{"id":3475,"date":"2011-08-18T23:55:53","date_gmt":"2011-08-19T06:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=3475"},"modified":"2011-08-18T23:55:53","modified_gmt":"2011-08-19T06:55:53","slug":"joe-bonamassa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2011\/08\/joe-bonamassa\/","title":{"rendered":"JOE BONAMASSA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h1>\n

JOE BONAMASSA<\/h1>\n

Goodbye to the rib joints, hello to blues-rock guitar hero status <\/strong><\/h2>\n

By Russell Hall <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople told me I was destined to play rib joints\u00a0and biker rallies all my life,\u201d says Joe Bonamassa, reflecting on his early years as a struggling blues-rock guitarist. \u201cBut I knew there had to be a better way.\u201d But more than a decade and a half into his career, today Bonamassa has arrived at the pinnacle of the blues-rock world\u2014and he\u2019s done it without the help of a record label. \u201cPeople think my manager and I sat down and hatched a master plan,\u201d says Bonamassa, who has spent most of his career releasing albums through J&R Adventures, the label he started with manager Roy Weisman. \u201cBut it was really just a case of necessity being the mother of invention. We didn\u2019t have a label that believed in us musically, so we decided to own and control everything ourselves. That way, if we failed, we did it on our terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Record labels might not have believed in Bonamassa, but his guitar-slinging forbears certainly did. Befriended by blues legend B.B. King when he was just 10, Bonamassa went on tour as a\u00a0pre-teen with the likes of King, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and John Lee Hooker. A friendship with the late Danny Gatton helped to expand his musical horizons, and at age 14 he co-founded the band Bloodline with sons of Miles Davis, Robby Krieger and the Allman Brothers Band\u2019s Berry Oakley. Bloodline recorded a self-titled album for Capitol Records in 1995 before breaking up, but now Bonamassa has a new supergroup alongside first- and second-generation rock royalty: Black Country Communion, which features Bonamassa, Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian.<\/p>\n

His new solo effort, Dust Bowl<\/em>, finds Bonamassa mixing incendiary originals with gritty covers like John Hiatt\u2019s \u201cTennessee Plates\u201d and Free\u2019s \u201cHeartbreaker.\u201d The acclaimed six-stringer also recently wrapped up work on the second Black Country Communion album, set to be released in June and followed by a tour early next year. Bonamassa spoke with us about his guitar roots, his aversion to demos and the advice he received from the King of the Blues.<\/p>\n

What was your goal for this album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To find new ways of doing things. We\u2019re all the sum of our history. After a while, we start to create certain patterns in what we do. I wanted to break some of that repetition. If you keep to the same format, the vibe stays the same, even though the music might change. If you want to grow, you have to break down walls and find ways to work that are different from the past.<\/p>\n

How did you do that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I grew up listening to classical music, to players whose performance level was very high. The desire to play at that level was instilled in me. The question then becomes, how do you achieve that\u2014by constantly redoing something? Or do you achieve it by being so proficient that you\u2019re able to pull off something great at any given moment? Classical musicians don\u2019t make music the way rock artists do, where there\u2019s lots of overdubbing. They\u2019re so well rehearsed, their performance level is so high, they just go in and nail it\u2014capturing a real performance. On this album I tried to strike a balance between those two ways of doing things.<\/p>\n

Does that involve practice?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely. Practice is key. But a lot of the music I love\u2014folk, blues, rock and pop\u2014is wonderful when it\u2019s rough and off-the-cuff. That\u2019s one polarity, and that\u2019s predominantly my type of music. But then there\u2019s the other polarity that involves a higher level of performance. It\u2019s not fair to say there\u2019s no place in pop music for that type of excellence. Stevie Wonder\u2019s vocals are a good example: He gets great performances in single takes. It all comes down to how listenable the music is. That\u2019s what counts, first and foremost.<\/p>\n

How did you learn to play?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I started playing piano when I was 5. When I got a guitar, I sat at the piano with the guitar in my lap and taught myself the notes using what I\u2019d learned on piano. I took lessons from Wayne Wood\u2014who was the<\/em> guy in\u00a0Austin\u2014for a few months and learned some theory. But as far as learning songs, learning music, that came either from watching friends play or from picking\u00a0out parts on albums.<\/p>\n

