Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leader

Getting older is a funny thing. “You just wait and see” must be on an endless subconscious loop in the minds of my parent’s generation. The younger you are, the more you think you know, and the more the older generation can’t wait for you to grow up a little bit and see the expression on your face when you finally “get it” and realize you don’t know everything.

But the burden isn’t just on the young guys. Quite often the older folks don’t give the younger guys enough credit. They just assume they know nothing, are unmotivated, and will never learn.

I am certainly, in some respects, a part of both groups. Being just a few weeks north of my 39th birthday I seem to straddle the line of being a grown-up with a wife and mortgage, and yet also being a kid who is still trying to figure out what to do when I grow up.

And so yesterday I found myself going to the Summer Slaughter 2010 metal show. I was there for one band in particular (I’ll get to that soon; bear with me) but managed to catch a few of the others. To say that my ears were assaulted would be an understatement. I didn’t hear one distinguishable note, not one single sung lyric that was actually articulated. Every singer sounded like they crap barbed wire and gargle with gun powder. As much as I try to embrace all forms of music, this just wasn’t my bag at all. I love Meshuggah, Opeth, and Periphery, and I get the cookie monster vibe. Though I’m not a huge fan of it, I can appreciate it when it’s done right.

WHEN it’s done right.

And so the old curmudgeon in me got a bit of a workout.

“They don’t know how to mosh.”

“What the f*&# is the name of the band on your shirt? It looks like vomit.”

You get the idea.

But I wasn’t there for those guys. I wasn’t really interested in the indistinguishable mass of death metal bands that sound exactly alike. I was there for one band and one band only. Furthermore, I was there to take a guitar lesson from a young guitarist who is not-so quietly making a name for himself as one of the shining stars in instrumental music.

The band? Animals as Leaders. The guitarist? Tosin Abasi.

After Animals as Leaders finished their set, Tosin and I set out for an hour lesson and talking shop. Since I’m definitely an old-school metal guitarist, there are a few things as a player that I’ve fallen behind on and wanted to get some insight into. Two in particular are two-hand tapping techniques and sweep picking. As you can see from the video above, Tosin has both of those pieces covered.

What struck me from the moment he started showing me things to work on is that he has the teaching thing figured out. Most young guys (I hesitate to call him a “kid”) will just shrug their shoulders and say “I don’t know, like, I just like, do it.” But not Tosin. Tosin is articulate, very well thought out and, most importantly, able to start teaching from a foundation and work up from there. He started me on some basic concepts and techniques to slowly build upon.

Tosin, Josh, and Jim's Steaks in the background. Welcome to Philly!

(At some point I’m sure I’ll post some of the things I came up with as a result, but I’m not quite there yet. Suffice it to say that in just one hour of his excellent teaching and another hour of practice at home I’ve already seen marked improvement in my playing.)

When it was my turn to try out what he was showing me he was patient (a very rare quality for most folks in their 20′s) and seemed genuinely excited to be sharing his guitar knowledge with someone else. In the very short period of time I got to talk to him I could tell that he truly loves the guitar and is very passionate about being the best player he can be and making great music.

It’s important to not only see where it starts, but also where it’s going. Towards the end of our time together we got a little bit outside of tapping and sweeping and spoke about his approach to guitar and guitar music in general. His is very unique, and it’s apparent that he spends lots and lots and lots of time working out his ideas in every conceivable permutation. With a penchant for jazzier sounds such as Maj7#11 chords, upper partials harmony, and  while his contemporaries are still chugging along with barre chords (not that there’s anything wrong with that), Tosin seems to be ever-reaching for the farthest star in the sky while remaining firmly planted on the ground.

Animals as Leaders Debut CD

I’m encouraged by meeting Tosin for two reasons. One, I got to peek into his bag of tricks and steal some really great things to work on. Two, and most importantly, the old curmudgeon in me that got a workout earlier in the day has been placated and is quite assured that the future of guitar is in capable hands. If you have not checked out Tosin and his work with Animals as Leaders, you really should. Their debut, self-titled CD is amazing, he’s currently on tour and needs to be seen live if he’s coming to your area, and he has extensive videos available for viewing on youTube (a few of which I’m posting here).

