Frank Gambale has had an amazing career playing the music he loves. From being the go-to guy for sweep-picking, and later replacing Al DiMeola in Return To Forever, Gambale drops jaws wherever he goes, and whether playing straight jazz, instrumental rock, or contemporary fusion, he plays from the heart and head.
Gambale’s current project is a collaboration with singer Boca, who just so happens to be his wife. It’s called Soulmine, and it’s a vocal record bridging the sounds of pop, funk, smooth jazz, and spiritual music. It’s a return to Gambale’s vocal roots and the romance that can blossom with the collaboration of two accomplished artists.
What’s it like to write an album with your wife?
It was incredible. She’s a real inspiration to me in a lot of ways. She’s a huge talent. She had a record out before I met her, and when she first played it for me, I was like, “Wow, that’s really good!” She’s got an amazing voice.
I’ve always done vocal tunes on my records, but for this one I wanted to do a record where it’s all vocals. I love vocal music. I was waiting for the right voice to come along. When I heard hers, I thought, “We really have to do something together.”
It was a wonderful collaboration. We wrote 10 songs together and we’re already starting to plan the next one. We’re just enjoying the process. I won’t say it wasn’t without a few tussles, but we’re both very passionate about music. The end result was what was important.
It’s a positive, uplifting record with a strong sense of spirituality.
She writes incredible lyrics with beautiful, positive messages. It’s really a romantic record. Generally, I would give her a song with a melody and she would write the lyric to it, but we both did a lot of arranging together. We spliced and diced it until it was what we wanted.
Even though it’s a vocal record, the guitar playing is distinctly you.
Boca isn’t a regular singer, because she’s a musician. She has played piano since she was seven, so she’s okay with the guitar weaving in and out of the voice like that. I really like it because in most of the tunes, it’s like a dialogue between the guitar and voice.
It worked well on “Forbidden Kiss.”
I like that approach, and it really keeps the guitar in the forefront. I’ve always liked that style of guitar filling in and around the voice. Some singers are afraid of that, or feel that it gets in the way, but I just love the way it sounds.
Is this a Gambale crossover record?
I don’t think of it as crossover, though that’s fine. I’ve always liked this kind of music. In my car you’ll hear me listening to everything from Earth, Wind & Fire to Steely Dan, Sting, George Benson, as well as Chick Corea, John Coltrane, The Eagles, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. I’ve lived it all. Back in Australia, I was in vocal groups. I was even one of the singers.
My path went a little differently when I came to the States; I got really headlong into guitar and went down that fusion path. But this other stuff has been such a desire for a long time to finally do it like this. So, yes, I guess it can be seen as a crossover record. I love vocal music and I like groove. I always thought of my instrumental music as vocal tunes. It’s just that the guitar was there instead of the voice.
Your instrumental work has always stressed a lot of melody.
Melody is very important to me. I don’t want to be esoteric; I always like to consider the audience and what the people want to hear, especially on this one. We spent a lot of hours crafting this one.
Your Carvin FG1 signature model has a great presence on the record.
I’m very happy with it. I think it’s about as great as you can make a guitar. The main difference between the FG1 and my other signature models is that it’s a semi-hollow. I wanted a guitar I could string with flatwounds and get a great jazz tone from, then put .009-gauge strings on it and play blues, rock, and R&B as well. It’s kind of along the lines of a mini 335, but I would say it’s more refined. On the front pickup, we spent quite a while finding the right number of windings to get it to be a little bit less muddy. Sometimes, those front pickups on a hollowbody can sound kind of muddy, especially with distortion. So we wound it a little bit lighter. It’s a beautiful-sounding pickup.
What kind of amplification are you using?
These days, I’ve been developing a line of amplifiers with a company called DV Mark. We designed a 1×12 combo, which is a hybrid of a tube preamp and solidstate power. I’ve always loved tube preamps, so I’ve always bought them as separate items. What’s great is that this little combo has both. It sounds great, and they make their own speakers. It’s extremely light.
What effects are you using live?
I use a MIDI pedal and a volume pedal, mostly, and I’ve been using the TC Electronics G-Force for a long time. I’m hoping to be able to just use the DV Mark amp head for everything.
Any chance you’ll be returning to some of your group projects like Vital Information or Gambale, Hamm & Smith?
I’m really on this other track right now and into playing my own music. That’s not to say it wouldn’t happen, as I’m always open to suggestion. But this year, I’m focusing on Soulmine.
This article originally appeared in VG June 2012 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Fender American Vintage Series
Price: $2,400 retail/$1,999.99 street (’52 Telecaster); $2,874 retail/$2,299.99 street (’59 Stratocaster); $2,874 retail/$2,299 street (’65 Jazzmaster and ’56 Stratocaster)
Contact: www.fender.com
When it introduced the American Vintage reissue guitars (one Telecaster, two Strats) in 1982, Fender put itself back the game among serious players. In the three decades since, the series has grown and become ever more accurate, implementing more period-correct tweaks on various models while for the most part leaving the true vintage re-creations to its Custom Shop.
Fender recently expanded the series with eight new models – three Teles, three Strats, a Jaguar, and Jazzmaster – and ramped up their attention to detail on everything from the finish and neck shapes to the pickups and hardware. Even the cases were refined. We opted to once-over the ’52 Telecaster, ’56 Stratocaster, ’59 Stratocaster, and ’65 Jazzmaster using three amps all running through a 12″ Celestion speaker – a Fender Blues Deluxe combo (with 6L6 output tubes), an 18-watt/6V6 combo, and an 18-watt/EL84 head with an extension cab.
Fit and finish on all four instruments was excellent; neck joints were tight-fitting, finishes were clear and flaw-free, fret work was meticulous, and each was properly setup and adjusted. Even the action on the vintage-correct 7.25″-radius fretboards played well, with no buzzing. Fretboard edges were nicely rolled.
Among the especially notable aspects of the series are an all-lacquer finish – no poly undercoat, just three thin coats of Fender’s new Flash Coat process – and a return to bone nuts rather than composite. The finish not only feels more vintage-authentic, but it allows the body to resonate more freely.
The ’52 Tele is the lone guitar to make the transition from the old series (in fact, it was there from the beginning of Fender’s reissues back in ’82). Our tester had a spot-on butterscotch color and a less-pronounced V profile, period-specific cast jack cup, switch tip, and pickups that were punchy, with ample twang, a lot of overtones, and snap that was kind to the ears. With a touch of overdrive from the amp, the bridge pickup produced a slightly aggressive, surprisingly thick-and-gritty tone along with excellent sustain (without having to pile on a bunch of amp gain). The overall clarity and balance between the bridge and neck pickups was excellent – much better than previous ’52 reissue Teles. The neck pickup’s strong output and thicker tone produced a fatter middle-position sound with tons of jangle.
The ’65 Jazzmaster was dressed with an Aztec Gold finish, bound rosewood fretboard with large pearl dot inlays, era-correct white witch-hat knobs, new pickups, and a reworked fine-tune vibrato. With the reverb on the Deluxe just about dimed, it offered killer surf tone, with punchy low-end, round, smooth mids, and just enough high-end snap to maintain good note-to note-clarity. The Jazzmaster’s liquid-smooth vibrato and big sound, excellent for chording and single-note melody lines, made it a favorite in the 60s, and this version holds true to form.
