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Cris Cohen interviews K.C. O'Rorke, lead singer and trumpet player of the band Flow Tribe. They discuss: - Why they built their own studio - Their song "Longest Night" - The influence of New Orleans - Talking their guitarist out of becoming a dentist - And more Recorded May 13, 2020. I interviewed Jim Weider, formerly with The Band and now with The Weight Band. We discussed: - What he has been working on during the quarantine - Live albums they are preparing to release - Things he learned from Levon Helm - His guitar playing technique of using a pick and fingers at the same time - And more Recorded May 12, 2020.
Cris Cohen interviews Chris Kennedy of Silversage. They discuss:
- The band's natural tendency to focus on hope - Introvert offstage, extrovert onstage - Their song "Strong", born out of the Las Vegas shootings and now an anthem during the pandemic - Their song "All The Way" being played in the Superbowl Recorded May 6, 2020.
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Cris Cohen interviews Ben Sesar, drummer for Brad Paisley. They discuss:
- How his practicing during the downtime caused by the pandemic has been more focused - “Anything you do with less tension is going to be more productive.” - How Brad communicates his drum part ideas to Ben - The influence of Neil Peart - And more Recorded May 5, 2020.
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Cris Cohen interview Bill Gibson of Huey Lewis & The News. They discuss: - How he was raised on big band jazz music - Recording work he has been doing with his daughter Liv Gibson - The new album, "Weather" - New songs "One Of The Boys" and "Hurry Back Baby" He also gives a tour of his home studio.
Cris Cohen interviews Huey Lewis. They discuss:
- The new Huey Lewis & The News album, "Weather" - New songs "One Of The Boys" and "Hurry Back Baby" - Touring with Stevie Ray Vaughan - What makes for a good band member - Songwriting - And more
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I interviewed singer-songwriter Michelle Ariane. We discussed:
- Her album "Bridge The Great Divide" - The intertwining of both strength and vulnerability in the song "Finally Be Me" - How, as a musician, she is coping with the pandemic - And more
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I interviewed Big Sam of Big Sam's Funky Nation. We discussed: - The live stream shows the band has been doing from his driveway - Their album “Songs In The Key Of Funk, Vol. 1” - The influence of Prince and Morris Day on his songwriting - And more Cris Cohen interviews guitarist Matt Jones of Cowboy Mouth. They discuss: - Guitar solos - How he was influenced by Slash - Cowboy Mouth's new EP, "Open Wide" - And more Recorded April 24, 2020. Cris Cohen interviews Rich Redmond, drummer for Jason Aldean. They discuss: - Staying busy in the time of the Covid-19 shutdown - His book, "CRASH Course For Success" - His new talk show - And more Recorded April 17, 2020
Cris Cohen:
In various interviews you have talked about how you were initially introduced to hard rock in your sheltered upbringing. But what I'm most curious about is what was it was about hard rock and metal that made you gravitate toward it? Suzy Wilson: I don't know what it was, but I just know that, after I started listening to it, it was like, I really like this. I like all kinds of music, but that's what I most closely identify with. When I write music. That's typically how it comes out. Cris: What is your songwriting process? Suzy: Typically I write all the lyrics and I have an idea about what I want the song to sound like. Then I talk with my collaborator, Norman Matthew. He will come up with a riff and I'll go, “Yeah, that's kind of it.” We go through a process. Cris: When you convey kind of what you're going for, how do you do that? Do just describe it in general? Do you reference other songs? Do you hum a few bars? Suzy: All of that. I try to describe it to them. If they're not quite getting it, I might have them listen to a couple of songs that I'm kind of thinking about. But sometimes people get too literal about that. It's the vibe that the song is giving off (that I am going for). I don't want it to be identical to that song. I've done this before with other people. I'd give them like two or three different songs. And they are like, “But they're completely different songs.” “Yeah, but they all have the same vibe to me.” Other than “vibe,” I don't know how to describe it. There is just something about the songs that are common to me. Cris: Yes. And you've worked with some heavyweight musicians. I'm curious also about how often they kind of run with an idea and even take it to a new level that you didn't initially think of. Suzy: I definitely did with Joe Vitale. We kind of just let him run with it. Cris: And regarding this self-titled EP, what was the most challenging song to bring to fruition? Suzy: I'm not sure that any of them were any more challenging than the others. You know, it's a creative process. Sometimes things take longer than you really want them to