I went, Wow, what a great

idea. I emailed Neil Young, and he said he

wanted to have a solo in there. I asked otherfriends of mine, and ended up with seven

great soloists on the album. Each of them

has a real showcase in each song, and they

really did bring a bit of themselves. You can

tell its really Neil, its really Peter Framp-

ton. Its the real guy doing his own thing.

The album has a big, heavy sound.

What really blew me away and made my

life as a guitar player was the late 60s power

trios: Hendrix, Cream, and also the Who and

Zeppelin, who were guitar, bass, and drums at

the core. I wanted to honor that, but I didnt

want to do the standard Les Paul through aMarshall or a Strat through a Fender amp. I

found a guy in Toronto who collects amps,

and I bought these old Silvertone piggyback

amps, where the bottom is open back with

two ten-inch speakers, a head on top, and a

great built-in tremolo. I used two of those,

and I split the signals with a Roland Chorus

the one everybody calls the Flying Saucer.

It doesnt even have an adapter, just a direct

AC plug-in. I didnt use it for chorus, just

to split my signal. It has a half-watt boost,

so it distorts your guitar a little. I also used

two National lunchbox ampsthey haveincredible distortion. I put all those in a

glass room and threw up about six or eight

microphones. I said to Kevin, I only want

to do one guitar track. I wanted it to sound

huge, like Pete Townshend. Lets just take

one mic and pan it at eight oclock, and then

put the next mic at ten oclock, the next at

12 oclock, and spread it across the stereo

spectrum. So when I track, there are differ-

ent tones as well as closeness or far-away-

ness in the microphones giving my guitar a

gigantic wall of sound.

What did you use for guitars?The guitar I used on every single track

You

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31/148

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32/148

Features


RANDY BACHMAN

I didnt even know existed until I started

searching the Internet and did some research.

It was a Supro, called a Val-Trol. Its a solid-body archtopan enclosed archtop. It has

two incredible Supro Valco pickups in it, and

being built in 1959, the bridge pickup had a

piezo in it or something like it, so you can

mix that in. The guitar has one controla

volume controland a three-way switch.

Thats it. And the sound from it is big and

fat. When I start Livin on the Edge, itsgigantic, and its that one guitar. Another

secret weapon we had was a bass like Fred

Turner used to play in Bachman-Turner Over-

drive, the single pickup Rickenbacker 4000

bass. Theres something magical about it.

That one pickupand where its placed

gives you the greatest bass sound for what

I want in rock and roll. That changed thesound of BTO. And then, Rickenbacker started

to make two pickup basses and they were

never the same. When it was one pickup,

it was somewhere about two-thirds of the

way between the neck and the bridge, and

theres a harmonic resonance in the bass

that is incredible.

Lastly, what do you remember about

writing Takin Care of Business?

I was on stage, desperate. I had to sing

the last set of a club gig because Fred had

lost his voice. I had no songs to sing. I took

a song I had previously written that I hadpitched to the Guess Who and BTOand they

didnt like itcalled White Collar Worker.

The lyrics were the same, but when I got to

the hook, I sang, White collar worker, just

like Paperback Writer. Everybody hated

the song. On the way to the gig that night,

I heard the DJ on the radio saying, This

is Daryl B on C-FUN Radio in Vancou-

ver, were taking care of business. I went,

Wow, what a great song title. That night

on stage, I threw away the White collar

worker hook and substituted the words

Takin care of business. I took out seven ofthe ten chords, made it a three-chord-song

kind of thing, turned around to the band

and said, Follow me. I made the song up

on stage. We played it for 26 minutes that

night! We recorded it two weeks later, and

on that recording, I used my Gretsch 6120,

and when Im playing up high, doing all my

Leslie West licks, you can hear the guitar

going in and out of tune. Those 6120s did

not have a fixed bridge and if you banged

the bridge with your hand, it went out of

tunethe bridge actually moved. I said,

What the heck. This sounds very KeithRichards-y, very Howlin Wolf-y. Ill just

leave it the way it is. This song will never

be a single. Its just an album cut. And if

you listen to that whole song, it speeds up

and slows down, but its a real party.Were

having a party in the studio. The piano player

was a pizza delivery guy who came in and

said, I think I can play piano on this, so

I gave him one take, he played piano, and

left. We didnt even know who he was. We

had to find him the next day and give him

credit on the album. The whole song was

just a trainwreck that came together to bea beautiful mess.g


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Features

NO ONE COULD ACCUSE DAVID TORNof grinding out guitar records lately, but 30years ago it was a different story. Beginning

