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Joe B.'s Interview on Reverb

Aloha_Mark

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Dec 15, 2011
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To me, Joe Bonamassa is one of the closest young musicians we have to American Royalty, and though he will not be knighted by our president. Joe is sure to become a Kennedy Center honoree one day, for outstanding contributions to music and the performing arts.

https://reverb.com/blog/reverb-interview-joe-bonamassa-discusses-his-new-record-blues-of-desperation

Why is he on track to greatness? He is doing it the old fashioned way, by proving his mettle in live concerts, the way all the great bluesmen have done in the past. Joe is not limited to one style, and has shown that he is not afraid to team with others. His recording and concerts with Beth Hart were simply amazing.

Read what he says in the interview about new media and the future of music.

Stylistically, your music is rooted heavily in the blues. How do you approach writing within those structures and still keep it fresh?

It is very hard. The mere fact that the guitar has ruled music up until very recently makes it even tougher. We've had a good run, almost 70 years. Now it's time to embrace the age of the robots, MacBook Pro and Pro Tools as your source of entertainment in music. Why learn the instrument when the computer can play it for you? I for one welcome our new digital overlords. The long and short of it is that it's tough to reinvent a wheel that's already been reinvented.


There is some humor in his answer, and who knows, Joe may embrace Midi at some point, and even play a Firebird X or Roland V guitar, as well. The man knows no limits, and I wouldn't be surprised when he puts out an album of metal blues, showing his shredding power. There is a world of guitars out there, waiting for Joe B's magic touch. He already played a Norlin Flying V. Why not a heavy Norlin era Les Paul Custom or 54/72 P-90 reissue? How about a Fender, National or Rickenbacher Lap Steel guitar? When Joe began playing Fender Stratocasters, I knew he was not going to limit himself to Gibson Les Pauls. The best axe slingers can play an ordinary instrument and make it sound like a Stradivarius. The key to affordable guitars is to have a great musician tell a manufacturer what is really important (i.e., cost-effective) for great tone, and to then make such an instrument for the masses. Gibson USA, are you listening?
 

joemags54

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Joe was born for this "soul" purpose. :salude.. All is right in the universe.
 

JBLPplayer

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Sep 29, 2010
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1,136
Honestly... No BS or pomp and circumstance here. I feel more and more that our way of life is over. The art of making organic records with real players which in 1988 when I started was a must. Though it might of been the tail end of the salad years for that type of musicianship, but getting first takes in time and in tune still really mattered. It was a prerequisite in that time to being signed to a record deal and having a recording and touring career. No producer wanted to deal with anything less and the producers had the ears of the labels. I learned this from the likes of BB King, Danny Gatton, the many who helped me.

2016: To say "it's gonna come back one day" is overly optimistic. A generation of musicians, singers , writers and slack jawed gawkers have embraced the ability to play and augment music live with the availability of the Mac Book pro, protools and other sources. So much so that the sound created or lack thereof has become the new baseline in live performance. There is actually a road position now for a pro-tools tech. A guy who's job it I s to manage the many tracks and protools rig that corresponds with the show. You would be surprised how often it is used. And not just at Justin Beiber gigs. Sad but true unfortunately, but the problems usually begin when "reverb" returns glow red as band after band try to copy U2 or The Smiths. Johnny Marr and the Edge are most copied guitarist of this new generation to my ear. Of course there are exeptions.
Hipster, man-bun clad, millennials line up to crank up the fuzz and press anywhere all under the notion of creating vibe or " servicing the song". And if you say it loud enough and enough folks buy into it you now have a movement. We have to face the fact the train has left with out us.
But......

Thank you for the Rival Sons, Thank you for Vintage Trouble, Jack White, the Black Keys. Tedeski and Trucks and bands who are holding on to a way of life that is tantamount to driving a steam powered car.
Anyone got any coal and a gallon of water. I need to make a run to the post office.

Joe B :salude
 
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joemags54

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And thank you, Universe, for Matt "Guitar" Murphy! HA!.. P.S. just wait for Pony Express to pick up your mail...
 

Minibucker

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Jan 12, 2003
Messages
6,372
The continuing evolution of music. I'm sure a lot of more 'traditional' musicians were bewildered by the sound and technology of that confounded new thing called rock n' roll back in the day. Things are definitely changing big time. For the better? Well...it may not be for us to decide that. It is sad to think that true live/manual instrumental performance , in a popular context, could become a thing of nostalgia. I'm glad that I even got a chance to enjoy it to the extent that I did.
 

Yelly

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Joined
Aug 29, 2001
Messages
1,534
There is so much truth in Joe's comments. Particularly for people at the top of the tree. However, I remain optimistic. A few years ago things looked far more bleak and some of us old guys were feeling pretty irrelevant and it seemed like the guitar was missing in action. The computer was taking the blame in the eyes of some. But then along comes Joe, Derek Trucks and more recently J.D. Simo. You guys are more of a beacon than you may ever realise and I thank you for it.

