On The Good Fight, guitarist Allen Hinds finds the sweet spot between melodic fusion and good, earthy music for the soul. Joined by a stellar rhythm section, Hinds is a black-belt legato master and slide stylist with an ear for excitement. Strong songs prevail, but his influences go much deeper than your run-of-the-mill jazz guitarist.
The Good Fight mirrors all the things you do so well.
I just got a nice e-mail from Mike Stern. He told me how much he loved the record. It’s life-affirming to have someone of that stature take the time to listen to your music. There are good performances on the record, and the mix is great.
You have great players…
Bassist Travis Carlton and drummer Donald Barrett sound great. Pat Bergeson, who played chromatic harmonica, sounded pretty badass on “Webster’s Lake.”
What runs through your mind when you’re composing?
I kind of flow and try to get out whatever feelings I’m having in a song. I finish the project and see if it makes sense. I still have something to offer in the guitar world that may not have gotten enough attention; I came up after Scott Henderson and Frank Gambale, so I’m in that vein, but my stuff is more-grassroots and appeals to more than just guitarists. If it can push an emotion and people remember it twenty years from now, that’s what I go for.
I write like a pop songwriter. I don’t write fusion with lots of complicated chord changes. I have pop formats in my writing because that’s what I grew up with – listening to The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and James Taylor. I come from a pop background, more so than jazz. I like harmony and things that change and surprise. My goal is to keep stuff flowing.
Parts of the album sound like Americana-prog-fusion.
People think I’m a fusion guy who listens to Holdsworth and Coltrane 24 hours a day. The stuff I put on for pleasure is old Chris Whitley or Jeff Buckley, and Joni Mitchell. I like songs. Little Feat was one of my favorite bands when Lowell George was alive.
Speaking of Lowell George, you have a lot of slide on the album.
I grew up in Alabama, where all the slide comes from. If I’m not playing slide on the record, I’m playing a part behind myself in an open tuning. I’m no Sonny Landreth or Blake Mills, but when I got out of high school, everyone had to play some Duane Allman. I was never into the open-tuning thing because I only had one guitar and my action is super low because of the legato. I find myself writing with slide because it’s so emotive. Using the right notes in the right place can sound like a great singer.
I’ve always loved pedal steel and acoustic guitar. I’m a big fan of guitarist John Leventhal, and I would rather do a gig like his, backing Shawn Colvin, than some hard-fusion gig. Having said that, I like playing tunes where it’s a good jigsaw puzzle to figure out. Like soloing over “Giant Steps.” When I went to the Musicians Institute, I went from the Duane Allman, Little Feat stage, to Robben Ford and Allan Holdsworth. I loved the sound and excitement of Holdsworth’s legato style. Harmonically, I was listening to pop from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s.
Your legato technique brings guitar nerds to the party.
When I go to Japan, they have five cameras on my fingers trying to figure out what I’m doing (laughs). It wasn’t something I planned. You make up for what you can’t do, which becomes your style. In my head, I wanted to be like Steve Morse. When I was growing up, he lived 50 miles away and I saw the Dixie Dregs all the time back when Steve was just burnin’.
Xotic Guitars built a signature guitar for you.
The guitar I compare everything to is my ’52 Esquire. Xotic measured it with calipers and computers and re-did it. It’s as close as you can get. They also made a Strat copy for me with two single-coils, a humbucker in the bridge, and a maple neck. Their pedals are really good, too.
Do you have a favorite amp?
When I need a defined, overdriven solo, I use the Red Plate BlackLine. It has EL-34s and a Marshall-y overdrive channel. It sounds like a really nice overdriven Eric Johnson Marshall.
What’s next?
I have a new lesson book, Modern Blues Slide Guitar, add I’m writing new music – and playing a lot of tennis. – Oscar Jordan
This article originally appeared in VG’s March 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