in 1985 withBest Laid Plans, Torn rippedthrough six groundbreaking, guitar-heavyreleases in one decade. Since 1996s WhatMeans Solid Traveller, however, the masterof ambient looping and fuzz-drenched,Eastern-inflected soloing has been flyingunder the guitar-hero radar.

It is not that the sonic pioneer has beenidle. In the interim, he has lent his distinc-

tive guitar work to a Whos Who of cre-ative musicians, including David Bowie,k.d. lang, John Legend, Tori Amos, DavidSylvian, and Meshell Ndegeocello, as wellas producing records for Jeff Beck and

Tim Berne. Torn sandwiched those gigsin between soundtrack work on films like

Friday Night Lights, The Big Lebowski, Traf-fic, andThree Kings, as well as his Grammy-winning score for The Order.

There have been some collaborativestealth releases over the years with Splat-tercell and Prezens, but Torn the guitar hero

is finally back with Only Sky[ECM], and itis everything fans of the whammy (bar andpedal)-wielding wizard could hope for: a

completely solo effort that showcases theinnovative loops and go-for-broke soloingthat place him on guitar Olympus. Read on,as the wizard reveals some of his secrets.

Why do a solo record this time?

It started when I got the Avid Pro Tools+ Eleven Rack. I was doing early morningsessions in my studio just improvising songs.I would find two chords or a three-note

melody, do the improv, and record it straightdown. If I didnt like it, I might do anotherone. I had a bunch of pieces for my TED

Talkone, called Only Sky, became thetitle song on the new record. But, when Igot there, I changed my mind; I just wentout and improvised. That made me thinkI should keep improvisingtheres some-thing satisfying about it. I decided it didntalways have to be a song format. For thisrecord, some pieces are a bit song-like andthe rest are totally improvised.

Was editing or overdubbing involved?I edited some of the pieces. If I had to

go pee, I just let the loops run [laughs]. Idrun to the bathroom and then come backand start where I left off. After 35 min-utes of playing, I would get offstage, butleave the loops going. There were some

processors running that produced soundson their own. Id start a really good piece,and then Id do something dumb like falldown. Id try to find a natural place to beginagain, and then edit it together. In the mix,I would edit all the crap out. The music

was recorded live in stereo, so there wasnot a lot of other fixing that could be done.

Where did you record?

Some of it was at EMPAC [Curtis R.Priem Experimental Media and Performing

Arts Center in Troy, New York] at Renssa-laer Polytechnic Institute. Its a 1,500-seattheater with 50-foot ceilings. The room is setup with microphone cabling and remotelymovable mics. I used some mics that were

close to the cabinets, another two mics farout to the sides, two pairs of stereo mics infront of the stage about 15 or 20 feet into

A Guitar Gods GearDAVID TORNTALKS TONESBY MICHAEL ROSS



FeaturesDAVID TORN

the audience, and two big room mics hang-

ing from the balcony that were super wide.

Some other pieces were recorded at home,and the challenge of the mix was to blend

them with the ones recorded at EMPAC.

Did you try to reproduce the EMPAC

room?

I just used my ear to get close to it. It

was about capturing the coloration of the

room, which was quite a bit warmer than

my original home recordings. EMPAC is like

playing into a beautiful cushion that doesnt

dull things.

What did you use in your studio to repro-

duce it?

I have a couple of custom reverb patchesI did in Native Instruments Reaktor. I might

have used some digital EQ to empty out the

midrange in certain places to make sure the

overall sound was warmly reverberant.

Do you use reverb in your rig as well, or

is that all delay?

I have a Lexicon PCM80. I programmed

what I believe was the first commercially

available version of what people now call

Shimmer. I started with the first PCM70.I bring my own reverb with me, but there

are certain rooms that enhance every sound.

