Guitars.
This is the toughest one. I'm a huge fan of guitars. The guitars that raise the hair on the back of my neck are connected to some sort of fuzz/distortion and a Marshall stack. I like it when a guitarist creates a unique but pliable sound that doesn't sound "off the shelf" but isn't over-processed, either. Then again, I also like the sound of a 12-string acoustic when it's played well. I'm even fine with a crappy guitar and a lame sound if the player can convince me that he understands his responsibility to the song/band.
Guitars are like people to me. If I try to follow a stereotype or generalization, I'm invariably disappointed. I prefer to seek out (play with, listen to) guitarists with their own style and sound. To temper that, I'm not into weird for weird's sake, either. The guitar, to me, is the personality of the band. Drums and bass provide the foundation but are usually somewhat portable. Guitar has to make sense for the overall ethic of the band - filtered through every song.
I immediately liked the guitar in 400 Blows because it started out sounding a little low in the mix (the first song I heard) but then the full-on, skull-splitting overdubs kicked in and loosened my teeth. That, my friends, is the shit. Another eye-opener for me was our own Thujone Tom with his band at the Mutiny last year (?) laying it down. I've played with Tom in the past but hadn't been in front of him in the audience in a long time. Full on rock star action, man.
I'm more interested in hearing how all the guitar players approach their own sounds (we have some great players among us) and the guitar in general. Do you hear something you like and emulate it? Do you mess with settings until it sounds "right"? Do you change sounds for every song?
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I’ve been lurking on (is it on?) the past few Fledgling Times musical posts and found them to be interesting. I am sure that Chris has spent far more time thinking about, discovering and enjoying the sounds of these instruments than I have…I’ve said somewhere before that I’m a bad music fan and have always sort of relied on the kindness of friends and strangers to introduce me to cool things.
I will say something about guitars. Playing the guitar never brought me the things I thought I wanted. # or relationships ruined by the guitar is more than…let’s say more than what playing guitar is supposed to get you. Playing guitar never made me one of the cool kids. Playing guitar never brought me riches, or fame or the praises of critics good or bad. I am not a terribly proficient guitar player sonically or technique-wise. I could have probably written more (numerically) and more interesting songs had I stuck with writing them on my first instrument (piano, or some sort of keyboardy thingy).
But I love the guitar. It is my friend. It is my therapy. I’ve been lucky and had a relatively easy time of it in this life - great wife & kid good friends (37 years flood and famine free, knock on wood)…but in those few times when shit was coming down all around me (esp. when I was younger) nothing has helped more than having a guitar in my hand. My Ric and Fender rig seem like a pretty awkward combination (esp. the way I have them set up) – that’s why they suit me so well. Kim once told me after a show, “I know why you love doing this. There is this big sound coming from the stage and you guys are making it.”
The other thing about me and the guitar is it’s better for me to play it with someone else. I’ve been lucky to have played with two very different guitar gurus who have sort of led the way for me – Cousin Mike and Devin. I feel honored to have written and thrown down some of the background against which they shared their shit with the audience.
Kim asks me why I don’t necessarily like doing “couple things,” (dinner parties with one or more other married couples) and if I do, I prefer to do it in the company of musicians, especially those I have played with. It is not because I am a snob. I know my shit stinks believe me. I also know that much of what I say in a social setting might not be of much interest to polite company. Believe it or not, it is hard for me to communicate honestly with people sometimes. The guitar is my go-between. It’s like Wonder Woman’s magic lasso wrapped around me. I can’t lie to you when I’m playing it.
Like baseball, the fewest mistakes usually wins the day. At Ubique HQ, we usually talk a lot about the guitar work as a series of musical gestures, of which some add to the song and some which take away from the mood and lyrics. My turn-ons are machine gun precise syncopated rhythm guitars and guys who play melodically (see Mark). My pet peeve are rhythm guitars that overplay. When tracking, I think it's important to at least listen to a mix with just drums, bass and vocals before slathering on the rhythm guitar. All the good guitarists play for the song instead of playing AT the listener. Givers and takers, the world's full of them.
I've never been one to have a "sound" and stick to it. Like you mentioned, the song should tell you what sound is going to work and you should have the presence of mind to notice when a sound does not work. And of course you'll gravitate toward the instruments that artists you like use.
If I were to evaluate my own playing I would say I am definitely not the most facile player. My ability as I see it rests in figuring out what a song requires then trying to pull it off. I tend to appreciate players who are technically (or stylistically) a bit limited but who have that kind of intuition about where to go. Though I love gear like anyone, I'm not a big fetishizer of the instrument or any kind of playing for its own sake. I like songs first and foremost and really don't care if someone has a great solo unless it's in a great song.
(Metal is kind of a special case that almost deserves another post).
Guitar is so variable that it's not as necessarily important as drums or vocals. But--like you mentioned, as a "personality" it can be crucial. I couldn't give a fuck about the Red Hot Chili Peppers unless Frusciante is single-handedly rescuing them from suckyness. The rhythm section may be great but who cares when the song is mediocre, the guitarist is so-so and...Anthony Keidis. Frusciante's songs and sound brings out the best in them--especially Flea. I'm sure there's other examples.
Awww, the sultan and I posted together. It's nice to hear that after all these years I still "turn him on."
Or maybe I've been playing with you so long I just don't know no better. Kinda like Stockholm Syndrome.
Aw! That's Swede!
I'd like to learn how to play my guitar enough that I could reproduce the smokin' song I dreamt that I wrote last night.
That would kick ass.
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