On a personal note: Tosin, your future is bright and I wish you the greatest success. I hope you like oysters, because the world is yours. Thanks for taking the time to show an old dog some new tricks. It’s never too late to improve your playing, no matter how old (or young) you are. And I still owe you some home-cooked Thai food.

My Afternoon Lesson With Tosin Abasi of Animals As Leaders is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Barry Greene

I want to try and get some good audience participation going with today’s thread. As I’ve written about before, the hater community is very much alive and well among guitarists. So what I would like to do today is flip the script a little bit and get some publicity for those players that we love that aren’t the most well-known. Think of it as the “hidden gem” post where you get to tell everyone about players you like and want everyone else to know about.

I’m going to tell you about two guitarists that I really like and who deserve much more recognition than they probably get. What I want you to do is a two-parter:

1. Check these guys out! They deserve recognition and support. Visit their websites, buy one of their CDs, watch their videos!

2. Recommend two players of your own liking. Let’s try to stick with people that aren’t Steve Vai and Kirk Hammett, please.

Let’s spread around some guitar love!

Barry Greene

www.barrygreene.com

Florida-based jazz guitarist Barry Greene is a monster. From the Pat Martino school of playing, Barry can pretty much do it all. He’s got chops, he’s got a great sense of melody, and he swings! In addition to selling CDs on his website (check out his latest “Trio” CD – it’s great!) he also sells video lessons. The prices are reasonable, and he always packs a ton of great information into each one.

Circa Survive

www.circasurvive.com

Everything that The Mars Volta was supposed to be and more! Guitarists Colin Frangicetto and Brendan Ekstrom brilliantly play off each other to create sonic soundscapes that both mesmerize and captivate. I find their guitar work to be beautiful and incredibly creative, and their songwriting ability (the band) continues to impress me with every passing listen. Though Circa Survive is “signed” to a label, I don’t think they have nearly the amount of exposure or kudos that they deserve, so I’m including them here.

So tell me, who do you dig? Who should we show guitar love to?

Spread the Guitar Love is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

So when San Francisco-based guitarist Terrence Brewer sent me a few of his CDs to listen to, and I noticed that one of them was an entire CD full of Montgomery covers, I had to pause for a minute.

Groovin’ Wes is an eight-song “Musical expression of admiration for Wes Montgomery.” In an organ trio setting (accompanied by organist Wil Blades and drummer Micah McClain), the first thing I noticed was that Brewer’s tone is very nice. I mean, very nice. Warm, smooth, and with a sensitive touch that shows he definitely spent his time in the Montgomery woodshed. I don’t know if Brewer is playing sans-pick or not, but if he is playing with one then he’s certainly put in a lot of effort into his tone.

Brewer’s song choices for the project certainly focuses on his strength. Lots of blues influence with a hint of smooth jazz, I imagine that his influences range from Montgomery to Bobby Broom to Grant Green to George Benson (just a guess). There are no 32-bar hyper fast bebop improvisations, nor any “look at me” three-octave arpeggio runs going on here. What you get is a very tight trio playing off each other very well and digging down deep into the heart of each song. They find the groove, expose it, and polish it up to a fine sheen. I’m a huge fan of the organ trio, so Groovin’ Wes is right up my alley.

Highlight songs for me are In Your Own Sweet Way and Here’s That Rainy Day. Road Song also gets special mention as the up-tempo track. Blades does a particularly great job with his solo while McClain matches Blades’ dynamics beat for beat; a definite head-bopper!

I’m looking forward to listening to the other CDs Brewer sent me, but I want to spend a few more days with Groovin’ Wes first; after a few rotations it’s gotten under my skin in a good way, and I want to absorb it more.

Groovin’ Wes, and Brewer’s other CDs, are available at CDBaby.com, Amazon.com, iTunes, and Borders.com.

Track Listing

1. Speak Low
2. Bumpin’ on Sunset
3. In Your Own Sweet Way
4. Road Song
5. Bumpin’
6. Here’s That Rainy Day
7. Yesterdays
8. Dearly Beloved

Terrence Brewer: Groovin’ Wes is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Mike Ian - Puzzle Pieces

Back in college, my friends and I came up with a nickname for musicians who were so good that we felt compelled to cut off one of their fingers to make it fair for the rest of us. We called these folks “nine-fingers.”

