Cris Cohen: Johnny Colla said that one of the reasons your solos were different from everything else on the radio at the time was because of your jazz background. I'm curious how much of your solo writing was different on purpose, and how much of it was just because you couldn't help it, because you were so inundated with the world of jazz when you came into this?
Chris Hayes of clients Huey Lewis & The News: I came up in that. I learned playing all those standards out of the book and playing a lot of funk, and not really playing a lot of rock. I had to kind of learn that. So I'm kind of more of a funk player. I never considered myself a great jazz guitar player or anything, but that's kind of how I learned. So I possessed certain parts of the lexicon. I sort of speak that language a little bit. So naturally it is going to have an influence on the note choices that I would make. That is what I would gravitate towards. If I had been a devotee of Jimi Hendrix or a blues guy, it would have been a completely different thing. If I had been some sort of technical, Eric Johnson-type guy -- he's fantastic -- if that was the kind of stuff that I liked to play, then it would be more like that. -- Read the full interview -- Hire Bands To Fans to develop custom content for your band or business Sometimes there is a vast chasm between having ideas and executing on those ideas.
I have met a lot of people who have big, impressive ideas for social media content. Usually they follow through with it zero times. A rare few follow through with it one time. Meanwhile I have helped some clients post quality content five days a week for over nine years. My ideas tend not to be grandiose. But they are solid and I follow through on them. -- If your band or business could benefit from consistent, quality content, send me a message. Cris Cohen: What's the key to learning how to play well with others on an album? To play well with the percussionist? To play well with the programmed drums?
Chris Fryar of the Zac Brown Band: The most helpful thing you can keep in mind is to listen, to be aware. For example, when Daniel (de los Reyes) is playing, sometimes he'll play a part, and that part will just catch the ear of whoever's in the booth and he will go, "Oh yeah, why don't we make that into a loop?" In that kind of context, you want to just listen and give space to those ideas as they come up in a live context. And so from my perspective, my job is to hit the high points, the strong beats, embellish where I can, but pretty much be aware and be open to what's happening musically with the electronic end of things. And what's happening with Daniel's end of things. So if he picks up a shaker and starts playing an intricate pattern, then I am more than likely going to lessen what I do on the hi-hat, since they are similar sounds. I defer to him. It's out of love for the music and out of love for him, because he's an incredible player and masterful musician in his own. I don't want to detract from what he's doing. -- Watch the full interview -- Our interviews become your quality, custom content. Hire Bands To Fans to improve the social media for your band or business. Fred LeBlanc of clients Cowboy Mouth: When I was five years old, the only thing I wanted to do is play drums in front of lots and lots of people and sing. And I reconnect with that little kid every night.
-- Hire Bands To Fans to develop custom content for your band or business Today I recorded an interview with Kevin Martin of Candlebox. We talked about their new single "Let Me Down Easy," their upcoming album, how his work as a lead singer is based on his love of the drums, and... well... bread making. I hope to post it in the next week or two.
Download a free copy of my latest ebook, "An Interview with Marc Bonilla". Marc and I discussed: - His album “Celluloid Debris” - Tapping into your creativity - “You have to be bored in order to create” - “People are depriving themselves of daydreaming” - Writing instrumentals - Developing music for movies and TV shows - A great song can be told in different ways - His work with Keith Emerson - What he learned from Ronnie Montrose - His book “Balance Of Power” Huey Lewis of Huey Lewis & The News: I sent "One Of The Boys" to John McFee, our old guitar player from Clover who is a member of The Doobie Brothers. He played pedal steel on the track and killed it. I told him to just cut two tracks. "For one, cut it like you think it should be and for the second, just fill every hole. Do as much as possible on that one." I didn't really even know how to articulate this, but I wanted kind of an old pedal steel feel, kind of the old Hank Williams sound. Not quite slide, not quite lap steel, still pedal steel, but not the jazzy neck kind of thing of that old school stuff. McFee knew just what I was talking about. In fact, he articulated it. He's quite a collector of pedal steels and he knew just the instrument to use. He told me that he located the pedal steel somewhere between Hank Williams senior and Bakersfield. It came out perfect. McFee is an incredible player. He can play anything. He did it in one day.
I am that dull guy you hire. Why do you need a dull guy? Because a big component of social media content work is organizing, editing, and scheduling content. It is about being slow and steady. And that is something a lot of interesting, dynamic people hate.
I work with amazingly creative people. They are gifted with flashes of inspiration. They have exceptional skills. But spending all day with spreadsheets and folder hierarchies is not one of them. They are explorers and envelope pushers. They create interesting businesses and sonic works of art. They are fascinating people who cannot help but push for the outer edges of the universe. I am the dull guy back at mission control. And I like being that guy. I cultivate, collect, and channel all of their creative thoughts, insights, and experiences and relay it to the rest of the world. It is great work. But it is a slow and steady marathon. And not everyone can handle that. In general, a good rule of thumb for the content you develop...
"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde |
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