« May 2003 | Main | November 2003 »
October 11, 2003
October 11, 2003
God, I think I remember how to type… Uh, is this thing on?
So anyhoo, I've been away for a while huh?
It has been a hell of a summer and now that the dust has settled after round one and RK is plotting RKWD - II (Reckless Kelly World Domination for all you not so used to REH's world of acronyms...) after a short break with fence-mending and trips to Sweden and perhaps even a marathon elder Braun Bros. impromptu show at a pub somewhere in Ireland (rumor has it that it was a relaxing lil’ 7 hour jam session), it’s time for some good old fashioned filler.
So here it is in all it's glory - this is what happens when Fan Boy shows his true colors and starts to mentally jot down what the boys are using on stage and to some extent what might have reared its ugly head in the studio. Kind of a behind the scenes into what makes the RK sound (did I really type that?) come to fruition.
Turns out that I'm not alone. That’s right folks, not only do I tune into Monster Garage, it also rings true that a few other "techies" suck the marrow of any and all music gear mags and websites 24/7.... is this a bad thing? Well if you're like me, (God forbid) would you have free time to be a dork? Yes, you would!
You want to see a ripple, hell a wave of electricity run through a crowd of gear geeks and wanna be rockers like me? All that has to happen is for one of our heroes to bring one of his new toys on stage and Boom!! Us gear geeks are talking into our wrist communicators and tape wrapped glasses all over town start to fog up. Pass the salt Potsie...
This is my attempt at an interview with about 3/5th of the players on stage at any given time when the Mighty RK hits the stage. It wasn't exactly like getting water from a stone (‘cept for Jazz) but it did take some time on all of our parts and was actually started before the trip to the studio in Nashville and wrapped up around Mardi Gras so bear with me as I try to piece this together into some thing readable.
The players:
David Abeyta (aka: "The King of the Uncomfortable Silence", "Don't call me Tater", "El Diablo", “The Hispanic Titanic”)
Jimmy "Jam" McFeeley (Haircut? We don't need no stinking haircut!)
Jay "Jazz" Nazziola. (We've met before right?)
Be forewarned though, I may take some creative license in piecing this together since the Q&A was done by e-mail. Please know up front that if it seems like a real conversation, it wasn't. But then again… we might have talked this over.
REH - David, when did you arrive in Austin?
DA – 1993.
REH - And you attended Berklee for?
DA - I went the distance at Berklee. It took me 3.5 years with an additional year of course work at Oklahoma University. My time in Boston was probably the most important period for me in terms of my development as a musician.
REH - JAM, when did you play your 1st "official” gig with RK?
JAM - Oct.24, 2001 at Ego's in Austin, TX.
REH - How'd that come about?
JAM - I played with David, of course, for many years and we knew RK from the George Devore days. I had left The Roam in August of 2001.
REH - Jazz, how in the hell, besides the obvious combo, did you get hung with the moniker Jazz?
Jazz - This is probably one of my personal top 5 favorite stories. I had the great pleasure to meet “Chappy” Chapman, grandpa to the Brauns, about 7 or so years ago in Idaho. Although witty, and if you'd ask him, 'down right good looking', his hearing wasn't as sharp. So apparently when he heard Jay Nazz, he heard "Jazz". No one, myself included, wanted to bring this to his attention so everyone followed his lead and Jazz it was. We all miss “Chappy” greatly.
REH - DA, what was is your first memory as far as an influence from a guitarist, record or concert experience?
DA - I had a little red metal box full of 45's - I don't remember where they came from but I think they belonged to my Mom. In the box was a single of Revolution by The Beatles. I can still see the Apple label spinning on the turntable- I had never heard anything that in my life.
REH – Jazz, Favorite band/influences that shaped your sound or musical path?
Jazz - Its never easy to come up with a final number of favorite players. Having said that, I’ll toss 3 out there with the understanding that there are too many to ever include in one list. 1) Stewart Copeland 2) Ringo Starr 3) Levon Helm. My favorite band when I was 18 or so was The Police. If anyone is familiar with Stewart Copeland's style you'd recognize the slight tribute at the beginning of “Hey Say May” and “Time Bomb” off of the Millican record.
