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MARTY FRIEDMAN: AUSTRALIAN TOUR INTERVIEW 0

Legendary guitar virtuoso MARTY FRIEDMAN will be returning to Australia, for the first time with his full “Super Band” in December. With a career spanning over thirty years with some of the world’s biggest heavy metal acts including Megadeth, on top of a stellar solo career, Marty Friedman is a household name for guitarists across the world. Due to massive demand from Australian fans, Marty will also be doing 4 very special masterclasses before each show in Australia, giving guitarists across the country the opportunity to learn from one of the world’s greatest guitarists in an extremely intimate setting.

Ahead of the Australian tour, Marty took some time out to chat with local guitar identity James Ryan about his career, gear and the upcoming concerts and masterclasses.

James: Marty this will be your first ever band tour to Australia, although you have been here before because I saw you in clinic years ago…
Marty: Yeah that was the most recent time. I think around 2010. This is first time coming with my band and they are extremely pumped and excited about it. Not a lot of Japanese people get to play in Australia. It’s a legendary destination and I am really glad that I am the guy to guide them down there, even though I haven’t been there very much myself.

Can you tell me about your current band? It’s fairly new isn’t it?
Not really. I’ve had several different incarnations of my solo band and sometimes there are long term members and sometimes there’s a new member depending on what part of the world I am in and what the schedules are like and how long the tour is, all these different factors are involved. On this tour you are going to see the bass player Kiyoshi who did my recent record and live album and is my main core bass player. My guitarist Naoki is Japanese too, who has done stuff for me in Japan … a young kid, who is absolutely amazing. What is going to happen is that you might come to the concert to see me but when you leave the show you are going to be talking about my band. That’s pretty much the guarantee and they are going to outshine me every single night. That’s the way I like it, especially with this set that we have planned, where there is room for everyone to be themselves, it’s not all about me and not just a recital of my music.

That’s what I have always got from watching your videos. Everyone gets to do their own thing and gets to have their own personality in there and it’s always a brutal band. Apart from the concerts, there has also been a big demand for your masterclasses too. Do you have a particular approach for the masterclasses?
The only real approach I have is to completely let the people who come to have it their way. I don’t have any agenda or don’t plan to teach anything. I just play a little bit including some songs I don’t play in the live concert and then pretty much I just answer questions. It’s a big Q&A festival and I let everybody get as many questions in as possible about anything they want, it doesn’t have to be about music. I let them run it and it’s just as much fun for me because I get to know what makes everyone tick.

I wanted to take you back to the early days of Cacophony with Jason Becker. Do you ever have a sneaky listen to that stuff as it was a pretty wild era for you?
Jason and I are great friends and we email each other all the time. We are actually going to do a little Cacophony stuff in the show in Australia because I have never played there as a solo band and I want to acknowledge a lot of the people who have followed me for a long time but have never got to see anything live. I am bringing back a few things from early in my career, Dragon’s Kiss, a little bit of Cacophony stuff and let people know that I care that they have supported me and we haven’t been there as much as Jason and I would have loved to have been there. It’s always a thrill to me when I do that and mention Jason’s name because people perk up and it is a fantastic thing, the fact that although he hasn’t toured for so long, he is still appreciated in all kinds of countries and it shows the power of his music and power and warmth of the fans. In Australia we are going to do this thing where my guitar player Naoki does a mean Jason Becker impression. It’s going to be fun.

Did that early period help to shape your tone and style or was it just already there?
It’s always been ‘already there’ but it’s been an evolving work in progress. It has definitely evolved since then and if you listen to my most recent stuff, it’s really like Cacophony on steroids. It’s kind of the same person, same melodic sene but the musical decisions are much more well thought out and executed maybe and a lot of the fat got trimmed off but that was a very important part of my evolution and I really have no regrets about that stuff.

You’ve always seemed to be attracted to some more exotic sounds and outside ways of approaching harmony and melody and that has carried right through your career.
Certainly. At that time what happened was, anything I was inspired by I would immediately put in a song and try it out and throw everything into the kitchen sink before I really understood it. If I got any kind of new information whatsoever, I would throw it into something. That’s great but sometimes it’s hit and miss and after you have had years to find a little bit of musical sense and experience you tend to do it a bit smarter and you get more satisfaction out of it. In your early 20s you just go, I know this and I am going to throw it in there. It’s a childlike mentality which is not always bad but like I said, I have no regrets. Sometimes I listen back and think well this is a little funny … I was trying my best

What a fantastic idea though, to throw that stuff in there while you feel it is exciting. Otherwise you’re not going to get onto some of the more interesting sounds that you sometimes trip over …
That’s exactly right and back then we didn’t really have anybody telling us it sucked and sometimes that can be helpful. If we thought it was cool we’d put it in there but a third ear sometimes can be helpful as far as mainstream appeal goes but we weren’t really interested in mainstream appeal and I am not that terribly interested in it that much today either. But you know, you learn, with any record that is done you think there are a couple of things you might have wanted to do differently.

