In preparation for the upcoming 80s Invasion gigs I’ve been spending about 2 hours each day practicing my guitar parts. Yesterday I watched the Seahawks game on television with a guitar on my lap, playing scales and arpeggios during the entire game. It’s amazing to me that after all these years of playing the guitar, I never get tired of just holding the instrument and noodling around on it. Apparently I was wired for this… guitar is my drug.
I play guitar reasonably well. I know my music theory, can transcribe and play from recordings, and improvise convincingly in a number of styles. It’s not enough to be good. I want to claw my way up the mountain into that marble temple where the gods dwell.
Back when I first began to play guitar, I took it seriously and had a strong drive to be good at it. I had a good guitar teacher who helped me learn the fundamentals of music theory. By the time I graduated from high school, I had developed a decent command of the instrument and started to play professionally.
Since then I’ve progressed to the point where I’m comfortable enough on the instrument to play almost anything. So, how does one get from “good” to “insanely good”? It’s a challenge I’ve been facing for a number of years. I’ve had glimpses of guitar valhalla; many time on stage the clouds have parted and I’ve been in the zone. But the players who dwell there at all times… those guys are guitar deities. Frisell. McLaughlin. Belew. Fripp. Vaughan. Page. Hendrix. Kimock. Jorgensen. Torn. Buckethead. Gatton. Williams.
It’s analagous to being an amateur athlete; there is “good” and there is “olympics good”.
Seems like a big chasm to cross. It will take a massive investment of time to get there. Maybe more time than I have. Either way, the climb is worthwhile for its own sake.
For decades, I have had a policy of changing my guitar strings after every show. During the most active playing years of Jumbalassy, this meant restringing more than 100 times per year! The benefit is that the string tone is always very clean with clear harmonics. I’m not playing nearly so many gigs these days, but after the 80s Invasion workout last weekend I really needed to get to some deferred maintenance on a few instruments.
On Saturday I set up my tools and got to work. Two of my primary workhorse guitars were both in need of new strings and a fretboard cleaning, and I managed to get all of this work completed in about an hour while watching the Mariners game.
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With four days until the gig, I’ve gotten my notes onto a spreadsheet with little outlines of chord structures and solos. This is my study material and forms the basis of what I’ll need to memorize for the show. I’m especially enjoying working out the solos:
- Addicted To Love (Robert Palmer) – The solo is really a blues form after the second chorus, but the guitar tone here is monstrous. No surprise here… it’s Andy Taylor, guitarist of Duran Duran and of Power Station. I have always loved his sound and am delighted to be playing this one.
- Don’t Stop Believin’ (Journey) – Neil Schon is a great guitarist. His rhythm parts are a study in guitar goodness. The solo in this song isn’t particularly challenging (mostly just E major) but it really propels the song.
- Let’s Dance (David Bowie) – The classic Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar licks are pretty easy to recreate. His solo is basically a Bb blues.
- Kiss On My List (Hall and Oates) – It’s easy to overlook this one. The guitar solo in this song sits over a simplied version of the chorus, mostly outlining a C and Bb structure.
- Rebel Yell (Billy Idol) – Steve Stevens is amazing. In “Vital Idol” I spent a tremendous amount of time painstakingly transcribing his layered parts and solos to recreate his playing. This is a classic example of his virtuosity.
I’m looking forward to this show. There are a number of elements that I still need to nail down, including the final tone programming on my new preamp… good thing I have a few nights left for final tech preparation. It’s a little unnerving to head into a three hour gig without a rehearsal but I have a lot of confidence in the other band members and I’m sure we’ll all be ready.
Yesterday was Brad’s wedding, for which I was asked to play classical guitar and to provide accompaniment for a song during the wedding. For the pre-ceremony classical segment I used my trusty Garcia classical guitar, which was built in Spain sometime during the 1950s. It’s a a lovely instrument and has aged beautifully, yielding a very warm resonant tone. I wasn’t certain what or when to play, so I spent a few days poring over my books to select 30 minutes of material that would be appropriate for the setting. What I hadn’t counted on was playing outdoors with the occasional wind gust, so there were some moments when my music flew off the stand and I had to do my best to either (1) remember the rest of the arrangement or (2) improvise in the same style and key as convincingly as possible. It only happened a few times and I managed to plod along until I could find a moment to rearrange my music stand. Nobody made any “icky” faces at me, so I’m thinking I might have pulled it off 🙂
For the ceremony I was asked to accompany a singer, performing “Beloved One” by Ben Harper. The recorded version of the song is slow and rubato with only a very loose sense of meter. It works fine if you happen to be playing and singing the song yourself, but it’s a little challenging when two people are attempting to stay together on it. I made a slight rearrangement to the rhythmic structure to provide a framework for our performance. For this one I used my Epiphone 12 string, which is a great sounding instrument that I’ve used on at least a dozen recording sessions. The vocalist and I had a chance to rehearse the song before the ceremony. During the reahearsal, she sang quietly but seemed well in tune and ready to perform. During the ceremony she sang with projection and greater volume; her voice was beautiful and I really enjoyed accompanying her.
The ceremony was brief and very personal. I was moved by the honesty and beauty of the vows they had written for each other. And it’s always wonderful to be present for the wedding of close friends. I’m delighted for them both and honored they asked me to be a part of their day.