take. But that's just the nature of how things go. Cris: With your vocals, you have a kind of a calm confidence. Some people, when they get into the hard rock space, the vocals get kind of impatient. They are desperately trying to grab people's attention. But it's like you kind of strut into the room rather than run into the room so to speak. How long did it take to develop that? Suzy: That's another good question. I think I've always sung like that. It's just my personality or something that's different. Cris: So your onstage persona and offstage persona are pretty much the same? Suzy: I think they are. Also, I know it is kind of a weird thing, but I don't get stage fright. I'm more nervous about the performance after it's over than I am before or gearing up for it. I don't know why. I guess because at that point there's nothing I can do about it. Cris: You've worked with some heavyweights, Paul Stanley (KISS), Matt Starr (Ace Frehley, Mr. Big), etc. What have you learned from those experiences? Suzy: I've played with Cheap Trick a couple of times and Nancy Wilson (Heart) as well. Most of the “rock stars” that I've worked with have been very down to earth. Cheap Trick was one of the first ones that I performed with. And Robin Zander is one of my idols because he has such an amazing voice and I had already told the people that were with me that I was going to be a total fan girl. I really thought that I would just lose it over getting to meet one of my idols. And he was such a nice person and just so down to earth that that didn't happen at all. We had a nice conversation. I wasn't screaming or any of the things I had envisioned. They are so “normal” that you forget about that. You just think of them as a person. Suddenly Rob Halford from Judas Priest is just Rob. He was really a sweetheart. Cris: In terms of working with these people who have influenced you, you said in another interview, “It's about taking what influences you and turning it into something that represents you,” which I thought was a great summary of it all. What I'm wondering is how much of that process is natural and unconscious and how much of it is a conscious effort? Suzy: I think a lot of it is unconscious. I think Leon Russell was one of the greatest songwriters and especially lyricists. He could take something very complex and make it at least seem very simple. His lyrics are not real flowery. There are not tons of metaphoric sayings, at least not obviously metaphoric. So I myself try not to overdo things when I write. And it's not like I sit down and go, “Oh, I want to write a song that sounds like a KISS song or a Cheap Trick song.” Some of them may end up being that way, but it's not something I consciously start out to do. Cris: A lot has been made of the fact that you are launching your career later in life than the average musician, especially the average hard rock musician. What advantages have there been to launching your music career in your 60s as opposed to your 20s? Suzy: Well, I kind of started in my 50s, but I'm still working on it in my 60s. I think that I don't take things personally. If somebody doesn't like what I do, I don't care about that. I'm happy with what I do. There are other people out there that like what I do. I've learned that I can't control other people's opinions. I just have to do what I do. And if other people don't like it, then that's their issue. That's not my issue. I interviewed Peter Holsapple (The dB's). We discussed: - Being a multi-instrumentalist - His extensive work with bands like REM and Hootie and the Blowfish - His solo album "Game Day" - And more Recorded February 20, 2020 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Film production by Jean-Paul Damé and Fire Horse Films, Inc. I interviewed Mike Vanderhule, drummer for Y&T. We discussed: - The key to playing under a guitar solo - Singing harmony while playing the drums - His studies with Steve Smith - And more Recorded February 16, 2020 in Raleigh, North Carolina. I interviewed Kenny Aronoff via Facebook Live. Rolling Stone named Kenny Aronoff one of the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. Recorded March 26, 2020. We discussed: - Kenny's autobiography, "Sex, Drums, Rock 'N' Roll" - Getting the most value out of life - Finding the ability to persevere through negative experiences - His work with John Mellencamp, BB King, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John, etc. I interviewed Michael Staertow, guitarist for Lou Gramm. This was done via Facebook Live. We discussed:
I interviewed drummer Chris Fryar of Zac Brown Band. We discussed: - The new Zac Brown Band album "The Owl" - Working with Dave Grohl - Defining what success means to you - And more eBookDownload a free PDF ebook of the interview  I interviewed Matt Frenette of Loverboy. We discussed: - When he started climbing his drum kit during drum solos - The extra color he gives to songs in concert - Communicating ideas with lead singer Mike Reno, who started in the music business as a drummer - And more Film production by Jean-Paul Dame and Fire Horse Films, Inc.