Our tester ’56 Strat had a lightweight alder body with two-tone sunburst finish, one-piece maple neck with a soft V profile, era-correct knobs with a steeper slope to the skirt, era-correct bent steel saddles embossed with “Fender Patent Pend.,” and pickups that produced a pallet of classic Strat tones – throaty and round at the neck, punchy and spanky in the middle, and bright, twangy, and raw at the bridge. The combination of the bent steel saddles, bone nut, alder body, and thin finish helped the ’56 Strat really ring. Its modern five-way pickup selector is wired to produce out-of-phase sounds, but among the case candy is a vintage style three-way ready to please purists.
Our ’59 Strat was finished in a ultra-cool faded Sonic Blue with a mint green pickguard and aged plastic parts. Its neck had a classic slim-C profile with slab rosewood fretboard, and its pickups were a bit hotter, with more midrange than the ’56 Strat. In positions two and four, the ’59 produced a thicker overdrive sound and rounder low-end (for more on the nuances uncovered by Fender, see “Classics Redefined” in the “First Fret” section of this issue). In fact, pickups in all four guitars had an aged sound – mellowed a bit, like vintage pickups, but still clear and snappy like you expect from Fender pickups, without being harsh or shrill. It’s a more-authentic sound Fender created after it reverse-engineered several vintage pickups and discovered that using a slightly smaller-diameter wire imitates the over-stretching of wire common in the vintage era.
The G&G cases used with the series have also been given a period-correct update. They’re generally 1/4″ thinner, with more-rounded edges; the ’52 Tele and ’56 Strat are in tweed cases with orange lining, while the ’59 Strat has brown tolex case with yellow lining, and the ’65 Jazzmaster is in black tolex with amp logo attached and orange lining. Case candy is also improved, with a black leather strap, bridge covers, extra strings, and gray instrument cables, period-specific polishing cloth in a waxed-paper envelope, manual, and paperwork.
Fender’s new American Vintage models are outstanding examples of classic American craftsmanship and design; they not only play and sound great, they’re loaded with vintage vibe. It’s easy to appreciate the research, time, and sweat that went into the creation of these instruments. The challenge lies in not flat-out gushing over them!
This article originally appeared in VG December 2012 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
As a rule of thumb, practice amps are a compromise. Blissfully portable, they typically lack tone and features. Yet whether in a bedroom or hotel room, a practice amp should help inspire an artist by making practice more pleasure than chore. Yamaha’s THR10 is a definite step in the right direction.
On its surface, the THR10’s small footprint gives the impression of a typical lunchbox-style amp. But don’t be fooled. A 10-watt (five watts in each channel) feature-packed combo, it runs on eight AA batteries or the included AC adaptor, and its control layout includes a tap tempo/tuner feature, five presets, a rotary control for selecting among its eight amp models, a Gain control, master Volume, three-band Tone control, Effects selector, Reverb/Delay control, and individual controls for the guitar Volume and the USB/aux inputs. Its sound is relayed via two onboard speakers.
The amp’s modeling section, as well as its effects section, employ Yamaha’s VCM technologies similar to that used in their high-end digital mixers and effects. The amp simulations include Clean (classic 6L6 circuit), Crunch (American Class A), Lead (British Class A), Brit Hi (British high-gain), Modern (6L6 high-gain), Bass, ACO (acoustic/electric), and Flat (good for instruments other than guitar). Connections include a standard 1/4″ input, 1/8″ TRS aux input, 1/4″ headphone jack, and a USB jack that links the amp to a computer or iPad, where the user can edit its onboard effects, save them as presets, and record to the computer/tablet’s hard drive using the included Cubase LE software.
Powering up, the THR10 welcomes the user with a warm, simulated tube glow behind its metal grille, courtesy of a few amber LEDs. Plugging in, its modeling circuitry renders reasonably realistic tube tones, all with a touch-sensitive feel that responds to pick/finger attack while producing overtones and a warm overall sound. This little amp’s combination of well-designed drivers and ports helps it produce a surprising degree of low-end response and very accurate midrange – not at all boxy-sounding like so many small amps. Each model has its own tone and voicing, accurate to its namesake, which allows dialing in a variety of sounds from county chicken pickin’ to full-on metal.
The amps effects are split into two categories – one for modulation-style effects like chorus, flanging, phase and tremolo, the other for reverbs and delays – and each has their own controls. The effects get deeper and more intense as they’re dialed up, while the delay time is set via the tap-tempo button. In general, the effects have a spacious, high-quality sound that need little, if any, tweaking. Most newer practice amps are fitted with an Aux input for a music player, the THR10’s sound gives tracks a better, more-realistic sound. Preamp selections for acoustic/electric, bass, and an uncolored one called Flat expand the THR10’s versatility and make it great for a range of instruments including electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and bass.
The Yamaha THR10 is small, light, has studio-quality effects, interfaces with personal electronics, and provides a variety of tones that make you want to plug in and play – like a good practice amp should.
This article originally appeared in VG December 2012 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
When Luther Dickinson isn’t writing and performing with the North Mississippi Allstars or on the road with The Black Crowes, he plays the acoustic guitar – and lots of it. He recently released an acoustic instrumental record called Hambone’s Meditation, a project called The Wandering featuring female singers from North Mississippi and Memphis, and the latest from the South Memphis String Band – an album called Old Times There, which features Dickinson, Jimbo Mathus, and Alvin Youngblood Hart. He’s also releasing a 78-rpm record on the Tompkins Square label with the songs “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”/“Beautiful Dreamer” on the A-side, and “Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen”/“Peace in the Valley” on the B.
These projects are all deeply linked by Dickinson’s love of acoustic instruments and his deep affinity for his Southern roots.
How is it you’re releasing four acoustic records at the same time?
It wasn’t planned. In 2009, I started concentrating on acoustic projects, and they’ve accumulated. At home, I don’t even have an amp; I don’t unpack my electric guitars. I have a house full of acoustic guitars, and they’re really my love.
Even when I play with the North Mississippi Allstars, what I’m trying to do is get across an acoustic-guitar country blues aesthetic in a rock setting. That’s what I started the band to do, trying to play Fred McDowell acoustic with a trio.
On Hambone’s Meditation, it sounds like you just couldn’t wait to get back to that sound.
(Laughing) I grew up on John Fahey because of my father, but he used to freak me out. That bizarre personality of his comes through in his music. But Jack Rose is the one who inspired me to do Hambone’s Meditation. Those first couple of records just killed me. He was from Virginia, but he had a kind of a Piedmont/ragtime feel that’s unique. He was such a strong force and you could really hear his personality in his records. He inspired me, and I grew up with a more-natural affinity for writing songs and the creative process than I did for actually playing or singing. That was really what got me going; I had to learn how to play. Singing was a constant tightrope. It never dawned on me to do an instrumental acoustic record until I heard Jack Rose. Then I said, “Wow! I can do this.”
How did you meet the ladies on The Wandering?
I’ve known all of them off and on for years. I’ve known Valerie June only by reputation. We weren’t friends, but I’ve known Shannon McNally for years, playing around in Mississippi; my dad produced her. Amy LaVere and I grew up on the scene together, and I’ve known Sharde Thomas since she was nine. She’s the secret weapon. Her drumming is so funky. My wife and I saw Valerie playing her banjo, and that led me to thinking this could be a cool little combo.
I play mainly guitar and mandolin. I didn’t originally want to play; I was just going to produce, but it was so much fun. There’s nobody playing melodic instrumentation, so I couldn’t resist once we got set up.
It’s great Sunday-morning listening…
Yeah (laughs)! I like records you can listen to first thing in the morning or late at night.
