With the coming soon of the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock concerts in upstate NY, it is really starting to stir up many memories for me.
Almost every summer of my life, I lived in the upstate town of Bethel, NY, which is where Yasgur’s Farm, and the Woodstock festival of 1969 was held. I was 16 when it happened, and I went back and forth to the site many times, since we were only about 1 mile away. It was a true disaster area that has certainly mellowed with memories, because believe me, when it was rally happening, it was NOT so pleasant and idyllic as so many people make it out to be!
Still, it was cool, and I must’ve had 40 campers all staying on our front lawn, with my Mom providing food for them, and I recall that some of them traveled from as far away as Texas by car! I could literally tell who was playing just by listening to the sound drift over the lake to my front porch, and can clearly recall hearing when Hendrix was on, which was the absolute end of the festival!
The following year, as a celebration of the first anniversary, my band, Steel, got a flatbed, a sound system, a tape recorder, and set up at the site, where some 40,000 folks had also assembled to remember the first anniversary of the Woodstock festival. I always joke that those must’ve been the only folks who actually remembered where they really were that previous summer of ’69!
Well, it really was something, and my band must’ve performed for nearly 8 hours, as we were the only music there. I recently was able to be given the tape of that concert, and you can imagine the poor condition it’s in! But who knows…with today’s digital technology, we may just be able to bring that tape, and all the fabulous memories back to life, so we can again share them with the world!
More on Song Collaboration
There have been many songs I have collaborated on as a write…some I got credit for, and just as many where I didn’t get any credit! Heck, there were WHOLE songs and pieces I never got credit for, as in the film, “Crossroads”, but that’s for another time and place for me to talk about!
As far as the whole collaboration process goes, you never really know how it will all “fall together”, but as long as the outcome is pretty much what you wanted, and are happy with, then the whole process was worth it. I have written with folks under some of the funniest circumstances. For example, this month, my old friend and musical partner in crime, Kate Taylor came out with a wonderful new cd, called “Fair Time”. To my surprise, she put on there a very personal song I wrote the music for, when she had already had the lyrics. The funny part of the collaboration was that she showed me the song at her dining table, and while she received a phone call, I started setting myself to writing some music to the words.
Well, needless to say, when the phone call was done, so was the song, because it just so easily seemed to fall into place. So much so, that at first I had to doubt myself, thinking “this couldn’t be”…..I couldn’t come up with the “right stuff” that quickly. In the end though, it was right, because Kate loved it, and it worked so well with what she wanted to say, and how she wanted to deliver the tune.
This is also a very important factor in songwriting if you can know who’s going to sing it, because if you feel like you really know that person who is going to sing it, and what their relationship is to the lyrics, you can more easily “find” the music, or shall we say, let the music find YOU!
Either way, song collaboration is a great process, and it’s one that everybody comes away from knowing just a little more! I love doing it, and I hope it’s something you’ll get into someday, if you haven’t already!The Art of Soloing
A couple of years back, I had to create a video about The Art of Soloing for Hot Licks, which used to be my company for 25 years. I realized that when I embarked upon this idea, it was really a chance to delve into “teaching the unteachable.” This is because the ideas we are talking about are so subjective, and abstract…and who’s to say what is right or wrong when taking a solo? After all, we each have our own way of looking at things, and melodically, we definitely have our own unique ideas.
I suddenly realized that the “Art of Soloing” entails literally anything and everything! So what do I teach to teach soloing…ANYTHING! Because it all applies…I mean, why, for example, is my best solo usually my first take on a song? Because I have the tools and experience to react purely emotionally, where the thought process behind the notes is at a one-to-one clip. It feels as if there are no thoughts going on, only feelings, and this is when we are really playing at our highest and purest level of creativity.
So, in essence, when you are taking my Gibson lessons with me online, even though many are very short, the ideas presented should always be thought of as something that can be applied to your creative “arsenal”, which you can always call upon during key soloing situations, Obviously, I am assuming an awful lot here that you still may not know, but the essence of the solo, and the concepts behind it are the most important things.
I will be writing more about this very important subject in coming blogs, as we explore these concepts even further. Till then, see you next time, and keep on playing!
"Sitting in with Students" Update!
Well, last blog, I told you about how I was about to sit in at this club and play with this wonderful old student of mine who really loves to play neo-classical shred guitar, but that I was going to introduce him to a brilliant 18-year old new student who was here for a week of lessons with me.
Well, all seemed to be going well…we went to the club, had some dinner and drinks, etc., and then it was going to be time for the music, and boy, the place was really starting to fill up! Anyway, as soon as we were getting ready to play, the owner/manager of the joint told us he was too young, and that he had to leave not only the club area, but the entire building/premises! I mean, what is a young phenom to do? What if he were 9 years old, would he not be able to have this forum in which he could bring his immense talent to the forefront?! Also, his Mom was there with him, as was I, and there was no guarantee he was going to even play…he just wanted to watch!
Well it was fairly frustrating, for him especially, and I felt bad, because I wanted his week to end on that bright note, but I still got to jump up onstage and blow the room away with “Superstition”. It’s always hard to hit the stage roaring, and to have to go from 0-60 in what seems to be one second flat, but I managed, and it was great fun! Like I said before…I love to sit in, especially when it involves helping someone else to have a better experience!
Sittin' in with Students
There can be almost no greater validation for a student than when you can sit in and play with them in a live performing situation. This is true for many reasons…first, you are telling them that you have a true respect for how they play, and also you are acknowledging that they have achieved a level of musicianship that you feel can match, of perhaps even surpass, yours. It’s also good just to show some good old support!
Well, tonight I have a unique set of circumstances in which I am taking a new, very young and brilliant student, John Filbrick, from Virginia, over to a club to see me sit in with another brilliant student and player, Mike Kerr, who I taught in the recent past as well! It’s great, because I feel kind of like a “bridge” between the two of them, hopefully helping to forge a new relationship for them, as well as showing my true respect and support for them both! I am going to play on one song, perhaps more, with my old student, but at the same time, I’d love to have my new student come up and sit in himself, for a new and lasting musical experience!
I do know and remember, that at that age, even little step, positive or otherwise, always had a lasting, indelible impression and effect on me. Perhaps this is why I so enjoy doing this for others…what some may simply call “making memories”! Tonight will certainly tell the story, and I am fully in anticipation of how it all plays out, and what this experience will mean for us all! One thing I do know…it sure feels like a great thing to do!
Interpretation Versus Just "Playing"
I suppose that I have long been associated with, and appreciated for my “interpretations” of older songs, usually in instrumental format. This has been a longtime love of mine, and many songs I have always been crazy about have managed to fall into my hands for many years. Tunes such as “When a Man Loves a Woman”, “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, “Ain’t No Sunshine”, “Whiter Shade of Pale” and several others have all gotten the treatment from me.
The question that always seems to arise is the fact of what really makes this “interpretation machine” roll, and what are really the internal musical and other factors that make me do what I do?
I say this because I always contend that very little thought goes into this process for me. It’s so much more a “feeling” thing, and is more based on how I “process” these songs than anything else. For example, on my “Landscape’ album, I did a version of “House of the Rising Sun” that is more an overall tribute to the many parts of that record, and how I have always heard it internally, in myself. What then comes out is not only an emotional onslaught of bending and expressive melodic interpretation, but also subtle little things tat for me, complete the picture.
This means that I am taking into account the great organ “fills” that graced this recording, even though I now play them on the guitar. There are many times this occurs when I interpret a piece, because I am taking into account ALL that I heard when I had a lasting impression made on me by any given song.
In tunes like “When a Man Loves a Woman”, I am actually playing the role of lead singer (instrumentally), a guitarist playing fills between the vocals, and even the rest of the band, in terms of how I deal with the chord work and sustaining ideas and themes that surround the original crators of the melody.
This is an important overall lesson for any of you interested in pursuing being an overall great instrumentalist…….you must really let, as I do, the entire record, song or whatever it might be, totally “come through you”, because this is the only way to really stay true to yourself, and your impressions of the very song you are playing. No matter what, it just can’t HELP but come out sounding like an original take on something you love that was originally created by someone else!
Learning to Follow the Changes
Ear training is, in the long run, the most important thing you’ll ever learn or have to use throughout your musical life. I have reached a point where basically everything I hear, I hear as music. I mean, if a song is playing in my home, and a plane flies overhead, or somebody even drops a dish, I can hear and identify, immediately, just what that tone is! This is a great test to use on yourself throughout your daily life, and for me it was put to an amazing and thoroughly enjoyable use last night!
I was invited by some friends to a dinner party where a wonderful classical Quintet from The Curtis Music Institute was going to play. It was an amazing treat, as these were a great combination of true veteran players, as well as newcomers who were so tight, every chord sounded as if it were played by one giant stringed instrument! So, as I sat there, listening to what was largely a program of music by Brahms, I found myself playing a mental game of trying to, on the fly, identify each and every musical change I could, as those notes and chords went flying by!
This is a great challenge, as Classical music usually goes through a huge gamut of changes, emotions, time signature changes, as well as key changes. There’s no doubt that this makes Classical more of a challenge to play than some other forms of music, and also means that it can sometimes really lend itself to the “cerebral”, in addition to the emotional side of listening.
So, after all was said and done, I got to speak with the various members of the quintet after the show, and we had some great talks about music in general…sharing career stories, etc. I even gave one of the viola players my cd, and talked about how I can never play the same thing twice, and how I am only satisfied by playing something new all the time. To this, this wonderful and incredibly accomplished player said, “God, I wish I could improvise!!”
It never fails to astonish me…how such a great player can still be worlds apart from my way of making music. Put some sheet music with notes to read in front of me, and you have severed my creative process right at the neck! Next time you hear some great classical music, try what I tried to do, and create a nice challenge for yourself by trying to identify the changes in the music. You really may surprise yourself!
Getting "Pigeonholed"
The fact that the music business has always needed and wanted to “pigeonhole” artists and players into neat little categories has long been a thorn in the side of many. It almost seems that if one is multi-talented, and can play in many genres, they are doomed because of an identity crisis that occurs with record companies, radio stations and the like. Even the public is in on this, as they start to feel that they have to give you a category, or else they can’t listen to you!
I know that personally, this has always been the story with me, and if I go into a random cd shop, I may find my cds under “Folk”, “Blues”, “Country” or “Rock” categories. When I wanted to search for the airplay and charting of my latest album, “Toolin’ Around Woodstock”, I found out that I had to look under the “Americana” category…one I had never even known existed! kind of a nice category, though, because it seemed to grow out of the very necessity I am talking about here, the fact that many of these artists can’t really fit into one easily defined category. Rather, an artist such as I, who carries influences from so many genres of music, can at least be called “Americana”…better than nothing!
It’s always been tricky….when does Blues become Rhythm and Blues? When does Country become Pop? When does ANYTHING become Pop?! What defines what is Pop? So much Rock, to me, is really Pop now, and so much of Country is really more Rock than anything else. It does get awfully confusing, and all I can say is that as you are developing, do not be afraid to cross genres….this will always serve to make you a better artist, and will always broaden your horizons. Take a look at some songwriters….there are many who write for all genres, easily, and who gladly accept the challenge of simply writing a great tune, whoever it may be for, and whatever genre they had in mind while writing it! Stay true to yourselves and you influences…no matter what you do, it’ll come out sounding like YOU…and that should always be your number 1 goal!
Doing Guitar Clinics!
Some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my musical travels has been the act of doing guitar clinics around the world. Wherever you go, music is unquestionably a universal language, and when you are actually teaching it, everyone is certainly thankful as well as grateful to you.
It’s especially fun when the audience knows you’ve come a long way to be there speaking and playing for them, such as when I toured Australia , Japan and Europe. It’s also a real blast when they can supply a real live band to back you up, such as what I had in England, Finland and Japan. It seems that those players take their role extra seriously when they know you’re from a long ways away, and you need them to play well!
I swear, there was one time when I had finished playing my own tour in the U.K., and had to move on to Finland to play with a Finnish backup band, and they were better than my own group! They just seemed to take the music a bit more seriously, and still, we had an amazing and happy time….also made friends forever in the process!
At the same time, doing many clinic tours in the US and Canada also proved very rewarding, as I got to play in some pretty remote regions! Still, there always seemed to be enthusiastic crowds, no matter how remote the venue, and to tell you the truth, the more remote they were, the better the gigs were! Maybe it’s just the plain fact that when I was that remote, I was the biggest thing going on, so foks just had to come out and see me!
But, whatever the circumstances, there’s no doubt that doing guitar clinics the world over has always been one of my true loves. I know I now reach so many of you this way, online, and of course, through my endless videos and books, but there is still nothing like being on the road, seeing the real faces of all of you, and being on that “campaign trail!” Hopefully, I’ll get to see you all out there once again, on the road!
The Encouraging of the Student
I for one, really understand the absolute necessity for the encouragement of a student. If it had not been for my father saying “play the guitar, I can just see you playing it”, it probably wouldn’t have happened for me at such an early age. My Dad did not possess a great musical ear, but he saw the potential in me, and how much I loved to play music, and with what ease I could pick things up by ear. He, is however, a great visual artist, and certainly understands art and talent when he sees it!
Somehow, his words and guidance always seem to echo in my head when I am seeing a new student, or feel that I have found someone of exceptional gifts. The irony with some situations compared to mine, is that often it seems, the parents of soe of my students are the LAST to know how gifted their child might be! This disturbs me, because I often tell them, “if you had not brought he or she to me, they’d be like a tree falling in the woods…simply never heard, nor appreciated!” Even with that said, a couple of years back, a family brought their daughter and son to me to take separate lessons. You could tell that they really cared much more about the daughter’s lessons than the son’s, maybe because she was older, and “called the shots”, and it seemed like they thought the boy was just along for the ride. Well, as it turned out, this little boy, who would stroll in once a week, with his cheap little nylon string mini guitar with no case, was absolutely brilliant! It seemed as if anything I threw at him, he was able to play, just by observing! The daughter had a much harder time at it, and actually gave up fairly quickly.
Meanwhile, the sad part of the story is that even though I kept raving about the boy’s guitar prowress to his parents, they never seemed to get it, and sure enough, just when he was reaching a real “peak” with me, they shockingly took him out of lessons! He no longer was going to go to “guitar”……and they spoke it as if it were just another stop in his weekly ritual of being an over-booked suburban kid with too many other things to do, like soccer, little league, tutors, you name it!
Beware of this mistake, and also beware of the opposite, as well. This baby boomer generation has a little too much “rock star” in it, and I’ve seen far too many parents who “push” their kids to be into all this guitar stuff, when the kids don’t even care that much about it to begin with! But far and away, the saddest is when a real gift, as this child had, is ignored, or passed over. I only hope he is still playing on his own somewhere, and not letting himself become that “tree falling in the woods”!
NAMM Again!
I’m afraid I’m missing the Namm show this year, but it sure was a treat to go to last summer’s Namm in Nashville. This convention is really a world unto itself, and after doing 35 in a row from 1982 to around 1997 (two a year), I was not only burned out from them, but the tragedy of losing my wife and daughter in a car accident in 1998 was just too much for me to carry while dealing with such an onslaught of people, noise and general craziness. I also, was frankly too afraid that I was going to be standing there, telling person after person about the tragedy in my life, and it was going to be just too debilitating to go through.
That’s why when I finally did choose to return, I chose the rather benign Nashville Summer Namm, rather than the “larger than life” Anaheim show, which takes everything out of me!
Still, it can be a very rewarding experience, and I love connecting and re-connecting with folks all throughout the industry, and since I have worn so many “hats” over the course of my career, you just never know what subject or person I’ll be dealing with at any given moment!
At one instance I may be talking to a fan, then I turn around and someone wants me to play their amp, then at the next moment I may see someone I had signed to Hot Licks years ago. You just never know, and I guess that’s what makes it exciting!
So, to all those in attendance this summer, I say hi, and miss you, and hope you have a great show. I’ll be thinking of you all, and I’ll be hoping that you’re doing good business!
My Early Beatlemania Days!
As is the case with so many from my generation, The Beatles had such a profound effect that they literally changed my life almost immediately. So great was their impact, their charm, and of course, their music, that it was undeniable that without a doubt, the coolest thing in the world was to play the guitar!
Luckily, by the time they made their famous first appearance on The Ed Sullivan show, I was already playing classical as well as folk-style guitar, so I was truly “primed” to comb my hair down, get an electric guitar, and be off and running! I went out right away and bought a very inexpensive chromed-out Japanese 4-pickup guitar with a whammy bar that to this day, I’ve never seen another of……I formed a band in my Junior High School in the Bronx, (I was only 11 at the time), and we set out to play anywhere we could.
One of the first gigs we did was right at our school, for the “talent show”, and so intense was the Beatle craze at that time, that all me had to do was hit the stage, and all the kids started screaming and rushed the stage! We hadn’t even played a note yet, and all of a sudden, we were actually running in the pouring rain, down a Bronx street, followed by screaming kids! Oh yes, by the way, as I was running out, the teacher sitting in the wings of the stage told me “don’t worry, you won the talent show!”. That, I thought was truly hysterical, since we literally had not even played yet, but we were already the winners!
The next few days were like a re-birth for me, as I went from being barely on anyone’s radar to being the coolest kid in school. Before that, I was only known for being the first kid to show up with slip-on loafers! Now, I was the rock n’ roll kid, and was getting quite familiar with being a “big deal”. I can remember two weeks after the talent show, walking around the corner from my apartment building in the Bronx, and suddenly hearing a girl yell, “there goes one of them now!”, as she and a group of her friends started to chase me down my own street! Yes, I must admit, something was truly telling me to stick with the guitar at that point, and it has never changed, not for a single day. Here’s to those great and wonderful memories of out “formative” years!