Can't wait to see Joe in action at Plymouth on the 21st March, it has been a long time since the Falmouth days!
 

jimmi

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Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
2,077
Honestly... No BS or pomp and circumstance here. I feel more and more that our way of life is over. The art of making organic records with real players which in 1988 when I started was a must. Though it might of been the tail end of the salad years for that type of musicianship, but getting first takes in time and in tune still really mattered. It was a prerequisite in that time to being signed to a record deal and having a recording and touring career. No producer wanted to deal with anything less and the producers had the ears of the labels. I learned this from the likes of BB King, Danny Gatton, the many who helped me.

2016: To say "it's gonna come back one day" is overly optimistic. A generation of musicians, singers , writers and slack jawed gawkers have embraced the ability to play and augment music live with the availability of the Mac Book pro, protools and other sources. So much so that the sound created or lack thereof has become the new baseline in live performance. There is actually a road position now for a pro-tools tech. A guy who's job it I s to manage the many tracks and protools rig that corresponds with the show. You would be surprised how often it is used. And not just at Justin Beiber gigs. Sad but true unfortunately, but the problems usually begin when "reverb" returns glow red as band after band try to copy U2 or The Smiths. Johnny Marr and the Edge are most copied guitarist of this new generation to my ear. Of course there are exeptions.
Hipster, man-bun clad, millennials line up to crank up the fuzz and press anywhere all under the notion of creating vibe or " servicing the song". And if you say it loud enough and enough folks buy into it you now have a movement. We have to face the fact the train has left with out us.
But......

Thank you for the Rival Sons, Thank you for Vintage Trouble, Jack White, the Black Keys. Tedeski and Trucks and bands who are holding on to a way of life that is tantamount to driving a steam powered car.
Anyone got any coal and a gallon of water. I need to make a run to the post office.

Joe B :salude


I would add Blackberry Smoke, Warren Haynes and a host of country artists (although there are about half that your statments also apply) that can sit with an accoustic guitar and sing and sound fantastic with no help at all.

i also wonder how long this cycle will really last. I remember the mid 80s when it looked like the guitar was goingvto give way to synth and overly produced records. Then Guns and Roses hit bringing it back half way then grunge brought ot back home. After a while the ears may be ready for more authentic tones. Until then Joe, move to Nashville full time. Players everywhere here along with a great appitite for live music where the guy bringing you your pizza can play through changes on Giant Steps in real time. :)
 

T.Allen

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Sep 11, 2014
Messages
2,662
It is sad to see tech taking over music. There are no human imperfections from computer generated music. The limits of talent are measured by the size of the hard drive and the amount of RAM. But, until Nashville turns into a tech city selling mac books and software on every corner, there will still be some remnants of imperfect, human made, artful music.
 

AliGZero

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Oct 17, 2014
Messages
142
Let's not despair (especially you, Joe!). The bluesmen showed us how to escape the thematic triteness and inauthenticity of the Tin Pan Alley hacks. Leo Fender, Ted McCarty and Jim Marshall gave us the power to escape the sonic limits of the acoustic guitar. The result has been decades of soul-stirring performances captured in studios and on stages around the world. Yes, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs have unleashed a technology revolution, and "digital overlords" may yet crush the life out of musical performance. But...but...hmm, I can't seem to think of any reason to be optimistic, now that you mention it. :hmm Carry on.
 

PierceLP

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Apr 1, 2015
Messages
81
Honestly... No BS or pomp and circumstance here. I feel more and more that our way of life is over. The art of making organic records with real players which in 1988 when I started was a must. Though it might of been the tail end of the salad years for that type of musicianship, but getting first takes in time and in tune still really mattered. It was a prerequisite in that time to being signed to a record deal and having a recording and touring career. No producer wanted to deal with anything less and the producers had the ears of the labels. I learned this from the likes of BB King, Danny Gatton, the many who helped me.

2016: To say "it's gonna come back one day" is overly optimistic. A generation of musicians, singers , writers and slack jawed gawkers have embraced the ability to play and augment music live with the availability of the Mac Book pro, protools and other sources. So much so that the sound created or lack thereof has become the new baseline in live performance. There is actually a road position now for a pro-tools tech. A guy who's job it I s to manage the many tracks and protools rig that corresponds with the show. You would be surprised how often it is used. And not just at Justin Beiber gigs. Sad but true unfortunately, but the problems usually begin when "reverb" returns glow red as band after band try to copy U2 or The Smiths. Johnny Marr and the Edge are most copied guitarist of this new generation to my ear. Of course there are exeptions.
Hipster, man-bun clad, millennials line up to crank up the fuzz and press anywhere all under the notion of creating vibe or " servicing the song". And if you say it loud enough and enough folks buy into it you now have a movement. We have to face the fact the train has left with out us.
But......