With the South Memphis String band, how do you decide who plays what?
We work around whoever brings a song in. Whoever is singing is usually playing a guitar. Jimbo has a beautiful handmade fretless banjo and also a tenor banjo. His banjo playing on the new record is really the secret weapon. Alvin and I do a lot of de-tuned guitar work, and we all play mandolin. We just kinda pass the instruments around depending on which tunes are going on.
How did the Tompkins Square 78 Series come about?
We recorded that a couple of years ago and it has taken awhile to get the vinyl situation right. We’ve been waiting to get the packaging just the way we want it. It was a rare opportunity and I could not decide what I wanted to put behind my name on a 78. The original idea was to do it with an acoustic guitar and a small Walt Disney/cartoony orchestra, but I couldn’t get it together.
I’m very happy with it, and practiced a lot on it. I’ve played songs for solo guitar but never done an arrangement like “Beautiful Dreamer.” It was really fun.
Any plans for another North Mississippi Allstars record?
I’ve been writing like a fiend. I’m working on two Allstars records right now. One is kind of more rock and roll, the other is a more traditional North-Mississippi-style.
Any word from the Black Crowes?
Hey man, if they call me up I’ll consider it. I don’t know what they’re up to. They’re a great band and so much fun to work with. I love the songs and love the musicians.
Have you bought any new toys lately?
I’m trying to quit (laughs)! But I just got a Harmony Rocket, an old Ludwig bass drum that’s been a lot of fun, and an old four-knob Princeton. I finally found the perfect guitar for the Allstars. It’s basically the Gibson 335. It has an acoustic quality, but it can also take the volume of the environment. Chris Robinson gave me my first 335 and I’ve been hooked ever since. Gibson and I are working on a signature 335 that I’m really happy about. It won’t be a Custom Shop model. It’ll be affordable, and I’m really excited about it. For solidbody guitars, I got hooked on the SGs. It’s my favorite solidbody sound.
This article originally appeared in VG September 2012 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
MXR’s new Slash Octave Fuzz pedal employs three fuzz “flavors” – Sub-Octave, Fuzz, and Octave Up – that offer a palette of distinctive, utilizable sounds. The pedal, built with analog circuitry, true-bypass switching, and a heavy-duty housing, sports custom artwork with Slash’s famed tophatted-skull-and-crossbones motif. In developing the Octave Fuzz, Slash worked with MXR’s design team, and while few may associate Slash with the octave-fuzz effect, he uses it on occasion to color his sound, not overpower it. One place you can definitely hear it is on his latest studio album, Apocalyptic Love, where Slash provided input to the Dunlop design team while they tweaked prototypes.
The layout incorporates five knobs and the push switch. The unit’s Volume control dials in the volume of dry signal when the Sub Into Fuzz button is disengaged, and controls volume of the main fuzz when Sub Into Fuzz is engaged. The Tone knob shapes overall EQ of the main fuzz, and the Fuzz knob controls the intensity of the main fuzz. Sub Octave controls the volume of the sub-octave voice, while the Octave Up knob controls the volume of octave-up fuzz. The primary function of the Sub Into Fuzz switch is to swap the fuzz on or off; the sub-octave effect functions in both modes, but its presence is dependent on the level of sub-octave mix set with the Sub Octave knob.
There are two footswitches on the pedal; the left one (On) engages the pedal, while the right (Up) engages the octave-up fuzz in addition to whatever mode the user has configured. Internal trim pots control intensity and overall EQ of the octave-up effect. Given its many options, it does take time and experimentation to understand the controls and how the effects interact. To test the pedal, we used a Gibson Les Paul (with humbuckers) and a 120-watt/EL34-driven amp, which provided an excellent platform to hear the pedal with minimal coloration.
You can use the pedal’s Sub Octave function without adding fuzz, which is how we started; in order for the clean signal to roughly equal the signal coming out of the pedal in this mode, the pedal’s Volume knob must be turned up all the way. Used this way, the effect sounds very good and tracks quite well, providing hefty tones when mixed with the clean signal. When you engage the Sub Into Fuzz, the pedal bumps output significantly, so you have to roll off the Volume knob before doing so (with the Sub Into Fuzz circuit engaged, the Volume knob becomes the primary output-level control).
In designing this pedal, one of Dunlop’s goals was to develop a more-predictable version of the ’70s MXR Blue Box fuzz pedal, and the Slash achieves that. By blending its fuzz with the sub-octave effect, it can generate prime razor-cut-speaker tones, oozing with sludge and perfect for whipping out cool Deep-Purple-type keyboard riffs.
To continue our orange-shag-carpet trip, we bypassed the sub-octave effect and used the pedal as a straight fuzz unit, which rendered some hairy, mind-bending tones. No doubt, though, the pedal’s strong suit is the ability to utilize the Sub Octave and Octave Up features, individually or together. The Octave Up effect is conjoined with its own fuzz sound that is blended using an internal gain trim. Turned all the way down, it adds just a touch of fuzz that sounds unique. In that context or in combination with the Sub Octave and the main fuzz, the pedal steps into Hendrix-like territory; particularly when a Strat is used to launch those familiar riffs.
One feature we found particularly cool was the ability to bypass the fuzz. If you’re looking for a different sort of overdrive or distortion along with a sub-octave effect, this unit can deliver. Again, you can’t separate the Octave Up from its associated fuzz, but you can control the blend of the effect in the overall mix. We gave it a try through a 100-watt Marshall head, where the amp’s natural overdrive, blended with the Sub Octave, created a monolithic sound while retaining the amp’s natural overdrive. Awesome!
There are a multitude of tones waiting to be discovered with this unit. Numerous voicings are accessible by experimenting with the interaction of different controls and switches. Whether you want to use the effect subtly to thicken up your tone, or in copious amounts to shake the collective innards of your audience, the MXR Slash Octave Fuzz has some great sounds awaiting discovery.
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The wah is an iconic and enduring guitar effect – steady favorite tool of expression for players of all genres. In recent years, many high-profile players have tied their names to “signature” wah pedals that tweak the output or some mechanical nuance. The new Cry Baby Classic SC-95 was conceived with input from the cat in the hat himself, who has thrown down a notable wah passage a time or two.
The pedal has a true-bypass switch, custom-wound resonance inductor, die-cast housing with custom artwork (rust-and-black-color scheme matched on the PCB board, Slash’s tophat-skull logo molded into the treadle’s rubber pad), and dual side-mounted blue LEDs which display the unit’s on/off status.
If you’re going to test-run a pedal with Slash’s name and imagery attached, logic would dictate you use his guitar of choice – a Les Paul with humbuckers. So we did, plugged into a 100-watt Marshall head and 4×12 cab… cranked. Immediately, the pedal proffered familiar rock-and-roll wah sounds the likes of which have been heard by millions over the years. The first distinctive attribute was the Slash wah’s wide sweep – a rich, vocal-like sound that maintained the fundamental tone of our rig. Dunlop tuned the pedal’s EQ sweep to a lower frequency, which helps give it a warm, thick sound devoid of harshness at any point. Not too dark, not too bright.
Through a 15-watt/EL84-based combo, we were happy to hear how the pedal produced the same characteristics as through the arena-sized rig. With a single-coil Strat running clean through a 2×12 cab and playing the obligatory “Shaft”-style funk/rhythm, it performed admirably.