Levon's "Midnight Ramble" Was Great!
Well, this past Saturday my band, along with my daughter Lexie, all performed at Levon Helm’s legendary “Midnight Ramble” up in Woodstock, NY. As you may know, Levon sang and played on my latest cd, “Toolin’ Around Woodstock”, which has been a great success, and playing with him has simply been phenomenal!
The gig was a complete sell-out, and talk about a captive audience that hung on every note…it was amazing! I was getting cheers, sometimes it seemed, like one note at a time! I never was in such a comfortable situation from the standpoint of sound, monitors, and just plain “communication” between me and the audience. We only got to do about a one-hour set, as opposed to my usual 2-hour plus extravaganza, but we got to say an awful lot during that time!
Levon’s band was phenomenal, and he had a great horn section as well as fabulous singers, including his daughter, Amy, who also sang on our album, as well as during our set, along with my daughter, Lexie! I also had John Previti on bass, Shannon Ford on drums and Matt Rae on second guitar…an all-star band, to say the least! We’re also very proud, because Shannon’s wife, Alice Riply, just won the Tony Award for best Actress in a musical for her show, “Next to Normal”! She’s fantastic, and also sang on my daughter Lexie’s new cd!
The musicianship all night was terrific, and if you ever get a chance to come to Woodstock, you’ll never experience such an intimate musical treat! I know I, for one, can’t wait to get back up there for another dose of it, it sure was good for the soul!
It’s good in this day and age, to be a part of something that was so musically “real”, with the kind of dedicated audience that is really as deeply into the music as they were………it was encouraging as well as refreshing, and the players and the audience really seemed to feed off of one another’s energy!
So, here’s to more great gigs like that one! It’s the kind of experience that stays with you forever!
More on Collecting: A One of a Kind?
I must admit, I really never seem to lose the collecting “bug”, especially when it comes to guitars! I wanted to share with you this incredible Gibson find, that has to be a “one of a kind!”
Several years ago, I came across this guitar quite unexpectedly, and when I wasn’t really looking for an old Gibson archtop guitar at all! I noticed that it had a headstock I had never, ever seen before on a Gibson, except on a Gibson banjo! Someone told me this inlay and headstock is based on the Gibson “Bella Voce” style, which was used on banjos only. The inlay is incredible, and it all has the same “weight” of the Gibson logo, so sometimes, the logo seems to get “lost” in it all! The inlays on the neck, those double triangles, reflect the mid-thirties era inlays you’d see on Roy Smeck models as well as being similar to the renowned “Advanced Jumbo” style inlay.
The body, I am told, resembles that of an L-7 model of the same era, and I would place it somewhere in the mid-thirties, like 1934. I apologize for the not very good quality of the pics, since I had to use a webcam to take the shots, but you can get an idea.
I’m very excited to know any more info about this wonderful Gibson, so if anyone out there reading this blog can help me know more, please write a comment or drop me a line. It’s truly a great feeling when you can find something this rare, and I must tell you, it sounds and plays like a dream!
It also possesses that great Big Band “chunk, chunk” kind of nice and even “comping” tone, yet really sings when it’s time for some single note playing. It also has some unique, and original multi-colored tuning buttons that are also something I’ve never seen before. It’s my guess that this was a custom-ordered instrument, and Gibson made this person exactly what he or she wanted way back when! A real testament to quality, workmanship and originality!
Playin' with Les!
There’s no one alive like the great Les Paul, and he is one feisty, musical and wonderful man to be around! I once had the honor of playing at his birthday in New York about 12 years ago, but the real thrill was when he took the stage with me and Albert Lee and James Burton at the Danny Gatton tribute concerts back in 1996 at Tramps, a now-defunct club in NYC.
Playing with Levon!
This coming weekend, I get to play, with my band, at Levon Helm’s “Midnight Ramble” in Woodstock, NY. This past year, I released a new album, “Toolin’ Around Woodstock” that featured Levon on drums as well as some vocals, and it was such a thrill to play with this incredible man, who’s such an American musical treasure!
Great Days with Duane Eddy!
Duane is the kind of guitar player that whether you know it or not, has had an influence on you! Anyone who’s ever tried to play a little “twang” on their lower strings, or who tried to play a great and haunting melody on a guitar instrumental really owes a debt of gratitude to the “twang of that Guitar Man!” His instrumental hits of the late ‘Fifties and early ‘Sixties had a great effect on the sound of instrumental guitar, and his influence is still felt, even today.
For the Love of My Old J-185!
This is a guitar that has really made the travels with me, and has certainly "been through the wars"! Many years ago, in the 1970s, I got this guitar for my girlfriend at the time, Janey Street, who has now become a Nashville songwriter. But back in those days, we lived in New York, and there was a folk-blues artist named Roy Bookbinder, who seemed to love to play nothing but J-185s, and who owned quite a few of them.
This was a rare feat, as Gibson made very few of these "down-sized" J-200s over about a 6-year period, and there have been very few survivors, for sure. Janey had always promised me that she'd sell it back to me if she ever needed the money, and around 1985 I got my wish. The guitar was in serious need of major repair, every brace was loose, the back was separating, the binding was falling off, and that was just the beginning! It almost seemed as if it was beyond repair, and I myself, had never even seen the back of a guitar actually develop an opening of about ¼ of an inch! Eventually, I got up the courage (and the money) to pay for such an extensive repair, and after many months, got it back in one piece again, and played it off and on for many years. There were still certain things about it that bothered me, such as how Janey had wacked that thing so hard from her strumming that the wood around one half of the soundhole was completely gone, and that she had put a major 15" scrape across the lower bout of the face!
In 2001, I decided to make a very personal all-acoustic album entitled "Drive it Home", in which I largely used this guitar for many of the pieces. In fact, I am holding it on the cover, sitting on the runningboard of my '36 Buick. This guitar, especially after making this album, seemed to take on an even deeper personal meaning to me, and unfortunately, started heading down that destructive path of falling apart, yet again! This time, while I was actually looking for another one to possibly "trade up" to, this one dealer, who proved to be incredibly selfless and thoughtful, said to me "it's such a great and rare guitar, why don't I refer you to MY repairman to help you get it fixed!" This was great, because he easily just could've taken me for a ride, and ended up selling 2 J-185s, but he just wanted to see me happy!
So, long story short, it is finally done, even the "missing wood" has been replace around the soundhole, every brace had to be re-glued, and lo and behold, the repair guy found out that there were actually THREE different size frets on the guitar…….so needless to say, it now has a fresh set of uniform ones!
I can't wait to get my hands on it once again, and to explore new territory with my old Gibson acoustic friend!
Getting Hot!
I can definitely say that there never was such a thrill as my early days as a player who was getting “hot”. This means that my playing was truly starting to be “in demand”, and I was getting many calls for recording sessions as well as tours. It may sound like a lot of luck was involved, and sometimes it was, but I believe that you make your own luck, and the fact that I was so aggressive and so believing in my own abilities also had a great and positive effect on my career at the time.
You HAVE to believe in what you do, and in your ability to adjust to many different musical as well as personal situations, because it all plays into the equation. I can literally remember certain times where special things I may have said, regardless of how corny they may have sounded eventually had a great effect on my career at the time.
I can recall being in an elevator, going up to my audition with John Prine for his 1975 tour, and talking to his manager, Al Bunetta, who is still a great friend of mine today. He turned and asked me, “do you play slide guitar?” Well, I turned to him and I said, “I wrote THE BOOK on slide guitar!!” It certainly was true, and I was very proud that at the age of 22, I had already published a book on Slide Guitar for Oak Publications, that is still a classic even today, and that had broken all of their initial book sales records for first time releases!
Of course, that statement could’ve gotten me in trouble for sheer cockiness, but it struck the right chord in Al Bunetta, who to this day, still quotes me from that particular conversation! He also, to this day, never stops commenting on my cockiness, and on how much I believe in myself and my guitar abilities. This inner drive was what made me teach myself, move to Woodstock at 18, start Hot Licks video, tour for years, record many sessions and albums, and is still what pushes me on even today.
So, listen to that inner voice you have that tells you that you can do it, because that personal drive is what will pay off one day, and one day, you too, will “get hot!”
More Reflections on the "Road"
The years I spent on the road, doing various tours, were some of the most amazing times anyone can ever imagine. Of course, I did some of the biggest, and most comfortable tours, and some of the roughest, most Uncomfortable tours as well! I used to have special little things I loved to do on the road, such as getting love letters from my wife that would be sweetly waiting for me at my next hotel destination, or frequenting the museums or other special sights of any given town while I was briefly there. I always felt that it was important to absorb as much as possible from each location, and to this day, I feel like I have a very strong “imprint” in my mind of wherever I have been.
I recall going to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh when I was playing there with Phoebe Snow, even in a blizzard, because there was a particular painting by the artist Roualt called “The Old King” that my father loved, and that back in 1960, when we had passed through Pittsburgh on the way to Chicago, was away on loan to a museum in Seattle. I can still recall my dad then asking, “which Turnpike do we take?”! So, I felt I owed it to him to see the painting and to report back to him about it! (I remember the promoter of the show couldn’t believe I was doing this!)
More often than not, especially back in those days, the other musicians never seemed too interested in those higher pursuits while of course, they were interested in “other” higher pursuits! That kind of stuff never turned me on, and since I was always really missing my wife or girlfriend at the time, the women on the road also did not present a major pursuit of mine……although the “groupies” were certainly there!
The roadies and all the other “road” guys we had as part of our team always seemed to be the ones more interested in going “wild” on the road, while us musicians were often the ones who went to bed early, and kept the partying to a minimum.
The happiest moment I think that I can ever recall was when we were on the big Simon and Garfunkel stadium tour, and we had been on the road for what seemed to be forever. Well, the intinirary finally called for coming home, but not until we played in front of 70,000 fans at Giants Stadium, and got to see our wives, expentent wives, and our children, all backstage!! Home at last!! What a feeling…..
Playing Solo vs. Band Live!
For many years, I always was and still am used to the concept of playing with a band. It is a freeing feeling, and of course, when it comes to having a certain kind of “space” for lead playing, you can’t beat it! I have though, many times lately, been doing many more solo acoustic performances, and it’s amazing how easily I adapted to it, and how easy it is to get an audience to really “tune in” to what you’re doing.
One thing I was able to right away determine was that I needn’t always have to keep the bass or rhythm part going, to still keep the “sense” of rhythm going! This was a great and freeing revelation, because I realized that during certain passages, I could even leave the rhythm completely behind, while literally playing lead over the audience clapping in time. This all takes me back, almost in a primeval way, to my origins as a guitar player. This is because when I was developing player, there were many times when it was very hard to find other musicians to play with, so I had to create that “band” complete with all the chord changes in my head! Well, once I was finally put in front of hundreds of people, and had to “speak” with the one instrument, sure, I missed the band I was used to, but the “new” band that was inside my head and in the ears and heads of the audience members, took over! Before I knew it, it was total audience participation, and it only drove me onward to create and use creatively, that new “space” that had been created.
I can’t recommend this enough in terms of also what it can do for your confidence as a player, because in the end, we really are playing alone, and the experience is so connected to our actual solo ways of learning.
There are many performers out there today who are used to band-oriented playing who are phenomenal as solo artists, and must bee seen to be believed. Be sure to check out some of these artists who have had this same band vs. solo revelation, such as Tommy Emmanuel, Phil Keagey, Scotty Anderson and many others, all of whom have made that step, and all who can totally captivate any number of people with their guitar magic! Hope you can do the same someday!
When You Play Together, Listen to Each Other!
This blog installment is basically an addendum and continuation of the last installment whyere I was talking about getting together with other musicians to play. It’s imperative that when you are finally playing with other musicians, that you learn to musically listen to each other and listen to each other as people, too.
It’s so important that you make everyone feel “included”, even if someone may not be at the very top of the pecking order of the band. I can say from personal experience that the worst feeling is when you feel like what you have to say doesn’t matter. This happens on large scales too, for example, like when I used to play with Paul Simon, he was always open to new suggestions, and in fact most of all the song arrangements we had were largely a group decision of all the collective players. Paul of course, had the final say, he is the “boss” after all, but many of us felt like at least our suggestions were heard!
Then, when we listened to or played the final creation, we at least felt that the music was reached as a “general consensus” amongst the musicians concerned, and there was something in each song we could all feel proud of. No charts were used, no notes to read…none of that. But when we all felt ready to play, and had reached the final decisions, we decided to roll tape!
When you have your bands or jam buddies together, please make sure that nobody feels left out. Even if it takes time to finally decide why a given idea must be rejected, if it takes enough time and discussion, you’ll see that even the one who had the idea to begin with, will be much more likely to understand, and to go along with the final decision, minus a bruised ego! Give it a try…it’ll make the whole experience far more rewarding, and much more fun!
Finding Other Folks to Play With
With the summer rapidly approaching, I find that many players and parents of young students I have keep asking me about who they can find for their children to play music with. This can be a very sensitive time and issue for anyone, especially the young player, and it is charged with emotion and can have long-ranging effects on an aspiring player.
It all depends on the emotional maturity of a given player, as well as his or her level of confidence. With that confidence can often come some “cockiness”, which is not a totally unwelcome thing, but one must be careful not to overdo that part of it, because all the players need to feel like they are on an even playing field, and that they all can contribute to a band. I do not believe, however, that the best bands are the ones that are a complete democracy! After all, we all need creative leaders, who have that special leadership “force” that can be used in a positive manner. Try to imagine Creedence Clearwater for example, not being led by John Fogerty, or The Dead without Jerry Garcia, or The Byrds without Jim McGuinn. These bands, I’m sure all consisted of very opinionated players, but there must be the one key figure who truly provides the guidance and creative force behind the music.
So, when young players get together, they must really be sensitive to what is right and/or wrong about having a “leader”. When these kids get together, unfortunately, there are times when the “leader” really just thinks he’s the coolest guy in the band, and he gets helped to that lofty position by everyone else in the band (and maybe some fans) who also think he’s extremely cool!
Still, the coolest thing of all is the act of making music together, and making the most of the situation. Great players are hard to come by, and if you are fortunate enough, it’s nice, just as in certain sports, to find players who are better and more experienced than you, so you can learn by “playing up” to them! This certainly was the case for me when I was cocky 18 year-old kid moving up to Woodstock, NY, and who was feeling quite free to jump up on stage with many of my heroes, some of whom were easily twice, or even three times my age! Don’t be afraid, but at the same time, remain humble….you’ll really make the most of the situation! Have a great summer filled with wonderful music!
Guitar and Baseball!
It’s the heart of baseball season here in NY and in all other parts of this great baseball-loving nation, and in certain areas, due to inter-league play and intense rivalries, such as Mets-Phillies, and Mets-Yankees, not to mention Red Sox-Yankees are really heating up.
There was a critical first game in the “Subway Series” here in New York, where the injury-battered Mets had an incredible and hard-fought game with the Yankees in which they made an all-out and successful effort to go ahead and lead the game. The game unfortunately ended in an unbelievable finish, where Luis Castillo, the Mets’ second baseman, dropped a routine pop-up that was hit by Alex Rodriguez, who was so disgusted at his game-ending pop-up he slammed his bat down in disgust, not even realizing that Castillo had dropped the ball. Afterwards, the incredibly overpaid, over-spoiled and steroid-laden “A-Rod” and the rest of the Yankees celebrated as if they had literally won the World Series, even though they were one second away from a crushing defeat.
Later on, as crushing as the blow was for the Mets and Castillo, the entire team was rallying around him with support, and a great “leave it all behind” and “we’ll get ‘em tomorrow” kind of spirit. And I must admit, it is this spirit that really held on and became even the short term legacy of this event. It was one of those moments where the over-blown salaries, the attitudes, and most of all, the “spoiled” factor so common with ball players these days seemed to dissolve into a little league kind of humble reality.
Fast forward to how many kids these days feel “entitled” to enormous amounts of equipment, super-stardom, and all the rock star “trappings” of wealth and fame. Many of these kinds of kids unfortunately look up to overpaid athletes such as “A Rod”, and these ball players have really become nothing but overpaid “rock stars” in their own right. The hunger for media attention, controversy and a high profile seem to outweigh the simple art of being good at what you do, and most of all, what you feel you, as an artist “must do”. I know that to this day, I only make music because my soul has the incredible and undeniable urge and need to make these sounds. I hear everything in life as music, and it comes out through my fingers. When I step out on the ball field, because I still love to play softball, I still feel that same excitement and innocence that would come over me when I was a member of the Pelham Parkway Little League, and used to pitch no-hitters!
It’s a long topic to engage in, but it’s so important to understand the roots of what these artful things we care so much about really started as. Never lose that innocent spirit, and never lose the fact that we are always learning and developing as players and people. A multi-millionaire ball player can still drop a pop-up, and a millionaire guitar player can still take a lousy solo! The playing field doesn’t need to be leveled, it always HAS been leveled, and forever will stay that way! Be true to yourself and your artform, and win or lose, you’ll always have the right outlook about it!
Grab Those Gigs While You Can!
These days, as anyone can tell you, it’s getting harder and harder to actually secure some real and consistent work as a musician. This means work on the road, or in the studio has gotten really spare, and places to play have really been drying up. The economy has a lot to do with it, but so does the current state of entertainment in general.