When I met NJ-based musician Mike Ian, it took all of about 10 seconds before we gave him the moniker. In fact, we pretty much made up the nickname for him specifically and then just applied it other people we knew as well. (Scott McGill also comes to mind.)

Mike recently released a new CD called “Puzzle Pieces” and when I received it in the mail I was anxious to put it in and give it a spin.

I’ll get to the actual review in a minute, but I feel that some more background is in order. You see, I met Mike in the music lounge in college. At that time (late 80′s/early 90′s) we basically took over the lounge and turned it into a jam house. Picture “Fame” but hetero. (Just sayin’… not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

The final straw for us wasn’t watching in awe as Mike played some of the most amazing guitar music we’ve ever heard. The final straw for us was when he most humbly told us that he felt he was just a guitar hack because his main instrument was drums!

(We almost stuffed him in the trunk of a car right then and there.)

But he’s right to a point; he is also a phenomenal drummer. You can hear him playing on my progressive rock band’s CD.

Anyway… I felt the background was important because Mike not only played guitar on Puzzle Pieces, but also drums, bass, banjo, pedal steel, and vocals. He also wrote all of the lyrics, recorded, engineered, and produced it. He even designed the CD cover himself! To say that Mike is multi-talented would be like saying Einstein was pretty smart.

Puzzle Pieces

Puzzle Pieces  is a ten-song musical extravaganza that incorporates country, rock, and pop influences into a very solid, likeable, and great-sounding package. The engineering is fantastic, all of the instruments sound great, and Mike sings damn well, too! (This is the first time I’ve ever heard him sing in the 20+ years I’ve know him.)

Fans of Jellyfish will instantly fall in with the CD’s opener Ticket to the Moon. An incredibly hooky song with a great guitar intro, leslie speaker action, and overall a very tight arrangement.

The Sweetest Sound has something of a surf rock meets country vibe going for it. Great vocal harmonies and pedal steel work really shines through here. A nice, tight guitar solo safely weaves its way through the bridge. Definitely a song that you will be singing in your car with the windows down.

The title track, Puzzle Pieces, like Ticket to the Moon, starts with a cool guitar riff. This song reminds me very much of Kevin Gilbert. Beatles fans will really love the chorus, and the second verse has a really cool shuffle feel to it that gets your head bobbing up and down to the beat.

My Lucky Day shows out Mike’s country influence quite a bit, while the ballad The White Gown has a great Peter Gabriel vibe to it. I know Mike is a huge Gabriel fan, but he pays homage rather than wear the influence on his sleeve.

Mountain Song reminds me of the group Train in many ways. It’s a very solid song, but hasn’t quite moved me yet as much as the others. I’m sure the song will grow on me – as pretty much all of Mike’s songs do – but I think it may take a little bit longer to catch on with me than the rest.

The pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and get going, feel-good inspiration song of the CD is definitely Better Days. I don’t know why, but I just had a feeling even before I listened to the CD for the first time that Mike would have a song like this. He’s such a positive and encouraging person, it almost seemed inevitable. Having a bad day? Put this song in and crank it up. Need some motivation to take that next step? Better Days will help you do it.

The Great Escape is a bit hard to peg down. If “Yes meets the Dixie Chicks meets Spock’s Beard” makes sense, that’s how I would describe it. You gotta throw a bit of Jellyfish in there as well. This is a mid-tempo song that perfectly sets up the next track…

Take Another Way is a foot-stomping romp. Banjos, mandolin, acoustic guitar, really get the song moving, right into a great country-rock up-tempo groove. King’s X style vocal harmonies are strategically placed to catch your ear and keeps pushing you forward to yet another catchy chorus that you’ll be singing along with.

The bonus track – Tele Chicken Pickin’ – is also the most guitar-focused song on Puzzle Pieces. The only all-instrumental song on the CD, there is a ton of pedal steel bends, country runs, and great picking. Whereas all of the other songs are instrumentally arranged to complement each other, TCP is definitely a showcase for Mike’s guitar playing. It’s not total country, either. I would put it a little more skewed towards Steve Morse than Johnny Hiland.