The LED indicators are great a feature, especially when playing live, and the graphics (inside and out) look pretty cool, too. If you’re needing a wah that delivers a unique tone, looks sharp, and is well-built, the Slash Crybaby Classic is worthy of consideration.
This article originally appeared in VG December 2012 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Vivino with a Collings SoCo Deluxe, watching for a cue from Conan O’Brien. Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU.
Growing up in New Jersey, Jimmy Vivino was in many ways a typical Italian-American kid. His life centered around family – his parents, siblings, and extended relatives – all of whom were vital to his development as a musician.
One of three sons born to an amateur-but-ardent trumpet player, Vivino and his brothers, Floyd and Jerry, grew up in a home where the music of jazz legends like Roy Eldridge, Louis Armstrong, Bobby Hackett, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, and Dinah Washington permeated the living-room walls, usually accompanied by their father and his horn, along with Broadway music and hit pop records of the day.
“Dad and his family came over on a boat from Italy, and their trade was carpentry, which meant being a professional musician wasn’t a consideration for him,” Vivino recalled. “He was a great trumpet player, and I think he was frustrated, never having the chance to play professionally. So when it came to his kids, he thought, ‘I’m going to let them do what they want to do’.”
By the age of eight, the youngest Vivino was steadfast in his desire to follow in his father’s horn-playing footsteps, so he took up the trumpet. His first “show business” gig originated in unlikely fashion.
“As a kid, I had a nervous habit where I’d shake my leg – I just had too much energy,” he said. “So at dinner, I’d bounce my leg up and down, and the whole table would shake. My father one day said, ‘We have to do something with this kid!’ In those days, they didn’t stick drugs in a kid and call it ADHD or whatever, so my parents sent me to tap-dancing lessons. That was my punishment! But then of course my brothers said, ‘Why does he get to go?’ (laughs) So we all went! And, as unhip as it sounds now, as a kid I was impressed with the Osmond Brothers, Andy Williams and his brothers, and Wayne Newton. So we formed this song-and-dance team; my brother, Floyd, played the piano, my other brother, Jerry, played the clarinet, and I played trumpet. In 1964, we performed our first show, at the New Jersey Pavilion at the World’s Fair.”
Though he would stick with the trumpet through high school and beyond, in ’64, he was amongst the legion to witness the Beatles’ first appearance on American television.
“‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ was something our whole family did together,” he recalled. “We’d have Sunday dinner, the old folks would watch Lawrence Welk, and the kids would go to the basement. Then, when Sullivan started, everybody – my grandmother, grandfather, parents, cousins, uncles, and the kids would sit and watch (laughs)! It gave us everything from Shirley Bassey to Topo Gigio to Jack E. Leonard and Alan King.”
After the Beatles on Sullivan, “Everything changed,” he added. “These guys playing their instruments and singing… they looked cool, but you could see they weren’t comfortable in their suits, so we knew there was some degree of showbiz in the act.”
Soon after, Vivino joined a band, playing trumpet and a Hammond organ. His innate musical curiosity eventually led him to guitar – the instrument he relied on most in his many and varied gigs, including as leader of the Basic Cable Band on “Conan.”
During our conversation, Vivino divulged the details that make up his musical background, spicing the talk with tidbits about music history and the instruments of his heroes.
Beyond the touchstone that was the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, what was a key element in your developing an appreciation for the guitar?
By the time I was 13, I was playing in bands, and we’d all go to the Fillmore – a carload of kids with a friend’s older brother as chaperone – and seeing those bands made me think, “I gotta be one of those guys onstage.” It was loud, and for $3 we got to see three bands. I’m glad I grew up when I did!
Was there any particular act that steered you toward guitar?
Well, I had been slowly drifting toward it. Until I was 23, though, I was a B-3 player with guitar in the back of my mind. I remember, I was nine years old and went to trumpet lesson one day and there in the studio was a Kay Old Kraftsman bass hanging on the wall. It was the simplest thing – looked like somebody whittled it on their porch (laughs)! But I’d stare at it and think, “How cool is that?” But I never got up the courage to say to my father, “I don’t want to play the trumpet,” because I thought it would break his heart. So I just kept borrowing a friend’s bass or guitar. Also, my uncle left an old Stella in our basement and I set it up with four strings so I could play bass lines using a broken piece of vinyl record as a pick. Still, though, from the time I finished high school until I was 23, my brother and I played in lounges six or seven nights a week. I played organ with him, but I got fed up. I said, “This is going nowhere and I’m not doing what I want to do.” So I stopped and started studying guitar with Joe Cinderella.
The “big three” in Vivino’s guitar collection are this ’53 Les Paul, ’52 Telecaster, and ’57 Duo-Jet. ’53 Les Paul and ’52 Tele photos by Barre Duryea. ’57 Duo Jet: Robert Wolpert.
What was the first group where you focused on guitar as your instrument?
I went on the road with a four-piece band that backed a comedian and a singer playing lounges all over New Jersey, Florida, and Las Vegas – really mobbed up joints (laughs)! I did that for a year and a half or so, then started playing on an underground TV show created by my brother called the “Uncle Floyd Show.” It focused on punk culture – his biggest fans were people like David Bowie, David Johanssen, Joey and Johnny Ramone, and they’d appear on the show all the time. There was a “Lunch With Soupy Sales” vibe, but for teenagers and young adults. The show’s band did gigs opening for the Ramones and other punk bands; we’d come out with tuxedos, doing a Vaudeville-like thing, and the punk audiences loved that stuff. People like Bowie and John Lennon were hiding in the audience.
I also was in bands with Phoebe Snow, playing some with Al Kooper, and had a band called Reckless Sleepers with Jules Shear and Steve Holly. But it wasn’t until I got to know Allan Pepper at the Bottom Line club that things really started to happen. After that, I was a working musician in New York. And I was lucky, because there are a million great guitar players, but getting gigs is a matter of where you are – it’s luck – and once the door opens you’ve got to show something. Like Tommy Tedesco said, “Take the gig and then figure out how to do the gig!” (laughs)
Are there guitar players who, at that time, were influencing you?
Mike Bloomfield was one. A friend’s older sister had the Butterfield album and Highway 61, and when I heard them, I thought, “Who’s playing guitar?” Bloomfield had this approach and sound rooted in B.B. King, but he also had a sense of adventure. You were with him on this wild ride – and he didn’t always make it! Sometimes he’d crash, then get back up and keep going. I learned later from Hubert Sumlin and other old blues guys that what Bloomfield did was “heart to hand” playing where you kind of leave your head out of it. It’s about connecting the heart to the hand, playing what you feel. Bloomfield was 90 percent feeling – on the attack, the way he hit the notes, and just sticking to the guitar and the amp. Johnny Winter was the same way.
What was it about Johnny’s playing?
He plugged straight in, man! I saw him at the Fillmore and he had three Fender Twins with JBLs – stacked like a pyramid! And with that setup, what could hurt you more than a Firebird (laughs)? I mean, they didn’t put mics on the amps in those days because they didn’t need to. I was in the fourth row and had to duck under the seat every time he took a solo! Later I learned, while working with him, that he just turned everything up all the way. The guitar, the amp, the treble up, bass off, midrange up. Bloomfield did the same thing – midrange was on 10, bass was off.
So, how did what you heard in those guys translate to your playing?