REH – David, to bring it back a bit to the present, what are your current inspirations/favorite records/guitar players?
DA – Inspiration: my wife. Current favorite record: Norah Jones - Come away with me. Current favorite guitar player: Bill Frisell.
REH - Since we've kinda gone there, top three favorite guitar records?
DA - (David will tell you this is torture on a musician - to ask for the "desert island records") 1) Robben Ford - Talk To Your Daughter. 2) If I had to pick just one Danny Gatton record, I’d pick two – “Unfinished Business” and “Relentless” -( w/ Joey De Francesco) and maybe “Redneck Jazz” for good measure. You see my point? 3) A little something I like to call The White Album. I blame it for my love of putting weird sounds on records (witness “Willamina” on the new CD).
REH – JAM, c'mon I know you live for this kinda desert island top three records OF ALL TIME stuff…
JAM - 1) Frank Sinatra with the Count Basie Orchestra 2) Sonia Dada – “Life At The Beach” 3) The Beatles – “The White Album”.
REH - And who would you say has influenced you the most bass-wise or just musically for that matter?
JAM - James Jamerson, Jaco Pastorious, and Paul Chambers.
REH - Beyond Jaco and Paul, who I believe did some time with Miles Davis and John Coltrane respectively, James Jamerson is probably the most recognized and influential yet unknown R&B and Motown session player to ever lay down a groove. Do you find his style of playing creeping into your live sound or even more into your bass lines on the new record?
JAM - The Jamerson influence doesn't creep it Storms!
REH - You brought another element (groove wise) to the RK sound with the addition of the 5 string bass vs. the more traditional 4 string bass. Can you see your self going back to a more traditional 4 bass rig?
JAM - Sure. I've been pulling out my G&L bass lately as well as my fretless which made an appearance on some of the tracks on the new record.
REH - Any tracks in particular that the uninitiated should listen for?
JAM - I mostly added some pitch bendy stuff to existing tracks. I think “May Peace Find You Tonight” has some but its pretty low in the mix.
REH – Jazz, how, in a perfect world, would you like your monitor mix to sound - as far as vocals vs. guitar/bass etc?
JAZZ - Monitor mixes are subjective to the guy running the monitors and the actual quality of the monitors themselves. However, on a perfect day I would have the kick and the bass VERY present. Next, Willy's acoustic and electric around the same volume. Dave's lead electric to dance around the middle and I like the vocals sprinkled on top of the whole mix. A pretty typical self-centered mix.
REH - Dave, what determines your choice or amplifier/cabinet in a live situation? Did you use any or all of your current live rig to record the new record?
DA - For the most part, I choose the amp based on the size of the venue, with the Fulton-Webb 30 watt getting used in smaller rooms and the Marshall 50 watt Plexi getting used in larger rooms. I make the exception if one or the other has been sounding particularly good lately (the Marshall has been sounding pretty good lately). On the new record I mostly used a great old Vox AC-50 of Ray's (Kennedy) - a couple of his other amps that I abused were a Gibson Ranger and a Fender black face Princeton. I also used my Fulton-Webb 30 watter through my open back Matchless Cabinet.
REH - While I've got you thinking gear what does your current live rig consist of?
DA - Guitar-wise? I have several workhorses that get plenty of stage time. Primarily it’s 1) A 1963 Gretsch Tennessean which I run stock (pick-up wise). 2) 1965 Silvertone with stock twin Lipsticks for slide work which you'll hear live on “I Saw It Coming” and lately on “Happy” when I'm not playing slide on the Strat. 3) 1998(?) Paul Reed Smith (PRS) set up with a stock neck position and a Seth Lover Bridge. 4) Fender Stratocaster 1962 re-issue running Rio Grande Halfbreeds wound out of phase for noise-cancelling. But I feel a set of Fralins coming on. Next?