All in all, Puzzle Pieces is a very solid songwriters CD and a great showcase of songs you will want to play many, many times. Although you won’t hear as much guitar-centric arrangements that are usually featured on guitar blogs, songwriting is, in my opinion, more important than shredding. I really enjoy listening to how guitars enhance a song rather than dominate. There is just enough great guitar work here to inspire even the most die-hard guitar-only fans, and if you like to sing along while listening then you can’t go wrong here.

For more information, and to purchase Puzzle Pieces, please visit Mike Ian’s website. You can also look forward to hearing Mike play drums on some upcoming Din Within recordings!

Mike Ian: Puzzle Pieces is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Scott McGill playing a Vigier fretless guitar

The guitar offers many technical challenges for the serious player/student. The more you dig into it and try to master it, the more elusive it can be before finally succumbing to your charms and giving you control. For those of us who are gluttons for punishment and simply cannot sit idly by and enjoy the fruits of our labors, there is one surefire way to throw yourself over the waterfall in a barrel… pick up and try to play a fretless guitar!

I don’t know how many of you have tried it, but it’s not exactly the easiest thing in the world. In fact, if you want to be able to play anything other than pseudo-sitar slides, dare I say it’s downright frustrating as hell.

For those players that are able to get a handle on the fretless guitar’s idiosyncrasies, it opens up a completely new territory to discover; the Wild West of the guitar, if I may say so. One player who has certainly done his homework and figured out how to control the beast is my guitar teacher and good friend Scott McGill. I’ve written about him before and reviewed his arpeggio book. When I decided to get my own fretless guitar (a Parker that I had modified) I went to Scott for advice on how to approach learning to play it without pulling my hair out. I thought some of the conversations we had would also be of interest to others interested in trying to play fretless guitar, but since I didn’t record our talks I had to do the next best thing and interview him. I’m pleased to finally be able to add him to the Fretterverse Artist Spotlight.

What made you decide to get into fretless guitar?

It seemed interesting to me and I always thought fretless bass was an interesting sound. I viewed it as a new way to challenge myself.

When you first started with it, did you listen to other fretless players?

No. Although I was aware that others played the instrument, I had not heard any material. There really is no tradition for the instrument as of yet.

What kind of music do you like to play on the fretless?

Music of my own making, Classical, and jazz. For me, traditional rock vocabulary is a waste of time on the fretless.

Godin Multiac Nylon Fretless Guitar

Does your approach to picking or your fingerings change when on a fretless guitar?

I’ve changed my left hand approach a bit. I’ve been using the 1^st, 2^nd, and 4^th fingers more and using the 3^rd finger more sparingly, similar to traditional contrabass technique. As for the picking hand, I have a more aggressive attack as the fretless has heavier strings than my fretted electric. My vibrato has changed since I started playing fretless as well.

Is it hard to switch back and forth from fretted to fretless guitars?

Yes. I have to take a little time to get used to fretted guitars after playing the fretless. My fretless has a wider neck, too, which has taken a little bit of getting used to.

Have you found your songwriting on the fretted guitar has changed as a result of playing so much fretless?

Yes, I tend to write specifically for the fretless. I view it as a different instrument altogether.

Let’s talk about the technical challenges. Obviously, good intonation is a huge hurdle…

Playing a note in tune is something guitarists can, for the most part, take for granted. Playing fretless means you have no such luxury and, like a violinist or cellist, you have to focus on just playing a single note in tune, let alone the more complicated material. It’s like starting over.

Chordal playing is also tough; how do you approach playing chords on a fretless guitar?

I make the chordal vocabulary fit the new instrument and that doesn’t necessarily mean “easier” chords as some very modern chord sounds can be played on the fretless. In instances you barre more and perhaps you add or leave out a note to stay in tune if necessary depending on the context or tempo. The angle of your hand makes all the difference with chords. I guess it’s a matter of finding something that’s pleasing to the ear and physically possible.