Well, I did what every kid does, and tried to copy every note they played. I worked with Al Kooper, and one night we were playing the Bottom Line – I had a Les Paul goldtop, a Deluxe, and my pedalboard, and he said, “You’re playing great, but that sound…” I said, “Look, I know what I’m doing, blah, blah, blah.” Well, turns out Joe Walsh was standing by the bar to the side of the stage. Al leaned over to me and said, “Joe’s gonna come up and do ‘Rocky Mountain Way.’” So Joe takes my Les Paul, pulls it out of the pedal board, plugs it straight in, turns everything up all the way – I had the amp on 3. I go, “Oh, Jesus!” But that’s all it took.
That night, I learned to use the amp – make it sweat – and turn the guitar down for rhythm parts and let your hands express… well, Joe Walsh’s whole arm goes into a chord. But that was one of the first times I experienced, up-close, what a great player is. Billy Gibbons is the same way. People ask, “How does he get that sound?” It’s just the guitar and the amp. Johnny Winter was like that, Bloomfield was like that, Jeff Beck was like that – and still is.
“I love my Harmony Rocket!” Vivino says of this ’66 model (left). This ’66 Epiphone Casino sees a lot of action when Vivino jams with Fab Faux. ’69 Fender Telecaster with a rosewood body. Harmony Rocket: Barre Duryea. Tele and Casino: Robert Wolpert.
How many electric guitars do you have?
Less than I used to (laughs)! At one time I had 300, but I felt bad because some wouldn’t come out of the locker for five or six years. So I sold them.
Before your collection peaked, were you buying for specific reasons or gigs?
Like anyone, the first thing I did was try to find the sounds I fell in love with. So I had to have a Gibson ES-150 Charlie Christian, just to have it. Then I realized, “I can’t do anything on this…” and I gave it to a guy who could. If something didn’t serve me as a tool, I’d save it for a while before I realized it’s not just about having it. Dying with all the toys? That’s no fun. And holding them hostage was the worst thing I could think of because at the time, guitars were leaving the country by the crate load. This is before Fender, Gibson, and Gretsch said, “We should make these things the way people want them again.” So there’s also the option to get a new one and not worry about it so much. And truthfully, some vintage guitars are great, some are not. To spend $250,000 on a ’Burst is great if you got it, and I hope you play it. I don’t think it needs to go in a glass case.
Did you downsize when the market was up?
I downsized when I needed to for financial reasons. So no, I let them go at fair price. I didn’t lose money, but I wasn’t out to make money. If I had some situation to deal with, guitars were my equity. I said, “They’re here to help me with the next step in my career, whatever it is.”
What are the “essential” guitars in your collection?
First is the ’53 goldtop, which I got from my friend, Brian, who played with Muddy Waters for a long time. He outbid Neil Young – Larry Cragg wanted the guitar for him. Brian turned me on to the real blues. I promised him I’d keep that guitar or sell it back to him if I want to get rid of it. But it’s never going anywhere – it’s my best guitar. I’ve had a ’59 ’burst that, due to a life tragedy, I had to let go, but I sold it instead of the goldtop.
Next would be the ’59/’60 Tele and the ’52 black-guard Tele, then a ’57 Duo Jet in black, like George Harrison’s. I got it for my gig with a Beatles cover band I’m in, Fab Faux, whose deal is to make the right sound. I have a ’65 Firebird, non-reverse with two P-90s – I really love it – it’s the best of my five Firebirds. I love my Harmony Rocket, and my Meteor, which is a great-sounding guitar. There’s also my ’65 Roger McGuinn-style blond Rickenbacker 12-string, which is really nice. I’d always wanted a Harmony Sovereign because a lot of the old blues guys played those, and I got one from ’62 or ’63. I had it restored and it plays great.
I’m not a big Strat guy, but my ’65 has the perfect Strat sound. I’ve been through a lot of Strats.
’59 Fender Duo-Sonic (left). Vivino says this ’65 Gibson Firebird III is the “best of my five Firebirds.” ’62 Les Paul SG in Pelham Blue. Duo-Sonic and Firebird: Robert Wolpert. Les Paul SG: Barre Duryea.
Is it about tone, the way they feel and play, or what?
The ’53 goldtop is my favorite, followed by the ’52 black-guard, which is equally as good on the other end of the spectrum. Those are the sounds – Telecaster and the P-90 goldtop; P-90 guitars were the sound of rock and roll in the beginning – Chuck Berry, Scotty Moore, B.B. King on an ES-5 and 175 early on, just about everything. A lot of classic jazz was played on P-90s, too, the Charlie Christian pickup is basically a P-90, then Scotty Moore in his Super 400 and his L-5 with Alnico pickups.
The Telecaster has always been the workhorse – James Burton, Luther Perkins – that great sound with flatwound strings. And it’s a guitar that, first and foremost, keeps you honest. Playing a Tele is like having an argument – sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t. But you stay in the fight, and when you win, you win big! Other times, it wins; Roy Buchanan struggled with it and beat the living daylights out of it! Robbie Robertson had a lifetime affair with it, so did Bloomfield. It can have a great sound when you hear a guy just wrenching notes out of one. Muddy Waters with a slide on a Tele is a force to be dealt with. Jimmy Bryant seemed to be the one guy who had no trouble mastering the Tele.
What’s behind your lack of enthusiasm for the Strat?
I think Hendrix playing a Strat, and then Stevie Ray Vaughan playing one made me not want to. They pretty much said it all (laughs)!
The bar was kind of high…
It’s kind of high, yes, but a lot of guys want to play a Strat, especially English guys, because of Hank Marvin. But to me, some players’ tones changed drastically with a Strat. Like Clapton; I love him, and his playing today is better than ever, but the tone I remember and love most was on the Beano record and the Cream stuff, with a Gibson. Then again, there’s something beautiful about the purity when he switched with Delaney and Bonnie, then “Layla.” He shed everything about himself, from the way he looked to the way he sounded to the music he was playing and the way he sang. He threw all of it, almost like a penance thing where he had to play a Strat (laughs)! It was like, “I have to start over.” There’s something great about that. And I love him, I think he’s the best guitar player out there right now. Robin Trower… Where was that great Les Paul sound from when I first heard Trower play with Procol Harem? Even Bloomfield switched to a Strat toward the end of his life, and to me, his tone was gone… but that’s just me being selfish and holding on to the first sounds that slayed me.
Which amps have been key to your career?
That’s a whole other ball of worms… Another can of wax! I really love AC30s, but now that I’m in California I started finding all these Fenders. But I don’t use old amps on road gigs; you move them and a soldier joint comes loose or something else, things happens. Even on “Conan” I use new amps.
What do you have right now?
I’m using a Fender Twinolux and a Blackstar. Sometimes an AC15 or AC30.
The Blackstar has that Vox vibe covered?
Yeah, Billy Gibbons turned me on to those when he was playing through a 1×12. I basically like the sound of a Fender and a Vox together. So I’m running them both, they’re both around 20 watts.
What other amps reside in the collection?
Vintage-wise, here in L.A. I have a couple of brown Princetons from ’61, one with white knobs. I’ve got a secret amp – a blackface Pro Reverb. There’s also a ’64 Twin, and I just got a 4×10 Kustom combo – black naugahyde, like John Fogerty’s. Some of the sounds we loved in the ’60s were made with solidstate amps like that – Albert King played through Acoustic amps, Lonnie Mack was using solidstate after he stopped using Magnatones. Carlos Santana was playing through Acoustic amps when I saw him, and Fogerty had those Kustom 2x12s with the tuck-and-roll cover. I found one for $200 and did the normal thing – put $800 into it (laughs)!
Do you eye certain amps for playing certain parts or gigs?
