On Blues, Greg Koch reaches the outskirts of infinity with an album that showcases his wicked guitar skills and love for Muddy Waters. Flying V blues master Larry McCray drops by with the Memphis Horns, and the result is a passionate pentatonic party with soul and fireworks.
How did this album come about?
Devon Allman had an idea of doing a compilation record to raise money for a higher-budget record with special guests. So we decided to do a compilation because I have 20-plus records. My stuff is all over the map, but when people come to the merch table they always ask, “What’s the bluesiest record you have?” So we culled all the blues tunes from my catalog. I also found some unreleased Muddy Waters tunes I recorded; I had “Can’t Be Satisfied” in the can.
We brought in Larry McCray as a guest. We constructed a duet where we switched off verses, adding his guitar and vocals. It turned out awesome. I also had “Can’t Lose What You Never Had.” It was a very cool arrangement, but I didn’t like my vocals. They said, “Why don’t you have Jimmy Hall sing on it, and the Memphis Horns play on it?” I said, “That sounds great!” The Memphis Horns kicked ass! So, the album is a retrospective but also includes a couple of new tracks. We also had an additional live track called “Don’t Change Horses” with Malford Milligan singing.
You can’t tell it’s older material.
“Red House” goes back to 1995 or ’96 in this club in beautiful Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Originally, it was on a record called Double the Gristle. It was half live, half studio double CD I did back in the day. “Steppin’ Out” was from that collection. It’s weird, listening to that stuff after all these years. Every time I record something new, I’m so hyper-focused on getting that thing done and you hear every mistake. You wish you would have gone back and fixed it. Then you never want to hear it again, but by the time it comes out, that’s when you really have to go to work to promote it.
Does listening to those recordings give you gear flashbacks?
When I listen to “Red House” and “Steppin’ Out,” I remember using a Deluxe Reverb and a Vibrolux Custom Reverb, which came out in ’95. When we started mixing, we got rid of the Deluxe Reverb channel because it didn’t sound right. So it’s basically the Vibrolux. I was also using a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 – the one with the sliver casing and the sticker on it. That’s how old it was.
Your signature Gristlemaster guitar by Reverend sounds like a blank canvas. Whoever plays it will get back exactly what they put into it.
Absolutely. That guitar puts it all in your hands. When I first got that, I plugged straight into an amp. When I was playing with my trio and a B3, I didn’t need to add gadgetry, because that whole pallet was being taken care of on the other side of the stage. I just wanted a pure guitar tone. I liked the idea of having pristine cleans, a slightly meatier clean, and then off to gristle land. That’s what I aim for with all these signature guitars.
I wanted a guitar where you can go straight into an amp, turn it up, and everything is in your grubby little mitts. Or you can flavor it with different pedals. All that stuff was created with the mindset of having the most possible control coming from your hands with just a cord and an amp.
What amps are working for you on the road?
I’m using Tone King amps. They sent me a Royalist, and I realized that’s where I needed to live (laughs). I played Fender amps, but whenever I played through Marshalls, I always felt I was set free. All my idols played Marshalls. The Royalist is basically like a mini-Marshall that’s built to annihilate. It’s got an attenuator, and I use it like a JTM 45 with the 1964 setting. I’ve messed around with the attenuator, but when I’m live on the road, I’ve been using it with the attenuator off and adjust the Volume where I need it, and push it over the edge with my pedals.
What’s next?
I’m having a blast doing what I’m doing. I’m gonna keep on recording and releasing music. This particular band aggregation is an incendiary unit. It’s the best vehicle I have ever had to do my stuff. I want to get out and turn as many people on to what I’m doing. It’s fun to travel around and play the music you’ve always wanted to play. So, we’re just going to keep on doing that. – Oscar Jordan
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