I can tell you that more than ever, it is important to keep an open mind regarding what kinds of gigs and sessions you’d be willing to do, because I certainly have had to, and this has been a gradually evolving pattern I’ve noticed over the last bunch of years. Today, for instance, a friend asked me to record a track with him so he can take it over to Italy and have a track to sing over when he performs there. Now, this piece of music will also end up on an entire cd that we will make together later on, but for now, he will be taking this track, along with the other album I already made for him overseas so he can sing a various gigs to these backing tracks.
Now, years ago, I first of all, would never have even been ASKED to play on such a thing, let alone actually have done it, but the combination these days of loads of talented people and loads of them making self-published cds means you’ve got to be really creative to make sure your music gets “out there”, and that you can find some niche to fill.
So, as a session player, in addition to being a solo artist in my own right, I have to really be able to experience a myriad of gigs. Hey, I’ve been doing this now since the mid-sixties, and one thing you learn is that you never know what may end up being offered to you, and what impact it will have. The whole thing about being “really careful” about how you are perceived as an artist by the kinds of gigs you may take is far overstated. I believe it’s also great to be known as a true professional, or a “trooper”, who’s really willing to do whatever it takes to put food on the table, and to experience new musical ideas and concepts, no matter how “unacceptable” they may seem to you at the time. Remember, “just when you really think you’ve paid your dues, you get another bill”!
Getting to Play for the President!
What an incredible thrill it was, back in ’96, to play for President Bill Clinton on Martha’s Vineyard, in Massachusetts! The occasion and reason behind it was that it was actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen’s wedding, and they wanted me, James Taylor and his sister, Kate to play while they walked down the aisle, and during their actual ceremony as well. We played “Some Enchanted Evening” while they strolled down the aisle, on a rainy afternoon, and then “Fields of Gold”, the Sting song, when they exchanged vows.
It was really amazing, because every time I even touched my amp, which was about 20 feet away from the President and his wife, the Secret Service agents were right on it….after awhile, I was just saying to them, “hey, feel free to turn me up or down, I swear I won’t touch it again!”. You start to feel like you’re so “being watched” that you’d rather not even make a move, and you even start to doubt your own movements as possibly looking too suspicious!
Well, once James, Kate and I finished playing, it was very interesting to see how everyone moved in one direction, while the President simply walked over to us and said “now this is the most EXPENSIVE backup band I ever saw!” Truly funny, and very perceptive of him, as well. He was just as regular a guy as anyone could ever imagine a President to be, and was warm and friendly. I know it’s a cliché, but when you talk to him, and we spoke a lot, you really are made to feel like you’re the only one in the world he has his mind on at that moment. We spoke about the environment, vintage cars, over-population and music. I even presented him with a Saxophone instructional video I had made for Hot Licks with the great Steve Douglas, someone I played with on the Duane Eddy tour. The President later sent me wonderful and warm “thank you” letters, along with several great photos from the 2-day affair.
I even got to perform some solo pieces for them, and Ted and Mary had their first dance with me playing “When a Man Loves a Woman”. Then even later that night, at the ball, I got to sit in and play with the great Blues and R&B artist, Charles Brown, who was in rare form!
All in all, it was a real honor and a thrill, especially to play for a President who is musically so in tune with what our generation was all about! I mean, he gave me a “thumbs up” every time I
"Mentoring" Part 2
The idea of mentoring and truly “leading” someone from being a student to someone actually in the musical profession is a great honor, as well as a great responsibility. Matt Rae and Joe Dalton have been my biggest accomplishments personally, but I do know, from the letters and reactions I received over the years, I have had quite an influence over many players all over the world. This is a very humbling thing to be aware of, and I can literally see it on the faces of so many of the thousands of players I have performed for, or given clinics in front of all over the world.
Mentoring can be a subtle, reverse thing, too, as I felt that when I was in the presence of my late, great friend, Danny Gatton many times. For example, I know he had a ton of respect for me as a player, but there were times, especially when we were recording together, that I felt that I knew, and HE knew, that I was also learning some very subtle things from him. Let’s face it, the better most of us get, the more subtle and sophisticated what we can learn from others becomes. He and I also shared an interesting and rare kind of relationship, because we had a mutual respect for each other’s playing for YEARS before we even had the chance to finally meet each other, and really work together.
That session for “Tequila” which we did together on “Toolin’ Around” was a perfect example of reverse mentoring for me, as not only did I learn a great deal from him as a player, but the pride and diligence with which he worked for perfection that day was astounding! For example, when we were done recording, which took about 4 to 5 hours, he decided that he was not going to be satisfied until he knew that I was happy with the mix. So, instead of just hanging out, getting dinner together or whatever else we may have normally done after the session, he stayed well into the night, and worked alongside the engineer till we were both satisfied. It was as if he knew we had something special here that if he didn’t see right through to the end, it would never be as good as we remembered it. That day, he was really like a big brother to me, and I never felt like everything was so “under control” in a long time! “Mentoring” indeed! Danny was the greatest…both as a player and as a human being!
Teaching Turning into Mentoring
The act and art of teaching the guitar has always been a very important thing in my life, and certain relationships with my private students have not only turned into great and long-term friendships, but many times, I have actually mentored some of these players, and helped them with their careers, their songs, and even recruited them to play second guitar with me in my bands!
The two most notable players who have played long-term with me are Joe Dalton and then Matt Rae. In the case of Joe Dalton, here was already a fine player with a lot of knowledge, who wanted a lot more of what I was about. As time when on, and we had maybe 3 years of lessons under our belts, Joe eventually became a member of my band for many years, and he was a truly accomplished guitarist to have around. We used to play many harmony parts, and I always like to defer to another player and let him solo, as well as doing nice trade-offs between each other during our soloing.
Then, enter Matt Rae, another young and upcoming player. He first heard me on a radio broadcast about 12 years ago where I was doing an interview and they were playing my music on a station in the NY area. He then wrote me a letter asking if I would ever be into doing private teaching, but he had no idea where I lived……when I looked at the return address of the letter he wrote to me via the radio station, I realized he was only 3 miles from my home!
Needless to say, the lessons began, and after about another 2 years, it was apparent that he would be the perfect next “fit” as second guitarist in my band, because he can handle literally any role or idea I throw at him with total professionalism. There are many times we even just do double guitar acoustic gigs together as well, with fantastic results! Of course, the more I think about this “mentoring” thing, I realize that I’m still continuing the teaching process, and passing on even more valuable “life” lessons that arise as the result of becoming a full-fledged professional player! So, always stay open to “mentoring’ and to someone who really wants to help you “move forward” in your career. It’s a help and a lesson that goes way beyond what any money can buy!
That First Record Date!
As many of us have found out over the years, the first time we ever get “the call” to play on a record, or make a record for the first time, it’s truly a milestone in a musician’s life! My first time was certainly no exception, but it certainly contained the kinds of difficulties that seemed to act as a “precursor” to events and other crazy sessions to come!
On that day, I happened to playing some schoolyard basketball in Queens, NY, where I had been rehearsing with a band that was getting ready to go out on the road with The Bee Gees, on their Canadian tour. Needless to say, I came down hard on the side of my ankle, not only spraining it badly, but actually tearing the muscle! I went to the doctor, and he said I had to keep it elevated at all times at 180 degrees, and that I must not let it dangle, because the pain was excrutiating!
And, of course, what happens next? I get a call from producer John Simon, who had apparently heard me play in Woodstock one night, and was blown away by what he heard. He wants me to come down to RCA studios, that same day, in Manhattan, and to record on some tracks with a full band, as well as overdub some tracks over what Cornell Dupree had played. This was for an album, “Refugees”, by a new singer named Rachel Faro, and people like Harvey Brooks, the bass player, and other renowned players were also going to be on the date. Needless to say, the was NO WAY I was ever going to miss this session! This was a bona fide chance to really “break in” to the New York recording scene, and I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity.
So, they assured me I would be well-taken care of at the session, and me and my Dad, who drove me, went down to RCA studios on 6th Ave. What a great and warm feeling it was when I realized that all the musicians were so kind to me, helping me get around, keeping that foot up, etc.! It really was well-worth all I went through, even though they really didn’t know how to get a good guitar sound yet in NY it seemed, because even after giving them the best tone I could muster, it always sounding like a thin, little trebly “nothing” when I listened to the playback! Still, all in all, it just shows, don’t miss those dates when they come up, because they always lead to something more after that, and you never know who will be “tuning in” and listening to you, whether it be at a live gig, or in the studio!
Old Amps!
I have never had a problem garnering excitement over vintage guitars, mainly because they have not only an appeal as playable entities, but also for their pure esthetics and good looks! In the case of amps, however, it’s always been hard for me to justify filling up my space with vintage amps, that get played through quite rarely, and are certainly not nearly as pleasurable to look at as guitars!
Still, there are certain ones that are great when they are displayed with the correct guitar to go with it, such as my ’52 Les Paul along with its ’52 counterpart in amp form, or some of those nice old Gibson and Fender “tweed” amps. But for me, it’s always been about the tone and sound I get through them that really matters.
I’ve been happy for many years with basically the same few amps at my disposal, and also knowing some real amp collecting “nuts”, I’m always able to borrow some choice pieces if I need to, such as I did on this latest “Toolin’ Around Woodstock” cd I did with Levon Helm. On that album, I employed about 4 different vintage amps overall.
For over 30 years, I had an original 1964 Vox AC-30 in my collection that I played and recorded through literally only ONCE! I felt that it colorated my sound too much, and didn’t really sound natural. It certainly sounded like a Vox, though, a very LOUD Vox at that, and it knocked a few pictures off my wall the last time I played through it!
I decided to make it as a partial trade item towards an acoustic guitar I had always wanted, and I found out that The Edge of U2 was ending up getting my amp! Well, that simultaneously made me feel good and bad, as I felt great that a player of his stature was going to enjoy it, but it also made me feel like I had never given this amp of mine the proper credit it deserved! Still, it was worth plenty of money in the trade, and I now have more room to move around in, and to fill up with more great guitars instead of amps!!! Quality, not quantity should be your guiding thought when you start cluttering up your place with these things. Be careful! Till next installment ...
Who and What Influenced Me
Sometimes it’s really nice to think back and recall some of the key players and general sounds that helped influence me and my guitar playing in the early days. I’m sure many of you have these kinds of memories, or are busy making those memories as we speak!
I was fortunate to go to a great High school in NYC, called the High School of Music and Art, where you had music students and art students. I was actually an art student, and many of us were already playing the guitar for the sheer love of it, even though we were not music students. Many of the music students really didn’t even like music that much, as they felt that they were too “pushed” into it by their parents, and that they couldn’t wait to get out of it! I bet most of those kids never even continued playing music after High School was done!
Anyway, that was a great time for me, as it was right at the beginning of a huge Blues boom (we’ve had many since!) where we’d listen to greats such as Mike Bloomfield and B.B. King right at that time. Bloomfield had a profound influence on me, and I found myself getting so deeply into the Blues, that I immediately started “going back” deeper and deeper into the blues roots, going from B.B. to Son House, to Robert Johnson etc.. It seemed as if I couldn’t feed my hunger for this medium fast enough, and had a true passion as both a fan and as a learning player!
Being a true “absorber” of these sounds, I found I was in love with “all things guitar”, and that the country players were simultaneously having just as profound an effect on me as the blues players. This was precisely when my “own style” began to develop, as I was as much in love with Clarence White of The Byrds, as I was Buddy Guy! At that time, my family had a house up in White Lake, NY, the location of the original Woodstock Festival, and one of my favorite things to do was to tune into some of the Country AM radio stations that were there in the close-by state of Pennsylvania, as well as some further away, such as WWVA, from Wheeling, West Virginia, where I would hear the weekly “WWVA Jamboree”, and hear those lovely steel guitars and other country sounds I just wasn’t as exposed to in NYC.
It was all about having those “open ears” to all those great guitar sounds, and then artistically applying them to how I really wanted to sound personally, and also to my songwriting, which I was soon putting to immediate use with my first serious band, Steel. More on those days in the future! Till then, see ya later!
The Great Days of the Local Music Store!
Lately, it’s been harder and harder to come by the good old local music shops that I fondly remember as a kid, and that was a big part of my experience as a musician who was growing up in a very special era, when the music store became a very big deal indeed. In fact, the music shop had become among my first really great “performance” spots! It was not unusual, (and still isn’t!) to find me in the shop, working out bigtime on a guitar, and to be developing a nice little crowd of onlookers.
Even “back in the day”, this used to help develop my reputation as a player, as you simply would never know who might be listening….
These days, many stores have gained in size, and have by that fact alone, become a bit more impersonal. You also have to remember that growing up in NYC, I always used to go to 48th street, and check out all the stores there on “Beatle Boulevard”, as it used to be called.
On that one little street, one could find the entire breadth of music store types in one small area, You had the impersonal, chaotic, yet legendary, Manny’s Music, where you almost had to be a star to even feel free to ask to play something. There was the incredibly friendly Terminal Music…they used to have a slogan “We’re the nice Guys!”, which actually carried some real meaning behind it, especially if you’d already gotten the Manny’s treatment! Ben’s Music was a simple, old school, crowded, yet friendly place, where even when buying my first electric guitar there meant I would also meet Charlie Watts of The Stones, who later remembered me as “the first kid in America to recognize me!” when his friend called me up on British radio, when I was guest-deejaying, and telling that story some 25 years later! I noticed at that time, that the music stores in the U.K. had all resembled the closeness and laid-back quality of Ben’s Music, which now tells me why Charlie must’ve chosen to go there instead of the larger, more hectic stores.
There was also a great shop in the Bronx, where I was from, called Bronen’s Music, where I used to get off the school bus every day just to look, and seemingly left a deposit daily on yet another beautiful guitar I had fallen in love with. This of course, with full knowledge that my Dad, due to financial reasons, would have to say “no”. Still, I always tried. I still fantasize about going back there are trying to claim all the classics I had put $10 deposits on way back then in ’66! Especially a certain ES 355 I can’t get out of my mind! (I was also falling in love with B.B. at that time!)
So, to this day, I am still on a constant quest to seek out these great places of the past…and not only music shops with that great old character, but also old car dealerships, pawnshops, you name it! Till next time, wish me happy hunting!
Cars and Guitars!
"Sittin' In" for a Worthy Cause
For this installment of my Blog for Gibson, I’m taking an even more “immediate and timely” stance in my writing, as I’m actually talking about something that occurred last night!
There was a huge benefit for a dear friend of the community where I sometimes reside in Massachusetts, who is dying of cancer, and the outpouring of love and food and just good wishes for this man whose life we were celebrating was truly an exceptional thing to witness. There was also a great outpouring of music, as there are many musicians who live here, and it has become very normal to hear some of these players at nearly every event, large or small.
There were some actual bands, as well as many folks who were just sitting in, as me and my daughter Lexie were doing. At one point, we came up to do one song, and Lexie really belted it out and had a great reaction from the gathering there. There was, however, just before we went on, some unknown guy who said to us “make it fast, no one told me about this!” The crowd was also touched by our father/daughter combination. Suddenly, at one point for reasons no one could explain, the lights that were only on the musicians were suddenly dimmed and then turned off! The rest of the place still had lights, but only the bands were not lit!
Nobody could figure out the problem, but meanwhile, we kept on playing, and everybody had a continued good musical time. I got to sit in yet again, this time with an all electric blues band, and they let me take over the show for awhile, and I really let it rip. It felt so good to be a part of a community where there was a sense of nothing but support. But I can tell you, this “sitting in” thing always seems to flare up some of the silliest nonsense and ego problems…the thing I can’t believe was that it would ever occur on a night such as this!!! A night dedicated to the spirit of a man who is dying, and who everyone is there to celebrate! Instead, it turned out the guy who turned off the lights was that same guy who told us to “make it fast”!! Seems he told a friend of mine that doing that would “shut up” the crowd!! Hey, buddy, this crowd, some 500 strong, was there to celebrate a man’s life, not to listen to music like they were in a club or something! To add icing to the cake, there was even a mean girl who is also a quasi-musician, who apparently was giving me some kind of grief about sitting in, when I didn’t know the man who we were there to celebrate! I couldn’t believe my own ears, as it was still too loud to really hear, but by the end of her ranting and raving, I realized she was thinking that with one song, I stole the show, even though I was not asked to play! Well, needless to say, I was asked to play, and everyone there EXPECTED me to play, and was pushing me up there! Totally amazing, how even at a solemn and heavy event like this, there would be some petty amateurs to really try to ruin it!
Well, it didn’t ruin it for me, because I felt I had done my part, played my heart out, and gave what the people and the man it was all about wanted. Beware of those silly and petty musical egos that can sometimes get in the way of a good night. It never ceases to amaze me how they always seem to crawl out of the woodwork!
Hearing Other "Live" Music
I have found that it’s important, especially while developing as a player, to go out a catch other live music as much as you can. I have always been a restless sort at these kinds of events, as I’m always a bit frustrated that it’s not ME up there on the stage, and I’m always “chomping at the bit” to get up there!
That being said, it’s all actually a healthy part of what will eventually make you a better performer, as you start to hone your skills by watching as well as listening to others, and how they handle these situations. I would really recommend going out and seeing artists you truly admire, and these days, it’s getting increasingly easy to see some of these greats in very up-close and intimate settings.