Yeah. Fab Faux is always a Vox. With Al Kooper, I used mostly Super Reverbs. I have a bunch of other really cool amps – one of my favorites is a 1×12 Premier Custom with reverb and vibrato. It’s 20 watts, 30 tops – great amp that I keep on the East Coast. On Johnny Winter’s last album, I used that amp with just a two-pickup Les Paul Black Beauty on “Further On Up the Road.”
Paul Waller, Master Builder in the Fender Custom Shop, built this Fender/Gretsch mélange Vivino affectionately calls “the white chicken.” Photo: Matt Ferguson/Fender.
What’s your day like on the Conan show?
I go in at 9 a.m., have a meeting at 10, then I usually write or do any recording that needs to be done for bits. We have a studio setup here and my guitar tech, Barre Duryea, runs my Pro Tools. The band comes in at noon, we rehearse for an hour, then we rehearse with Conan on-set – he always has a guitar in his hands.
On the show, I know people watch to see what we’re playing, so I make it a point to play guitars by a lot of new makers – Collings, James Trussart, PRS, Ronin, Eastwood stuff. There are a lot of great guitars being made, so I tell the guys to send something and we’ll play it. I ask, “Are you making something that thinks it’s a Les Paul?” and if they are, I say, “I don’t want to play it!” (laughs) So PRS will send me something like a small archtop, or Collings will send an electric. I love Collings acoustics, but I told them, “If you’re gonna make me a guitar, make me something that’s more Gretsch-like and put some TV Jones pickups in it, a Bigsby, and flatwound strings.” They did, and it’s great. Trussart made me a couple cool things. I also love new Epiphones, old Epiphones, Gibsons, Fenders, Gretsches…
You’re sort of like G.E. Smith when he was on “Saturday Night Live.” It was always fun to watch as they went to commercial because he jammed on some cool old guitars and amps…
I loved him for that. G.E. is a great guy and one of the biggest Tele fans I know. He’s another one – plug straight into the amp, gets a great sound! So yes, it was fun to watch him. It was like, “What’s he going to play next?”
A lot of my friends had great TV gigs, but G.E. was the first to say, “I’m gonna pull out my Flying V and do an Albert King thing.” And he hit me as much as anyone with the “right guitar for the song” thing.
Your most recent album is 13 Live, with the Black Italians. What’s the story behind that band?
Well, in 1992, my friend Andy Justin opened a club in New York called Downtime, and upstairs there were rehearsal studios; musicians would come down to the bar after they rehearsed. It was a place to unwind – a music bar built by musicians for musicians. Andy told me, “I want you to play here once a week, in residence,” so I called people I was working with at the time – Danny Louis was one of my favorite people and one of the greatest musicians I know, so I called him first. Catherine Russell is the best singer I know – so great. Mike Merritt and James Wormworth have been with me since Mike called me to play with Johnnie Johnson almost 30 years ago, and Worm was the drummer. These guys are each part of a jazz legacy – Mike’s father is Jymie Merritt, who played in Art Blakely and the Jazz Messengers, and James Wormworth’s father, Jimmy, played with Coltrane and jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendrix, and Ross… I’ve known Felix Cabrera since 1972, when he came over from Cuba as a refugee in the ’60s. He brings this Cuban thing to harp playing, this whole energy that’s just so essential. We’ve been partners for almost 40 years. I met the percussionist, Fred Walcott, through David Johanssen when he was playing as Buster Poindexter. And Mike Jacobson, who lives in New Orleans, is our other percussionist, I met him through Fred.
Anyway, after we started playing, the band got bigger and bigger, which was very cool because if someone couldn’t make it, there was always someone covering every instrument… sometimes, there’d be four guitar players at the same time, but that was the concept. And we never practiced – just played whatever came off the top of my head or what I had worked out that day. It was pretty simple music, nothing really involved. And it was never intended to do anything beyond playing there in the bar – it was a place for people to cut loose. It was right around the corner from Madison Square Garden, so someone like Mick Fleetwood would come over if he was playing – whoever was around would sit in.
Is 13 Live its only recorded effort?
Yes, and the idea for the album started when I was working with John Sebastian in a duo we call Johnny and Jimmy. We were in Chicago, playing the City Winery, when Jerry Del Giudice, from Blind Pig Records, came to see me; I had produced Bill Perry and Muddy Waters’ son, Big Bill Morganfield, for him, along with other stuff through the years. He said, “Somebody told me about this legendary band from New York City from 20 years ago – the Black Italians. Why don’t you make a record?” And I said, “Well… I guess.” He sort of forced me into it (laughs) – I had no such plans! And that’s what we did, just got together and played. It represents a lot of influences, kind of scattered and eclectic, but I think it has a sound, and that’s the important thing. And we recorded it at Levon Helm’s Barn, because it’s partly a tribute to him and because the place has a great vibe. His passing was a great loss, and I was lucky to have spent time with him.
So, the band, scattered far and wide after 20 years, converged from all over?
Yes, and before we started recording, we had one night of rehearsal, since we hadn’t played in while! So, on a Friday night we rehearsed and invited some folks to listen, then we recorded 35 songs over two nights, and picked the songs that worked best. Being in the Barn really had a bittersweet quality, and I knew I had to sing something special for Levon. So, when I got on the plane to go to New York, I wrote some lyrics, then in the hotel figured out chords. “Song for Levon” is personal thing, people might not even understand what I’m saying, but I had to do it for Levon’s wife, Sandy, and everyone because the project was connected to keeping things going there at the Barn. Levon is an American institution.
Vivino’s Fender-heavy amp stall includes this ’53 Deluxe (top left) that has been part of his sound for years, two ’61 Princetons, a Twin from ’64, and a ’64 Pro-Reverb. Photos by Barre Duryea.
This article originally appeared in VG’s July 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Tech 21 Boost Pedals
Price: $149 each, street
Contact: www.tech21nyc.com
Tech 21’s new Boost Series of fuzz, overdrive, and distortion pedals offers a compelling concept – premium effects with the ability to deliver a healthy output kick for solos or that big riff to bring it all home.
The Boost Fuzz is Tech 21’s take on the classic germanium fuzztone boxes of the late ’60s. Despite being the holy grail to fuzz connoisseurs, those pedals typically were rife with temperamental components and unpredictable changes in tone. The pedal is equipped with controls for Level, Tone, Drive, Sag, and Boost; Sag controls dynamic response to the user’s playing style. Its Bypass and Boost switches engage a clean volume leap capable of 21 db.
The Boost Distortion is engineered to give players the hot-rodded sound of an ’80s stack. However, its distortion has a greater dynamic range and cleans up well. This box also comes with Level, Tone, Drive, Sag, and Boost; the Sag knob acting much like it does with the Fuzz, allowing the user to tailor the dynamics of the pedal. The Distortion also comes with Bypass and Boost switches; the Boost function is completely post-distortion, meaning it only adds volume, not extra crunch.
The Boost Overdrive is based on the bluesy tones achieved from ’70s overdrive pedals, while building upon those classics by providing more dynamic response and the ability to clean up the pedal, much like one could with a tube amp. The Overdrive has Level, Tone, Drive, Sparkle, and Boost knobs. The Sparkle control introduces upper harmonics to the tone of the pedal. The Boost, like that on the Distortion, is also post-overdrive and provides a purely clean boost.