I was looking on your website and there was this track that you did for the Japanese government. At first I thought what a cool freakin song and then mostly I just thought, Japan must have the coolest government in the universe to ask you to do that?
Thank you so much that means a lot to hear, it really does. I agree with you that the fact that their government commissioned me to do it … I wasn’t born in Japan, I am from America … so to have the government get me to do it when there are stacks of amazing Japanese musicians out there, it was a huge responsibility. I really loved the challenge and the way it came out and when you collaborate with the Tokyo Philharmonic, it is a chance to make a piece of music sound really grand. It was a lot of work done over a relatively short period of time but I am so satisfied with the piece of music. Sometimes I will play that in the clinics but it is just a thing I am very proud of.

You seem to get most of your sound through your technique, the way you hit the strings and using your volume control. You never seemed to get caught up in the whole gear side of things, did you?
No not really. I admire people who have the head for gear and have a sense of electronics and pedals and boards but I never had that. I have always tried to streamline my playing experience where it is basically me plugging into an amp and making my musical statement with note choices and the way I phrase notes and compositions, things that I can control. I don’t really get into effects. I think it is really pure, although I do admire people who can express themselves using different effects.

You are not relying on all this stuff, so wherever you go in the world, as long as you have a good amp, and your Jackson guitar you’re happy! The Jackson thing has worked out well for you. You must be enjoying using those guitars?
Yeah I love it. It’s a signature model that has really been a source of pride. Jackson was there when I was putting out signature models for other companies. They have always remained close family to me and helped me in many situations even when I was not an official Jackson guy. They never writ me off, which tends to happen in the music business. When I was out of contract with another company they said whenever you want to start work on a signature model just call us and I did and it was a long process during the Wall of Sound recording and they sent me lots of prototypes. Like I was saying before, I am not a gear guy, so contacting them wasn’t very good in regard to getting them to fix the things I needed fixed, so they put up with a lot of my stupidity. After many prototypes … all of which I recorded that album Wall of Sound on, or the majority, it was me just trying out guitars. We nailed down the final guitar by the end of the recording. It is just a very basic, simple guitar that looks great and I will be playing it in Australia. A wonderful company known for metal but they’re good for a lot more as you will see more of in the future.

Are there any guitar players you are hearing at the moment that you would like to do something with?
There are so many great guitar players. There’s a guy named Mateus Asato. I think he is a wonderful player and there are so many guys but he is the first one that comes to mind. He has such a sweet touch and a really nice player.

What’s your approach to writing when you need to come up with a new album? Is there a process you go through to kick that off?
It’s a scary time because it is like starting with a blank piece of paper and I don’t like it at all. I hate it but it has to be done, I am not one of those guys who catalogues a lot of old stuff and goes back to it. I think if it sucked before, it is not going to get any better by sitting in a computer, so I start from scratch again.
There’s a pressure which comes from not wanting to repeat what you’ve done before. The last records I think are my best and everyone should feel that way. The last thing they released is what they should be most proud of. I’d hate to wind up saying the first album is my best and I haven’t really passed it since. Sometimes I do feel I am never going to top that so why bother.

I imagine there’s always something that comes along to inspire you though and you can shake off that voice in your head?
It always happens thankfully and it’s usually when one new thing comes into the equation, a new collaboration or new studio or new engineer. It takes one little spark to set you off and I am always waiting for that to happen.

TOUR DATES
Wednesday, December 11: Crowbar, Sydney – Masterclass @ 5.00pm
Thursday, December 12: Crowbar, Brisbane – Masterclass @ 5.00pm
Friday, December 13: Bendigo Hotel, Melbourne SOLD OUT
Saturday, December 14: The Basement, Canberra – Masterclass @ 5.00pm
Sunday, December 15: The Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne NEW SHOW – Masterclass @ 5.00pm

TICKETS VIA EVENTBRITE
www.pinnaclemusic.eventbrite.com

TOOL ANNOUNCE FEBRUARY AUSTRALIAN TOUR 0

Frontier Touring is thrilled to announce the return of triple Grammy® award-winning Californian rockers Tool, performing in arenas across Australia and New Zealand in February 2020 – their first shows in both countries in seven years. The tour comes off the back of the band’s critically-acclaimed fifth studio album, and their first new record in 13 years, the incredible #1 ARIA Album Fear Inoculum.

Currently on a mammoth 26-date tour in the USA, Danny Carey (drums), Justin Chancellor (bass), Adam Jones (guitar) and Maynard James Keenan’s (vocals) groundbreaking, epic live show sees a band at the top of their powers. Their immersive live visual experience is as brilliant as the band’s music itself, and not to be missed.
Tool first formed in 1990 and have released four multi-platinum studio albums: Undertow (1993), Ænima (1996), Lateralus (2001) and 10,000 Days (2006); two EPs: 72826 (1991) and Opiate (1992) and the limited-edition boxset Salival (2000).