What artists did you like then?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was really young, it was the Ventures. Then as I started to play in bands, I started listening to the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. This was 1966 and 1967. And then Hendrix came along. His lead playing was phenomenal, but that was just part of a larger picture. I remember reading articles where Hendrix would say, \u201cGuitar players need to learn how to play rhythm guitar.\u201d He was a big proponent of rhythm playing and composition. He exemplified what it meant to be a complete guitar player.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your writing process like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve yet to find a standard way to write. I\u2019ve learned it\u2019s better to be open to different approaches. That doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t need to have your sound together and your playing together, and have pretty good clarity about what you want to do before you go into the studio. At least that gives you a strong, clear springboard from which to work. There have been instances in the studio where something has come to me out of\u00a0nowhere, but that\u2019s rare.<\/p>\n

How do you relate to producers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m becoming more open to getting feedback from other people. Even if you\u2019re able to produce yourself well, it behooves you to get other opinions. No matter how good you are at orchestrating, arranging or seeing the big picture, it\u2019s extremely difficult to have a 360-degree view. As I get older, I\u2019m finding I get a bit exhausted trying to take that wide view. If I can get positive criticism in\u00a0the studio, that\u2019s great.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your recording setup?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I use the Nuendo system, which is a digital platform. To me, the top end sounds more open and sweet using Nuendo than Pro Tools. That could change from year to year, as both systems come out with new and better versions. I do use analog gear to process things, and to mix through.<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on shredding?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m probably the wrong guy to ask\u2014I\u2019m sometimes hypocritical. I might do a show, shred a 15-minute solo, and then listen to the tape and think, \u201cWhat am I doing? That was good for about two minutes!\u201d That sort of playing is OK if it\u2019s done within the context of a song, but I fell in love with the guitar because I heard Brian Jones play a cool fuzz-tone lick on \u201cSatisfaction,\u201d and because I heard Hendrix do the same thing on \u201cMay This Be Love.\u201d What turned me on were things like Eric Clapton\u2019s tone on [Cream\u2019s] \u201cSleepy Time Time.\u201d If I had been 10 years old during the \u201980s instead of in the \u201960s, I\u2019m not sure I would ever have picked\u00a0up an electric guitar.<\/p>\n

How was it playing Hendrix\u2019s Strat?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Halfway through the performance, I wanted to run out the back door of the venue with it! I definitely felt a certain vibe as I was playing it. Everything has its own frequency. I once read a story about a guitar player who didn\u2019t like the sound of his instrument. Rather than changing pickups or configuration,\u00a0he decided to just will<\/em> it into sounding different as he practiced. And after months and months of playing, that guitar did in fact sound totally different. I believe that story. I think an artist leaves some of himself in what he\u2019s touched\u2014and there are a lot of\u00a0Hendrix\u2019s vibes in that guitar.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been working on an acoustic album, and have three songs cut so far. People have been asking me to do this for a long time. It\u2019s pretty much just me playing the songs solo, live in the studio. I want to get it finished this year, though I\u2019ve got to balance that with touring. I also have a bunch of new electric guitar\u2013based songs that I want to record. I would also love to write music for an orchestra. That\u2019s a direction I would like to go as an electric player.<\/p>\n

When did you start playing? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I first held a guitar when I was 3 and started playing when I was 4. I was always picking it up. It never got old. I started playing classical guitar, but that involved too much discipline. The blues, on the other hand, is a blank canvas. There are no rules\u2014you can interpret it any way you want. That really appealed to me, and it still does.<\/p>\n

How did you learn?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I listened to albums and tried to emulate my heroes. My influences early on were Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Rory Gallagher and Paul Kossoff of Free. It was great to stumble upon all those great British blues artists who had been influenced by American artists.<\/p>\n

What did you admire about Kossoff?<\/strong><\/p>\n

He\u2019s such an unsung hero. I recently watched a bunch of concert footage of him playing with Free just before their big hit, \u201cAll Right Now.\u201d They never got the notice that Led Zeppelin got, but they were just as innovative.<\/p>\n

Kossoff\u2019s playing cuts like a knife through butter. You can feel his emotions in every note, whether it\u2019s a hard note or a soft one. He\u2019s a tactile player, and the tone he got with that beautiful \u201959 Les Paul was just crushing. I actually got to play that guitar at a show in Newcastle last year. A friend of a friend owns it, and he let me borrow it. That was a thrill. I felt like I\u00a0was channeling Kossoff.<\/p>\n