How did you get the live glitching guitar

effects on the record?

All the glitching, stuttering stuff is done

with the original Hexe reVolver pedal.

Are you controlling the pitch with an

expression pedal?

I was following the reVolver with a Digi-

Tech DT Whammy Pedal. It let me shift the

pitch of those short reVolver loops, but not

the length. I shifted them in a musical way

while I was playing and transposed in myhead as I went. If you hear a loop length

being altered and theres a lot of stutter-

ing within the loop, it could be the Gibson

Echoplex Digital Pro. I use it to build new

rhythmic figures by using its insert and mul-

tiply functions. The crazy part is that the

reVolver feeds into the EDP, and I make it

worse because everything in my rack can be

sent to everything else [Laughs].

In some places it sounds like you areusing the self-oscillating feature of your

signature Trombetta Tornita! fuzz.

It is trial and error; sometimes you dont

get it right and you have to deal with it. I set

it up so I have an idea of the pitch range. To

play Theremin-like melodies, I need to know

where my top and bottom notes are. There

is also a PCM 42 sound where I am chang-

ing the pitch, the length of the loop, and also

have a square wave LFO going. Ill change the

pitch and length with my foot, and change the

speed of the LFO with my hand until I like it.

Sometimes Ill change the depth of the LFOat the same timethere are many planned

accidents and manipulations thereof.

How did you sonically separate the loops

from the improvisations over them?

I had a Fryette Sig:X head in the middle as

my dry amp, which isnt actually totally dry.

I was using the THD Hot Plate Attenuator,


37/148

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38/148

FeaturesDAVID TORN

which would send the signal to my rack mixerfor my rack effects, and then to a Fryette

Two/Fifty/Two stereo power amp that fed aFryette Deliverance cab on one side of thestage. On the opposite side I had a BognerGoldfinger 2x12. In the middle was a BobBurt 2x12 custom pine, V-front cabinet, withtwo old Celestion Blues in it.

Which guitars did you use?

I used the pink Ronin Mirari for all theEMPAC material. At home, I used my DPergoStrat-style on one track, my Koll Tornadoon one track, and Im pretty sure I used the

Teuffel Niwa also.Is that just amp overdrive on I Could

Almost See the Room?I was turning an Empress Effects Com-

pressor on and off. I also used the ChaseBliss Audio Warped Vinyl. Its a vibrato pedalwith an analog signal and a digital control-ler attached to the back. You can control itwith LFOs or the envelope of your attack. Iwas pushing the amp with it, even when I

wasnt using any pitch changing. Anything

that sounds like a chorus on the guitar would

be that. I used a Caroline Guitar CompanyKilobyte delay on the dry amp. The pedalhas a momentary switch on it to make it gointo wild self-oscillation.

Is that where the octave sound on that

tune comes from?

No, thats my Lexicon, unless its on thedirect guitar sound, and then its a Whammypedal. The reverbs have something more com-plicated than just an octave up. Its actuallya series of stereo delay lines with octavesbeing modulated at different speeds, in dif-ferent amounts on each side mixed into a

very huge reverb.Theres a great distortion sound on

Reaching Sparely, Barely Fraught.

It was probably the Trombetta Mini-Bone.That track was actually recorded with theKemper Profiler in my studio.

Are you using an auto filter on Only Sky?

Theres a kind of envelope-driven filter

from the Kemper thats only on the reverb

The Kemper has all these envelope driven

effects. Theres a certain set of sonic com-promises I accept from digital modeling,so I can play at the volume I want at fourin the morning. The main compromise isa lack of animation and multi-dimension-ality in the sound and feel. Kemper is thebest modeler Ive had, yet Im always look-

ing for things to make it feel more random,so I can respond to it.

Whats next?

