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PART 22 "THE QUEST FOR FINDING YOUR OWN MUSICAL IDENTITY" (identity, Montgomery, Jim Thomas..)
I hope that some of you have gone out and bought the records that we recommended last month, in particular the new releases by "The Mermen", ect. Since last month's columm, I've been scouring every cut-out bin in "Amoeba Records" outlet in Berkeley, California, as well as my local record outlets around town in search of new musical inspiration.So far, in this article series, we've been taking examples from the past to help you find your own identity musically from the strings, guitars and amp rigs used on the older recordings as a model and a springboard to develop your own tone. We still have a ways to go back in time using other great examples to increase your awareness of what "great tone" can be and what was considered real killer sound(s).
This month, I would like to share with our readers a meeting I had with Jim Thomas, lead guitarist of "The Mermen". Right after I had mentioned his band last month, I decided I wanted to get to know Jim. His sound had affected me greatly on a very deep level, so deep it's hard to describe in words. I got his telephone number and gave him a jingle. I told him that his music was very profound and unique to the point that it changed my entire view of what playing guitar is all about.
I feel great guitar playing should move you in directions that affect your inner self to "hear" new things on the subliminal level. In my case, Jim's playing had affected my acoustic guitar playing, more so than my electric playing. This in itself is very fascinating because my acoustic playing is actually my weakest link, considering that in my soul, I'm a jazz guy to the hilt, even though I can play other styles. I had the chance to catch a concert that his group played the following evening after our telephone conversation. The very next day, something very strange happened...all of a sudden I was messing around on my Martin, and tuning it to all these crazy whacko open tunings that I haven't heard before on any records I own.
Now, Jim did use one of his four Stratocasters in a weird tuning, but I'm pretty certain my tuning wasn't even similar in flavor. Like biasing an amp by ear, I just tuned the guitar until it resonated with my own vibrational rate, so to speak. It just sounded right. Just to make sure, I played the re-tuned Martin to the tuning that I heard Jim use on their newest release. Guess what? Not even CLOSE. So, what I had heard the previous evening got me flipping things upside-down, sideways and every other direction imaginable, until it became my own thing. Melodies were coming from everywhere in sight and I was making new music from my own standpoint. This was a real high and I just couldn't stop playing my Martin after hours. The sound was just absolutely killing me in it's own twisted way.
I've never been a guy to really copy anyone's licks per se. I listen to music for the atmosphere and then it just manifests into my own playing as being something completely alien all by itself. One night, I was over at my friend Greg Allen's house. He whipped out this Wes Montogomery CD of "Guitar on the Go", which had a couple of extra bonus tracks on it. The last cut was titled "Unidentified Solo Guitar", which was Wes playing by himself. Man, that piece completely destroyed me...so simple, yet very complex in it's harmonic structures.
In the liner notes of this CD, even Wes' producer at the time, Orrin Keepnews, could not say exactly when this take was recorded. He could only make an educated guess when it was done. Beautiful Tune. It was SO pretty that I wanted to figure it out note for note! Now, this was very interesting for me to do because it gave me a very different insight into Wes Montgomery and the way he thought about his improvisations. I was actually able to really understand what the man was feeling.
On the same CD, there are a couple of alternative takes of the song "The Way You Look Tonight". They're totally different from each other, one is shorter with this devastating solo, while the other take is twice as long with Wes' solo having an entirely different vibe to it, they're not at all similar. This tells us that Wes lived for the moment with every second being different from the last. He understood this principle intimately, taking full advantage of this by not playing the same thing twice.
Just in passing, for this record, Wes most likely used a Standel model amp with reverb and a JBL 15-inch D-130 in it. I have a Standel amp very similar to his, but it lacks a spring reverb circuit. When carefully adjusting a digital Alesis Microverb (yeah, the very first model), it's that sound!
I once heard a rumour from my first jazz guitar teacher, George Mavrakis, that Wes used a different brand of flatwound string for each of the wound strings. I can't say I ever really was convinced of that one, because it would of been a huge pain in the rear to change strings. Later on, Wes and his brother, Monk, were seen in the Fender catalog with Super Reverbs. Ken Fischer and myself also believe that Fender Twin Reverbs weren't used by Wes, as they are a bit bright sounding for jazz. Kenny thinks that the Ampeg Gemini model with the 15" speaker was without a doubt the best sounding jazz amp ever made. I believe Wes Montgomery used Gibson Flatwounds, gauged .014,.018,.028,.038,.048 and .058. That being said, back to Jim Thomas.
The night I met Jim, he told me something which really struck a note (or chords for that matter) with me. He said in a very casual manner that what he plays at any given moment just comes out of him, with him having very little to do with it! I thought that statement was way cool. Live for the moment!
I have to report that Jim's rig is a BIT more complicated than I stated last month. You wouldn't believe what he plays through, it would take me all night to list it all...Eric Johnson's rig isn't nearly as complicated. We are booking an interview with Jim Thomas as soon as he gets off the road, he's just an amazing player, not to forget an amazing human being, too. He had shown me a key secret for being within the moment, taking the music wherever it may go in any demented twist of fate.
We also plan to interview a few (?) guitarists, of whom you may not be aware of; such as Norwegian guitar legend Terje Rypdal, who has been in my musical "atmosphere" for at least 23 years. I'm truly convinced that tapping into the vast group of great players that live abroad making very innovative music in our present day will help everyone get their own musical scene even more tuned in.
I've been extremely fortunate to have been able to contact and develop relationships with virtually all of my key influences (the ones who are at present still with us). Their knowledge is very valuable and can benefit everyone who has the desire, patience, and an open mind/ears to learn all they can concerning our very personal, sensual instrument. This is indeed the next logical step in our growth process.
Some of these guys are just beyond your most vivid imaginations and being exactly that, must be heard to be believed. The sounds they produce are just incredibly diverse and stand in a catagory of their own, defying any one genre as their only vehicle for expression. The European guitar community is, in my own opinion, much more free and unconstricted, being able and willing to create new musical territories while shattering any and all their musical barriers at the same time.
This is not saying that I'm forgetting about the great players that our own country has produced, such as Sonny Sharrock for example. He broke the sound barrier more than once or twice with Miles Davis. The European players are different in their approach and their feel than we are, probably as a result of the naturally early exposure to classical forms of music that's inherent in their cultures.
Vintage Guitar is the place to come for information and as far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier! I hope that these information-gathering sojourns will expand your minds and fingers. It is our goal and the common cause of the VG writers to share with our readers the knowledge that we can pass along, so you become as well-informed as humanly possible. This is what our magazine is all about.
Lastly, I'm pretty sure you all realise what direction we're taking. We want you to get it here first while giving you the facts straight up. Until next time, if anyone tells you that I have a weird playing style, you're right, because the Europeans and the Norwegians are coming!
Thanks to ECM Records of Munich for sending the Terje Rypdal CDs not yet available here in the States, allowing me the proper preparation for his upcoming interview (my vinyl is really trashed). Thanks also to Henry Kaiser for his invaluable assistance and to Robert Berry ( of "3" fame, ask Willie Moseley, he knows what I'm "Talkin' `Bout") for his unconditional support and clever ideas. Finally, thanks to Mesa/Bluemoon Records for sending Terje those "Mermen" CDs and especially for your help with the Jim Thomas interview coming up. This is going to be a sonic riot and a joy to hare.
Copyright 1996 by Dean L. Farley
Reprinted from "Vintage Guitar" Febuary 1996 issue.