Year: 2014

When Zakk Wylde was asked to record a new DVD/CD package, he decided to give his Black Label Society fans something different – Unblackened, a live acoustic/electric performance featuring Wylde on guitar and piano, with BLS bandmates bassist John Deservio, guitarist Nick Catanese, drummer Chad Szeliga, keyboardist Derek Sherinian, and vocalist Greg Locascio. The package also includes some cool extras.

How did Unblackened come together?
I didn’t want to put out another heavy one with the same stuff we’ve already done. The Black Label Berzerker Nation was always asking if we were ever going to do any of the mellow tunes on the records that never see the light of day. It was the natural progression of the band to do something like this. And personally, as much as I love listening to heavy stuff, I love all the mellow stuff, like the Eagles, Neil Young, and Elton John. So it was great to do this.

The show was recorded in March at Club Nokia in L.A. We rehearsed for 10 days and we were originally going to play with a string section, but once we started working with them, it didn’t go as planned. We figured we’d bring them in and we’ll rehearse with them for two days. These are union musicians, so it’s not like you’re hiring a bunch of guys who will be there for two days and rehearse for 10 hours a day. They rehearse for two hours, then they have to go. But they also need a break in-between to sit down and have coffee. I guess they’re used to playing weddings. When they started playing with us, it was such a train wreck of Hindenburg/Titanic-esque proportions! It was hysterical! They offered to stay an extra hour because they really wanted to do it. We could have rehearsed for the next two and a half months, and it was still going to sound like s**t! We called it a day. That’s when we looked over at Father Sherinian to cover all the string bits.

We included six additional songs on the CD because we had recorded “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Song For You,” and a bunch of others that turned out the way they’re supposed to be done with strings, so we put them on.

Now, between our normal tours and doing the regular shows, we’re going to do an Unblackened run. We’ve toured three years straight doing the regular show and the Unblackened thing is completely different, so it’s gonna be awesome!

Tell us about the assortment of gear you used for the show.
I used my Gibson stuff – the EDS-1275, the Flying V, which has a Floyd Rose and a Steinberger kickstand so I can sit and play it like I’m playing a Les Paul, and I used my Pelham Blue Les Paul, the maple Vertigo Les Paul, and I broke out the Rebel. I haven’t retired her. I still record with her, but I don’t bring her on the road anymore. I also used the pinstripe ZV. For the acoustic stuff, I used a Chet Atkins steel and a Chet Atkins nylon-string.

I’m playing through my signature Marshall JCM800s, which are [model] 2203 100-watt tops with 6550s. For the clean sounds, I’m using a Roland Jazz Chorus and just turning the Volume down on my guitar when I play through the JCM800s. That way, you just turn the guitar’s Volume up and you have distortion.

For effects, I use all my signature Dunlop pedals. I run my guitar into the wah pedal, then into the Rotovibe, phase, distortion, then run the stereo chorus outputs to both amps.

What inspires you as a player and as a songwriter?
I still listen to the stuff I’ve loved since I was 14 and started playing. When I hear Randy Rhoads, I have great memories from when I first started learning that are attached to those records. Then, obviously, there’s Eddie Van Halen. But I really get inspired when I listen to Frank Marino. I’m just awestruck. Then John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola, Paco De Lucia, Allan Holdswoth, Joe Pass, and a lot of the country pickers, as well. I just listened to a mess of Albert Lee. It’s just mind-blowing stuff! Of course, Jimmy Page – not just for the guitar playing, but the writing and producing. Then Tony Iommi for his songwriting and guitar tone.

What do you consider the standout tracks of your recorded work?
For the Black Label stuff, I’d have to go with “Stillborn,” and from the last album, I really dig “Crazy Horse.” That one’s really cool. I thought “Darkest Days” came out really well as far as the production. With Ozzy, “Mama, I’m Comin’ Home” and “No More Tears.”

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This article originally appeared in VG December 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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In December, 1968, Mike Bloomfield asked Johnny Winter to perform at the Fillmore East in New York at a Super Session jam with Al Kooper.

That night, Winter played B.B. King’s “It’s My Own Fault” and blew away the audience. Reps from Columbia were in attendance, and Winter was signed to the biggest advance in the history of the recording industry.

His wicked slide playing and Texas sizzle influenced a generation of guitarists and made him arguably the best white blues guitarist of his generation. His devotion to the blues led him to produce his childhood idol Muddy Waters. The result was the best selling albums Hard Again, I’m Ready, and King Bee, the financial high point of Waters’ career.

Despite his success, Winter wrestled with drug and alcohol addiction and unscrupulous management. For years, he lived in a fog of drugs and deceit, and paid dearly for it. While working on his Grammy-nominated I’m A Bluesman album, he met guitarist Paul Nelson, who contributed material to the album and played guitar. Nelson then became Winter’s touring guitarist and, eventually, his manager. Nelson has recorded and performed with some of the biggest names in the music industry ,and brings a wealth of savvy to the table. He is responsible for redirecting Winter’s career, but more importantly, he was successful in helping Winter kick a 40-year dependence on methadone. We recently spoke with both of them.

Johnny, how are you feeling?

Johnny Winter: Good. I quit drinking, quit taking drugs.

How hard was that?

JW: It wasn’t hard at all because Paul didn’t tell me he was doing it (laughs!)

Paul Nelson: I was shaving off his methadone. I knew it had to go.

JW: I’d never done it if I’d known. I was terrified of stopping.

PN: I saw it taking its toll and I knew how headstrong he was. I knew if his mind knew what was going on, he would refuse it.

JW: I didn’t think I could stop. I didn’t think there was any possible way.