I did a session that could become a groovypop record. Its a Celtic-sounding womansinger, with very dark lyrics, very simple

drum programming, and a few simple, yetcharming, synth patches. I fill in everythingelse. They seemed to like the idea of blackmetal guitar. I used my new Basic Audio FuzzMutant pedal and the Fryette Power Stationattenuator with my Fryette Deliverance ampIt sounded so damn good I couldnt even tellif I was playing well or not!g


39/148



By Jimmy LesliePhotographs by Jay Blakesberg

Warren Haynes GoesAmericana, Jazzes with

Scofield, and Remembersthe Allman Brothers Band

L A S T Y E A R W A S A S E A S O N O F

monumental change for Warren Haynes.

Govt Muleformed in 1994 by Haynes

and the late bassist Allen Woody as aside project to their membership in the

Allman Brothers Bandcelebrated its

20th anniversary with a series of archi-

val live releases, including Sco-Mule [Evil

Teen], a recently rediscovered 1999 per-

formance that captures oodles of intri-

cate dialogue between Haynes and John

Scofield. Brian FarmerHaynes longtime

guitar tech and close friendpassed away



Cover StoryWARREN HAYNES

on August 24, 2014. A few months later,the Allman Brothers Band ended its epic

run with a final bow at New Yorks BeaconTheater on October 28, 2014.

As 2015 unfurled, the creatively restlessHaynes decided to let his fans experiencesome changes by releasing an acoustic-oriented Americana solo album,Ashes andDust[Concord/Universal]. Backed by thebluegrass-jam band Railroad Earth, Haynesshowcases his tasteful and tuneful playingagainst a backdrop of fiddle, mandolin,

bouzouki, banjo, piano, and other acous-tic instruments. Although Haynes is one ofthe most powerful, gritty-piped singers on

the planet, as well as a monster guitaristwhose tone and intensity upholds the truemeaning of guitar hero, its mostly hissensitivity and subtlety that holds court on

Ashes and Dust. That said, his earthy elec-

tric tones blend well with the folky vibe,and his slide playing sounds particularlypoignant on tunes such as Wanderlustand Is It You or Me. Haynes even donsa DAngelico jazzbox for several tunes,adding class and grace to the sonic tap-estry. A nod to the past occurs on Spotsof Time, where fellow Allman Brothers

Oteil Burbridge (bass) and Marc Quinones(percussion) join in for some inspiredimprovisation.

Those who have come to cheer on Haynesmeaty and snarling Les Paul tones andbluesy jam explorations will get a differentkind of thrill by hearing how he negotiatesthe folky side of the music world. But, ofcourse, following Haynes has always been a

joyous exercise of expecting the unexpected.

What inspired you to pick up the archtops

and acoustics forAshes and Dust?

I was looking to express myself with asound that fit the musics overall picture,

which is very different than anything Ivedone before. I played a lot on a DAngelicoNew Yorker strung with GHS flatwoundsthat Ive had for about 15 years. Its fromtheir first series of reissues, I believe. I alsoplayed my 61 Gibson ES-335 some. I foundmyself playing a ton of slide stuff on mysignature Gibson Les Paulwhich is my

go-to guitar for that. I recorded throughsmall amps, going after a sound that fit inwith the acoustic instruments. I did play

quite a bit of acoustic, but, in the long run,

I think Im still playing much more electric.Where does the acoustic guitar fit into

the landscape of your life?

Im always sitting around playing acous-tic guitar. I always keep one close at home,and I play my signature Washburn a lot onthe tour bus.

There are two Washburn Warren Haynes

Signature Solo Deluxe guitarsthe 5249

and the 5240. Is the former essentially the

Cadillac, and the latter akin to a Chevy?

Thats a good descript ion. They re

similarly based on the 1937 Washburn SoloDeluxewhich I felt offered a bit moremidrange that was good for slide guitarand single-note melodic playing.

How did this Americana project come

about?

More than five years agobefore I

recordedMan In MotionI was supposed tomake an album at Levon Helms studio withLevon playing drums, Leon Russell playingpiano, and T-Bone Wolk playing bass. But

T-Bone passed away, and everything changed.



Then, Levon passed away, and I realized it

was not meant to be. So I switched from

an Americana style to a soul-meets-blues

approach forMan In Motion. A lot of songs

onAshes and Dustdate back to that record

I never made, while some are brand new,

and some go back decades. We recorded 30

songs, so were looking at this as a work in

progress. Were going to continue releas-

ing material from the original sessions, as

well as continue recording more material.