Sometimes, it can be a major let-down, going to these live gigs, but going is the only way you’ll ever find out whether or not you like the music in the first place. For example, a couple of months ago, I went to see a bunch of semi-friends who are all-time studio greats playing together in NYC as a live band. Well, I had a feeling it was going to be like this, but what a boring show! These guys were up there, spending their whole time reading charts, and has so totally taken the “soul” out of the music that you’d be hard pressed to even enjoy a recording of this stuff!
One of the players really knew how to solo, and he was wailing, without ever leaning on the crutch of the music he would normally be reading, and I actually gained a greater respect for him than ever before. But, let’s keep in mind, that may only have been because I found the other players so “flat” and dull.
Another problem on top of this was that these guys really were so in love with themselves and their show, that you could tell they were supremely satisfied with it, even though the audience reaction was really quite cold…even from a group of people who really DID want to see and hear these guys!
Yes, but I recall those days of going to Chuck Berry concerts, and to the Fillmore East to see bands such as Procol Haram, who I held in such high regard, that I couldn’t help but have my mind blown by these great artists! Just like seeing a grat film, I’d always walk out of the place feeling refreshed, and I couldn’t wait to get home and get my hands back on my guitar again! This is how you should feel after seeing a good show…simply INSPIRED! More next time!
More on Recording and Mixing
Last time, I was talking about how implicitly I feel I trust my recording engineer, and how important that is for all of us who are involved in any recording process. At the heart of it all of course, is the source…your music, and your performances. I have always felt that looking back, there are a lot of performances I have on my recordings that I should not have simply “settled” for. I guess that in those days, as now, I was so committed to my “first take” kind of approach, and the “live” sound I have always gone for as well. This all results in a kind of “do we dare change it?’ kind of attitude, and lately, even though I still go for spontaneity, I have become quite a bit more of a perfectionist when it comes to which takes to keep.
Of course, with the advent of digital recording these days, you needn’t worry about using too much tape, or too many tracks, as you can pretty much keep all the work you’ve done. This means you can now explore all the possibilities, and really work towards giving your best effort. I know I have now given myself a chance to try more takes, more sounds, tone, approaches you name it. In fact, on working on this new cd, I discovered that one of my performances, which is all solo acoustic guitar, just wasn’t up to the quality of the rest of the performances on the cd. So, I’ve decided to absolutely go for an entirely new recording of this one particular song, and to try for a much more compelling approach to the song. Only then will I be truly happy with my performances on this record.
Too many times in my past I have settled for less, and suffered the consequences of always having to listen (not very often!) to tracks that I know I wasn’t that happy with to begin with, and then they seem to get worse as the years go on! Nothing worse than being permanently dissatisfied with work you’ve committed to something as permanent as a recording. Just remember to keep a level head about it all…as we know, we can certainly also fall into the trap of getting too “picky” about our work, and we can lose sight of what is good and what is not. When that starts to happen, it’s better to take a break from it all, refresh your ears, and get back to your work when it feels right!
Mixing in the Studio
As I sit here, in the studio mixing a new all Simon and Garfunkel acoustic guitar album I’ll soon be releasing, I am amazed at the feelings and ideas that come over me as I work on the music.
The first thing I am very impressed with is how, sometimes, we are much better off “taking a break” from the music, and re-visiting it later on. One can develop a sense of being so “inside” the music while initially creating it, that you can lose sight of how this stuff should really sound when it’s finally done!
The act of actually first recording the music leaves you with many lasting impressions that can stay with you so long that you end up having certain memories that almost never really go away! What happens is this unnecessarily prejudices many of your final decisions.
Taking a break from the music and coming back at a later date allows you to “freshen” your ears, and to look at it all from a new perspective, hopefully with as little prejudice as possible. Yes, the memory of certain licks and passages, and most of all how you felt about your performances will help you in creating the end product, but still you must remain open to new ideas and sounds.
This is also great when you have another person you are working with who has a set of ears you can trust. This gives you someone to bounce ideas off of, and then you become someone he or she can bounce ideas off of as well. This is, and should often be, your engineer, who you must implicitly trust to begin with! And I certainly trust mine! It’s also important to note how consistent your sounds must be.
This particular album was recorded with basically the same instruments at the same time, same place, so the consistencies are to a large degree, built in already…..but still you must remember to treat each one as a separate performance, and a separate recording!
I can now see why in the past, Producers I worked with insisted on getting solid performances out of me…less work for them on the “back end” of the project, and of course, more consistency of sound, tone and most of all, performance! Now, I’m looking to get the same out of myself!! And you should be the same in the studio, and demand nothing than the best from yourself and those around you!
More on Performing Abroad
More On Choosing the Right Guitar (Pickups!)
This installment, I’d like to discuss pickup choice with you, as I know this has become a very hot topic over the last two decades. Many people now feel free to change out their pickups in favor of new, or hotter, or different sounding ones made by many great pickup makers out there. The truth is, you must keep in mind that most of what is being made these days by “boutique” pickup makers is either a play on something that already has existed, or some kind of improvement on an existing type of pickup.
As far as Gibsons go, there have always been the “big three”: The P-90, the humbucker, and the mini-humbucker. I have found lately that I tend to gravitate towards the mini-humbucker, as I like the slightly clearer, more crystalline tone compared to the regular humbucker. Still, there is an amazing kind of true vintage tone that can be gotten from the P-90 pickup, and it has also really found favor in recent times, after being so overshadowed by the humbucker for so many years! Still-of course, when I play through a guitar that has a great set of traditional humbuckers, I am always amazed at the true range one can get from these “tried and true” classics!
I like having an arsenal of various guitars to highlight different sounds with different pickups, and single-coil verses double-coil is really the “great divide” when it comes to pickup choice on a large scale of opinion.
Single-coil has always been the “voice” of the edgy, bright sounding Fender-type instruments, and though they create more buzz and hum as the result of not having double-coils like humbuckers, they also possess a very distinct tone that’s hard to mistake for anything else.
In the long run, it’s really all about how well YOU handle these varying pickup sounds, as it will literally determine your touch, tone, and even the musical choices you may make in the course of playing. So, be sure to try a whole lot of these, and even check out guitars that have had some of the popular, and not-so popular replacement pickups installed in them, and start to educate your ears to all of their differences. You’ll be amazed at the subtle and not-so subtle variations between them!
Getting the Right Guitar for the Sound You Want
This is a truly “wide open” subject, as the choice one must make for a guitar is such a personal one. The most important thing, however, is, similar to buying a car, try to choose with your head and not your heart. Well, at least not ALL heart! After all, the guitar is always directly connected to your heart in one way or another!
Another thing I have found over the years is that most of the tone and expression that comes out of your guitar is really more the doing of your hands, your touch and your signature sound. This means that you want certainly, a guitar that helps bring that out, but it’s really not all about the instrument. It’s about you, and then secondly, the instrument, and its relationship to you, the player.
I used to make a habit of coming onstage with like 7 guitars at my disposal for different sounds. This was all well and good, but I quickly realized in was not only a pain in the neck, but it constantly broke up the flow of my show, and it was a real case of “overkill” when it came to trying to “say too much” in the course of one set of music! (maybe a little too much “showing off” too!)
When I did big backup gigs, such as playing with Simon and Garfunkel, that was a different story, as I had great roadies who kept the guitars flying back and forth all the time, depending on the song. During the applause, I just kept handing them back, and they’d hand me another, all tuned up and ready to go, because I needed many different guitars and other instruments for their songs, and a show of that magnitude certainly needs to run smoothly and without a hitch!
But for your purposes, even though I know most of you will end up owning at least 4 guitars relatively quickly, the main one should really do most of what you want it to do. Though we associate certain instruments with certain sounds, it’s really the players that made that happen. The guitar in general, is a pretty forgiving beast, and will prove to be quite maluable in your hands, regardless of which one you choose. Just make sure you never get a guitar that “fights” you, and that is something you can imagine playing in many different situations. For example, when I first got my ’52 Les Paul back in ’67, yes, I had a love for the blues and rock n’ roll, but I was also enjoying playing country and rockabilly styles on it, never saying to myself, “gee, if only I had another guitar”. I then, of course, progressed through many other guitars, all of which could’ve handle the “complete” picture, but I then started to see the subtle differences between them, and their applications.
These days, I generally hit the stage with only about 2 or 3 guitars at the most, but when it comes to the studio, especially for my own music, 7 or 8 different instruments would not be uncommon.
As players and collectors, let’s face it, we’ll always be able to make excuses for buying more guitars, but try to make your first choices really fit your needs, and don’t settle for less!
Those Wild and Wacky First "Paying" Gigs
The early days of my playing and performing life were very innocent, and the first few times I actually got paid for making music were really a shock to me! I mean, after all, I was so used to thinking I was playing just for the pure need of it, and the joy…..making money was just weird! The first time I ever got paid at all for a gig was when I was only 11 years old, and was asked along with my band at the time, The Mad Hatters, to play at a children’s mental ward in a hospital in the Bronx!
I know it sounds like a weird gig, and it sure was, but I was asked by one of my school teachers to do this, so I figured even thought this was certainly an auspicious beginning to a musical career, it was for a good cause, and gave my band a chance to play “somewhere”! I can still remember walking in, and setting up (at that time the entire band went through one amp, even the microphone for our lead singer!), and one of the ladies there said “whatever you do, don’t play the Batman theme” because there’s a little boy here who is obsessed with Batman, and he may do something wild! Batman was a very popular show at the time, and it contained an easily-copied guitar part, similar to “Secret Agent”.
Not realizing the gravity of what she said, we got into our set, which went well enough. But I couldn’t leave well enough alone, and being a wise-guy, I suddenly launched into the “Batman” lick, literally ignited this kid, who came out of nowhere, wearing a batman cape, who then tried to FLY out of the window of the hospital!!! So, that lady was certainly serious about not playing the Batman theme, but I wish she had told me what the actual outcome of playing that song might be! That was certainly one incident that always stayed with me……also the fact that I actually was paid ten dollars for my troubles!
Another of our early paying gigs was much more of a “legit” gig, where my band played for my cousin’s Sweet 16 at a restaurant, I believe somewhere in the wilds of Long Island. It went over great, and we were loving all our new guitars and amps which we had upgraded, and were debuting at this gig. But when it came time to leave, and we all helped each other with our equipment, I remember lifting my rhythm guitarist’s amp, which was the same as mine, and almost breaking my back! I also heard many thing rattling and shaking in the back of his amp, and lo and behold, there was almost all the SILVERWARE from the party, which he was attempting to steal!! Man, was this a shock to me, and he came off so stupid. Even worse was his explanation for what he did, saying his “family asked him to do that”! Needless to say, all the silverware was put back, but we had to deal with the incredible embarrassment of what just took place!
In those early days, you just never knew what would happen, and does that ever really change? The truth is, I don’t think so, and the countless crazy occurrences that have happened throughout my career and life just continue to boggle the mind! Lots more on this ongoing tale coming up in future blogs!More NAMM Exploits
Last time I started talking about those crazy, exhaustive gatherings known as NAMM shows that happen twice a year in America. I always loved the playing aspect of these shows, and the fact that you always get to see a lot of the same folks each year, and get a chance to “catch up” with them. Certainly that’s a great thing to look forward to, but that very same thing can be so exhausting……I mean, it really started to get like “Groundhog Day”, when you see and hear the same stuff all the time from the same people that keep passing by your booth year after year. It’s like watching your life pass by right in front of your eyes sometimes!
Even though I definitely tended to wear “too many hats” under the NAMM roof, it was truly fun to see the differences, and more importantly, the connections between being involved with the publishing industry as well as the playing and performing industry. In a way, I had achieved the perfect balance between these two ends of the spectrum with my Hot Licks Video business. It was also great to always check out the new gear, and to see “what new free stuff would get thrown at me this year!”
In between all the heavy responsibilities I had at these shows, I always would allow myself (and needed badly) some walk-around “free” time, that enabled me to take it all in as a regular “civilian”! This was often when some of the most interesting and fruitful encounters would take place with other folks, and when I would get to really try out and fall in love with certain guitars, accessories and other wondrous things. It was always a blast performing at the booth too, and we always had nice crowds watching and listening. One thing is for sure…everyone is there under that rood, sharing one thing…a deep love and appreciation of music!
I can recall one time when we had Tuck Andress, the brilliant fingerstyle guitarist who had just done a video for me, performing at the booth. He sat high up on a stool, so the throngs could catch a glimpse of him, and there must’ve been 500 people there, clogging up the aisle! All of a sudden, his guitar dies, the sound goes off, and we have no idea why! Well, as it turned out, some guy from about 20 booths down who made harps of all things, went behind the curtain, and simply yanked the amps plug right out of its socket! I couldn’t believe it………..guess I better think twice again before I god forbid, put a dent in the booming harp makers industry! A confrontation between he and I soon followed that was not very pleasant, but to this day, I’ll never understand why he was really THAT ticked off….it certainly wasn’t volume…Tuck was playing gentle harmonics at the time! See you next installment!
Oh, Those NAMM Shows!
The NAMM conventions (National Association of Musical Merchants) are a large slice of insanity that occurs twice a year in the U.S, with the added bonuses of more, even crazier “world” type conventions such as the Music Messe in Frankfurt, Germany! I could never bring myself to ever go to that one, because knowing my reaction to the NAMM shows, I always thought I’d literally never even live through The Music Messe!!
If you take into account all the years I had Hot Licks Video, and my first NAMM being in 1982, I had literally done 35 straight NAMM shows from 1982 to 1998. I did finally go back to the Nashville one this past year, the first one I could actually “face” since I tragically lost my wife Deborah and my 14 year-old daughter, Gillian in a car accident in 1998. It just always seemed like way too much to have to face again…all those people, all those faces, all those stories I’d have to tell and re-tell……NAMM is crazy.
There was a time when I actually did “relatively” enjoy them, when we’d have the Hot Licks booth,and I’d get to play there amongst many other of our artists who’d show up and play, such as Tuck Andress, Brian Setzer, Stu Hamm and many others. This was always my favorite part of NAMM…when I could hang out with my cronies and pick and tell stories. And of course, you’d never know what new legends you’d meet there, either…I mean I got to hang out with the great “Thumbs” Carlisle, and so many others. The LA show was always fun because you’d meet a lot of the old time surf bands and players, people I barely knew existed, as a kid growing up on the east coast!
My main problem was always having to wear too many hats under that one NAMM roof! One moment I’d be appearing at the Guitar Player booth signing autographs, then I’d have a performance scheduled at another guitar maker’s booth, then I’d run into James Burton and he’d want to hang out, and then I’d have people throwing all kinds of endorsement things at me, and then I’d be chasing down some artist so I could sign him for a Hot Licks video……you get the idea…it was crazy, and not to mention there were then the endless nighttime jams, many of which I played at or at least felt obligated to attend!!!
I’m sure you get the picture, but believe it or not, they were also great, and I feel that now, at an older age, I can pace myself better for these kinds of events, and maybe not even lose my voice at tehm from talking over all the loud music!! More on NAMM next time!
The Search for Your Own Style
The search for your own style, guitar-wise is what we’re all really looking for, and truthfully, it’s just around the corner, if you keep on playing.
I found that in my beginnings as a player, I always fell in love with certain artists whose sound really turned me on…people I wanted to play like, and literally be like. All of that would quickly wane though, because my true passion and need was to “plug in” what these heroes of mine had, and make it into my own distinctive sound. Maybe some of that was simply meant to happen anyway, and was my pre-destined journey, but a lot of it just comes from the true artistic desire I have always had and a “need” to play.
I know a lot of you are into your guitar “heroes” and want to sound and be like them. Well, just remember, they all had and have heroes too, and if you listen carefully, you just may be able to see where their inspiration came from. In my early days of falling in love with players like B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Chuck Berry and Clarence White for example, I would immediately try to deepen my knowledge by going to THEIR sources, listening to people like Son House, Robert Johnson, Merle Travis, Roy Acuff, you name it. Anything that would bring me closer to the “roots” of what I loved, was what would further my own development, and open my ears to many more unique and new sounds.
Still, even after all that, it was always MY sound I was going fo … and I stayed true to that approach, and to my own way of learning by ear. To this day, I am still learning, and every once in awhile I hear a little phrase or some idea from a new player that turns my head around, and makes me want to understand just what he or she did.
Even in the old days, I liken my learning from my heroes as “snapshots” I would grab of their styles. Sort of like just grabbing enough of a glimpse into their playing to capture the essence of it, while not having to obsess about it, and especially not getting involving in “note by note” learning or copying of solos, etc. I can see where you may feel a need to “get inside” of someone’s playing so much that you need to copy them note-for-note, but after awhile, I think all you’ll really need is to grab that “snapshot” of them I was mentioning earlier, and then move on, with that new sound digested and assimilated into your own unique approach.
I hope this helps you. I know it’s very individual for each of us, but sooner or later, you must remain true to your own style and sound, which by the way, is something that you can’t HELP but end up having, as long as you’re willing to put in the time and keep playing! Take it from one who really knows, and who has been down that road many times….stick with it and be true to yourself, your own sound and style shall prevail!
What Is It About Those Old Gibsons, Anyway?!
Well, ever since I started falling in love with “vintage” guitars, way back in the ‘60s, Gibsons were unquestionably the first ones to grab my eyes. Of course, there are so many I love, and so many I have always longed for, but my first was my classic ’52 Les Paul gold top.
They all always held a special quality for me, including the many acoustics large and small, and lots of the hollowbody and semi-hollow electrics, such as the ES-355, the 330, the Super 400 and on and on!