PN: His addiction to music was stronger than any drug. The music got him out of it. He’s communicating again with people, which he wasn’t doing through the ’90s when he was on all that stuff. His addiction to music has made him the greatest guitar player, and made him see that if anything messes with his music, he’ll stop it.

JW: He’s never made one mistake the whole time he’s been managing me.

Do you have arguments?

JW: All the time (laughs)!

PN: Yeah, because you’re human, you have input, there’s emotion. Methadone turns you into cream corn. It wasn’t just me taking him off the methadone. He got off drinking and stopped smoking cigarettes.

JW: I didn’t know how much it was hurting me until I got off of it.

Tell us about the new record?

JW: It’s called Roots. It’s all old stuff that I grew up loving that influenced me when I was first starting to play. We’re doing “Maybellene” by Chuck Berry, “Come Back Baby” by Ray Charles, “Further On Up The Road” by Bobby Blue Bland, “T-Bone Shuffle” by T-Bone Walker…

Paul, what’s the biggest impact he’s had on your playing?

PN: Having him tell me what to go back and listen to, to perfect my playing. Figuring out what made him tick made me tick; like the “Okie Dokie Stomp.” In his time, if you didn’t know that song, you were nothing.

Johnny, who do you listen to, to stay on top of your game?

JW: Muddy was a big influence – the best blues guy that’s ever been. He put so much emotion into it.

What kind of gear are you using?

JW: An old Music Man combo amp with four 10s, a ’64 Gibson Firebird for slide, my Lazer, and a Boss Chorus pedal. That amp is loud as hell! I’ve had it since the ’70s. When I was playing with Muddy, Bob Margolin had one. I tried his and loved it, so I got one. This is around ’77 or ’78. I set it up all treble, no middle, and no bass. I turn it all the way up.

What kind of slide do you use?

JW: My original was made out of a cymbal stand. Dunlop reproduced it and put out what they call The Texas Slider.

You’ve been doing this a long time. What keeps you inspired and motivated?

JW: I love playing for people. I like playing for people more than I do recording. I like getting that energy back from people. If you don’t get it, you don’t play as good. – Oscar Jordan

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This article originally appeared in VG September 2011 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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I want to bring The Soul Of John Black a little bit closer to the root – me singing and playing acoustic guitar, and a couple of girls singing like the Staple Singers,” explains John Bigham. “I want to break it down and get to the joyful noise.”

Bigham’s act, The Soul Of John Black, continues his soulful excursions mixing jazz, R&B, and gutbucket blues. A Sunshine State Of Mind is his current release, and its DIY philosophy continues to push his art forward as the Miles Davis alum channels iconic soul stylists, funk pioneers, and rock pastiches with inspiring results.

What went into putting together A Sunshine State Of Mind?
Since I was staying in L.A., I made the record about being in L.A. My wife talked me into writing happier songs, so that was part of the process (laughs)! So, the songs were obvious, like “Beautiful Day” and “Summertime Thang.” It just started building.

You do a great job with early-’60s R&B and blending it with blues.
When I end up doing songs about myself, I try to take it back to Lightnin’ Hopkins or John Lee Hooker. I want to be able to sit and play it by myself. I want that old blues sound, so I’m rough with it. I want the guitar to ring.

When you sing, are you thinking about Al Green or Bobby Womack?
It’s natural because that’s part of me. I’ve always gravitated toward that stuff. When I sing, I try to be like those guys. When you hear Bobby Womack, you hear his family’s church thing, Sam Cooke’s thing, almost getting shot, and the turmoil of his life. When you hear him sing, “La-de-da-de-da,” you hear his whole life in that sound. I have to sing with a lot more force than I want because I’m just not there yet.

The album has great vocals.
I’m working on it. I didn’t think I was ever going to sing. It was out of necessity when I was with Fishbone. One of the guys left and they needed somebody to sing background.

You came to singing pretty late.
I sang on a couple of my demos [but] I couldn’t do it well, and people told me I needed to get it together (laughs). I just started doing it until it got better. At first it was really hard.

When Frank Sinatra passed away there was a lot of stuff about him. One of his musical directors was talking about his vocal range. He was like, “Sinatra never goes past middle C.” That opened up a new world for me. I didn’t know you could do that. I thought you just had to be able to sing (laughs)!

I hear Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers…
Thank you. There’s some P-Funk in there too. I like that raw gritty sound. Another person I like is Larry Graham. I wanted to do the Larry Graham thing when he did Graham Central Station. I also love Eddie Kendricks and Philip Bailey. I do all the falsettos on the new record.

Where do you come from as a guitarist?
I come from Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Sly Stone, The Rolling Stones, and a lot of weirdness in the jazz-fusion zone. I started with rock and when the fusion stuff came a long, I started listening to that. For me the R&B stuff was there in the house. From James Brown to Wilson Pickett to Nancy Wilson. Growing up in a black neighborhood, I’m hearing that all day. I didn’t feel like I needed to sit down and listen to that. If you’re a rock guy and you’re a teenager, everybody’s going to ask, “Can you play like Ernie Isley?” It was all right there. Sly Stone was ingrained in me already. I knew those songs by heart.

What guitars are you playing these days?
My number one guitar is a Fender ’62 reissue Telecaster, and I have a ’50s Stella for slide. I love that guitar – it sounds like a resonator, like it’s in a giant room. For amps, I have a Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue. I just got a Fender Champ that sounds great. I also have an Amp Eleven and a Gen 5 Echo by Love Pedal, and a Sparkle Drive that’s on almost all the time. I have a gold Dunlop 535Q wah that is cool as hell.

What’s next?
I’m trying to do something I never did before, which is take the time to go out by myself and play the music first, then play nine or 10 festivals with my band. I’m just trying to set my own path where I’m not gone forever. I want to see my daughter grow up.

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This article originally appeared in VG December 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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