Good sustain is also hard to achieve. Do you find yourself relying on pedals and/or gear to get sustain-like effects, or do you just play less long notes?

As of late, I play without effects and just straight into an amp so the approach is more percussive. The lower strings on my guitar tend to sustain more than the higher ones. I have done recordings with the instrument where I use effects but for right now, I just focus on playing clean with just an amp and a cable.

Frettless O'Donnell Fusion Series

Was there anything else you found particularly difficult, or something that required you to look at the guitar differently?

Performing is quite a challenge because although it’s a guitar, it’s drastically different and challenging, especially if you’re improvising in front of an audience. Perhaps it’s a bit like being a saxophonist and playing flute live. It’s a part of the same instrumental family, but a different approach altogether. Playing fast passages on a fretless for me tends to be more difficult as you can’t just lightly dance off of the frets when playing rapidly. You have to press the string all the way down to make contact.

I’ve known you for a very long time and I know that, like me, you love to practice. What does your fretless practice routine consist of?

I use a similar plan. Scales, pieces, arpeggios, harmonics, improvising, chords, and writing section of music. I go to the fretless first when practicing as I figure if I can play something on that in tune, the fretted guitar won’t be quite as tough. It’s my favorite instrument right now. I’m working on a disc’s worth of material of classical pieces right now that includes the fretless guitar and I’d like to do another disc of all fretless guitar in the near future similar to “Awareness.” All of my discs from 2002 on include fretless guitar on them and I’d like that to continue and I am preparing to record more fretless material within a few weeks. I’d like to get involved in festivals and live performing a bit more too. I love the instrument and am having fun with it.

For more information on Scott’s recordings, you can visit his website. Another great website with plenty of information on fretless guitars is Unfretted.com.

Artist Spotlight: Scott McGill on Playing Fretless Guitar is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Copyright Michael Wilson 2009

Doug Wamble is well-known in the jazz guitar community. Having cut his teeth playing with Madeline Peyroux, Cassandra Wilson, Wynton Marsalis, and being signed to Branford Marsalis’ record label, Wamble has established himself as a true spokesperson not only for jazz guitar, but guitar in general. His compositions span a wide range of styles and influences, including jazz, rock, blues, country, folk, soul, and gospel (to name a few).

When I approached Doug about doing an interview, I knew that I didn’t want to rehash the same questions everyone gets asked. Having the opportunity to speak with a well-respected guitarist who is carving his own musical path (very hard to do nowadays), the thought of asking him about his gear and string gauge just seemed trite and a waste of time.

After some thought, I came up with the idea to talk with Doug about songwriting. Luckily, he seemed quite happy and willing to discuss it with me. Enjoy!

On Songwriting

Do you find yourself usually starting a new song with a melody, chord idea, or general concept?

I’m all over the place with these things. Sometimes, I’ll hear a song that really gets in my head and I immediately want to cover it. Then I often wind up writing one that uses that song as inspiration. And that inspiration can come in the form of a melody, a particular chord movement, a drum groove, a bass line or a lyrical idea/concept. I can trace so many things I’ve written to their inspiration point, but it varies from song to song as to which part was the seed.

Does your approach change when writing a song that will be sung instead of an instrumental?

Not really. If an idea comes in, it usually just writes itself. I don’t work on things very hard. If it hasn’t been basically finished in an hour or so, I usually discard it. That goes for vocal as well as instrumental songs. I may tweak little things here and there later; maybe add a bar or two, change a chord here and there. But mostly, it gets written fast either way.

Only an hour or so? So you never force yourself to push through and finish something; not even to break through a mental block?

Very rarely. If I have to force it, it never makes the cut anyway. I’ve done that a few times and the music always felt boxed in to me. So I abandon things that are worked on too much. Now, I’ll write music for larger ensembles sometimes and really take time with things like voice leading, texture and arranging ideas. But that’s different than songwriting.

When you write for larger ensembles, do you use any writing aids – notation programs like Sibelius – or recording software (SONAR, ProTools) to get an idea of what the arrangements are going to sound like?