I do know there is also a kind of “mystique” to the tone that really captures the ear, and it always tells you it’s a Gibson, no matter what the particular sub-grouping is.
For example, I used to have a reverse Firebird I had found in a NY pawnshop that was absolutely incredible (which I sorely miss!), and it possessed that unmistakeable “Firebird” tone, which can only be achieved with those fabulous mini humbuckers.
There is also something extremely sensual about the shapes and finishes of these guitars that I find extremely attractive. I guess it’s the fact that no matter what the actual shape ends up being, its origins as a true guitar seem to never be lost. For example, if I look at my beloved ES-330, it’s as much a true and traditional shape as I can see in my J-185, which most would think of as a “truer” guitar shape. I guess it’s because so many of Gibson’s designs have become such classics in their own rights that each stands alone as a “true” and definable, “complete” looking guitar!
Without trying to make all of this a shameless “plug,” I must admit, that now that I am teaching on Gibson.com, and able to play many more of the new models, it astounds me just how well these new guitars stand up against the old ones. It’s just a fabulous thing that one can count on a new guitar being every bit as good as its older counterpart and ancestor! Bottom line is, I enjoy the “new” ones as much as the old ones, and that’s the truth! Way back in the mid and late ‘60s when I first started collecting, I never, ever dreamed I would make THAT statement! So, take care of those old Gibsons, and certainly take care of your new ones, too, because they are already “born” classics, only to become even more classic and historic as time goes on!
More Real Life "Music School"
When I was continuing to learn at a very rapid pace as a performer and a recording artist, it became more and more apparent that this was truly something I was really “on my own” with. Once I started getting calls from producers and bands who wanted my talents, it seemed that the more they wanted “me for me” they only really wanted just to tell me what to play!
This was a bitter pill to swallow, especially in the beginning, because I was such a raw, and in essence, unbridaled talent, that it was hard for me to accept any additional musical “pigeon holing”, which definitely insulted my fragile, and very young ego, and sense of what I felt was good guitar playing.
After all, all I ever wanted to really do was play MY way, not to just be a “hired gun” to simply be an adequate guitarist who can do whatever people tell me to do. Still, this is, no doubt, a big part of dealing with certain ends of the music industry, and if you really want to be a pro player, it’s part of learning the ropes.
It never made me falter, but I must admit, it many times was a rude awakening for sure! Of course, you have the “big shots” who want you to play what they want, and you BETTER listen and not have an attitude about it, while at the same time you have people like spoiled Long Island kids who have been given money by their parents so they can hire the best musicians and have them record in their basement! (a true occurance!) This was enormously frustrating, because you have to realize that you’re dealing with someone here who has NO idea even WHY you are so good as a player, only the fact that he wants you, and he wants you now!!! So, there I was, in this kid’s basement, playing with Rick Marotta on drums, and the great Tony Levin on bass, and we’re all looking at each other, as if to say, “what the hell are we all doing here?!”
But I guess that’s the problem….as musicians there are times when we feel like we must do anything and everything we can, first for a living, and secondly because it may be something that will further our careers ... or, as in this “not rare enough” case, for no good reason at all!!!
Beware of what gigs you take, especially when you don’t know all the details about them….they simply just may end up one day in a blog like this, with nothing else to show for it!! Still, I guess it was worth the story! See you again soon ...
Music School Versus the School of Life
My last blog was about reading music versus not reading, and this installment will deal with that concept on an even larger scale; that of “music school versus the school of life”. Of course, in the end, it’s ALL about the “school of life”, even if music school is part of that equation…….but what I refer to here is how important the “real” learning experience is verses the one that is taught in schools.
I have always been a self-taught musician, but I also love to teach. But my way of teaching has always been to pass on the “real”, hard-earned “life learned” info that simply can’t really be passed on within a set format, as would be sometimes prescribed by a music school. I do know that in the past, when I did go to regular school, it was never so much what I learned that I remembered, but it was the teachers themselves that I remember most. This is because it is all about the teacher-student relationship that is built up over time, and there’s no question that it is the great TEACHERS that make LEARNING so valuable, and it is sometimes even one teacher alone that will make an entire school worthwhile to go to! I can clearly recall this when I applied to various schools for photography when I was going to go to college, and wanted to go to one school specifically, because two of my all-time favorite photographers were professors there. As it turned out, that was the only school out of four I applied to that turned me down, only further hastening my desire to go off into the real world of music!
Even while I did go to the Philadelphia College of Art, I was living with my band, “Steel” there, and we were playing anywhere we could in Philadelphia, and were making weekend journeys up to Woodstock, N.Y., so we could be heard by the right people. Little did I know that as I was getting heard in Woodstock by some of my idols, such as Paul Butterfield, and other folks who “actually made records”, they were really singling me out as a guitarist they could use for their own purposes, and were not so interested in my band.
So even at that time, when I was just seventeen years old, the tough training ground of playing block parties, school dances and impromptu jam sessions in Philly was already preparing me for the life of going out on my own as a “guitarist for hire” in Woodstock, where I ended up moving to the following Fall. This was already “chapter 3 or 4” in my life as a musician, even though for me, it felt like it was all just the beginning.
The “school of life” is the only school, and in the end, we are really all our own teachers. If you do go to a music school per se, remember to be sure to take away from it the most meaningful stuff for YOU, and where YOU see yourself heading as a musician. A lot of information is good, but can be pretty overwhelming for someone just starting out, and you certainly never want to be put into a position of feeling like you’re inadequate as a player, which is something these schools can make unnaturally happen to you! More next time….stay tuned!
Reading Versus Not Reading
I’ve always said that I’ve regretted not learning to “truly” read music for the guitar. This happened because of a number of reasons, not least of which was the fact that I have such a good ear, that anything I can pretty much hear, I can also play. This was always the driving force behind my development as a player, but it wasn’t always without some trepidation.
Certainly recording sessions presented some major problems for me, as I was getting called for work where the producers, etc. totally expected me to be able to read notes and charts. The truth is, these pieces of paper make my eyes glaze over, and they present a real obstacle between me and my creative abilities when it come to the guitar. I have always done best when I “play for the song”, and this having to read often stands in the way of that delicate process.
I guess I also always have depended so much on my ear, that I wanted that to always remain as true to my own developmental process as possible. Even when I wrote my first book, Slide Guitar, when I was only 20 years old, I only knew where the “G” note was on the musical staff, so I simply deciphered and deduced where the other notes might be, simply from knowing where that good, old G was! And I certainly, when presented with a three-book deal, was not about to tell them I didn’t read or write music! Personally, I love the combination of music and tab, as the tablature truly tells you the positions of the notes, whereas a random note on the staff simply tells you a note that can be in about 6 different places on the neck, all in the same octave!
Truly, as a result of this problem, I had some nightmarish sessions, which I’m sure if you’ve had to move into professional playing, you’ve experienced too! But what we are really shooting for as players, is to be called for recording and performing dates where we are being called for our “own sound” and style, and where the reading turns into a minimal commitment. This is true of most guitarists, as we are perhaps the most self-taught bunch out there in the world of music, and it really makes a lot of what we must do in our life as guitarists more instinctual and creative! Still though…I WISH I COULD READ MUSIC!!!
Being "Ready" for that Surprise Gig!
Well, Lord knows I’ve had my share of what we’d call “surprise gigs” in my time, and in a way, they are certainly the most fun and contain a great deal of wonder and excitement! They can, and do come at the craziest times though, and we must all be prepared for that eventuality!
For example, in the winter of 1978, I got an 8AM phone call from a Mr. Art Garfunkel, asking me if I’d come up to his apartment on Central Park, in the middle of a wicked blizzard, to audition for an upcoming tour he was about to do. I can recall joking with him, and saying, “is this a fake call? Because nobody involved in music makes calls this early in the morning!” He laughed, but he assured me that he was the real deal.
I was in a way, truly prepared for that call, just because of my sheer belief in myself and my playing, and also the fact that I had been playing a lot of that S&G music back when I was a very young and developing player. The gig was mine, and It was one of the most pleasurable experiences of my life! Within weeks, I was touring with other great players in the band, and doing the original Saturday Night Live, and playing in places like Carnegie Hall on a nearly nightly basis.
This kind of thing is what makes the world turn, in my opinion, and you never know what waits around the musical corner for you!
Fast forward to this past week, and I suddenly, out of the blue, get a call from my dear friend, Alan Menken, the brilliant songwriter behind so many Oscar and Grammy-winning soundtracks and songs for movies by Disney and many others. His office said it was to be a Maria Muldaur-ish “Midnight at the Oasis” kind of guitar part, but when I got there, it was obvious that the song was in a totally different kind of vibe, much closer to a Lovin’ Spoonful sound. Regardless, I was ready, mostly due to my background, and of course, Alan knew who to call when he wanted this certain kind of guitar part, and that choice was me! Of course, I was a little apprehensive at first, since it was a long time since I had done that kind of session, but one listen through, and I had it! In fact, the more I could dig into my bag of tricks, and simply sound like “me”, the happier they were. By the time I finished with my final E tuning slide solo, they were all applauding in the studio! It all happened so quickly that when I returned home, I wondered if it had all really happened or was it just a dream?
Be ready for those surprise sessions and gigs, because they can also be surprise “dreams” you may never want to completely wake up from!
Playing Up to Your True Potential
This is a question that gets raised a lot, as many of us are often concerned, sometimes OVER concerned that we are not really playing guitar up to our true potential. I can recall periods where I definitely hit “slumps”, especially the kinds of slumps that resemble that of a ball player who for one reason or another, just can’t seem to get any hits over an extended period of time, with no real explanation for it!
I can recall perhaps the biggest slump being at the true beginning of my professional career, when I first moved to Woodstock. It seemed as if I couldn’t “buy” a good guitar solo if I tried, and that was during a time when my creative abilities seemed to actually be at a peak……everything just sort of stopped.
Upon reflection, looking back, of course, I was so very young, only 18, and was up against a whole new world, where the guitar was only a part of it. My concerns were many, and I was still dealing with this great change in my life that meant I had to now also cook, clean, work odd jobs, and live in a tiny apartment, in addition to simply playing the guitar.
I also must admit, that looking back, the music I was suddenly thrust into playing was just a little too “confining” for me at that time. A good lesson in real music, yes, but maybe something I wasn’t quite ready to handle just yet!
Now, I go through different kinds of slumps, which are much more in my head than anything else….I had a gig the other day, for example, where it had been so long since I’d performed that it felt like when I hit the stage, I’d feel out of touch, and literally detached from my instrument. Well, nothing could’ve EVER been further from the truth, as I ended up putting on a show that was such a revelation for me, that I felt as if I had literally “redefined” the instrument! And the whole sold-out crowd knew it, too….so it wasn’t just in my mind that this was happening.
A lot of folks when they hear me talk about that night say,”darn, I wished I had come, but I’ll make the next one”……..and meanwhile I try to explain to them that as far as that night was concerned, there CAN’T be another one like it……it was just that special for me! Still, I do feel that I somehow set a “higher bar” that night, and it’s effects will stay with me, and probably will spur me on to become even a better player still. Hope you’ve had nights like that too……but remember, the “slumps” you may go through from time to time are only temporary, and MUCH better shows and playing lie ahead for you!
More Guitar Collecting Adventures
I can recall years back, when visiting my late friend, John Entwistle, the bassist of the Who, we got into talking about guitar collecting. He had been a longtime well-known collector of fine vintage instruments, and even though we were not at his home with the endless collection, there were still a lot of guitars and basses around.
I recall being struck by how he loved to tell the stories of how cheaply he had found some, and the crazy circumstances under which their purchases occurred. I realized that here I was talking to a bona fide “rock star”, who I’m sure had tons of money, yet he was still thinking of how inexpensive certain finds were. This also told me that he was a TRUE collector…..one who realizes the hunt is as gratifying as the prize, and that the stories behind them are as priceless, if not more, than the piece itself!
I can recall the one time an elderly gentleman, nearly 100 years old, GAVE me two turn of the century guitars that I thought I was only just going to see! His nephew, a friend and fellow band member of mine said that I should go to his uncle’s house, and check out these 2 ancient guitars that I would definitely be interested in. One was from 1888, and the other from 1908. Well, this was around 1975, and he being 100 years old, he even told me he was the ORIGINAL owner!!! Imagine that…how many folks can ever say that they got two guitars which were at that point nearly 90 and 60 years old respectively, from the original owner!!
His wife was even there, looking like Katherine Hepburn, in a black straw hat, painting the bookcases, saying “my, aren’t those guitars happy, they have finally found a home”, as I sat and gave them a performance that I still had no idea was on the guitars I’d soon be owning!
He turned to me and said “young man, those guitars are now yours….you’re the first person to play them in 65 years!! I walked out with both cases under my arms, trembling as I took the subway back from Brooklyn Heights to my loft in lower Manhattan, just beneath the World Trade towers!
Turns out, he was a longtime, famous psychiatrist, and all he wanted me to do as a condition, was to play the next weekend for his patients up in Connecticut at a private party he was having….strange gig, indeed, but certainly well worth it!!!
More on Guitar Collecting
Once the initial “bug” has got you when it comes to collecting guitars, it’s really hard to ever truly “shake” it off…….. although, I must admit it does sometimes tend to come and go. This is especially true since I’ve done it for so long, but what happens with any collection, is that you start to develop “collections within collections”! For example, once you get the Les Paul bug, you may never be satisfied with just ONE Les Paul…oh no……you want a sunburst to go with the goldtop, to go with the P-90 Les Paul, which goes with the humbucker, etc.
The care and feeding of all these babies also becomes important, and if you start to accumulate acoustic guitars, which I sometimes go through phases of doing, you’ll immediately note that they are far more sensitive to temperature and humidity changes, and need a good deal more attention than say, solid body electrics.
The important thing for me has always been whether or not the guitars really meant something to me from the standpoint of being something I really wanted to PLAY. After all, this is the reason I fell in love with them in the first place, and with each new, developing style, came the desire for that particular guitar to fill that need. As I got into slide guitar, for example, I noticed that I just wasn’t going to get the sound of my heroes unless I went after a National steel guitar. But then, lo and behold, before I knew it, there were 3 National steels in my collection!
There does come a point, with really any kind of collecting, where you must stop and really take stock of what you are doing, and if you are getting carried away with it! I know that even though many of them were very special, I always ended up selling the pieces that I truly had no interest in playing. You know, those guitars that stay in their cases, and only come out once in a blue moon, when you want to show someone else what you’ve got! I find that tedious and boring, and lord knows, they can take up space!
So, in the end, be sure to collect what you think will really STAY in your collection….guitars that you will really play, and that really fill a need in the sounds you want to make. The problem with me, of course, is once I think I’ve got that all taken care of, another “must have” comes along, and the old collecting bug in me gets totally reawakened! Thanks, but now I must be excused so I can continue perusing the classifieds for a vintage ES 345!!
Getting the Guitar Collecting Bug
Let’s face it, guitars have long been among the most collectible things on the planet, and it seems as if we are always finding some way to justify buying “yet another one”! In my life, these seeds were planted very early, and were even encouraged by my Dad, who has always been a collector of art, as well as being an artist, and a cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine.
I can still recall, back in 1967, when I bought my 1953 Les Paul with him, just how much we used to love to go to the shops and stare at, and appreciate the amazing guitars. This was the time when the concept that “vintage guitars are better than new guitars” was first starting to really take hold, and boy, was that ever true at that particular juncture! I can recall a time when he and I went to Dan Armstrong’s shop, upstairs on 48th Street in Manhattan, and we literally had to “step over” all the incredible gold, black and sunburst Les Pauls that were just lying around!
We then went across the street to Manny’s Music, only to see the owner yelling at the lead player from the Blues Magoos to stop his insane buying of instruments……..he must’ve bought 4 or 5 guitars a day, and they were getting mad at him. All I can say is he certainly knew what he was doing by falling in love with all those incredible vintage axes! It’s funny to think that most of them were only 10 to 15 years old at the time, but it was a certain quality they possessed that just wasn’t in the new instruments at that time.
Even when I got my ’52 Les Paul, which really was my first GREAT guitar, it was because another guitar, which I had on order, and which was new, had finally come into Manny’s, where I ordered it from. Well, as fate would have it, I picked it up, bent the G string, and the nut promptly went flying off the guitar!! It wasn’t even glued in! We stood up, got our $200 deposit back, and walked up to 49th Street, where there was a little upstairs shop called Eddie Bell’s, and there, waiting for me, was a gorgeous gold ’52 Les Paul that I simply fell in love with! It was $250 LESS thean the new guitar I left back at Manny’s, by the way! More on collecting later……..keep on hunting!
More Days with Danny Gatton
My dear late, great friend was such an enigma. Sometimes he was the most jovial guy you could ever meet, and other times he was really down in the dumps, and severely depressed. He rarely let others see that side of him, but there were sometimes when I noticed it.
The truth was that many times, he was just plain sick of playing gigs. It must’ve all seemed like too much of an effort to him after awhile, especially seeing that he had already given the best playing years of his life to so many gigs he had lost count, and they were the kinds of gigs that basically “led to nowhere”. I personally have also experienced this feeling, such as the days when I used to sell out Kenny’s Castaways, a legendary club in NY for years it seemed, every weekend with lines around the block, but unable to ever get any influential music biz or record label people to come down and see me.
Developing that kind of “core audience” and having a ral stronghold you can count on is a great way for anyone to see you performing, because the folks there are your “true” fans, and would go night after night to support you.