There are a lot of great bluegrass bands.

What attracted you to Railroad Earth?

A few years ago, I did a solo-acoustic

show at DelFest. Railroad Earth was on

the bill, too, and I had them join me for a

few songs, because its much more exciting

when you add more pieces to the puzzle. It

was loose, but in a good sort of way. You

could sense the potential. I eventually invited

them to do it again at the Capitol Theatre

in Port Chester, New York. We rehearsed

a bit more, and we took it a little further.

It felt great to marry the songs with that

instrumentation. Our chemistry clicked, so

we decided to go in the studio.

I knew that I wanted to play a lot of

electric guitar in addition to some acous-

tic, so we took it song-by-song, experi-

menting with different arrangements and

instrumentation. Its very folk-centric, but

we didnt intend to sound traditional. We

wanted certain elements to be true to the

spirit of the songs, but we also wanted to

take them wherever they wanted to go. It

was a very organic process.




A few of the Railroad players are multi-

instrumentalists. Who ended up playing

what onAshes and Dust?Tim Carbone only played fiddle. John

Skehan played mandolin,bouzouki, andpiano. Andy Goessling played acoustic guitar,banjo, and a National steel. Andrew Altmanplayed mostly upright bass, although heplayed electric bass on a couple of songs.

Carey Harmon played drums. Todd Sheaf-fer sings harmony on a lot of songs, andhe played acoustic guitar on one we wrotetogether thats called Word on the Wind.

Where did you record?

We recorded at a studio I wasnt famil-

iar with called the Barber Shop. Its in NewJersey, which is fairly close to where mostof them live. I commuted each day frommy home in West Chester, which is aboutan hour north of New York City.

Did you track the musicians simulta-

neously?

Yes. If theres electric rhythm, I played iton the basic track. If theres electric rhythm

at the same time as an acoustic, then Andyplayed the acoustic. Andy played acousticguitar on most of the material, and, some-times, we both played acoustic. It varied

from tune to tune. John, Andy, and I weretogether in the main room. Tim, Carey,and Andrew were in isolated rooms, butwe could see them while recording. I over-

dubbed the majority of lead vocals, but thereare several that were cut live.

How did you set up your amps?

We set three amplifiers upstairs in anisolated rooma 65 Fender Super Reverb,a 63 Gibson Falcon, and a Carr Mercury. Ihad the option to play through one, or allthree. I could blend them together, or leave

it until later to decide which one sounded

the best. Each amp was close-miked witheither a Royer R-122 or a Shure SM57.They were all side-by-side, but with gobosin between, so we could get some separa-tion if we wanted, or achieve a more ambi-ent overall vibe. It was cool, because wecould roll with whatever felt good, and not

have to start from scratch on each song.Eventually, the Carr got replaced with aHomestead amp.

We also had a pair of Homestead ampslocated downstairs in a small room where Idid a lot of overdubbing. I would plug right

into a 50-watt 2x10, or a 100-watt 2x12.

I played a ton of slide on the smaller one,and I used the bigger one for clean, jazzy-

sounding stuff. There would be usually bea Royer R-122 and a Shure SM57 up close,and, sometimes, we used a Shure SM58placed three or four feet away. My experi-ence with room mics is that wherever youput them, they sound good. You can alwayswork them into the mix somehow.

Whats the background on the Home-

stead amps?

When [amp builder and Stevie RayVaughan tech] Cesar Diaz died, Peter McMa-hon took over his amp company, and hecontinued building stuff for me that was

considered Diaz Amplification. Recently,he started incorporating some of thoseideas in different directions with his ownline of Homestead amps. Many were builtspecifically for me. They are works in prog-ress. Were tweaking and changing stuffall the time.

What are you homing in on?

My main Diaz CD-100 head that Ive

used for so long has such a signature sound.Cesar built it for me, and its one-of-a-kind,so the first step was trying to get back tothat. It has two power transformers, which

is odd. It sounds basically like a Fender, butit has a unique character. In Govt Mule, Ialternate between the Diaz and a Soldano,which sounds more like a Marshall. Were

trying to come up with different amps fordifferent occasions. Im looking for a soundthats classic, but not generic.