Released in August 2019, Fear Inoculum debuted at #1 in Australia and New Zealand (the band’s third consecutive #1 album in both countries) – with #1 debut position also in Canada, Norway, and Belgium. In the USA, the band knocked Taylor Swift off the top spot and sold 270,000 units in its first week alone. Critics were united in praise, Rolling Stone describing Fear Inoculum as: “A formal masterpiece that should stand the test of time.”

Adding to these special shows, fans will have the opportunity to purchase a limited edition VIP Package, details of which can be found here.

Yesterday, the band announced the December 13 release of an expanded book edition of Fear Inoculum, which includes 5 x 3D lenticular cards with exclusive graphics, an expanded 56-page booklet, a download of the groundbreaking immersive visual experience (video) “Recusant Ad Infinitum,” and a CD. Head here to pre-order.
Don’t miss the multi-sensory, groundbreaking experience that is Tool, live in concert. Do not delay – tickets will not last long!

TOUR DATES
Friday 14 February – RAC Arena, Perth
Monday 17 February – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
Thursday 20 February – Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
Saturday 22 February – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Friday 28 February – Spark Arena, Auckland
All shows — All Ages

https://www.frontiertouring.com/tool

CHRISTONE ‘KINGFISH’ INGRAM: BLUESFEST 2020 INTERVIEW 0

Twenty year old blues guitar prodigy Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram is heading to Australia next year to perform at Bluesfest. AM editor Greg Phillips recently caught up with Kingfish on the phone to chat about his career, gear and his trip downunder for Bluesfest.

Although most of the major blues legends like as Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Albert King, BB King, Howlin Wolf and Robert Johnson have well and truly left the building, the blues is still very much alive and well and living in Mississippi courtesy of young torchbearers such as 20 year old guitarist, singer, songwriter Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram. Kingfish was hitting drums at age six, plucking bass when he was 8 and by the time he reached 11, he was playing guitar at Clarksdale’s famous Ground Zero Club backing his mentor Bill “Howl-N-Madd” Perry. He even played at the White House in 2014 as part of a delegation of young blues musicians from the Delta Blues Museum. Once the great Bootsy Collins began to share Christone’s fabulous YouTube videos, the world then caught on to this blues prodigy and there’s been no turning back since. He has gone on to share the stage with Buddy Guy, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Robert Randolph, Guitar Shorty, Eric Gales and many others and in May 2019 he released his acclaimed debut album ‘Kingfish’ on respected blues label Alligator Records.

In fact, blues is so embedded in Kingfish’s DNA that he resides only a few kilometres from the infamous crossroads on the corner of Highway 61 and Highway 49 in Clarksdale, the location where the legend says blues musician Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil. While many global music fans make the pilgrimage to America’s south to pay homage to the pioneering towns that gave birth to the blues, Christone laments a declining interest from many of locals in their own music history. “To be truthful not like they used to but there are still a lot of locals who understand the history of the blues and the town but most people really don’t appreciate it,” he tells me.

A spark that really lit Kingfish’s fire for the blues was seeing BB King perform on the American TV show Sanford and Son. “I remember he was doin’ How Blue Can You Get and man, the sound of his voice and the way he was hittin’ the strings, the vibrato, it was amazing,” he recalls. Christone is grateful that he once got to meet his guitar hero albeit briefly. “I got to meet him one time when I was in 7th grade. I never got a chance to meet him the way I wanted to ‘cos it wasn’t a one on one, it was with a whole bunch of other kids but I was definitely grateful to meet him one time.”

After all of the promise, the kudos and a few more stage miles, Christone finally released his debut album “Kingfish’ this year to much acclaim. The album presents all the facets of Christone’s love of the blues from firebrand electric tunes to heartfelt acoustic ballads. It also features guest appearances from blues icons Buddy Guy and Keb Mo. While the album was an exciting writing and recording opportunity for the young bluesman, it was also a great learning experience.

“It was my first stab at original tunes and they were all about what was going on in my head and my mind at the time. All of them definitely are from my heart,” he says. “I did learn a lot about rushing things. When you have time to prepare something you have to take advantage of that time. We made that record in like 3 days and it turned out great but I felt like it might have been better on my part  if I took my time with certain things.”

It hasn’t taken long at all for the guitar world to embrace Kingfish either. Earlier this year Fender guitars featured Christone as an ambassador for their new Vintera range, a line of vintage-inspired electric guitar and bass models that embody a period-specific vibe. Kingfish was chosen as the musician to perfectly represent the spirit of their 50s model Vintera Strat. On stage however, it’s currently a Player series Strat that he uses as one of his main instruments, along with his custom Michael Chertoff LP-style guitar. Amp-wise, he’s still exploring his tone. “I am alternating between amps, Peavey and Fender,” he explains. “Right now I am using a Peavey Delta Blues, that’s a little 2×10 or maybe the one with 18 inch speaker or a Fender Twin or a Fender DeVille. Mesa Boogie have me trying something out now too. I only use like 3 pedals, the Conspiracy Theory overdrive, wah wah and tuner.”