Thank you for the Rival Sons, Thank you for Vintage Trouble, Jack White, the Black Keys. Tedeski and Trucks and bands who are holding on to a way of life that is tantamount to driving a steam powered car.
Anyone got any coal and a gallon of water. I need to make a run to the post office.

Joe B :salude

Im so glad there are guys like you that are able to reach the masses with this way of thinking. I myself am a believer in the "old school" ways or as i like to put it.. "As God intended it to be" lol.
This age of instant gratification is scary to me. Its like things are easier nowadays.. and not in a good way. It takes the soul and human element out of everything we do.
As Joe Walsh put it "i dont want to hear a perfect record".

It is nice to see players my age (early 20s) following in those footsteps. We are few and far between (most of us seemed to have gathered in this lovely forum of all ages and all over this earth). But guys like you pave the way for us all in this day in age. So id like to thank you as well! :salude
 

Cliff Gress

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Aug 26, 2004
Messages
3,302
Yes the train left, who cares, I didn't buy a ticket. I don't listen to modern music, nor buy it. Happy to live in the past. Maybe the resurgence of vinyl will make a difference in how music is heard, and then maybe how it is recorded and played. There is always hope until it's gone.
 

elephantman

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Jan 5, 2007
Messages
40
Every change in music trends has been met with disapproval from the elders. When electric guitars first came onto the scene (or at least when they started to be used as lead instruments instead of just "louder acoustic guitars"), they said it was cheating to use amp compression to enhance sustain and it was the end of true musicianship. Much later, when rap & hip-hop came around, we bitched about no melody (or harmony, for that matter) and how that was kinda cheating. Now, with loops & hoops & the afore mentioned Pro-Tools over use, we're complaining about that (I'm not judging, as a guitarist and die hard fan of guitar music I don't like it either).

Music moves on (thank God), and new and different technologies are bent & twisted and pushed to their limits in the quest for new sounds. Bravo.

As a guitarist of a certain age, I'm partial to certain kinds of music that are no longer in style and flooding the airwaves. I don't hate the newer kinds of music, some of it I even like a bit. But almost all of the time I'll pick something guitar centric. There is still great guitar music out there, we just have to look a little harder for it now. The fact that some of it is being made by young guys & girls is encouraging to me.
 

J T

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Oct 20, 2005
Messages
10,501
Honestly.....There is actually a road position now for a pro-tools tech. A guy who's job it I s to manage the many tracks and protools rig that corresponds with the show. You would be surprised how often it is used. And not just at Justin Beiber gigs. Sad but true unfortunately, but the problems usually begin when "reverb" returns glow red as band after band try to copy U2 or The Smiths. ...


Wow maybe my Pro Tools Certification might be worth something...:##\
:spabout
 

Minibucker

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Joined
Jan 12, 2003
Messages
6,372
Wow maybe my Pro Tools Certification might be worth something...:##\
:spabout
I've been using it professionally for almost 20 years...never did I ever think it'd become a performance 'instrument'. Although granted I ever really used it for music.
 

J T

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I'd love to see the day when people get credited on an album as "Pro Tools Musician":)
 

sonar

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Jan 10, 2003
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Eh... old people.

Basically I'm reading:

"I don't like that type of music. I like this type of music, which should be played a certain way..."

which is fine. I'm all on board and agree more than I disagree.

But in the end...

"So what?"

People are making musical moments however/whichever way they can, and really don't care about a guitarist's craft or approach to music. "I DON'T CARE." They're over there doing their thing, and I'm over here doing my thing. That audience doesn't care about guitar music and I don't care to be bothered with some of their music.

True story - I was in a Jazz club last year and the owner (*cough* Wayne Segal *cough*) got on stage and started to rail on how rock music destroyed "real music." Really? THAT argument is still out there? Of course it is, because it's the same argument I'm reading here...

"So what?"

And don't blame the technology for creating the hustler, scammer or ne'er-do-well in music. It goes back before Pro Tools, before Milli Vanilli, before The Monkees, before The Wrecking Crew, before recorded music, before radio transmission, before the player piano, before western musical notation... all the way back to when the first caveman pounded on a hollow log; there was a charlatan right beside him exploiting music for his personal gain.

As for the musician that practices the craft and plays an instrument for a living - it's always been a tough and impractical occupation to pursue, even for the most talented. Consider yourself extremely blessed to have the fortitude, dedication and talent to pay your bills by making music...

"So what?"

So stop your bitching and go see some live music more than once a year (and Jimmy Buffet in a football stadium doesn't count. Jimmy Buffet never counts!). Go to the clubs. Go to the concert halls. Support the music you love. Everything else will fall into place...

just go see a f*****g band once in awhile.
 
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