Absolutely. I’ve been using Finale since the Finale 97 version. I do miss the days of having a big score pad and a pencil and writing the old fashioned way. But you can’t beat Finale. Plus, you get to play the score back and check for typos as you work. The last time I had a big project for a large ensemble, and also had minimal rehearsal time, I imported the Finale files into Logic and made little mp3’s out of the tunes. Of course, they don’t sound good at all. But they do at least provide a context for the musicians to get the music in their ears. It made the rehearsals go a lot faster, I think.

How about the lyrics? Do they come easily for you as well?

Yeah, they do. Again, it’s all about getting in touch with the jet stream of ideas. Once I’m riding that, the song finishes itself.

Doug and his son, from a recent New York Times article

I often use a variety of dictionaries, thesauri (did I just make that word up?), and idiom dictionaries to help with my lyric writing. (Then again, I write progressive rock lyrics…) How do you generally approach your lyrics? You said they also come easy for you, so is it about “keep ‘em simple” and to the point, or try to be witty and play on words and use allusion and metaphor a la Kevin Gilbert (if you know who he is)?

Well, I use a lot of literary devices when I speak, so I just try and write from what I know. I rarely use reference materials. But sometimes I’ll read a book and take ideas from it. I do a lot of plays on words and allusions and metaphors. That’s part of making a song different from an essay or something. You gotta tart it up a little!

Do you write on different instruments other than the guitar?

Piano sometimes. And then sometimes I write without any instrument at all. I hear a melody and just write down the notes and rhythms on a scrap paper or into my BlackBerry. I use the Voice Recorder on there a lot too.

Doug's first CD - Country Libations

How do you decide on part order (head, bridge, chorus…)?

That comes from the overall structure when I write something. It can really vary. I mean, part of it is obvious. If I get a hook line, or a hook melody, I’ll want that to fall in a chorus, and naturally it will do that.

Does your actual playing on a song change when it’s a song with vocals?

The style of music dictates more than whether or not it’s a vocal piece.

Do you like to keep the harmony simple or do you add in the extensions and alterations?

It really depends. One of the great things about studying so much jazz and classical music is that a lot of harmony sounds really normal to me. So my ear can go a lot of places, and it’s up to me to figure out when to scale it back. Sometimes a triad is all you need.

But other times, a melody takes on a whole new vibe if it’s in an upper extension, and the same goes for the chord structure. It all depends on the particular piece.

Do you ever self-impose writing limitations to challenge yourself?

On occasion. Recently, a good friend and great songwriter started a “Song Club.” He gives a title and sends it to a few people to write a song with that lyric in it. It’s been a lot of fun.

Who are your songwriting influences?

Jeff Buckley, Chris Whitley, Elton John, Jonah Smith, Coby Brown, Charlie Wood, Leah Siegel, Elliott Smith, Nick Drake, Mose Allison, Prince, Duke Ellington, Richard Rodgers, Sarah Siskind, Stevie Wonder, Fiona Apple, Jimi Hendrix, Lowell George, MeShell Ndegeocello, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Norah Jones, John Mayer, Martin Sexton, Elvis Costello, Ryan Scott, Ray LaMontagne, Willie Nelson, David Porter, Dave Grohl, Ray Charles, Donny Hathaway

That’s a great list! Do you listen to music when you are in writing mode?

Absolutely. If not for that, how would I steal?

Doug's CD "Bluestate"

Then how do you give yourself a reality-check to make sure that what you’re writing isn’t TOO derivative of what you’re listening to?

Eh…I never care, really. It’s all relative. I’m sure I hear the ripoffs more than someone who didn’t know the reference. But even if someone heard the influence, or ripoff, it’s OK. We all steal.

What’s the last song you heard that really knocked you on your butt and inspired you?

I can think of two: “L.A.” by Elliott Smith and “Flume” by Bon Iver.

What was it about those songs that moved you so much?

I’ve slowly begun to fall in love with LA, and my dear friend Tim Luntzel turned me on to that Smith song while I was in LA and Tim and I were chatting online. I just loved the vibe of it and what he had to say and how he said it. Elliott was something special.