There are a couple of wonderful acoustic tracks on the album too, ‘Been Here Before’ and ‘Hard Times’, which he used whatever guitars were available to him in the studio including a J-Series Gibson. Occasionally at home Christone will gravitate to an acoustic guitar when inspiration strikes. “Yeah I do that,” he tells me. “I do it when I don’t feel like pluggin’ in. I do like to play acoustic because it does improve your control and it’s good to have around the house. Also when the album came out I started adding some acoustic stuff to my show.”

The great news for Australian blues fans is that Kingfish will be heading our way next Easter to perform at Bluesfest, a festival he has heard much about. “I’ve heard a lot man,” he says enthusiastically. “It’s actually one of the festivals I’ve been wanting to be on for a long while. I’m really looking forward to it. And what else is he looking forward to about his trip downunder? “Kangaroos man! Kangaroos and meeting new people and playing some music, that’s what’s on my agenda.”

Bluesfest 2020 is being held from 9 – 13 April 2020. Tickets are on sale now via Moshtix.

LENNY KRAVITZ, JIMMIE VAUGHAN, ANI DIFRANCO & MORE ADDED TO BLUESFEST 2020 0

The wait is over! Following a great first announcement including Dave Matthews Band, Crowded House, Patti Smith and her band and so many more, Bluesfest can now reveal more incredible artists to join the lineup for the 31st chapter of Bluesfest Byron Bay this Easter. Bluesfest 2020 is being held from 9 – 13 April 2020 Just added:

LENNY KRAVITZ
JIMMIE VAUGHAN (exclusive)
THE WATERBOYS (exclusive)
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL
ANI DIFRANCO
MADOU & MARIAM
THE ALLMAN BETTS BAND
ZUCCHERO (exclusive)
CORY HENRY & THE FUNK APOSTLES
YOLA
TAL WILKENFELD
JOACHIM COODER (exclusive)
STEVE ‘N’ SEAGULLS (exclusive)

Commenting on the announcement, Festival Director, Peter Noble OAM said “As the Bluesfest lineup is organically building, I am delighted to welcome Lenny Kravitz as a headliner. Lenny has often been described as ‘the last of the great rock stars’ and anyone who has seen him live will know why! I am thrilled to welcome him to Bluesfest 2020, dreams do come true!

With this announcement, we have scored some fantastic exclusive performances from Jimmie Vaughan, The Waterboys, Ry Cooder’s son – Joachim Cooder and all the way from the North Pole – Steve ‘n’ Seagulls! There just isn’t any other band quite like them. When you live that remotely, you need to do something serious to get your message out and boy have they ever!

We love guitar at Bluesfest. This year is fast becoming the year of the guitar! With Jimmie Vaughan and The Allman Betts Band added to the previously announced George Benson, Marcus King Band, Larkin Poe, John Butler, Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, Walter Trout, Carolyn Wonderland playing with John Mayall and Dave Matthews Band – Bluesfest 2020 is going to be guitar heaven! And, let’s not forget the bass players! Aussie wunderkind Tal Wilkenfeld has been the anchor for some of the greatest guitar players to tread the boards including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Prince and Herbie Hancock who all hired her for her bass skills. Now it’s our turn to hear our home girl’s many talents. We’ve so many artists making their Bluesfest debut in 2020 in this announcement alone! Tal Wilkenfeld, Joachim Cooder, Ani DiFranco, The Allman Betts Band, Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles and Yola, to name just a few. It’s SO exciting! Now we are getting the build-up. With many more announcements to come, I’ve plenty of surprises up my sleeve! Bluesfest 2020 is going to be the best yet! Oh and did we say, Crowded House exclusive, they’re playing their first Australian show in five years!”

The Bluesfest 2020 First Artist Lineup:

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
CROWDED HOUSE (exclusive Australian performance)
PATTI SMITH AND HER BAND
GEORGE BENSON
BRANDI CARLILE
JOHN BUTLER
XAVIER RUDD
THE CAT EMPIRE
MORCHEEBA
JOHN PRINE
JENNY LEWIS
FRANK TURNER
JOHN MAYALL
BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE
THE MARCUS KING BAND
WALTER TROUT
CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM (exclusive)
GREENSKY BLUEGRASS
LARKIN POE
THE WAR & TREATY

For further information on the lineup or artists please see here.

Bluesfest 2020 is being held from 9 – 13 April 2020. Tickets are on sale now via Moshtix.

KIRK FLETCHER: THE 2020 AUSTRALIAN TOUR INTERVIEW 0

Acclaimed soulful, blues guitarist Kirk Fletcher is returning to Australia next February to play a series of gigs. Australian Musician’s Greg Phillips caught up with Kirk on the phone to chat about his career, the current album Hold On and the upcoming tour.