The Bass Boost Fuzz is a tribute to the fuzzed-out bass tones of the ’60s, as used by Jack Bruce, Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, and underrated San Franciscans like Jack Casady and Phil Lesh. Unfortunately for bass players of the past, most (if not all) fuzz pedals were designed for the frequency range of guitars, cutting out much low-end. Tech 21 has remedied this situation for bass players looking for that classic fuzz sound by expanding the frequency range. The Bass Boost Fuzz has five control knobs – Level, Tone, Drive, +Clean, and Boost. The +Clean control determines the amount of clean signal mixed with the fuzz signal, allowing players to add more definition and complexity to their sound.
Using a Hamer Explorer and Fender Precision Bass into a Fender Twin and a Line 6 modeling amp, the Boost Fuzz attained the great lead sound of germanium fuzzes, but with enough girth to carry thick riffs and chords. Each control had great range, with the Sag knob being particularly versatile. It was quite capable of changing the character of the fuzz, bringing it from the classic late-’60s sound to a more-cutting fuzz, reminiscent of ’90s grunge.
The Boost Distortion may be the most impressive of the line. While similar to other modern distortion pedals in terms of features, the Boost Distortion does a great job delivering a tone very similar to the punchy, hot, stack sound of the ’80s. Its Sag control enables the user to traverse the spectrum of the Boost Distortion’s character, from an almost bluesy, loose tone to a hard tone that could punch a hole in the wall.
The Boost Overdrive is also deserving of its name. Many modern overdrives are sold as distortion pedals, but the Boost Overdrive sticks to appropriate territory, pumping out exactly what one would want from an overdrive – gritty, rough-yet-clear rhythm tone with a singing, bluesy lead sound. The Sparkle control is a nice addition to this workhorse, introducing a tonal complexity that adds depth and air to the sound.
We expected the Bass Boost Fuzz to be similar to its guitar-oriented cousin, but it was much different. On lower settings, it dished out modern, almost robot-like fuzz, turning the round tone of a bass into something entirely different and futuristic. Cranking the Drive control added girth and gave the overall tone some authority. Bass players will love the control it offers, particularly those playing in bands; the ability to mix clean signal with the fuzz signal is almost like playing two basses at the same time.
This article originally appeared in VG December 2012 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Watson in 2005. Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images/
Over a career spanning 52 years, the passage of time only enhanced Doc Watson’s stature. His virtuosity and musical range, merged with an abiding sense of tradition, entertained, amazed, and moved generations of fans, players, and non-players. It ended with his death May 29 at age 89 at a hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A month earlier, he’d played Merlefest, named for his only son and former second guitarist Merle, who died in a 1985 tractor mishap.
Born in Stony Fork, in North Carolina’s mountainous Wautuga County, Arthel Lane Watson wasn’t a year old when an eye infection blinded him. Music came to him through his mother’s singing, hymns heard at church, and old tunes played by other local musicians. He absorbed records by various artists, among them Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family, and the Delmore Brothers. Radio brought in the Grand Ole Opry. He played on harmonica and fretless banjo before attending the Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh. There, he learned his first guitar chords. His dad helped him acquire a $12 Stella. He’d trade up several times.
Set to play on a local radio broadcast in 1941, the announcer felt Arthel an awkward name. A woman in the crowd yelled out “Call him Doc!” and it stuck. His friendship with local fiddler Gaither Carlton led to him marry Carlton’s daughter, Rosa Lee, in 1947. Their son, Eddy Merle, named for Doc’s favorite country stars (Eddy Arnold and guitarist Merle Travis) arrived in 1949, daughter Nancy Ellen two years later. With money tight, he tuned pianos and played for tips in the streets of nearby Boone, North Carolina.
Watson’s guitar heroes were diverse. One was obscure Texas electric-guitarist Smitty Smith, who played the melodic break on Ernest Tubb’s 1941 hit “Walking the Floor Over You.” Others included Travis, Chet Atkins, and Nashville session ace Grady Martin. He played a Martin D-18 when he joined Jack Williams and the Country Gentlemen, a local bar band, in 1953. Soon, he’d switched to a Gibson Les Paul goldtop. Since they lacked a fiddler, he began flatpicking fiddle tunes. It became his calling card. His Travis/Atkins fingerstyle skills came in handy when the band played rockabilly.
He had the goldtop in 1960. With the Folk Revival in full swing, New York folklorist-musician Ralph Rinzler arrived to record traditional singer-banjoist Clarence Ashley and others including Doc, who wanted to play electric guitar. Rinzler convinced him to borrow an acoustic. Impressed by his range, he felt Watson could succeed as a folk artist, but knew traditional trumped contemporary with folkies of that day. Counseling Watson to stress traditional, Rinzler added that after establishing himself, he could include any music he wanted.
That’s precisely how it played out. He re-learned old numbers and early-’60s engagements in New York City led to a 1963 Newport Folk Festival appearance. A year later, Vanguard Records signed him. He began adding country and folk tunes on his 1966 album, Southbound, and around that same time Flatt and Scruggs enhanced his bluegrass appeal by featuring him on their Strictly Instrumental album. On Doc Watson in Nashville (1968), that town’s famed A-team of session musicians, including Grady Martin, accompanied him. Merle, who’d began playing guitar in ’64, was touring with his dad by the late ’60s.
The acclaimed, Grammy-winning 1972 album, Will The Circle Be Unbroken , featured Watson, Scruggs, Jimmy Martin, Roy Acuff, Merle Travis, and Maybelle Carter teamed with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The album’s success exposed him to a younger audience, many of them rock fans. Eventually, he won eight of his own Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Jack Lawrence joined Watson in ’83, when Merle, anxious to focus on construction work, decided to scale back much of his touring with his father. Lawrence, though steeped in bluegrass, had recently worked in a rock band and only jammed with Doc a couple times backstage. He never forgot his first concert in Illinois, working with Watson and bassist T. Michael Coleman. “I played as many solos as he did,” Lawrence recalls. “He gave me every other solo. He’d play one, and the next time around, it was my turn. That was very gracious for him to share the stage like that – especially with someone he had never worked with.
“At festivals, everybody would want to jam with him. I’d say, or Michael would say, ‘Sam Bush is standin’ over here.’ Or Tim O’ Brien or Mike Auldridge or Jerry Douglas. And he’d say. ‘Well, ask ’em if they want to play!’ We’d get onstage and he would direct everything.
“If I carry anything away from my whole experience with Doc, it’s that you can still be the center of attention but still spread the music to everybody around you and give them a little spotlight.”
Watson later gave Lawrence the 1945 D-18 he’d bought in New York in ’63, played onstage and on all his records before embracing Gallagher guitars in ’68. Lawrence remembers how Watson influenced his playing. When he joined, he’d been caught up in playing hot licks. That began to change.
“He taught me to settle down. He never said anything, but after awhile, I thought, ‘I don’t have to play everything I know on every solo.’”
Reflecting on his mentor’s contributions, Lawrence says, “His legacy is certainly going to be the introduction of flatpicked guitar (soloing) to bluegrass, though Doc never considered himself a bluegrass artist. I would consider him to be one of the first… Americana artists. He took a little bit from every kind of American music form and made it his own, mixed it all up and it came out as Doc Watson music.
“But I also know the legacy he would rather be remembered for was just being a good ol’ boy from down there in Deep Gap, who made a living for his family. I think he would treasure that above all.”