The Bon Iver song is the first of the debut album, “For Emma Forever Ago.” That record just really got to me on a cellular level. First off, I love that Justin Vernon (the singer and songwriter) plays old resonator guitars. I use them a lot, too, and it’s a great sonic tool. I just found his layering of voices, his use of texture and ambience, along with plain old good songwriting to be a potent combination. The sound of that record just grabbed me from the first few seconds and everytime I hear it that mood gets recaptured.

Are your songs recorded organically – solos take as long as they take – or do you specify number of choruses?

Again, it all depends on the style of music. I’ve primarily made jazz-oriented records before, and they were usually done very organically. The solos took as long as needed and we went with it. But on my new record, it’s song-oriented and not jazz in any way, shape or form. So the solos that are there are a specific length, since they serve a different function than they do in jazz.

Can you tell us a little bit about the songwriting on the new CD, which drops in April?

The process for writing this record was very different for me. Previously, I’d been a bandleader on the road as a jazz musician leading a jazz band, even though we played a lot of music that wasn’t necessarily coming from jazz source material. We put everything through that filter, though. So I always wrote from the perspective of trying to develop the band.

Once the cycle of my last record ended, I had a lot of life changes. Had a two big knee operations, my wife gave birth to our son, and I was off the road for quite a while. So I found myself writing songs instead of writing for the band. And I didn’t really know what I was going to do with the songs. At that point, I planned on continuing the path I was on in the jazz world. But things rarely go as you think they will, and I started writing more and more of the material that would wind up on this new record.

Since then, I’ve gotten more into doing this kind of thing and it seems to be where my head is at for the time being. Who knows how long it will last. I try not to think about it too much. I’d hate to be the pretentious songwriter that tries to write symphonies when he’s 55, but I’ll never say never. I hear the guy from Winger is doing that now, so more power to him! But I’m more likely to be in a Winger Tribute band…

Hear Tracks From Doug’s New CD

Doug’s new CD drops in April; check out this youTube audio compilation of the new songs! You can also get more information about Doug from his website – www.dougwamble.com.

Artist Spotlight: Doug Wamble, A Conversation on Songwriting is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Washington, DC-based jazz guitarist Steve Herberman is, in my opinion, one of the few to rise above the white noise. His unique chord voicings and arrangements are beautiful to listen to and watch (I’ve seen him perform live several times) and his CDs will surely test the limits of your iPod’s battery longevity.

I am pleased to have had the opportunity to interview him and am grateful for the beautiful video chord melody of Body and Soul he did for Fretterverse.com, which you can see at the bottom of this page.

When did you first pick up the guitar?

I started playing guitar when I was around 12 years old. A brief, early stint with a Ukelele got me hooked on the idea of playing a guitar and I begged my parents for a guitar. My first was a Yamaha nylon string and then I pretty quickly got a Gibson Marauder electric we found at a guitar sale.

What inspired you to start playing?

I had a couple years of piano lessons and then a little bit of trombone in elementary school band, but when I picked up a guitar that was it! Sliding notes and bending was exciting, which I proceeded to do until my family had to ask me to turn down the little Fender Champ because they heard enough.

Who were your earliest influences?

The Beatles and The Eagles were my favorites when I first started playing guitar. Day Tripper was the 1^st song I learned by ear and then Smoke on the Water, oddly enough. Usually it would be the other way around. Ritchie Blackmore, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Joe Perry were my favorites when I was around 13 or so.

What prompted you to go the jazz direction?

I was in a band when I was about 15 doing Rush and Yes tunes and was loving the challenge. This band I was in wanted to win a battle of the bands and there was a vote to add a vocalist, as we were just a power trio playing instrumentals. I guess the drummer thought we had a better chance of winning with vocals. Once the vocalist got there he wanted to play pop tunes and I really had to get out of there! I was just starting to hear John McLaughlin and Jean Luc-Ponty and was getting very interested in fusion music. From fusion I was led to Thelonious Monk and Wes Montgomery. It was a language I didn’t understand but was enthralled with. It was mysterious and exciting and seemed to be the high point in terms of technique, theory and more importantly emotional content. I began reading all of the jazz bios I could find and subscribing to Downbeat and JazzTimes. I was an instant convert!

Do you still listen to other styles of music aside from jazz?