In any band-friendly venue in any town in any developed country, chances are there’s a blues guitar player due to hit their stage at sometime soon in the future. The blues transcends race and language and we can all relate to the heart and soul of the genre. With such an overabundance of blues guitarists in the world, to stand out from the rest you’ve got to be really, really good. LA-based guitarist, singer, songwriter, performer Kirk Fletcher is undoubtedly one of the finest exponents of blues guitar with a playing style which features incredible fluidity and fire, yet there’s a sincerity and  warmth which touches you deep inside too. Add Kirk’s soulful vocals, his amiable, laid-back nature and you’ve got a performer who is rapidly rising to the top of the heap.

“I don’t know if I am at the top of the pile but really I don’t think about it much,” Kirk tells me. “I feel like I have my own story to tell and the more I can develop as a singer and songwriter and use the guitar inside a song, I think that people can relate to that. I think that is the thing that separates me from maybe other people. I’m not saying I’m better or anything just saying I’d be different.”

Kirk developed an eclectic music taste early in life, beginning with a love of gospel music, which he heard and played in his father’s church as a child. He further broadened his musical palette through his guitar playing brother’s record collection and a stockpile of guitar magazines.

“I learned how to play guitar in my father’s church when my older brother got me started playing and I was just trying to play like him,” says Kirk while recollecting his past. “I tried to play the licks that he was playing and the way he would play songs in church, the way he held the guitar pick and his choice of guitar and pedals, all that stuff I got from him. Plus he had all the guitar player magazines, the records, so he was a great inspiration. I owe him a lot. As I got older I was listening to what was on MTV but also having this gospel thing. A Kirk Fletcher week would be gospel music, everything from The Dixie Hummingbird style to listening to Prince, Jesse Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaughan to BB King, Bobby Bland, Lightin’ Hopkins and all that kind of stuff. A whole mixture of anything I thought was good.”

It didn’t take long for the word to get around that Kirk Fletcher was a guitar player of note and before long he found himself sharing the stage with luminaries such as Pinetop Perkins, James Cotton and Hubert Sumlin. Fletcher also went on to play with the legendary Fabulous Thunderbirds and Charlie Musselwhite, artists he learned a great deal from.

“You learn so many things because they are so experienced and they have been out there and they have seen it all,” Kirk says. “Also they came up in a different time so they would tell me stories about how it used to be, things to look out for, things that they enjoy places that they enjoy. Plus visiting some of those places, I got to enjoy them too, the food, music, records, how to be a man and stand up for myself, all those things I learned because I was in my late teens, early 20s when I started playing with those guys.”

Despite releasing several albums since his debut in 1999, Kirk labels his current record Hold On as his first real solo album. It’s the first time that he has written and arranged all of the material himself, apart from a little assistance on a couple of tracks. It was recorded in the UK with his European band, Jonny Henderson on organ and bass with Matt Brown on drums. “I have this musical connection with these two musicians, Johnny and Matt, who will be on tour with me when I come to Australia. We just had an immediate musical connection. I did a gig with them at the Bristol Jazz Festival a few years ago and it was so easy and simple and straight forward, that whole connection continued on the record. It was definitely the easiest record I have ever made and the most fun and rewarding.”

As well as having Johnny And Matt in the studio, Kirk also featured Australian singers Jade Macrae and Mahalia Barnes on backing vocals on the album. “Yes, they are absolutely on the album, my sisters,” he tells me enthusiastically. “We were doing a tour with Joe Bonamassa, the Three Kings tour a couple of years ago when I met them. Just the whole Mahalia Barnes family, we just hit it off instantly like sisters and brothers, so it was a great thing. I really couldn’t see myself recording a new record without having those girls on there.”

In regard to recording his guitar parts, Kirk is an old school kinda guy who likes to capture his solos early. For the most part, he used a Telecaster, a Tweed style amp, with 50s type circuitry, a little boost and a bit of reverb to arrive at his tone. “Well I usually just do solos on the fly,” he says. “I don’t really overdub guitar solos. I don’t usually fix things. If on the first or second take, there is a problem, or not quite getting the feel I want, I might fix something but usually, I am more of a one-two or take guy, especially If I am playing something in my comfort zone. If I am playing chords to someone else’s song, maybe I will take longer because I don’t know the song or something but I really just like to let it rip right there on the spot.”

“I like to mic up amps.  I’m not scared of technology or anything but for me, I like a bit of air and a bit of fun and the way the guitar reacts through the amplifier. I actually had the amplifier sitting right next to me on a chair, right next to the guitar. I had never recorded like that before. It was right there on the chair and the whole guitar reacts differently when it is that close to the amplifiers. You can get sustain on any note. It was a lot of fun.”

On the road, Kirk’s gear varies slightly but the same ethos applies. “A lot of times recently in the last couple of years there have been a lot of fly in, fly out dates and things like that. I usually get a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with 2×12 and some kind of reverb pedal and a Vemuram Jan Ray pedal for a boost and that’s pretty much it. I usually like the guitar and the amp to do most of the tone. I can pretty much get the tone from my hands the way I play.”

Kirk Fletcher has been to Australia many times before and is looking forward to returning with a tour starting in Sydney on February 6th.