I interviewed ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro. We discussed:
- His new album, "Trio" - His cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You were Here" - The album of duets he is working on - And more Full interview Excerpts Recorded January 23, 2020 at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, North Carolina. Film production by Fire Horse Films Full Interview
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I interviewed John McFee of The Doobie Brothers. We discussed:
- Being a multi-instrumentalist - The upcoming 50th anniversary tour with Michael McDonald - What he learned from his work with Elvis Costello - His intense work ethic - And more Full interview Excerpts Recorded November 20, 2019 at the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, North Carolina Film production by Jean-Paul Dame and Fire Horse Films Full Interview
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I interviewed Kryz Reid, guitarist for Third Eye Blind. We discussed: - How being in the band has influenced his guitar playing - The impact Prince continues to have on him - Making the album "Screamer" and how they worked to "keep it weird" - And more Partial Transcript Here is a partial transcript of the interview. For the full transcript, download the free ebook. Guitar Tone Cris Cohen: You've been part of this band for almost a decade now. I'm curious, how has being part of this band influenced your guitar playing? Kryz Reid: It's an interesting question. I don't think I've ever been asked that before. Let me think. I think that Stephan has a producer's ear. So, as soon as we started to record together, the way Stephan talks about tone and talks about the style of guitar players… Like when Tom Morello hits a chord. We were rehearsing next door to the Chris Cornell tribute thing that was on a while ago. So, Tom Morello and all the Audioslave guys, they were all right next door. We could hear (guitar sounds). And it's just completely on. There's no way you could be like, "Who's that?" Even his tech checking his shit doesn't sound like Tom. So, Stephan kind of emboldened me with that idea. He was like, "When you play the guitar, I want people to know that it's you." So, the thing is, all of that is in your fingers. It's all very expressive. So, unbeknownst to me, I'm doing that. You know what I mean? But he definitely got me to think more about tone. Because I was always very kind of punk rock. I get a fucking Marshall 800 and... Am I allowed to curse on this? Cris Cohen: Yeah. Kryz Reid: I would just crank it and would be like, "Yeah, it sounds good." But we used to shoot out different amps, different guitars, different combinations of vintage amplifiers. We have all these photos of nine vintage amplifiers lined up with different microphones on them all. Playing the Strat and playing a '68 Strat and playing a fucking Jazzmaster. And then just going through all these different combinations. Because anything less than what we think is ideal compromises the tonality of the entire product. So, yeah, he's definitely made me a more disciplined guitar player. Cris Cohen: And as a result, do you notice minor changes now, more? Kryz Reid: Oh, yeah. I'll listen and I'll go, "We can hear the Stratocaster." You can hear the tonality difference between all those instruments, and the different tones that you'll get off like an AC30 versus a Marshall sound and stuff like that. So, I've learned on the gig, in that respect. Because before that, I was just always plugging in a fucking rocket. Cris Cohen: Right. And speaking of your setup, just because I was watching just now in soundcheck, that guitar is slung really low on you. I mean, it's like at knee level. Kryz Reid: Yeah, I've been hearing that more and more recently now than before. I've always slung my guitar pretty low. I'm from the Jimmy Page school of guitar playing. Greasy, as we say. It just looked cool to me. I mean, Tom Morello is the only guitar player I can think of who does what our bass player, Cavy, calls a studio set up, where you wear your guitar really high, because you're in the studio. You don't want to look cool. You want to play well. And I've just always slung it low. So one of my guitars is a Fano JM6. It's kind of like a Jazzmaster sort of thing, that Dennis Fano made. And I noticed that is particularly low-slung