How about Danny Gatton? <\/strong><\/p>\n

He turned my world from mono to stereo. He said, \u201cYou know, kid, you know something about the blues, but you don\u2019t know anything about jazz and rockabilly.\u201d He had this Virginia way of speaking. He got me listening to people like Howard Reed, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Jimmy Bryant, James Burton and Duane Eddy. That opened up my world.<\/p>\n

Did B.B. King give you any advice?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch your money and keep your eye on the business side. It\u2019s about music, but it\u2019s also about business. When I walk onstage, I see that as a privilege. I don\u2019t think about how much people paid for tickets\u2014though I am sensitive to that\u2014and I don\u2019t pay attention to how much money I\u2019m making on a given night. I play with the same intensity no matter what. But B.B. King sat me down and said, \u201cJoe, you need to always reinvest back into what you do, back into your fan base. Fans can detect if you\u2019re not doing that, if you\u2019re not doing things to improve the show.\u201d It\u2019s no different from running a Walgreens or a Joe\u2019s Pizza Shack.<\/p>\n

How do you practice?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I try to practice things that are outside my normal sphere. I tend to pick up an acoustic guitar or a mandolin instead of just hammering something out with a Les Paul and a Marshall. I might practice prog rock. In live shows we sometimes do Yes\u2019 \u201cHeart of the Sunrise.\u201d We used to do Genesis\u2019 \u201cLos Endos,\u201d from their A<\/em> Trick of the Tail<\/em> album.<\/p>\n

How do you construct solos?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They\u2019re nearly always improvised, even in the studio. Solos are a reaction to what\u2019s going on around me. The new album is more oriented toward melody and songwriting structure than the previous albums, and having that solid framework can help power a solo. I have great players, and I often react to what they\u2019re doing. They take\u00a0me to a good place.<\/p>\n

Is rhythm guitar underappreciated?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely. Even someone like me, who often gets caught up in soloing, plays rhythm guitar 80 percent of the time. Even a guy who puts on a \u201cguitar show\u201d has to play rhythm, and has to be fluent in chords and voicings. Also, if you don\u2019t learn how to back off your volume when someone else is soloing, that\u2019s problematic. Rhythm playing is about learning how to blend with the band and be part of the ensemble.<\/p>\n

Do you have a home studio?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No. I have GarageBand and the little built-in microphone that Apple provides. I hate making demos. I always feel I\u2019d rather be making the real thing. The first thing you play\u2014your first instincts\u2014are the most inspired, and I\u2019m always fearful of losing that. I make the world\u2019s worst demos. They\u2019re distorted, sloppy and usually played on the wrong guitar. Our demos aren\u2019t elaborate.<\/p>\n

Do you prefer digital recording?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve used Pro Tools to do all but one album. The only album in analog was my first, with [producer] Tom Dowd. It all gets whacked down to \u201c1s\u201d and \u201c0s\u201d anyway. Maybe audiophiles can hear the difference on their $15,000 turntables, but that\u2019s not who I\u2019m making albums for. I\u2019m making albums for people who put an iPod in their car or a CD in their player. I truly don\u2019t hear the difference. Plus if you play a CD inside a Pontiac it sounds completely different from how it sounds in a BMW. At that point analog versus digital becomes a moot point.<\/p>\n

Why do you usually play Gibsons? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s about how well those guitars channel what you hear in your head. There\u2019s no better guitar than a Les Paul to achieve a warm and inviting tone. Even when I played a Strat, I always found myself trying to make it sound like a Gibson. I would roll off the treble so much and put so many boosts on it that in the end I would think, \u201cHell, I might as well just play the Les Paul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does blues have a future? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I see kids in the audience who are 14 or 15, and even kids as young as 4 or 5. It used to be all old dudes, but now it\u2019s guys and girls of all ages. The audience has become really varied, and we\u2019ve done surprisingly well with women. Based on who I see at the shows, I\u2019m not worried at all about the future of the blues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JOE BONAMASSA Goodbye to the rib joints, hello to blues-rock guitar hero status By Russell Hall \u201cPeople told me I was destined to play rib joints\u00a0and biker rallies all my life,\u201d says Joe Bonamassa, reflecting on his early years as a struggling blues-rock guitarist. \u201cBut I knew there had to be a better way.\u201d But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[313,1807,2314,970],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3475"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3477,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3475\/revisions\/3477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}