“Australia is amazing. Australia is one of the first places I ever went on tour and I fell in love with it, had a wonderful time with the people and just the whole vibe. The cool laid back thing, even more so than LA and I’m from LA so I really connected with Australia. I have been back quite a few times and I have always had a wonderful time with great crowds and I always meet somebody new that is amazing. There is always such amazing music in Australia too. It will be me and the guys I had on the record, Jonny Henderson on organ and bass and our drummer Matt Brown. We’ll be a trio and it will be fun. We have been playing a lot together in the last few years so it should be a well-oiled machine.”

Kirk plans to dedicate much of the time before coming to Australia to creating his next studio album, which he hopes to have done by the time he gets here. In regard to the grand plan, he’d like to collaborate more and just wants to continue to do what he’s doing and get better at it!

“I think the plan is just to become a better songwriter and sing better, maybe even collaborate with people outside of the blues genre. I look at people like Ry Cooder and John Scofield and people like that. They’re into what they do but they don’t mind doing other stuff, you know like John Scofield and Jon Cleary or Ry Cooder doing the Cuban thing, so that is really exciting to me. I love all types of music but I will always have the blues as my base and my language.”

KIRK FLETCHER 2020 AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES

Thursday 6th February
The Factory, SYDNEY
105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville
http://bit.ly/FLR19-KirkFletcher

Friday 7th February
Lizotte’s, NEWCASTLE
31 Morehead Rd, Lambton
https://lizottes.com.au/live/shows/booking/2679

Saturday 8th February
The Abbey, CANBERRA
O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls
https://www.eventopia.co/event/Kirk-Fletcher/388668

Sunday 9th February
Way Out West, MELBOURNE
4 Market St, Newport
www.trybooking.com/522360

Wednesday 12th February
Caravan Music Club, MELBOURNE
1 Victor Rd, Bentleigh East
https://www.trybooking.com/519427

Thursday 13th February
Lighthouse Theatre, WARRNAMBOOL
185 Timor St, Warrnambool

Friday 14th February
The Gov, ADELAIDE
59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh
https://thegov.oztix.com.au/?Event=104192

www.gerrardallmanevents.com

GEORGE BENSON: THE BLUESFEST 2020 AUSTRALIAN TOUR INTERVIEW 0

Inspired by the sounds of his stepfather’s Epiphone Emperor guitar and the guitar licks of jazz greats Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery, George Benson became enamoured with music and the guitar as a child in the early fifties. Between then and now, in a career spanning more than six decades Benson went on to become one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history and in my opinion, one of the most fluid players of all time in any genre. Not only has George been a superstar in jazz terms, in 1976 his career skyrocketed to yet another level when the breakout album Breezin’ was released. It was the first album in music history to hold the number one spots on the jazz, pop and R n B charts simultaneously. The album won 4 Grammys, including Record of the Year for its single, and sold in excess of six million copies. More success followed with hit singles such as On Broadway, This Masquerade, Give Me The Night, Turn Your Love Around, Love Ballad and numerous others, making George Benson one of the most successful recording artists ever in contemporary music. Far from winding things down at age 76, George has just released a new album Walking to New Orleans, a tribute to Fats Domino and Chuck Berry and is returning to Australia in 2020 to play Bluesfest and sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney.

AM editor Greg Phillips was thrilled to catch up with George Benson to discuss his career, the new album, his Ibanez GB10 signature guitar, and the upcoming Australian tour.

Whereabouts in the world are you at the moment Mr Benson?
I am in Paradise Valley, Arizona, where I have lived for some time now. I like the weather here, there’s sunshine all the time.

You have just released a fabulous new album titled Walking to New Orleans, a tribute to Fats Domino and Chuck Berry. Was the album an idea that you had for a while or an idea someone else had put to you?
It was the idea of the record company themselves. I don’t know why they formed that idea but they thought it would be interesting to do it. So I said OK, I will give it a try and see what happens cos I love those artists too. I’ve been associating myself with their music at this time in my career but at one time in my life, I used to listen to them all the time because they were everywhere. They dominated the radio and the jukeboxes of my era.

Did you ever get to meet Fats or Chuck?
I met Chuck Berry in Los Angeles at a music store very briefly where he was buying strings and picks and things like that. He didn’t know who I was and I didn’t want to bother him but I had to meet him, that was very important.

When you are working on new arrangements of somebody else’s material for a record like this, do you know fairly quickly how you are going to approach each tune or do you experiment with different styles and tempos?
No I very seldom know and that’s good because we don’t want to make the same record over again. What we want to do is something fresh, something that comes from my mind at the moment. That fresh approach to things has worked very well for me. My biggest records have been mostly one takes, sometimes the first take … This Masquerade and Breezin’, On Broadway, they were early takes, we didn’t do them over and over again like how a lot of new records are made. That kept the records sounding fresh and like how we meant to play them as opposed to something we put together over a long period of time.