Lets dig into tones on specific tracks,

starting with the opening ballad, Is It

Me or You.

Thats the oldest song on the record. I

wrote that on acoustic guitar decades ago,but I had never recorded it. With mando-

lin, fiddle, and banjo, the song took on acharacter Id never thought about before.I tracked it playing the DAngelico witha semi-clean/semi-dirty rhythm sound. Ioverdubbed slide guitar with my Les Paulthrough the Homestead.

Did you use your customary slide, the

Dunlop 210?

Yesthe hand-painted one. The painton the inside serves a dual purpose. It lookspsychedelic and weird, but it also sticks toyour finger better.

What kind of pickup is in your DAngelico?

Its a stock mini-humbucker. It will

feedback if you turn it up too loud withtoo much gainwhich is why it was nice

having amps upstairs.How did you cop such a convincing

violin sound while playing slide on Coa

Tattoo?

The slide was recorded mostly with themidrange boost engaged on the small Home-

stead. My main Diaz CD-100 has one aswell, and I use it from time to time. Its adifferent sort of sustain. It boosts the midsso you get more gain, but its not the sameas turning the gain up. Its just boostingthe mids, and that was key to the fiddle-like sound. When the tone sounds cleaner

and more transparent, the mid boost wasnot engaged.

Are you somehow playing in a fiddle-

like way, or utilizing certain controls on

your guitar?

Im mostly maneuvering the volume poton my Les Paul, trying to find the sweetspot. If I want less top end, I usually get itby turning the volume down, as opposed

to the tone. But, sometimes, Ill roll thetone back, as well. The fiddle was recordedlive, and the slide guitar was an overdubI had the headphone volume up loud and

listened intently to the fiddle. I tried to docounterpointteam up sometimes, stayout of his way sometimes. I wanted it tosound as if we were standing next to each

other playing live.It sounds a heck of a lot like two fiddle

players trading licks. You give Dickey Betts

violin tone at the peak of his Jessica solo

a run for the money.

Dickey loved twin fiddles. Bob Willsmusic was a big influence on him.

Stranded In Self-Pity is a standout

track with a great story and stellar tones.

That was written by my friend LarryRhodes, who is a fellow songwriter fromAsheville, as is Ray Sisk, who wrote GloryRoad, and Billy Edd Wheeler, who wroteCoal Tattoo. Billy has written tons of clas-sic songs, including Jackson for JohnnyCash. I largely patterned my rendition of

Stranded In Self-Pity after Larrys soloversion. Once it started falling into place,we felt good taking it in a New Orleansdirection.

I played the DAngelico on the wholesong, mostly using the Super Reverb. I

played some of the lead live, cutting the



track while Andy played an archtop acous-

tic. We overdubbed the end section. Andy,

Tim, and Johnwho played pianoall gotin the main room with me and traded impro-

visations.

Your licks come from a jazzy place on

that song.

I always let the song dictate what I play.

I dont want to challenge the chord progres-

sion. As I started out as a singer, the melody

is always in my head, and I tend to phrase

more like a vocalist when playing guitar. I

also made a point of listening to horn play-

ers and piano playersanything other than

guitartrying to push my head in a less

obvious direction. Also, Ive been listeningto jazz since I was 13 years old. When I was

a teenager, I played in bands that did songs

by Chick Corea, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and

Billy Cobham. I still listen to Sonny Rollins

as much as I listen to anything. I never did

study jazz full time, but it has always influ-

enced me, and I utilize that influence when

the song is right.

Do you know your theory and your fret-

board well enough to pinpoint scale andchord tones when you hear them, or do

you get around by pattern s, sh apes, and

experience?

Its a little bit of both. I studied theory,

and my ear can readily discern a lot of whats

going oneven in complex situations. But

at the same time, Im more of a gut-instinct

player. I try not to think too much. I tend to

enjoy it more when I dont, and it sounds

better when I listen back.