Still, I at least had NYC as my backyard, while Danny was out in the boonies in the D.C. area. It’s an area resplendent with great guitar talent, and there are a preponderance of local clubs, old-time crab houses, roadhouses and juke joints that you almost never see in the north anymore, and where I don’t even think the clientele realizes what incredible talent they have to enjoy on an almost nightly basis!
I’ve had a chance to play in some of them down there, and it creates an audience/performer kind of rapport that is rarely seen in this day and age.
These are the kinds of places where Danny honed his fabulous skills, as well as players such as Roy Buchanan, Nils Lofgren and many of the other D.C area greats also.
My continued story with Danny will keep on going, so please continue to stay tuned!
My Days with Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton, the incredible player who has become such a legend, and who took his own life in 1994, was someone who at the time of his death, was truly my best friend.
We had shared many great times together, both musically as well as personally, and though it was not an easy friendship to maintain, due to distance and Danny’s constant “disappearing” it was still incredibly rewarding. He used to get me gigs up in NY even before I knew him, or had even heard him play. One time, I got a call from a producer who was doing a “Kentucky Fried Chicken” –type jingle, and hey wanted some hot chicken pickin’ for it. He said that he had called Danny for it, and Danny said “why send all that way for me, when you’ve got Arlen Roth up there in NY!” This was a wonderful gesture on his part, and must have been almost 10 years before we ever even met!
We finally did start to correspond with each other around 1988, and in ’89, when he was featured on the cover of Guitar Player magazine, holding that half-mask, being touted as the “world’s greatest unknown guitarist”, we finally got together in NY. He had a gig planned at the Riverside Memorial Church in NYC, and he and I had been talking a lot before that gig about our mutual love and passion for old cars and Hot Rods. Sure enough, when he heard that I had a ’53 and a ’54 Buick Skylark, he said he had a set of the rare wire wheels for them, and he’d bring them up to the show!
So, there we were, sitting in the back of his pickup truck, in a snowstorm, mind you, outside of the gig, negotiating the price for the wire wheels! Once we arrived at the price, which was extremely fair, by the way, he then changed his focus and started thinking about the gig at hand! Even once we got inside and were hanging out in the dressing room with Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Cassidy, who were also on the gig that night, we all ended up talking about cars!
Danny was an amazing player, but an even better person, and the days with him were so precious but few. He and I accomplished a lot together in those few years…..2 landmark Hot Licks videos, working on my Toolin’ Around album together, appearing on Conan O’Brien and so much more, but there was a lot more that could’ve been accomplished if the tragedy of losing him had not taken place.
I will always cherish those days with him, and in the future, I will be writing more about this deeply personal subject.
More On Self-Teaching
As I’ve mentioned before, we all really, in the end, teach ourselves, and it’s largely the experiences along the way that really lend themselves to this process. Having never really read music, I always had to rely on my ear, and gaining knowledge wherever I could along the way.
Putting yourself into a band-oriented situation is so critically important, as I can recall great players who I knew when I was also a developing player, who were extremely talented, but for one reason or another, never really saw the light of day, career-wise!
This can be very sad, because I firmly believe that it you really think you’ve got “it”, you must make yourself be heard. Of course, these days, one can do this through many mediums, including the internet, etc., but there is still nothing that can beat the live interaction between real musicians.
Many players these days, both old and young, love to go to “open mike nights”, and pre-planned “jams” that are solely designed to get folks playing together. If you can get past many of the overblown egos that seem to reside at these events, and overcome your own level of shyness or intimidation, you can really gain a great deal from these kinds of experiences.
Most of all, it’s always a question of confidence, and never forget that sometimes, it just may be a question of whether or not you “gel” with the other players either from a musical, or personality viewpoint.
I know that back in those days when I would thrust myself into many musical situations at a very young age, I was extremely nervous sometimes, but always quickly channeled that nervousness into positivity.
The saddest thing of all is when students come to me stating that they just don’t want to be intimidated or feel somehow inadequate at these gatherings. It’s sad, because that should not be their focus at all, and it obviously reflects on some negative past experience they may have run into at some jam, or open mike night. Whatever it might be, please keep YOURself in control of what you feel capable of, but most of all, remain as confident as you possibly can be, especially within the confines of your own abilities. If you do this, you’ll always be able to make MORE out of LESS!!
Teaching Yourself, Where Does It Come From?
Save for a couple of introductory classical guitar lessons when I was 10 years old, all I’ve ever learned on the guitar has been self-taught. In the end, if you think about it, we all really DO teach ourselves, but it’s from people like me and other mentors that you can gain guidance, tips, inspiration and ideas. But after all is said and done, it’s really going to be up to you!
What you end up doing with all this information is really how you start to develop your own “voice” on the guitar, and here is some good news….you almost can’t HELP but have your own voice on the instrument, once you really start to play. Every player I’ve ever heard seems to have their own approach to bending, vibrato and whatever “vocal” qualities exist on the instrument. Even when teaching, and when a student tries to capture the subtlety of my half-step bends, for example, they STILL end up sounding like themselves, even when they think they have copied me exactly!
This is an amazing phenomenum, because it tells you that your voice on the guitar is literally as unique as your speaking or singing voice also is! I always said that when I picked up the guitar each day, I wanted to play something new, and that I’d want to break into new, unchartered territory. It’s a good rule to follow, as each day, and each time you pick up your instrument, you should really get into the habit of trying some new ideas. This is why I like to give you so many ideas on the Gibson lessons I do, so they can “spark” new concepts for you, and in your own playing.
Never forget that when you are soloing, or creating a backup part while doing some accompaniment (which is an almost lost art!) that you are literally “composing” as you are going along. This will be a big step in the process of your own development, and how you end up further teaching yourself! More on this great and favorite subject of mine in the future…….Till then, stay creative!
In the Right Place at the Right Time
In many ways I’ve had the good fortune to often be ‘in the right place at the right time' when it comes to performances and gigs in general. I feel that this has always been an important fact to consider when choosing gigs, or deciding if a certain night may be the right time to “sit in” at a cool gathering of folks or not.
Of course, it is also just a chance thing, and we can never really know when it is really the magic time or not, but we must put ourselves “out there’ so we at least give it a chance to happen. As I’ve always said, in my early days as an up and coming player, I always noticed that one good thing always seemed to lead to another. If I sat in with a bunch of great players up in Woodstock for example, such as Paul Butterfield or The Band, the next thing I’d know was that I’d get an “out of the blue” call from someone related to that night, needing me to play on an album, or to do a show.
I can recall that the call I’m referring to actually came on an average day, right after I had just torn my ankle playing basketball in a NYC schoolyard. John Simon, the producer of The Band, who was playing keyboards one of those great nights in Woodstock, suddenly called me to play on a Rachel Faro album, and to fill in for the great R&B guitarist, Cornell Dupree. Well, I was not going to let anything deter me from making this, my first session EVER on a real album, so I made it, even though I literally had to be carried around by all the other players from chair to chair…or even to go to the bathroom!!
Even on one fateful night, Eric Andersen, the folk singer who I’d been working with off and on for many years, told me there was a gig going on down at Gerde’s Folk City, where Dylan was possibly going to show up, and that the “survivors of the ‘70s” was to be decided!! Well, it all sounded kind of far-fetched o me, but I went down anyway, threw a Pignose amp up onstage, watched as film crews, to my surprise started putting mics in front of it, and before you knew it, not only was Dylan there with Joan Baez, using it as a kind of “kick off” night of their “Rolling Thunder” tour, but it was being made into a film called “Renaldo and Clara”! By the end of the night, I had ended up playing with the likes of not only Dylan and Baez, but also Phil Ochs (his last ever appearance), Patti Smith, Roger McGuinn, Bette Midler, and even Ramblin’ Jack Elliot! It was a legendary night that ended up in many books, and it was certainly a thrill to be a part of! By the way, the only other time I played in that club, I ended up in another movie; a documentary about the Hell’s Angels!!! More sagas next time….till then…….
Arlen Roth
More on the Club Scene of New York
There were many cool clubs to play at in the general NY area back in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, and Long Island also had its fair share. Most notable to me, was the great club in the quiet town of Roslyn, NY known as “My Father’s Place”. This was club of very huge capacity, (I believe it was once a bowling alley), and you could see any act imaginable there in those days. I used to play there quite often with Happy and Artie Traum, as well as other folks…and I could always see friend there when they were passing through, such as Ry Cooder and others.
There was a great radio station on Long Island at the time called WLIR-FM, and they were really starting to play the heck out of my second album for Rounder Records, called “Hot Pickups”. This album had many “radio hits” around the world, and in the NY area, WLIR and the legendary WNEW really had me as a big part of their rotation at the time.As it turned out, WLIR would broadcast live concerts from My Father’s Place every week, and they would garner great listening audiences, especially if they were artists whose records got played quite a bit on the station. My record was huge on there, and sure enough, one day they called us to do a live radio broadcast concert there.
I can recall trying to get all my relatives to come, so I could fill up the place, always thinking that maybe the crowd wouldn’t be so big.
Well, as it turned out, we were driving out there for the gig, and as we were listening to WLIR on the radio, they announced “all tickets for the Arlen Roth show are already sold out, so if you don’t have tickets, turn around and go home!” When I heard this, I nearly jumped through the roof of the car, ad I can still hear my bass player, Tony Brown telling me to “calm down and take it easy!” Well, needless to say, it was tough to really calm down, and when I hit that stage, and heard that thunder of support from the 800 plus sold out fans, I was a little nervous, but still channeled that nervous energy into a very powerful show. The reaction was nothing short of stupendous, and we did three encores, and of course, the dynamic of all this being captured on the radio was even more exciting. Recently a fan from somewhere in the US sent me a cd of this show, which was great since I had long since lost the tape I had of it that had been made off the air, back in 1979.
It was definitely one of my most exciting nights ever performing, and because it was so huge, they immediately wanted me back the following week, to share the bill with a band called “Thrills” whom I had never heard of. Apparently neither had the crowd, which this time numbered maybe 50, and of course, no one thought I’d be back in only a week………..so all those folks at the first “sold out” concert had no idea I’d be back so soon! Something like that should only happen once or twice a year, tops!
In any event, those were great times, great memories and great music! An era when live music was still “king”, even though Disco was taking a big chunk out of it!
Arlen Roth
The New York Club Scene
When I first really started to play out in earnest, early in my career, it was the early “70s, and my local club scene playing was mostly confined to the Manhattan landscape as well as the upstate NY Woodstock clubs. There were many positive “growing” experiences to be had during this time, yet some of the negatives were absolutely incredible, as well as mind-boggling to say the least!
At this time, I was also involved in touring with artists all over the Country as well as the world, so sometimes it was rather jarring to be getting the “royal treatment” in foreign territories such as Japan, where they really know how to “roll out the red carpet” for you, only to come home to play a club in Greenwich Village that may not even have a dressing room! Still, the combination of all these kinds of venues and levels of treatment was certainly eye-opening as far as the sheer breadth of what rally was “out there”, and what it all meant to me.
The New York club scene in particular, had its own dynamic, and it existed on several levels. There was the “Cabaret” scene, where I played clubs such as Reno Sweeney, which one night I can even recall Cissy Houston bringing her little Whitney Houston up onstage to wow the audience with her young set of pipes! Or, the lower Manhattan “West Village” scene where I’d be playing with a band that Patty Smith was opening for, only to find, upon my arrival, that her band and my band had already been involved in a backstage fistfight with each other! Never quite got the real story of what THAT one was all about!
I guess one of the saddest things about that scene and some of the clubs, was the “pay to play” sort of mentality that was pervasive in the opulent record company era of that time, and which still exists even today. I can recall one club, uptown, called JP’s that you literally had to “pay to play” in, because, supposedly, it was THE place to be heard, since so many record exec types liked to hang out there, as well as bigtime musicians. (I once had to help the bouncer throw an extremely drunk Hamish Stuart, lead singer of The Average White Band, out of the place!). One time, I was playing there with Tony Bird, a wonderful South African singer I had been working with there, and not only did they ignore our set, but they talked loudly right through it….all of a sudden, Tony appeared on the back cover of The Village Voice, a very influential newspaper at the time, and we then played again at JP’s the next weekend. Well, as it turned out, all of a sudden, the audience was cheering, paying attention to every note we played, and just couldn’t get enough of us! I felt so lousy about it all, because this was really a blatant show of how “flighty” and easily swayed these key “opinion makers” really were, and that it was all just a bunch of people jumping on the bandwagon of our popularity, with absolutely no regard for the real music at hand! More on this saga in future blogging! Till next time…
You're Out of the Band - Part 2
The subject of being in or out of the band, and the dynamics that can create this situation can be very sensitive, to say the least. I even know from my own experience that when I have been the recipient of this kind of bad news, especially when young, it can really hurt.
There was the time when I was on a really grueling tour with the John Prine Band, and all of a sudden, without warning, in the middle of somewhere in Idaho, on out tour bus, all the other members of the band ganged up on me and said they wanted me out. They used terms like, “you’re not one of us” to explain their decision, and man, I certainly WASN’T one of them, because in my opinion, they were marginal musicians at best, and they couldn’t have been a worse group of musicians for Prine, whereas I was really totally the correct kind of roots-oriented player he needed! They were just a bunch of awful fusion and funk-style players, who had never played Country of Folk before, and who never even really player true Rock before either!
In any event, the manager, who was also on the bus with us, took a meeting with us all, and soon got to the root of their issue, which was really, plain and simply, jealousy! The fact was, that at that time, while we were on the bus for long hours, I was busy writing my third book, entitled Nashville Guitar, a book that has become a Country classic over the years! But there I was, all of 22 years old, proudly working on my book, which I guess made them feel jealous because I actually “had something to do” with my life, besides sitting on a bus and acting like a bunch of jerks, which was what they were doing!
In the end, everything worked out, and I stayed in the band, but the “heart” was taken out of it for me, and the band itself never really lasted much longer after that…. Maybe 2 or 3 months, tops. In fact, even though that was the year 1975, John Prine has never had a band at all since then! Guess it was a bad choice in his mind no matter what!
Arlen Roth
You're Out of the Band
This is always a tricky and delicate subject, because when people get canned from a group, more often than not, it’s not their fault at all, and in fact, can be a blessing in disguise for the “cannee”. I’ve obviously had a lot of experience within bands and also back-up bands (which are still BANDS!), and many incidences of either having to get rid of a particular member, or defend myself from being kicked out!
A perfect early example was when I was playing in a group called “Janey and Dennis”, and we had just done a big-budget album for Captiol records. We were getting ready to tour, opening for the Bee Gees across Canada, and we had a drummer rehearsing with us named Max Weinberg. Well, at that time, the only gig Max had done of any real professional level was touring with the Peggy Fleming ice skating tour! It was kind of funny, because he had all these anvil road cases for his drums with “Peggy Fleming” stenciled on them! He also would drink an entire 6-pack of Dr. Pepper at each rehearsal, and even though I like Dr. Pepper now, it was inconceivable to see someone in New York, in 1974 consuming that much of that drink! But that is totally besides the point…
Well, as it turned out, I was getting extremely against his being in the band for many reasons, but the top one was simply that his style of drumming didn’t fit our music. The other members agreed, after a long deliberation, and so we fired him. I only found out years later from talking with him, how much this devastated him…..still, he literally owes me everything, because 5 days later, he got his famous gig with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band! It turns out that Bruce was recording in the same studio as us, and he needed a drummer at the time. The recording engineer, Larry Alexander, suggested Max to him, and the rest is history!
Many years later, I had an appearance on Conan O’Brien, along with Danny Gatton, who had just recorded with me on “Toolin’ Around”. I spoke to Max, he told me how hurt he was by my firing way back when, and not only that, he didn’t want Conan to even KNOW about it!! Later on, after the show, I told Conan the story, and he was just furious that he couldn’t use that little ditty on his show with me and Max!! Later on, Janey and Dennis became The Harbor Band with me still on lead guitar, but our record contract and record got dropped, and The Harbor Band was no more very quickly! All I know is Max owes me big time for being “out of the band!” More on this at a later date!!
Arlen Roth
More on Songwriting
I think it’s very important to also discuss the art of songwriting as the instrumental verses the lyric-oriented song.
I know that being a true instrumentalist by nature, my tendency is to first see a song as a guitar part, literally, many times long before I have a lyric idea. In fact, I can get almost TOO comfortable with a piece of music for a little too long in its instrumental state, way too long before I ever put words to it! Conversely, there are songs that even though were more conceived as lyrics and music together, that I find much later I enjoy playing as pure instrumentals. This is a great feeling, because I feel as if I’m re-interpreting one of my own songs, and developing a new-found understanding and appreciation of them musically.
I mean, for me, it’s got to have the music be impressive to me before I can even begin to feel right about continuing with the creative process, and making it a full-blown song. Yet, along the way, when we are writing, we are constantly making good and bad decisions, accepting and rejecting, and of course, just always trying new ideas out!
Everyone ends up approaching songwriting differently, and collaboration is a great way to stimulate the old writing chops! I know this fro I am currently working on an exciting new collaboration project with a great and well-established Nashville-based writer. It’s fun because he lives for writing, whereas I live for playing, and the two different worlds coming together makes for a great hotplate of ideas! It’s an all-instrumental project, too, which makes it unusual for him and comfy for me! In fact, some of the ideas we are working on are good pieces of music I’ve had lying around forever…some for as long as 25 years or more! Just shows you…..a good song or piece of a song, is timeless, and can always come to life once again!!