because of where the hoist points are on the body of the guitar. So, when I play it out, I'm going like, "Fucking hell, man. This is way low." Cris Cohen: But not enough so you'd want to just bring it up a notch on the strap? Kryz Reid: No, it's not uncomfortable. That's the way I've always played the guitar. Cris Cohen: I think Dave Matthews, he's another one where the guitar is really up here. And supposedly that's ergonomically better in terms of how your arm is positioned, how your wrist is positioned, and things like that. But… Kryz Reid: Man, if you go down that rabbit hole, you'll find, this is the optimum pose for playing the guitar. (Mimes having the guitar almost at his neck with his legs crossed.) No one's getting laid sitting like that. At all. So, it's not an issue. I play Les Pauls mostly as well. It's kind of Jimmy Page's kind of thing. When I see a picture of me on stage, I go, "Yeah. Fuck, yeah." I don't go, "Goddamn, that thing is low." It just looks cool. Cris Cohen: So for you, it's got to look right, not just sound right. Kryz Reid: Well, it's just how it feels. I mean, that's the thing, isn't it? I started playing guitar when I was like 15. I would just sit on the edge of my bed and just strum chords and just be going, "My God… it works… like they said it would." When I started playing in bands, that's just where I put it. I was like, "How low can we put the thing?" And yeah, it's not -- I could talk about it for hours, but -- it's not uncomfortable. It feels natural to me. And all the most natural guitar players are, for me, the best guitar players. People like John Frusciante. He just doesn't look weird with a guitar. I'm not going to name any names, but there's some people that, when you see them play a guitar, you're going like, "No." Those guys who are always looking at their right hand. They're doing that shit. It's the telltale. It's the giveaway. Because your right hand is all natural, your left hand as well. Technique is mainly the thing. Prince Cris Cohen: And then, speaking of influences, you've talked a lot about how the top of the heap for you was Prince. Kryz Reid: Is Prince. Cris Cohen: Is Prince still. What drew you to his guitar playing? Kryz Reid: Well, I came across Prince when I was like nine years old. So, I didn't go, "Oh, he's such a good guitar player." I just thought he was sexy and cool and androgynous and all the stuff that I love. I was just in, immediately. The whole package, I just thought it was the coolest thing in the world. As soon as I had money to buy myself any of my own clothes that my parents weren't buying for me, when I was like 15, I went into town. I bought a pair of fucking Docs (Dr. Martens) -- I'm wearing a pair of Docs right now -- and a black trench coat. I was back in Dublin recently and I was wearing a nice trench coat. My mom was like, "You've been wearing a trench coat your whole life." I was like, "Yeah, and a pair of Docs." And Prince famously… the purple trench coat. That's when I came across… Cris Cohen: Right. But his was all paisleyed out and everything. Kryz Reid: Well, it was more kind of like he had studs and stuff. Cris Cohen: You're right. Yeah. Kryz Reid: So, I was always just drawn to his entire package. And everything about Prince I thought was fucking cool. I still try to style my hair like the cover of “Controversy.” I just think that he's just the coolest motherfucker. He just really is. Was. Whatever. It wasn't until I got into playing the guitar that I really realized what a phenomenal talent he was. But I thought, to be able to play the guitar, to be able to get an electric guitar, you need to be somebody as rich as Prince. We weren't rich growing up. So I just assumed that that was just something that would never happen. And then a mate of mine called Ian Smith... We went over to his house once and he pulled out this fucking electric guitar. And I was like, "What did... How... Where did... How did that happen?" So, straight away after that, I was like, "You can buy these things. You can go to a shop and get them?" I was just blown away. Then I was on to my ma, "Can we get one? Can we get one?" She said, "There's an old piece of shit acoustic up in the attic that your father bought years ago. If you learn to play that, we'll get you an electric guitar." So, we got that acoustic… there were two strings on it. And me and my