The producer you worked with on the new album was Kevin Shirley, who is known for producing a lot of rock music records. What was it like working with Kevin on this record?
I had never met Kevin and because of the style of music, I understand why we had never met before but I am glad I met him this time as I respect him as a wonderful producer and I enjoyed working with him.

This was only your second time recording in Nashville I believe?
Yes, the first time was with Chet Atkins at his house and that was a wonderful day too but it was just an off the cuff thing. We were friends and he used to invite me down to restaurants and eat catfish, country food. We had a good time and I respected him and he was one of the greatest guitar players of our time, so it was a privilege for me to go down and hang out with him. We got one or two songs together in his house, he had a great studio but this time with Kevin Shirley, it was a commercial venture with a record company and that was quite a different thing.

Speaking of producers, how important was Tommy Lipuma to your career and how would you describe his production style?
Well I don’t judge them like that. All I know is that he was a very congenial fellow and he brought me great songs, songs I did not think I could perform but what he did was open my mind up to the record industry mentality. While I was trying to think like an African American, he was turning me onto people I had never heard of before … the song This Masquerade and the song Breezin’, I didn’t particularly like that song. I heard it years ago and I didn’t particularly like it at all until I remembered that people loved it. Everywhere that I went he would ask me to play that song and I would always say, nah I don’t want to play that. He said George, I think that people would love to hear you play that! So I reviewed it again in my mind and thought, yeah he’s right people like that song and that’s what we are in this business for, to play for the public. And that’s what a great A&R man does, he connects the audience and the artist through the music. He selects music that he thinks will work in that direction. I owe a lot to Tommy Lipuma.

You are known for your Ibanez GB10 signature guitar. Was that the guitar that you played mainly on this new album?
Yes, I played that guitar and one other guitar, a D’Angelico, one of the originals. I used that on a couple of cuts. It’s not the kind of guitar I play on the stand every day because it lends itself to a much different kind of music but it has a beautiful sound, a beautiful tone to that particular instrument but mostly I used my GB10.

When did your love of hollow-body guitars begin?
From the very beginning. My stepfather, when he met my mother I was seven years old and he brought his Epiphone Emperor, which was one of the top of the line acoustic-electric guitars at that time. I got into that bag way back then because he turned me onto Charlie Christian records and you couldn’t get that sound with a solid body guitar. You had to have a hollow body guitar if you wanted to sound like Charlie Christian, who was playing with the Benny Goodman band at that time. I fell in love with that mentality, that tone, that approach to guitar.

I saw you in a Youtube clip recently playing Charlie’s 1940 Gibson ES250, which was featured in a museum exhibit at the time. I believe you also had a guitar like that earlier on as well?
Yeah, I don’t even know how I got it! At that time I was going through a lot of guitars. Guitars were relatively cheap then. To get one of those guitars now would cost you a fortune. I would go in and I would buy one and then sell it or give it to one of my friends, I didn’t know what I was doing, should have kept it. My children could buy a car with those. That was the mentality at that time. I changed my opinion on guitars. I needed something that had a cutaway in it and the early Charlie Christian guitars did not have a cutaway, so that became important to me. Although I cut a few records with non-cutaway guitars, some of my best records like White Rabbit was recorded with a non-cutaway Charlie Christian style guitar.

You have released 45 studio albums. What do you know now about getting a good guitar sound on record that you didn’t know the first time you recorded?
That the sound could be altered by the engineer. At first, I did not like my recording sounds. After the original ones I did with CBS, I liked those recordings.  After that, I’d go into the studio and begin to hear a guy I did not recognise. It didn’t sound like me anymore, so I had to adjust my thinking in order to make records because engineers didn’t want to hear anything I had to say. Nothing I would say to them would make them change their mentality, they didn’t know what I was talking about. Finally, I got the sound I wanted again when I recorded the album Breezin’ with Warner Brothers under Tommy Lipuma and the great engineer Al Schmitt. He listened to what I was saying and he altered my sound to make it sound natural. I also had new equipment. I went in with a Johnny Smith guitar and a Polytone amplifier and man, that put me right on the street where I should be living. It was wonderful.

The folks at Ibanez keep honouring you, more recently with a 30th and then 40th anniversary model of the GB10. What are the key elements that they had to get right for you to put your name on that guitar?
Well, I designed the original. I have designed maybe about eight guitars for Ibanez over the years. The main thing with those, in the beginning, was the size, which was highly unusual at that time, a mid-sized guitar. It was not popular when it first came out, although I did design a standard, regular guitar for the rest of the world,  a standard jazz guitar. The little one was unique, the GB10 was a very unique guitar. Although jazz players liked my GB20 which was a standard size, it was the GB10 which took off.  They’d begin to examine it, pick it up and say OK, this is a good road guitar. For me, that’s what it became, it became the perfect guitar to take on the road. When I sang it did not cover my whole body like the country players’ guitar, you know nothin’ but a piece of wood in front of me, a big piece of wood with a hole in it! It was small and I could swing it around very easily, it was not cumbersome and it never broke down on me and even if it hit the floor, I could pick it right up off the floor and play it and often it wouldn’t even go out of tune. So that was very important to me.