Arlen Roth
The Inspiration for Writing Music
One thing has always been true for me, especially being a totally self-taught player, and that is just how I end up writing songs.
In a way, I really don’t see that much difference between writing a song, or interpreting someone else’s, because I still have to “make it mine” in the end. One thing I have always done both consciously and unconsciously is to pick up the guitar and immediately start creating something new. This was a habit I started long ago when I was first developing as a player….I would be eating, thinking and dreaming guitar! Sometimes, as I can recall, I’d be on a school bus heading home, just dreaming of the licks, or song that I couldn’t get out of my head, and that I couldn’t wait to try when I got home!
On days like this, it was not uncommon for my parents to come home and find me asleep in a chair, with guitar still in hand, as I no doubt played my weary self to sleep with my new found experimentation! To this day, I still love to write in this way, and if I am not quick to write down my idea, no matter how abstract it might be, it can vanish or fade away just like a dream right after you wake up!
The spark usually comes from a particular guitar riff, or great set of chord changes that challenges me from a melodic perspective, and even from a playing perspective, too. After all, I need the challenges, and it’s not all about trying to write something catchy or hooky. It’s true that the hook, in a way, has to first work on YOU, the creator of it, but I think that the inspiration for it, and the creation of it comes in a much more spontaneous, purely “felt” realm. I find also, that one of the hardest things to remember after you’ve come up with the idea, is to remember the actual “groove”, or “feel” of the song. This part of it can become very elusive, and I sometimes write down the funniest clues to myself to remember the groove…such as: “slower than Proud Mary, with an upbeat into the 3rd measure”! Or, “same changes as ‘Green Onions”, with blues fill in chord form over IV chord”. These are not actual references I’ve used, but they sure reflect just how my mind has to work sometimes to preserve an idea, no matter how elusive or thin it may be! More on writing in the future…remember, we ALL have a song in us!
Arlen Roth
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Getting to Work with my Heros!
A lot of what was truly most exciting about my days as Producer/Creator of Hot Licks video was the pure excitement of working with many of my heroes on their instructional tapes. Hot Licks was always a natural extension of my love for teaching and for music in general, but it’s the folks BEHIND the music that really makes it tick!
This is why we had so many fans, and sold some 2.5 million videos worldwide, because we had the real folks, doing the real deal, and presenting it in such a natural learning environment. In many cases, such as when I did videos with people like James Burton, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Brian Setzer, John Entwistle, Lonnie Mack, Mick Taylor and countless others, it was the first time these people had EVER sat down and explained what it was they were all about!
Myself a self-taught player, I have always understood the beauty behind the self-discovery that comes from these kinds of teaching experiences. I mean, I had never had to so dissect my style and technique as when I had to sit in front of a camera to do it, yet it always felt totally natural and relaxed for me to do. This in turn, helped me to get many of these other artists, some of them my REAL heroes as well as peers, through the experience, which a lot of them found rather daunting.
I had to always bear in mind that while it may be simple and the most natural thing for me to do, a lot of them were totally petrified to be in front of the camera! It was as if they were worried that some deep, dark secret was about to be exposed, or even worse, that they wre going to be exposed as the “fraud” they feared they might really be!
Meanwhile, I was always in seventh heaven to be working with these folks! I mean, Buddy Guy was easily one of my greatest guitar heroes of all time, and to have him there saying to me, “you tell me what to do, Arlen, you’re the boss!”, or to be backing up Junior Wells, and to play grooves to try to coax him out of his dressing room, or to have Mick Taylor, of The Stones, tell me, “man, that was the toughest gig of my life!” (Mick…you were in the Stones when you were 22, and this instructional tape was the toughest gig EVER?!) These are the kinds of incredible memories that are made in such a wonderful environment as having these folks teach on video! And like I said, it always felt so natural, and was such a pleasure to create for all the world to see! Lots more to come….!
Arlen Roth
You Learn from Teaching
There’s no question that one of the great joys of my years of teaching is simply what I learn from it! When a student has certain needs that must be addressed, it can at times, make me really have to “dig deep” for what I need. This process really helps me learn more about what makes ME tick, as well as even creating some new ideas I didn’t even know existed!
My second guitar player in my current band, Matt Rae, has been studying with me for over ten years. Over the course of this time, he has become so good and so fast at absorbing what I have to offer, there is a constant challenge to come up with new material for him. This is so demanding, that many times it has helped me create entirely new pieces of music while in the teaching process! The title track off my “Landscape” album for example, from 2005 was actually the direct result of a lesson I was giving Matt in hammer-on notes from great distances. Before I knew it, I was telling him to be sure to record this piece (he records all his lessons), so I wouldn’t lose my new composition idea!
It’s always been this way for me…even when I had to write my first book, “Slide Guitar”, I had no idea how I was getting all that dampening accomplished, or how I was isolating the notes, but Lord knows I had to reach an understanding about my own playing, even at the age of 21, which is how old I was when I wrote it!
Needless to say, this all led to making teaching an even more rewarding experience for me, and has become an invaluable tool in my creative process as well! More next time!
Arlen Roth
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Playing it by Ear Again!
Of course, for me, and my life in general, the term “play it by ear” has more meaning than usual. This rally is a good way to describe my overall approach, which oddly enough may actually be a direct result of my approach to music.
The musical part for me, began so early that it seems as if I never DIDN’T play music! This is of course important when dealing with learning for all of us, and out offspring as well. I can’t emphasize strongly enough the importance of learning at an early age. This impressionable time is so important when learning any language, and after all, this is what music is…another language…one that comes from deep, deep down in out hearts.
The “ear” part is really the most crucial, and I think that those who say they’ll never have an ear are simply holding themselves back. I believe that all of us, as human beings have an innate, built-in ability to acquire this “ear”, which is rally just an ability to learn and recognize the new language of music. Sure, some of us are better at it than others, but I still feel that it can be cultivated and most of all, encouraged at a very early age.
I was playing the violin from the age of 8, and doing very well at it, but it lacked excitement for me, and the training involved became too regimented for me. So, along comes my Dad, the New Yorker cartoonist, Al Ross, who’s a master at all he does, and who taught himself everything about art, and he says to me, “play the guitar, Arlen,,,I just can SEE you playing the guitar!” I still literally get chills when I think of his words, because not only were they so right on the money and prophetic, but they had so much love and understanding and perceptiveness to them!
He would love to listen to Flamenco guitar records around the apartment in the Bronx, and I was already absorbing all this wonderful guitar, probably from before I can even remember! This was all drummed into my soul, and therefore my ear as well, and before you knew it, I was playing slide guitar with my Mom’s lipstick holders on a guitar we had that only had 2 strings! Once I got my hands on the real thing however, all bets were off, and I knew that from the minute I held her in my arms, the guitar was to become a lifetime love for me!
Arlen Roth
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Playing it Strictly by Ear
The fact that I am completely self-taught, and that I never really learned to read music played a great role in how I developed as a player. I always in a way, had to "stick to my guns"as a way of staying true to my roots and to the process by which I developed my style.
For example, for a long time, even though I played with total "jazz-like" abandon, I never really had that "jazz"sound to my playing. I always knew that if I threw myself into studying it, which would have been a definite "fast track," I would have sacrificed my own true identity as a player, and would end up with that "stamped out"carbon-copy"" type sound that plagues so many players who for examplke, end up at a place like Berklee!! Instead, I made a concious decision to let the jazz sound assimilate its way into my playing, just the way the blues and country did. It's kind of like the way jazz really happened in the real world ... it developed over time, in an ëvolutionary way ... rooted in the blues, and developed as listener's ears and player's ears became more sophisticated over time.
I mean, there are many types of players, obviously. Some may be totally happy with the overly-schooled "Berklee"type approach, and who merely want to be a musician as a vocation, while there are the players like me, who have always had a point of view, and as artists, had something definate to say!
The self-taught and hard-earned way of playing, I believe, can actually be heard in the finished product of someone who has gone through this self-learning process. Of course, we are ALL self-taught in the end, but we will always also be the sum total of everything we've ever heard, been shown or simply learned by ear and heart. This is what gives us all our unique "fingerprint," something we can't HELP but have! More next time, as we continue on this all-important subject!
Arlen Roth
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More Rough Touring: Hitting the Road with Prine
After the debacle of what could have been a life-changing recording session for me, and a missed opportunity, I was still slated to keep on rehearsing for the John Prine tour, which had the misfortune of being in Canada for the winter, and the deep south for the summer! It’s not usually planned that way, but the tour got postponed by six months, so we ended up with a “flipped” schedule!
We had our own Silver Eagle tour bus, which was nicely appointed, and had been leased apparently, from a touring Gospel group from Georgia, with a leader by the name of “Sam Sermons”! It quickly became our home away from home, and many times it was, because the gigs were often far apart, and we couldn’t get motel accommodations. The bus was often a real zoo scene, between the kidding around, the girls on the road, the fun we’d have with our driver, and on and on.
But still, I felt that when we hit the stage, it was incredibly lacking. The band that had been assembled was in my opinion, marginal at best, and certainly, not the right group of players for John Prine’s music. I could also see that Prine’s naivete’ when it comes to things like a band also was a factor, because he had no idea how to express himself about whether or not the band was really “making it” or not! I can tell you for sure, that from my perspective, I was the only one truly fit for that band! I was much more of a folk, country and blues-rooted player who played for the song, while the rest of the band were a bunch of “funk” players who couldn’t play the stuff “straight”. Instead, everything had way too much syncopation, and was too herky-jerky for John’s nice country melodies and rhythms.
The beauty of his music was in its simplicity….I can remember one time, when in all seriousness, he actually said to me, “Arlen, can you teach me a new chord, so I can write a new song!” That blew my mind, but it sure showed me how he, as a songwriter, really epitomized the statement that “less is more”. There were so many wild moments, like the first chord of the tour, when john broke 5 strings with his first strum, and the roadie didn’t know how to put new strings on and tune them up! I would also always go up to him in the middle of a song and whisper in his ear something like “your B string is flat”……after that particular show, John told me that if I ever hear a tuning problem like that, which was basically all the time, I should just reach behind him and tune it myself while he kept grinding away at those chords! Needless to say, that actually became a funny part of the act! More Prine tour stuff next time……………
Arlen Roth
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More on the Making of "Crossroads"
The experience of actually working on a film from even before the opening bell was quite a thrill. I had been told to go to Ralph Macchio’s house on Long Island, where he was still living with his parents, and I had to teach him 4 days a week, for 2 hours each day for the 2 months prior to shooting. This was a tall order, but lots of fun, as we had the script, and basically could interject whatever playing parts we wanted throughout the film.
His bedroom had basically turned into a little mini guitar collection, as we had my guitars strewn all over the place……..classical, electric, acoustic steel string and even resonator guitars were all employed in his learning process with me, and we’d have so much fun. He was like a kid (a KARATE kid!) in a candy store with all this stuff, and since he had never played anything before, except a little saxophone, I could really dictate what parameters we would be working within.
Of course, Ralph, with an actor’s ego, and plenty of drive to boot, was really expecting to walk on that set, wailing away on classical, blues and slide guitar, but even though I wanted that for him too, it was virtually impossible to make him a “real” guitar player in such a short amount of time. The best we could hope for was for him to be as believable as possible when “faking” to the parts that I played, and also some of the parts Ry Cooder ended up playing. It was like Ralph had to occupy a very unique place in his own world as a “partial” guitar player, and that having the knowledge he now possessed was enough for him to really be convincing as an actor who was playing the guitar.
Some things were really kind of funny, like he would go to gigs of mine, and study how I walked, held myself, how I carried the guitar case, things like that…. Anything that would give him the overall impression of how a guitarist really carried himself. We even went to what was Andre’ Segovia’s final NY concert a Lincoln Center so he could see how a classical player held himself, but that was in a way, quite funny, because at this point, Segovia was so elderly that he was all slumped in his chair while playing, and had the guitar so angled towards the ceiling it looked like he was ready to play lap steel! All Ralph could say was, “hey, it’s like he’s in his living room!”
So, needless to say, the Segovia concert showed Ralph more of how NOT to hold the guitar as a classical student/player! He needed the more upright rigidity and discipline that he was able to pick up from my advice, and from watching Bill Kanengiser, the man who played the classical guitar in the film, doing his thing! More next time..I love to write about this film, because it was such a rich experience, and something one rarely gets to do in this industry!
Arlen Roth
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At the "Crossroads"
Making the film “Crossroads” has been one of my major accomplishments to date in the music field, and it was an amazing adventure full of twists and turns!
It was so wild to actually get a call from Director Walter Hill, telling me that Ry Cooder, who was the film’s musical director, said he “should get Arlen Roth, because he’s the only one on the east coast who can do this”. Ralph Macchio, the kid in the film, well-known as “The Karate Kid”, had to be taught from scratch on how to play the guitar, basically enough so he could “fake” the parts in the film. I was told at the time that I was to play his parts in the movie, which of course, made total sense since I was his teacher! Also, lucky for me, Ralph had never played guitar before, so I had a clean slate to work with, technique-wise. It meant that whatever I said was the “gospel” for Ralph, and he could therefore adhere to the things I was teaching him.
One very gratifying part was that I knew that when I recorded the music for the film, I knew exactly what he could and couldn’t do. This way, I could come up with pieces that I knew already contained Ralph’s “vocabulary” on the guitar. I can recall one day, in the Mississippi Delta morning, we were about to shoot the scene that was actually “at the Crossroads”, and Ralph had a very specific piece of music in mind that he wanted to play there. It was a slide cut from my first album, called “Landslide”, and he felt, and I agreed, that it was perfect for the stark feeling of the scene. I went to record it, and as Ralph climbed into his trailer, he shouted, “don’t make it too tough, Arlen!”
So, there in the quiet, I plugged into a little battery-powered amplifier, and recorded “Landslide”, bullfrogs jumping in the background, and all. Didn’t expect that the whole crew would then erupt into applause after I did it! I guess they were getting pretty starved for entertainment, having been in those swamps and cotton fields for weeks already! Later that day, Walter Hill actually passed over his Director’s chair to me, and let me handle the directing that day! What a thrill!
Then, in an even more surrealistic “Hollywood” moment, we all sat down to a full sushi lunch that was flown in from L.A., just so we could sit in the middle of an arid cotton field, eating away, with crop dusters flying overhead! As I looked around, I noticed dozens of curious little kids with no shoes on, peering through the bushes at this strange sight. All I know, is that a few hours after that, Juke Logan, the harmonica coach and I, as usual, drove off into the Mississippi night in search of more barbeque!
More on “Crossroads” next time…till then, be cool!
Arlen Roth
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More on the Big Tour(s)!
I guess we deduced that the Bee Gees themselves were somehow arriving at all these far-apart Canadian venues with their own Lear Jet, while we were relegated to the back of a freezing cold tour bus, with no heat and no working bathroom, which we also had to share with their 30-piece orchestra!!
Rough, to say the least! I can recall our “harshest” time being that we got off the stage, didn’t change, and then made it to the next gig, 24 hours later, just in time to walk onstage again……no place to sleep, change, eat, nothing. I got terribly sick on this tour, as I seemed to all the time, but this was really harsh. There were even some band members so elderly and sick they were lying on cots in the bus’ aisle!
One time, the crowd of 15000 screaming kids were all chanting “Bee Gees, Bee Gees!!” at the top of their lungs right through out slow and quiet blues number, so I figured I’d shut them up by starting my solo with the loudest, stinging guitar note they’ve ever heard. And boy, did it work…I think that note is still reverberating off the back wall somewhere in that hockey stadium!
Still, all in all, it was a rewarding experience…. the Bee Gees asked me to play pedal steel guitar on “Massachusetts” each night, and Janey ended up becoming my first serious girlfriend, but THAT’s for a whole different blog, at another time and place!! Oh, by the way, the album we were touring to promote ended up being shelved by Capitol Records, never to be seen again, effectively ending the young career of Janey and Dennis! Till then, please try to stay inspired, my guitar-picking friends!
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Preparing for the Big Tours!
Well, after what seemed like months and months of rehearsals, with no reaction from anyone but ourselves, we were finally ready to embark on the tour, and to hit the big stadiums. I can rarely recall the kind of tension that was in the air as we all anticipated hitting the stage at the “Rubber Bowl”, in Akron, Ohio. We were even stuck in the traffic jam that was going to the stadium, just as the radio in the car said we were about to go on stage in 5 minutes!! Now way was THAT happening….we were at least a half-hour from playing, and were already the first in a long line of road manger-induced casualties!
I can recall some of the band members jumping up and down in place in the backstage area, like before a fight! Some just calmly sitting in a corner, tuning up…….I think I was maybe on the phone with my wife and then my parents, just telling them how full of anticipation I truly was at this incredible moment! The, we hit the stage, and you can never anticipate people running onstage to tear off your clothes when you’re playing something like “Scarborough Fair”, or “Mrs. Robinson”, but that’s what happened! Then, you think, “is this really what’s going to go on here?” It’s very distancing, because you realize you’re part of an “event”, or “happening”, as opposed to something where people really care about what you’re playing, or even more so, HOW you play!!! Strange indeed…more next time!
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Conceptualizing Projects
I’m sure that most of you who are interested in being recording artists, or may already be, most likely work in the opposite direction of this, and make sure you have songs in order, etc.,before, for example, you know how your album cover will look! But still, I believe it’s important to find some happy “middle-ground” halfway between the inception and the conception of your projects.
For example, if you start to write songs for a new album, you may start to notice a “trend” in your themes, and you may find that you are writing from a group of experiences that represent a certain time in your life. It then becomes very important that you take notice of this, and be able to create a project that artistically truly represents you at this time and this place.