brother used to just play. He had drumsticks but he didn't have a drum kit. I bought strings for the fucking acoustic and I got a book out of the school library. School library, kids. And I just learned the chords. I didn't even know how to tune the fucking thing. I went down to the local music shop to get a package of guitar strings. That's a 15-minute walk, right? I came back home and put them on. I just assumed that you would just twist it until it didn't (turn anymore). I got to the high E string. And of course, as I went up, it just flew off. Cris Cohen: Oh, God. Kryz Reid: Hit me in the face. I was going, "Fuck." And I was trying to work out if I had enough pocket money to get… Cris Cohen: More strings, yeah. Kryz Reid: And then of course, I didn't know if I could go down and ask, "Can I just get that one?" It was like six pounds or something for the packet. I went down with 50 pence or something. It was before Ireland was on the Euro system. (I'm showing my age.) I went in and the bird was really nice. I would go down there and talk to her about music. She was like, " Yeah, I can get that for you, Kryztopher." She gave me the one string. I came home and, stupid as fuck, did the same thing. Cris Cohen: Oh, my God. Kryz Reid: Because I had no idea. You had to tune the guitar from each string. The first month that I started learning to play the guitar, I had no high E string. So my G chord sounded funny. But I took to it like a fish to water or whatever. I was completely and utterly obsessed with the guitar, from then on. Cris Cohen: And it's fascinating actually, because Keith Richards, in addition to writing his autobiography, he wrote a children's book about how he learned to play the guitar. I read it to my son. It's funny, because it's kind of a similar story. His grandfather had this old, unused acoustic thing sitting on top of the piano and he just had to try it. Then he sat with that constantly, even though he didn't exactly know what he was doing. Kryz Reid: Yeah. He'd just play with it. Self Taught Cris Cohen: Did you ever have actual lessons or was it all... Kryz Reid: No. All self-taught. No, it was just watching Jimi Hendrix on (video tape), rewinding the fucking thing, and going, "How is he doing it?" That kind of stuff. But the thing is, when I started learning to play the guitar, I had already had a few girlfriends. I had been deeply in love. I had my heart completely smashed and all of that. And I'm an arty little fucker. I was always drawing and sketching and stuff like that as a kid. So, for me, (music was) the perfect conduit for all of that. Brad, our drummer, has a little wee boy. He's just turned four, and he's fucking obsessed with the band. He has a little acoustic guitar that he walks around (with) and he (watches) the guys playing on TV. He's playing it left-handed because he doesn't understand that he's watching it… Cris Cohen: Oh. It's backwards. Kryz Reid: As he goes around, he throws all of these poses and all the rest of it. And then Brad was like, "What am I going to get him for Christmas?" I'm like, "Get him a baby electric." He's like, "I don't want to get him a baby Strat. I want to get him a baby Les Paul." And I was going like, "Dude, he's just going to break it." Now, four years old isn't when kids migrate towards something like that. I think you need to be 13 to 17, something like that. Because around that bracket is where you've got all of that puberty, crazy mad shit where you're playing with Lego and Star Wars one day and then suddenly there are girls everywhere. And you're going, "What?" So, yeah, it's the perfect time to have that conduit for all that crazy shit that's going on. Some kids do sports and all that kind of stuff. I was never that guy. I was always the little punk in the corner, writing songs about how he hated everybody. Cris Cohen: Well, one thing I’m always curious about with musicians who did not have formal training is, what advantages do you think there were to not going down that route? Kryz Reid: It never becomes a job then. Do you know what I mean? It's never a job. If you start to teach a kid -- like you send them to piano lessons when they're fucking six or whatever -- that's a pain in the arse for a kid. All that shit. Right? And then it's like, every Tuesday after school, fucking piano. So, I think (with) a lot of kids who do that, the dropout