Although jazz players liked my GB20 which was a standard size, it was the GB10 which took off. They’d begin to examine it, pick it up and say ok, this is a good road guitar. For me, that’s what it became, it became the perfect guitar to take on the road.

 

I read that Peter Frampton was an influence on you, could you elaborate on that?
First of all, I liked the impression that he had on his audience. They didn’t forget him easily, he recorded music that was very memorable. To me, in the beginning, he was just a name. They’d tell me the top rock guitar player in the world’s name is Peter Frampton. I said I’d never heard of him. One day I saw his name in a magazine article so I picked it up and read the article and he said, oh I listen to George Benson’s music and said whaaat? You mean the top rock guitar player in the world listens to my music? I read the article and then I examined his records to see what kind of sound he had. I liked the records, he was on the right track. I liked his stuff, he was playing stuff that was different from everybody else. I said you know what, I am going to try that on my next record, so I used percussion and a wah-wah guitar and it was very successful, we went over the 100,000 album mark, which was very difficult with the record company I was with, as they had no distribution as I understood it at the time. When Warner Brothers heard that I had sold 100,000 albums or more, they said man if that record had of been with our company, it would have sold 500,000 albums, which would have made it gold. So the head of the record company put out the order that he wanted George Benson on this record company yesterday! That’s how I got on Warner Brothers records, so Peter Frampton was very important to my movement in the world of music.  I met him later and he’s a very nice person, still is today.

You are coming back to Australia in 2020 for Bluesfest and some sideshows. Will your band be the same one that you took to Europe and the UK recently?
Most definitely. I don’t go anywhere without my tools and they’re part of my tool chest brother. They know what I am going to play before I play it. Basically they don’t know what order the songs are going to be in but they know the structures and they know what I am looking for. If I pick a song, even if they have never heard it before they would know what it is I am expecting them to do.  That puts us on the same page and makes us sound good to the audience and that’s what is important for me, we connect with the audience.

Tell me about Stanley Banks, you have had him as your bass player for a long time. What is it about Stanley’s bass playing that you enjoy?
When I met him he was a kid, only 23 years old and that was 43 years ago. He knocked me out in a sense that … he studied classical bass, upright bass for a while. He had good energy and he plays bottom. You know today a lot of bass players want to play like they do on a guitar. I don’t want anyone playing my guitar for me, I want them to play the bass. Stanley Banks does that very well and he has been on a lot of my hit records. I can say it best by saying this … when my career became very popular, selling records in the millions, every now and then someone would come to me and say man, why do you have Stanley Banks in the band, I know guys who could play rings around Stanley Banks. I said to them, you know I have played with the greatest bass players of our time and I know the greatest bass players of our time. I knew James Jameson, he was my friend. I also played with the number one bass player on earth which is Ron Carter, who plays upright bass. I have played with a lot of wonderful bass players in jazz history, played with ‘em all. I always say, which one of them has sold 20 million albums and they couldn’t answer that question, there was no comeback with that. And I don’t want a bass player that if you offered them ten dollars more, they’re gone. If you get a prima donna, you know… man that bass player is wonderful, I wonder if I can steal him from George Benson’s band if I offer him ten dollars more than George. You don’t want that in your band either! So I have always had Stanley Banks and he plays well and we have sold a lot of records together and we are very good friends, which is the thing that is more important than anything.

How do you go about approaching your set list for a tour like the upcoming Australian one?
We know there are songs in the set that we have to play or the audience will be very angry at us. They are in there but they are not in an order that the band knows because the band will go to sleep if they did. If you put a set list with all the songs you want to play, they’d go to sleep and play with their eyes shut and you don’t want that. They know they are going to play On Broadway, they know they’re going to play Breezin’, and whatever else on the list that is necessary. But you know something, they’re not mad and they don’t get mad playing them and neither do I. I always told myself, If I ever got a hit record  … cos I know some of my friends wouldn’t do that, they would not play their hit record, they would get tired and they’d tell their audience, we’re not going to play that song, we’re tired of that. I thought that was terrible. You’ve got to remember even though they have been on the road ten, fifteen, twenty years or more, some people have never heard them live and you can’t disappoint them. And If a person has come to your concert many times, they are coming because of those songs. So it is better for me to form the opinion that hey, I like those songs too, after all I wouldn’t be here without them and that’s my mentality.

I’m wondering about future projects. A lot of people like your instrumental records, do you think you’ll ever record another one
We never know what is going to happen next but I would not turn it down because you know I love instrumentals and my guitar is still waiting for me to tell it what to do. I practice just about every day on my guitar, so I would not turn it down. I would love to do a great instrumental album, so don’t rule it out.

Bluesfest 2020 is being held from 9 – 13 April 2020. Tickets are on sale now via Moshtix.

George Benson Side Shows

Sat 4 April, State Theatre Sydney
Tickets via Ticketmaster

Wed 8 April, Palais Theatre Melbourne
Tickets via Ticketmaster