It is then and only then, that the piece of music or group of songs really begin to take shape as a whole, and that you can really feel that the work represents you, and can perhaps, even be called your “art”! Then is when you have a “concept”. You must remember, I come from the generation that started to see the advent of “concept” albums, such as “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, or even more subtley, records like Rubber Soul or Beggars Banquet by The Stones. These records always had, whether intentional or not, a kind of theme that ran through them, and a “point of view”. This is for many reasons, not the least are things like the studio recorded in, the consistency of the Producer, the musicians used, and the times when you recorded and/or wrote the music. I know there have been times when I’ve had to literally re-create this continuity, or make it happen again even though the record was made over a much longer time than usual. I had this recently with the new cd I did with Levon Helm, which was done over an entire year. The saving graces were the mainly consistent use of the same musicians, and the same studio being used. Even with all this consistency, there were still many variances to have to deal with in the end.
So, in closing…be sure to stay consistent within your project, because you’ll be surprised how many variances can be discovered in the course of putting it together! More on this later…stay tuned!
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Why Teaching Is So Much Fun For Me
Ever since I can remember, whatever I learned on the guitar, I felt it was necessary to pass on. I really can’t say why it is I have always felt this way, but it certainly was never really about the money, even though many of us professional musicians have always turned to teaching as an added way of making some income!
Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I am totally self-taught, and so many people would always ask about my distinct style, and how I could show them some of it. This has always been the case ...folks wanting to learn my unique string bending approach, my pedal-steel like licks, my slide guitar, etc. … But yet, one can never really create a clone of one’s self from teaching, but lord knows sometimes it can come awfully close!
I do know that more than anything, teaching is inspiring. It’s not so much learning things note-for-note, which may be some one’s approach, but more about getting the overall “picture” of what another player’s style is all about, and plugging THAT into my, or someone else’s style. When I was developing as a young player, I definitely had certain influences, and even continue to, but I never needed to learn their solos or parts note-for-note, rather, it was important to “capture” a bit of what they were about, that would inspire me and push my technique and style in new directions.
This is why here on the Gibson lesson I love to hit you with varying ideas and concepts, and to surprise you with things that you never expected to learn! I always made a pact with myself that every time I picked up a guitar, on any given day, I would force myself to learn something new! This, believe it or not, is still the case, and it’s what keeps me going, always creating new ideas and new concepts to learn as well as teach.
Another great aspect of private teaching, which I still do, is that it keeps your “chops” up incredibly well! It actually makes you a better player. For example, I have some really advanced students who create a huge challenge for me, making me “dig deep” for new ideas each time I teach them. Well, this really makes me a better player, because I must focus on certain styles in a very concentrated way, such as string bending, vibrato etc., and this forces me to make the technique that much better.
In the end, it’s really the student that also teaches the teacher, by challenging him to come up with new and fresh ideas, and before you know it, you’re playing together! I know this, because many of my students I have mentored, and brought into my band! More on the joys of teaching next time … till then, adieu!
More Joys of Teaching
Last time, I was starting to speak about the true rewards of teaching and why it can be so much fun for me. For myself, it’s always been an amazingly fruitful experience, and I’ve actually made some of my best friends of all time as the result of first knowing them as my students! This certainly gives you pause for thought….it seems that If we share something so deep as music together, particularly when it really connects, there is an instant bond and a road to a close friendship that quickly makes it hard to even take any money from such a friend! I know I’ve been in this awkward place many times before….where it just no longer seems right to be taking money from someone for lessons, because we’ve become so close as friends.
On a larger scale, I’ve also toured all over the world giving clinics, sometimes with audiences as large as 2000 people, and what’s great about those is that they become “intimate performances”, where you really have the undivided attention of all the folks who came. This kind of gathering is very enriching, and it’s something that neither the performer nor the audience soon forgets! It’s especially great when you go a long way, like a big crowd in Birmingham, England, where the first question from the crowd is “what do ya think of the beer in this part of the country!?”
I played a concert here in NY last night, and needless to say, besides the couple of hundred regular folks who came, there must’ve been about 40 people there who were either currently, or at one time, my students!
One of the things I love to say, which also pertains to my past, is that “we tend to remember our teachers more than what we learned”. I believe this to be true..that it’s the PERSON behind the teaching that really makes the impression that we remember. Try to think back to grade school, and what you remember, and it’s always going to be the teacher rather than what he or she taught that sits so well in our memories. I believe when we are learning an art form such as the guitar, or painting or literature, it is really the inspiration of the teacher that we recall, more than what was taught! So, till next time, remember who your inspirations are!
A Rant About Today’s Music!
First of all, be sure I am talking about “mainstream” stuff here … I am aware there are still great audiences everywhere for great music, but the stuff we are getting shoved down our throats these days that is considered “pop,” or Pop Country for example, is really getting hard to swallow.
The number one culprit in the “unlistenability” of today’s music has got to be AUTO TUNING! This is a device that with the advent of digital recording, has made it easy for producers and engineers everywhere to correct the pitch of any singer or instrument they want. The problem is that when overused, which is usually the case, it gives the voice an incredibly artificial sound bordering more on the sound of an electronic keyboard than the human voice itself! Also, depending on how it is set, and how out of tune the singer may be, it creates these really annoying “bumps” in the vocal that sound like an obvious effect. Just think of Cher’s “Do you Believe in Life After Love,” and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
The saddest usage of this effect is on country recordings. I mean, after all, isn’t it Country music that really embodies the best of people playing and singing in tune?! I have actually heard contemporary Bluegrass recordings that have heavily used this auto-tune thing that makes it sound like a totally artificial creation! What ever happened to real human beings using their own ears to tune to each other??!! This little device totally defeats all the originality and soul that hopefully was there to begin with at least, and just renders it useless, in my opinion. Worse than all of this, I can hear it being used LIVE! I mean why not? These artists are so dependent on auto-tuning, and their audiences are so used to hearing it, that they must feel they’d not be giving a real “show” unless the auto-tuning was being used. So now, the “fake” recording gets to be replicated at a “fake” concert!
The whole sound of it sickens me, and I can’t help but hear it everywhere! If I walk into one more convenience store and hear Rascal Flatts in the background sounding like a bunch of auto-tuned “Chipmunks,” I’m gonna scream! More on this “blight” of the business next time! Till then …
Keeping Your Dreams Alive
It’s daunting to say the least sometimes, especially when you have to always “blow your own horn,” a very uncomfortable place to be professionally. I mean, who really wants to have to talk to someone like a club owner who’s never heard of you and have to tell him your life story?!
Also, remember that this can take many shapes. I mean, if, for example, you just had a day of calling booking agents who won’t ever return your calls, channel that drive into something else that might be even more productive, such as writing a song! Why not? The act of songwriting really can get rid of a lot of tension that’s built up within you, not to mention it may be that very song you are penning that may make those club owners wish they had called you back, as you become a star so big that you would never play in a dump like theirs ever again!
'Til next time …
Less Is Definitely More!
As I started to enter the studio work scene, both in Woodstock and in New York City, it really started to become apparent that the old adage of “less is more” is so true. I used to joke that “no, you mean Les is Paul”, but that’s just one of my typical puns I simply could never resist!I was basically a guitar player who came “roaring out of the gates”, and was so live performance oriented that it was really hard for me to reign in my pure energy, and make it something that would fit more into the world of recording. Keep in mind that also of this recording I was doing was not even what I liked to play, which had a huge impact on me as well. It’s a very strange situation indeed, when someone falls in love with your playing because of the uniqueness they saw you do in a live venue, but then they put you in a studio, and give you so much terrible misdirection that they literally sap all your creativity and energy. I never understood this..I mean, don’t you hire the musicians you want to TRUST?! I always play with players who bring something unique to the table, and only if I need something different from them do I ever need to give a slight “nudge” in the right direction. A true professional should always react to that kind of suggestion with total respect and deference, and if they’re there because of your respect for THEM, then the whole picture should balance out nicely.
But it’s tough when you’re the rookie, the new kid on the block, the one who needs to “break in” to the scene. I can remember back around 1974, I was fast becoming the “house” guitarist on lots of sessions at a hot recording studio called “914”, in Rockland County, NY. I was playing on Dusty Springfield records, Janis Ian, Don McLean and on and on…literally all in the same place. Well, one day, the call was for me to play pedal steel guitar on Janis Ian’s “Between the Lines” lp….the one where “Seventeen” became a big hit. She and I were also frinds in Music and Art High School in Manhattan. Now, Nobody knew about pedal steel guitar in NY at that time, and the only players were me and my buddy, Eric Weissberg, of “Dueling Banjos” fame. So, the session begins, and I’m playing my single-neck E9 Emmons, and I’m noticing that they’re only recording me direct through the board, no amp, no reverb, just a totally dry, lifeless sound, that was also almost impossible to hear in the headphones!
So, I, in a very professional manner by the way, make a suggestion to the Producer/engineer, who will go nameless here, that it would be a heck of a lot better if I was going through an amp, with reverb, and then mic’ed. They said, “sure, no problem Arlen, sounds like a great idea!” Then I figured everyone was happy, and then we went on with making actually quite a nice recording.
Well, weeks and then months passed without ever hearing from them or those sessions again. No calls, no work. I was totally baffled. Well literally YEARS later, I found out that that producer/engineer, who was so full of himself anyway, told everyone, “ how DARE that young upstart Arlen Roth tell ME how to record. I’ll never hire him again!” Can you imagine what that sounded like to me……I mean here I was, making a perfectly logical and humble suggestion, bringing my STEEL GUITAR expertise to the table, and it didn’t matter! It all became about his ego, who should dominate who, who’s in charge, all that nonsense….and all it really did in the end was stand in the way, albeit momentarily, of my career.
You know, it all makes me want to say to you to “be careful”, but at the same time, the thing that really sticks out in my mind more, is “stick to your guns!” It was the producer/engineer who was childish, and who should have really taken into account that I was new to this whole process, and definitely given me the benefit of the doubt. He needed to check his OWN emotions and ego at the door! More next time…keep on hangin’ in there!
When You Get to a Fork in The Road, Take It
Today I’m continuing a bit on that early odyssey I made in my late ‘teens, where I was already on a good path to individuality in my playing and my music, but was still faced with having to play many a gig that did not live up to the billing I was hoping for!
In a live performing sense, this often meant that I was with such an inferior band, that there was never any hope that I could see in terms of a longtime musical growth together…something that is critical in the band context. Also, in the recording studio, folks seemed so unsympathetic to the real needs of a player such as myself, and would rather stay harping on the good old “time’s money and money’s time” adage that puts so much unnecessary pressure on the players and the situation in general.
Still, this is how the world works, and especially a large portion of the music business. I do know that regardless, even though these were at times, great learning experiences, I still had to stick to my guns in terms of what and how I felt about the guitar music I really wanted to play. It’s funny, because sometimes this “sticking to my guns”, and also being such a unique player would really affect the kinds of weird gigs I would sometimes have to play!
For example, there was one time, because I was just about the only Lap Steel player in New York City, I actually got called upon to sit outside at an opening for a version of the play “South Pacific”, and wear Hawaiian outfits, including plastic floral leis around my neck, playing old Sol Hoopii and Jimmy Rodgers songs. Song, by the way, that I had to stay up all night teaching my girlfriend so she could play rhythm guitar along with me! Needless to say, when we finally set up and did the gig, it was so weird, and we were so invisible to everyone else, that I literally can’t remember one person even stopping to take a listen!
All this aside……it was actually FUN to sit there and play some Hawaiian guitar, and being unnoticed even gave me more of a reason to just go off on tangents, and use the time to become a better player! These are the kinds of situations where you MUST look on the bright side, and really focus on what’s good about the predicament you are in! After all, it’s the love of Lap Steel guitar that put me there in the first place, so I might as well make the best of it! I probably wouldn’t have had the patience to otherwise sit down and play the lap steel that much anyway, so it really helped me play better and learn more.
Anyway, at least no one was there telling me what to do, or what to play, so it became a little lesson in making sure I got the most out of a rather depressing situation! You, as a player, will find yourself confronted with this kind of thing many times, and there is really nothing you can do about it except ride it out, and take the best you can, musically and otherwise from the situation! See you next time!
Woodstock Continued...
Those days in Woodstock for me, from ’70 to ’71, were actually quite rough, especially being so young. I mean, I didn’t even drive yet (real city kid), so, I always depended on hitchhiking and friends to take me everywhere, which got old fast. Still, the recognition was really starting to take hold, and it seemed as if every good thing I did led to yet another. One good show, next day a phone call…….it was amazing how this all started to fit together.
I can remember in my earliest days of Woodstock, I was still going to school at the Philadelphia College of Art, and me and my band, who were living with me at the time, would take weekend trips up to Woodstock, to investigate the scene, and to hopefully be heard.
We heard about this club called the Sled Hill Café, which was kind of a “dive”, but a lot of great groups would play there, and folks like Paul Butterfield, who I really wanted to impress, would sit and drink at the bar. We came in and sure enough, there was a band called “Bang” playing, featuring the great Buzzy Feiten on guitar, who had been playing with Butterfield at the tender age of 18. When they took a break between sets, I went up to him, and boldly asked if my band, Steel, could actually sit in and play their instruments, doing a couple of songs. Buzzy said “sure..just be careful!” So, we launched into 3 of our best numbers, got a great hand, and then that seemed to be it. I did notice Butterfield say to his barstool neighbor, “hey, did get a listen to this kid?”, which was worth it all to me right there!
Needless to say, all three of us left feeling a little dejected, because it seemed that the club owner paid it no mind, and we’d never hear from him again. So, a few weeks passed, and our depressions soon turned back to optimism again, so we figured we’d give the old Sled Hill another shot this time, armed with a demo tape. As soon as we walked in the door, there was the owner, and he started screaming “oh my god! Steel! I’ve been trying to figure out how to get a hold of you ever since that last time you played here! Everyone loved you! Just shows……..you gotta keep trying…………
Arlen Roth
Woodstock At Its Peak!
Making your way into the music business
It’s too easy these days to get all wrapped up in the private world of computers and home recording and other clandestine activities, and to shut out the real world of “playing out.” It’s also so important to continually help to support live music, so that musicians are always encouraged to play out, even if the money is not so good.
I know that my biggest shock was the first time I ever actually got PAID for a performance! I was only 11 years old, and was playing at a hospital for young patients. At the end of it all, I received $10, and was the most shocked person in the place! “What? You mean I actually get paid for playing music?!” Didn’t seem to make sense, since the only reason I played the guitar was because something in my soul made it “all consuming” to me … something that I “had” to do!
That is why I have never left that path I set out upon when I was 10 years old … to simply play for the love of it, and to keep on improving every day. I can remember sitting on the bus, coming home from school, waiting to once again be reunited with my guitar … and every day, when I’d do this, I would dream of licks in my head, and be so anxious to get home and to try them out! I actually, at this time, had made a pact with myself that every time I got home, or picked up my guitar in general, I would have to come up with something new!
Hello everyone!
Hello everyone, and I first want to thank all of you for the wonderful and positive reactions I’ve been getting for my Gibson lessons! It seemed like a good and natural next step to start writing a blog that you could all keep track of, and where I could further get my ideas and thoughts across to you.
Going Solo Acoustic vs. Electric Band
I have two solo acoustic cds coming out this year, one is all-Simon and Garfunkel tunes, and the other, all-Bob Dylan. I have also released a solo acoustic cd in the past, “Drive it Home”, a very personal record that is dedicated to the memory of my wife Deborah, and my daughter Gillian, whom I both lost in a car accident in 1998.
The obviously deep and personal reason for this album made it a perfect candidate for the solo acoustic route, especially since many of the musical pieces were things that I improvised “on the spot”, as I felt them. It basically felt like I was channeling through the guitar, and that it was speaking a very singular, true voice for me.
The voice I have when I play electrically in front of a band, is also deeply personal and improvisational in nature, but I have found recently that the solo acoustic guitar, alone and naked on the stage as well as the studio, is an incredibly expressive and freeing tool to have.
I know there are many big established artists who can now be found playing and touring in this way, and though even some of that is due to the sheer economic difficulty of touring with a band, I’m sure that many of these performers are finding a similar rewarding sense like I have found in this medium.
Not to say that it isn’t fraught with danger too! I mean, it’s quite humbling to have to walk out in front of a thousand folks like I did a few months back, all just with my Gibson J 185 around my shoulder, ready to do my thing, when I was used to having a whole band behind me! Yet, it was simultaneously freeing as well as scary, because I knew I could count on myself. And when it really became apparent that the audience was with me, that REALLY opened the door to my happiness and freedom! It actually got to the point where you realize that the entire auditorium is your instrument, and that you are controlling the sound, space and even the time that is going on in there…..what a feeling when you play a strong groove, and you suddenly stop, to find that the audience is still clapping in time so well, you can use them as your backing percussionists to solo over!
After I went off the stage, to a thunderous standing ovation, I noticed the audience’s grave disappointment when the next act, the headliner, came out and only sang to instrumental tracks that were pre-recorded onto a rack-mounted unit of some kind! Needless to say, some folks even started to walk out! No wonder I was called to do the gig just the night before…..guess they needed the real, human thing up there, creating REAL music, with real feeling! Keep this in mind the next time YOU have to bare your soul out there, especially when it’s on one acoustic guitar! You CAN do it, and you don’t ALWAYS need a band…you ARE the band!
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