Absolutely, yes. I still like the Beatles and the early stuff I listened to as a kid along with classical music, brazilian, Motown, soul etc. I like any good music.

Who are your guitar influences?

Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Lenny Breau, George VanEps, Ted Greene for the jazz guitarists. The “art rock” guys like Steve Howe (Yes), Alex Lifeson (Rush), and David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) were also big influences. Classical guys like Julian Bream and Andres Segovia were important for me too.

How did you first start learning jazz? Did you take lessons or teach yourself?

I began learning jazz on my own from records and books and going to hear live jazz. Joe Pass was a huge early influence, as was Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis and Emily Remler. I got to hear these people live when I was a teenager and was very lucky to have done so!

What did you practice when you first started learning jazz?

Scales and arpeggios were the first things and then I just transcribed like a madman. We didn’t have many videos to watch so it was just by listening only. I also studies chord voicings. The Ted Greene books along with a book of Joe Pass chord solos were a huge help. Now they have tons of Pass chord solos in TAB but that book I had was all standard notation so I had to really work for it!

Why did you start playing the 7-string guitar?

Around 1993 I bought my 1^st 7-string. I had gone through most of George VanEps’ Harmonic Mechanism books with my 6 string. I wanted to extend those studies into the lower registers but couldn’t do so with the 6-string. I think VanEps seduced me into the 7-string with those books he wrote for the 6-string. His multi-line concepts fit so beautifully with the 7-string that I had to get one after working through his material. And listening to George is what really did it. I had to explore that type of playing and had to have the right kind of guitar to do it.

Do you tune in standard tuning or de-tune the low B string to A? If so, why?

Strings 1 to 6 are tuned in the standard guitar tuning. The low 7^th string I tune to ‘A’ so any standard guitar chord voicing with a bass note on the 5^th string can be dropped to the 7^th string and that note will remain on the same fret. This helps greatly with keeping the notes of the chord all in one comfortable position. It’s easier on the hand that way rather than tuning the bass note to a B and having to stretch farther to grab common chord voicings. Also Van Eps tuned his guitar with the 7^th string tuned down a perfect 5^th from the 6^th string. He used the same tuning as me and most other 7 string jazz guitarists but tuned all his strings down a whole step so he had a low G. He had to use a .100 bass string to get it that low.

I’m particularly impressed with your inner voice movement. Can you tell me how you approach this concept?

Basically I have a bass line in mind, say a half note-based bass line with a melody line on top. I like to improvise little melodies in between the bass and melody notes. Sometimes they are scales or arpeggios or combinations of the two. The challenge is in sustaining one or more of the outside notes while threading the line in between. That’s where those Van Eps books really paid off for me. I teach these concepts and others in my many video classes I do for Mike’s Masterclasses.

Let’s talk about your Mike’s Masterclass lessons. You have a lot of video lessons there. Can you tell us about what you have to offer and what your future lesson plans are?

I have 25 lessons to date covering everything from beginning chord solos to the most intricate Van Eps-type counterpoint. And many classes on comping and soloing as well as practice techniques and how to learn tunes. Some future lesson plans involve composition techniques, more on soloing concepts, melodic minor, whole tone and augmented scales usage and lots more. Students send me suggestions and I try my best to honor them.

What advice do you find yourself giving your students the most?

Listen. Go hear live music, transcribe and analyze and get your theory and reading down solid. Study with different people to get various points of view. And most important, practice every day!

Do you recommend transcribing solos?

Absolutely, yes. Miles Davis is a great place to start.

If you could jam with one guitarist (living or dead) who would it be and why?

Ed Bickert, because I’d pick his brain about his beautiful comping. He had the knack to always play the right thing behind people. He is still living but has retired from playing, unfortunately.

Do you have any new recordings coming up?

Currently I don’t but I’m in the process of thinking about what I might do next. It’s important for me to keep getting my music out there.

What do you like to do aside from playing music? Do you have any other hobbies?

I enjoy playing football and street hockey with my 9 year old son and going ice skating. I like to walk around outdoors too and do so every chance I get. Music can be such a sedentary thing I need to counteract all that sitting!

Artist Spotlight: Steve Herberman is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.