This article originally appeared in VG September 2012 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Before ZZ Top, Billy Gibbons launched his career as guitarist and front man with a Texas-based group called the Moving Sidewalks. The band also included bassist Don Summers, keyboardist Tom Moore, and drummer Dan Mitchell. The group’s sound was brewed from a mix of blues and early California psychedelia, sprinkled with the influence of Jimi Hendrix and Austin’s 13th Floor Elevators.
In 1967, the Moving Sidewalks scored a number one hit on local Texas radio with “99th Floor,” which helped them land opening slots for the Jeff Beck Group, Jimi Hendrix, and the Doors. The group was on its way to breaking and recorded a full-length album called Flash, which was scheduled for release in the summer of 1969. However, just as the album was set to debut, Moore and Summers were drafted and things came to an abrupt end for the band. The four have remained friends for nearly five decades.
Moving Sidewalks – The Complete Collection was recently released by Rockbeat Records and includes the group’s seminal tracks. From the first few notes, it offers the unmistakable sound of Gibbons’ guitar and the cool tunes of a band that was clearly a precursor to ZZ Top.
It’s been 44 years since the Moving Sidewalks played its last gig, and after heavy rehearsing without the Reverend followed by several full rehearsals, the band celebrated its history and resurrected album release with a reunion show on March 30, playing to a capacity crowd at B.B. King’s Blues Club in New York City.
Guitars and basses for the gig were custom-made by John Bolin, and designed specifically for the reunion. All have hollowed ash bodies with Gibson-scale maple necks and are fitted with Gibbons’ signature Cream T Banger Series pickups, which are made in Norway. Gibbons’ main guitar has a humbucker with split polepieces. The pickup is wired straight to a single Bourns Volume pot. The bridge saddles for the guitars and basses were made by Glendale. All saddles are brass, but on Gibbons’ second guitar, the saddle for the E and A strings is titanium.
Each Bolin merges modern technology with ’60s pyschedelia via slots routed to accommodate an iPad Mini or iPod Touch. The iPod-equipped guitars were the first Bolin created for the group. When Apple introduced the iPad Mini, Gibbons commissioned new instruments to fit, and those became the main guitars for the Moving Sidewalks.
Gibbons created the “movie” played on each of the iPads during the band’s set, which is reminiscent of the light shows made famous by the Joshua Light Show and copied by other visual artists who carried on the tradition. Gibbons’ guitars are set up with super-low action and strung with his own super-light Rev. Willy Mexican Lottery Brand strings from Dunlop, which are .007, .009, .011, .020, .030, and .038. His picks are .051 super heavy.
All amps were prototypes of Gibbons’ new Magnatone Super Fifty Nine 2×12 combos, which are 45 watts with tremolo and reverb and powered by two EL34s. He uses Eminence Governor speakers for his live rig, but in the studio prefers Celestion Alnico Blues. Live with Moving Sidewalks, he plugged straight into the amp except when he ran through a Dunlop Jimi Hendrix 70th Anniversary Tribute Series Octavio for “Foxey Lady.”
Summers was playing through an identical Magnatone and had two Bolin-built basses that matched Gibbons’ guitars, including iPad/iPod accoutrements. He also used an custom-built Gibson Flying V bass with a set of EB-3-style pickups.
This article originally appeared in VG July 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
The yellow-and-black attack of the Christian-metal band Stryper has returned. The band’s new album, Second Coming, helps mark 30 years of preaching their metal gospel and selling more than 10 million albums worldwide. The band returns to the spotlight with a renewed sense of vigor and passion.
Second Coming is 16 tracks including re-recordings of 14 songs from the band’s catalog and two new songs. We sat with guitarist and front man Michael Sweet and learned that when it comes to guitar, he isn’t just some first-position strummer!
What have you been up to?
We just wrapped up re-recording classic Stryper songs and two new songs. It’s not a compilation or a best-of. It started as a way for us to retain the rights to a lot of our songs for film and TV. A lot of bands are doing that these days. We weren’t even going to release it – that wasn’t our original intent. But after hearing a lot of positive feedback from fans, we thought, “Why not release it.” We signed a deal with Frontier Records and they’re releasing it as well as an all-original album we’re starting on in April.
It’s really an exciting time for us. It was fun re-recording these songs, and we didn’t really change them up too much. They’re in the original form as far as arrangements go, but obviously sound a little different. My voice is a little deeper and not as Mickey Mouse.
You recorded that material a long time ago. Can you still hit those high notes?
I’m trying (laughs)! They have a little different tone because my voice has changed a bit, but I don’t know that that’s necessarily a bad thing! I hope it’s a good thing. The songs are sung with a bit more of a masculine voice. I had a higher, thinner voice. Some people liked that back then, but today it’s a little richer, deeper, and has a little more balls to it. It was fun making the record. We’re excited.
Were you tempted to change anything?
We pretty much stuck to the original arrangements and of course the signature Stryper guitar tone. The guitars are more in-your-face. We used a Boogie and an Orange Thunderverb 200. I did two tracks of rhythms, Oz Fox did two tracks of rhythms, and then we split up the solos. We did different endings to solos, but it’s pretty much the same.
Which guitars did you use?
I used a Carvin replica of an old Randy Rhoads guitar I had. It had Seymour Duncan Blackout pickups. I also used a PRS Custom 24 with Blackout pickups, as well. A company called Overture is making me a signature model V copy. They make nice guitars and it has that old-school Stryper paint job, 24 frets, ebony neck, Bare Knuckle pickups, a Floyd Rose, and a titanium block. It’s really souped up.
Over the last few years I’ve noticed more people coming up to me after shows and saying, “Wow, we never knew you played guitar!” It’s always incredibly bizarre to me, because I’m playing guitar in the videos and have been playing live for 30 years. It’s mindboggling, but I hear it still.
Why do you think people assume you’re a first-position strummer?
I think they just assume that because I’m the singer. It’s not the case. We were a trio for a number of years. I started playing guitar when I was five and started singing when I was 12. Guitar is my first instrument and I’ve always considered myself a guitarist first and a singer second. I’ve written a lot of the solos over the years. A lot of the time I’ll write out the solo, teach it to Oz, and he’ll learn the harmony to that solo. Songs like “Soldiers Under Command” or “Calling On You” were created that way.
Has there been a change in your live sound?
I’m always trying new things and trying to improve my tone. When I travel with my own gear, it’s usually a Mesa Boogie Mark V through a couple of Mesa cabs. I also have two Splawn heads. On my pedalboard I have a Radial London Bones Distortion Pedal, which is their answer to a hot-rodded Marshall tone. I drive the front end of that with a parametric EQ, which is the Tech 21 Para Driver. That’s how we get that Stryper sound. It gives us that cocked wah, overdriven, notched-out sound. I’ve also got a Line 6 digital wireless, a delay pedal by Tech 21, the Tech 21 Boost Chorus, some Dunlop EQ pedals, and a ISP Decimator, which I love for noise reduction. I have a cool little pedal board and I love it. I like to get my tone and run with it. I don’t switch my sound live, ever. I don’t have my pedal board at my feet. I keep it up on an amp. I set my tone and that’s it for the whole show. I don’t have anything in my way.
Stryper is a Christian band. Is your faith still strong?
Absolutely. It’s stronger than ever and we’ve never wavered. We’ve taken heat along the way, but it’s the foundation of who we are, and always will be. This is our place in this world. They’re aren’t a lot of bands doing that, but we are, and I think it’s needed. It’s needed for balance. This world is pretty messed up – it’s pretty dark – and we’re trying to shine a little light on the dark world. We’ve been doing it for 30 years strong.
This article originally appeared in VG July 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