rate is very high. There are some who become virtuosos. But by and large, in my experience of what I've come across, that becomes a job then. Whereas, when you just go, "That fucking guy is cool. I want to do that." That to me is all the training you need. Then you go meet other fuckers. You know what I mean? I met my best mate in school going to the school locker. I was singing a Prince song and he started to fill in the bits with me. We became best mates, and we made a band a week later. You learn from your mates and then you learn who's in the hierarchy. I'm sure you know Damien Rice, the musician from Dublin as well. Cris Cohen: Name sounds familiar. Kryz Reid: We played in a band together and we worked out very quickly that I was going to be the lead guitar player, and he would be the rhythm guitar player. It's so funny. Kids fall into their brackets. We did a festival with The School of Rock. And we were shooting a video for our song, “The Kids Are Coming (To Take You Down).” We had this stream of little punk kids, little rock kids, walking past the tour bus. I said, "Get the cameras! Everything we need is right here!” So, we had all the kids do all the stuff for the video. After, we're just hanging out and talking to them and I was going, "That's me. I can see the little lead guitar player right there. There's the singer and he's a little bit of a fucking piece of shit. There was a little wee bird who was like “I'm going to be the manager.” That kind of thing. And they got the cute, little groupie kind of thing going on. The nerdy photography kid is there. He's got his fucking camera that his dad gave him and it is way too big. Kids just sort themselves out into all those brackets. I think the same thing kind of applies when you get into a band. We're all such typical embodiments of the lead guitar player, the singer, the bass player. It's hilarious. And we go on tour and you meet other bands, and you start to see everybody segregate off into their own groups. Cris Cohen: It's interesting because a friend of mine, Rich Redmond, who plays drums for Jason Aldean, talks about, when they go on tour, the drummers are always the most gregarious. It's the drummers that are always the first ones to introduce themselves to the other bands on the bill. He said, "If you get five drummers in a room, we will close down the bar talking about music, philosophy, life, everything. If you get five guitarists in a room, they will beat the shit out of each other." Kryz Reid: Oh, really? Wow. I don't know. In our band, our bass player, Cavy, is usually the first to meet the support band and be like, "Hey, guys." We were out last night for pints, and the support band was in the same bar. We didn't even know. We were in the front section of the bar and they were in the back section. Towards the end of the night, they came out and we're like, "Whoa!" But it's funny. I hadn't met them at that point. But I was (looking at them) just going like, "That's the fucking singer. I'll bet you any money. That one there, he plays bass.” For the full transcript, download the free ebook.
I interviewed Robbie Wulfsohn, lead singer for Ripe. We discussed: - Ripe's album "Joy in the Wild Unknown" - How the band evolved from their formation at Berklee to the present - Robbie's concept of "weighted joy" - And more I interviewed Dave Wilson, singer and guitarist for Chatham County Line. We discussed: - Performing live with only one microphone - Their album "Sharing The Covers" - Recording and performing with Judy Collins - And more I interviewed Joey Dandeneau, drummer for Theory of a Deadman. We discussed: - Their upcoming album, "Say Nothing" - The song "History of Violence" - The new direction they have taken with their music in recent years - Drum solos - And more Recorded October 5, 2019 at The Ritz in Raleigh, North Carolina. I interviewed Troy Luccketta, drummer for Tesla. We discussed: - Tesla's new album, "Shock" - Working with Phil Collen of Def Leppard - His re-commitment to studying drumming fundamentals - And more I interviewed Joey Secchiaroli, lead singer and guitarist with Kindo. We discussed: - What the band learned from their goal of creating one new song every month - Melody is king - Having faith in the process - The double-edged sword of the internet for musicians - And more |
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