REH - I know alot of us are dying at a crack at the acoustic sound you get ..I gotta say its about as much tone as you can get out of a Flat top.
DA - As far as acoustic performances, I stick to my Yairi-Alvarez which is a 60th Anniversary edition with a Fishman Natural Matrix Acoustic pickup running to a Fulltone Fat-Boost, Boss DD1(?) Delay pedal, PreSonus Acoustic-Q tube-preamp and a Boss TU-2 Tuner.
DA - On the Electric pedal board: Maxon Overdrive/Fulltone '69 Fuzz pedal/ Fulltone SupraTrem/Ernie Ball Volume pedal/Line 6 DL4 Delay Modulator. Amp: 1969 Marshall Plexi 50 Watt Amp head through "son of bastard" cabinet loaded with Celestion Anniversary 30's @ 8 ohms. OR The Fulton-Webb 30 watt head through the same cabinet.
REH – Jazz, primarily your live kit was used on the record. Were there any changes for the record?
Jazz - I use a Yamaha Recording series for both live and studio work. It has a rack and floor tom (12"and 16"). I also use a Ludwig Suprafonic snare for both electric and acoustic shows and Zildjian K Custom cymbals which work really well both live and for recording.
REH - Jam, as you said earlier, you have been pulling out your G& L 4 string bass lately for a lot of live performances. What else does your live rig have?
JAM - Currently I'm using a Galien-Krueger RB 400 head through an Eden 4x10 and 1x15 cabinet. I’d love to add another stack and I'm always on the lookout for a good Fender P-bass or J-bass.
REH - Any sage advice you three have received that has stuck with you as being timeless?
JAM - Bruce Hughes said "If you’re playing music then you are not wasting time."
DA - Once I was helping the great Joe Pass set up for a clinic. I had arranged to borrow a Polytone (always his amp of choice) for him to use but at the last minute it fell through. I had to get him one of the Yamaha amps that were in all the labs and practice rooms at school - the really awful model with all the multi-colored knobs. He plugged in, played a few bebop lines you'd be lucky just to hear in your head, took the cigar out of his mouth, looked at me and said, "David, let me tell you something. Any amp with that many knobs… fuhgeddaboutit."
REH – Jazz?
Jazz - Well, I’ve head a lot of great philosophies and advice over the years regarding music and playing. I guess the most basic, yet monumental, thought was delivered by a street player here in Austin who goes by the name King. King is a 4 star funksman who plays on 6th Street with nothing but his voice and his bass. One night I was really fortunate to hang with King over a couple bottles of something and at the end of it all he left me with one really great truth - "Music is easy, musicians make it difficult." In other words, just play and enjoy because as soon as you start over thinking your part or performance, you’re done. Not to take anything away from a technically ripping guitar solo or a slamming drum fill, but all those things need to flow through you, not get stuck inside. Dig?
REH - OK guys, thanks again for taking the time and being so candid. Any favorite tunes on the new record or fave tunes live in the current set list?
Jazz – “So Lonely” is my favorite cover. I'd say my fave RK tune is “Walk Out Now” because it was one of the first songs we worked up together. As far as the new record, “Vancouver” really came together in the studio and it really translates well live and on the tape.
JAM – I gotta go with “Mersey Beat” for fave live tune and “Vancouver” off the record.
DA - Fave live song? Ask me after next show. Off the record? “Vancouver”.
Thank you boys - This neophyte cub reporter smells Pulitzer (For what its worth, Jay later elaborated that Under the Table and Above the Sun was a record that could listen to and enjoy on its own. I think that says a ton - more than any critic or review). Jay’s favorite part of the record is mine too – it’s the little hi-hat fill right after the line "waited for the click and the lights went out”. He really nailed that - kudos to ya Jay.
OK loyal readership, I will try like hell to corner Willy and Cody and get a part two from a brother standpoint. Hell, maybe I’ll get all four of ‘em cornered.
Hope this answers some questions and if ya have any about the gear, etc. send ‘em in & we’ll get to them pronto.
What a mystic sound ...
Posted by reh at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)