Glory Road, Beat Down the Dust, and

Blue Maidens Tale sound entirely acoustic.

Those three are entirely acoustic. I usedRockbridge acoustics, my signature Washburn,

and a 64 Epiphone Triumph borrowed from

my tech, Eric Hanson, for one of the over-

dubs. Beat Down the Dust has two or three

different acoustics on it. I played the Span-

ish-sounding parts on the Washburn and the

Epiphone. They are panned more to the right.

Andys acoustic is panned more to the left

The only overdub on Glory Road was my

slide guitar, which I played on a 74 Guild.What was your miking strategy?

I used two mics. One was a Neumann KM

84, and I believe the other was an old Sony. I

pointed the Neumann towards the fretboard,

and the other mic towards the soundhole.

How did you get the sound on Gold

Dust Woman?

I played an Epiphone 12-string hollow-

body electric tuned to dropped D. I turned the

volume down so low that it almost sounded

like an acoustic guitar. I played the slide live

on the take. Andy played a National steel,

and John played bouzoukiwhich is awe-some. We didnt change the arrangement that

drastically because I love everything about

Fleetwood Macs original. But our version

is weirder and more experimental. We use

a b5 and a minor 3rd here and there. Its a

live performance thats a little bizarre, but

it turned out great.

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Cover Story

The ensemble on Spots of Time really

shines, and you cop a cool jazz-meets-Jerry

Garcia vibe at the end.I wrote Spots of Time with [Grateful

Dead bassist] Phil Lesh. The Allman Broth-

ers Band has played the song live in recent

years, so I brought in Oteil and Marc.We took

some of the Allman Brothers arrangement,

and then applied a new treatment to fit the

rest of the instrumentation. Its very stretched

out and improvisational, so it was bit differ-

ent each time we did a take. The one we used

was the final attempt, and its a full, live take.

I played the DAngelico, and the lead single-

note stuff is mostly the Super Reverb. Some

of the vibrato stuff is the Falcon.Will you be touring with Railroad Earth?

Were going to do some stuff this summer,

later in the fall, and maybe next yearwhat-

ever fits into our schedules.

Youre currently touring with Govt Mule,

and you recently did a run of shows featur-

ing John Scofield celebrating theSco-Mule

album. Is he your favorite jazz player?

Yeah. I love the fact that he thinks so

entirely differently than I door than any-body else does. He has a unique brain and

musicality. I love hearing Sco play in differ-

ent contexts, because even when hes play-

ing straight blues, its simultaneously so real

and so different.

Did you write the song Sco-Mule spe-

cifically aimed at Scos groove-jazz wheel-

house?

Yesin honor of us getting together.

The first solo on that track is spectac-

ular, and there are moments when you get

very Sco-ey.

I guess so. When in Rome, you know?Can you explain some of that in musi-

cal theory terms?

No, because he uses all modes and all

approaches. There are certain things that

only he does. I havent quite figured out

what they are yet, because hes brilliant at

superimposing one key onto another and

that sort of thing.

Scofields Whammy-induced, pseudo

record-scratching solo that follows yoursis insane. What went through your head

when he did that?

It started out as a Whammy-scratching

thing, and it turned into what sounds like a

violin solo. As it was going down, I remem-

ber thinking, Not only does that sound

like a violin, it sounds like Jerry Goodmans

violin. As with any cool sound, its what

you do with it that counts.

What do you remember about writing

Charlie Parker-inspired Kind of Bird, of

which there are two versions onSco-Mule?

Dickey [Betts] and I worked on that songevery afternoon for about a week. We were

rehearsing with the Allman Brothers at the

time, and wed show them a little bit more

each night. That was for Shades of Two Worlds,so the year must have been 1991.

You hadnt been in the band very long

at that point.


47/148

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True, but Dickey and I had worked together

prior. Dickey hired me to play in his band

around 86 or 87. We spent three years play-ing together, writing, recording, and tour-

ing. Then, it appeared that cycle had run its

course. When I got a call saying, Were put-

ting the Allman Brothers back together, it

came as a total surprise, because every time

that subject got brought up the answer was

always, Th

Documents

Guitar Player - July 2015 USA