During my interview you start to understand just how badly Torn wanted to expand his knowledge of all music and just how deep his passion for creativity and individuality runs. Torn knows the rules of music well and has done an amazing job of breaking them. At one moment he’s using his trem bar to make swoopy, stuttering sounds and the next he is methodically practicing traditional oud scales. It sounds diverse, but it makes perfect sense when you hear his music.

David Torn spends much of his time scoring films and consulting with companies about music gear. The man has “ears” and knows innovative sounds. He was even a little concerned that his playing on this interview was not captured on a more professional format. So please be aware that I recorded his playing with the shotgun microphone on my Canon consumer camcorder. I do this on all my videos. Nothing fancy. but it gets the job done without much fuss and allows me to concentrate on other things.

Playing a prototype maple-neck gold D’Pergo strat-style guitar made from ancient swamp ash through a variety of vintage and modern effects amplified through two prototype Fryette amps he stood there like a sorcerer conjuring auditory daydreams and nightmares (often in the same musical phrase).

We may all be looking at the same picture, but some of us see it differently. David Torn is that kind of musician. Don’t just watch him play, listen to his thought process and philosophy about music-making. This guy is open-minded and unafraid to push the envelope. Prepare to be inspired.

This guy is not just playing pentatonic blues scales…who does he sound like? David Torn.

David Torn – Interview 1

Torn’s Los Angeles-area home studio showing effects rack, pedalboard, Fryette amps he is consulting on and more. Click on picture to enlarge.

The wizard’s work station. Click on picture to enlarge.

David Torn – Interview 2

One of Torn’s racks containing a looper and Lexicons used to create other-worldly tones. Click to enlarge.

David Torn – Interview 3
Demonstrating some of his unique approach to guitar on a prototype D’Pergo made of ancient swamp ash.

The newest amp from Fryette that David is consulting on. He had two and was comparing speakers with them. They sounded great clean or distorted.

David Torn – Interview 4

David Torn – Interview 5

Torn playing his Oud.

This is a short video jazz guitar lesson from John Pisano. He’s appeared on tons of albums including recordings with Joe Pass, Herb Ellis and Diana Krall. If you want to study with John, contact Cal State Northridge University and find out when he will be offering his next class. You couldn’t ask for a better teacher.

Notice the exceptional craftsmanship and highly figured woodgrain. The guitars come in maple and mahogany. They sound as good as they look. Clearly a great deal of planning went into these before production. The truss rod cover is a wood strip with magnets that allow the player to make quick adjustments without requiring a screwdriver to remove it. Very clever.

CLICK ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE

(click image to enlarge)

What if your accomplishments could have included one of the following experiences?:

• Playing guitar with Benny Goodman
• Playing at The White House
• Playing for the Queen of England
• Playing a show on the same billing as The Beatles (and hanging out with them)
• Playing with Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, George Van Eps (to barely scratch the surface).
• Play with Herb Alpert or Sergio Mendes on tons of top records
• Perform in a filmed concert at the legendary Olympia Theater in Paris, France with Diana Krall
• Have a high-end signature guitar designed to your specifications

Any one of those would be worthy of extreme pride. Jazz guitarist John Pisano has done all of those and much, much more in his six decades as a professional guitarist. Not content to rest on his laurels, John keeps performing at his weekly gig hosting Spazio’s Guitar Night, teaching at Cal State Northridge (Los Angeles, CA), while pushing himself to play using new guitar techniques and continually learning and evolving as a player.

John told me he considers himself to be a “good player who has played with some great players.” An understatement the size of Los Angeles. The remark underscores his humility. Clearly this guy keeps on giving of himself and has always been in the game for all the right reasons. I just does not get any more hip than that.

You know I only interview amazing players and people that make the very best gear and John Pisano is a perfect example of what it means to be at the top of your game. Listening to his experiences gives you a slice of American history and an introspective view of an important part of American musical culture. Not surprising was the fact this guy is also a gentleman and one heck of nice guy too. You might want to try out a hand-carved Eastman John Pisano signature guitar. Sweeeeet!

Please be sure to visit www.JohnPisano.com and look at his extensive discography.

by David Caris

This is part 1 of the interview series. Please make sure you view this in the best resolution.

Here is John playing some melodic improv on his signature Eastman guitar. He did not know the camera was on, but it was so inspired I had to post it.

This is part 2 of the interview series. Please make sure you view this in the best resolution.

This is part 3 of the interview series. Please make sure you view this in the best resolution.

Here is another installment from my interview last week with ace studio guitarist Tim May. Get some more insight into what goes on behind the scenes in the world of the first-call studio musician and how that has changed over the years.

This third interview segment deals with what guitars Tim May owns and plays. He also details how he acquired a vintage Epiphone once owned by jazz great Howard Roberts. Tim also talks to David Caris about his new CD which features Abe Laboriel and Bob Zimmitti. I heard the pre-release version of this and it is definitely worth getting. There is some great composing and performances on it.

Tim and I were talking about how songs seem to pour out of certain instruments. Then he spoke about the creative process and had some very inspiring things to say that every guitarist should hear.

Tim playing an Epiphone once owned by the late, great guitarist/educator Howard Roberts (click to enlarge)

A closer view of the front. By the way, this axe has been tweaked by John Carruthers and “plays like butta” with great articulate tone.

The bookmatched maple back of the Guild Artist Award. Sweet. Now stop drooling!

A late 30′s Gibson Tim bought at Sam Ash. Funny story: the clerk said it was real old…probably from the 70′s. What does that make me? I guess I am an antique too.

-David Caris

The back and sides of Howard Roberts personal Epiphone is walnut. (click to enlarge)

I’ve met so many musicians over the years with limited abilities that were puffed up on ego trips. Then I meet Tim May and he is the antithesis of an egocentric player. He’s poised and confident and a really warm person. Let’s face it, the guy has nothing to prove, his accomplishments speak for themselves. I was in his him home for ten minutes and he made me feel like an old friend, not unlike Carl Verheyen did when I visited him. Of course, why wouldn’t I feel at home surrounded by all those great guitars and a passionate world-class player?

Tim played some great improvised jazz for me on a custom Gibson archtop through a vintage Benson amp. We proceeded to talk about studio work, playing with other musicians and his thoughts on music in general. He then told me about the Tim May Trio which has Abe Laboriel on bass and Bob Zimmitti on Drums and the new CD he has been working on.

In between chats he played some highly-melodic guitar with the kind of sophisticated chord soloing and single string runs that he does so well. There was nothing predictable or generic, just lush chords and evolved melody. It’s almost disturbing to think he can rock out too. Remember Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future when he jumps to his knees playing Chuck Berry riffs and then bursts into a metal-inspired solo? The actual playing was Tim May. I had a lot of fun during the interview. I hope you enjoy it half as much as I did.

-David Caris

Tim playing his 1980 Guild Artist Award

This is the first installment of the interview with Tim May

Here’s Tim doing some great improv playing

Tim in his family room surrounded by awards and vintage guitars. (Click to enlarge)

It’s All About Context
Everyone needs a larger musical vocabulary. So how can learning someone else’s guitar licks improve your vocabulary? The answer is that you make them your licks by choosing when to use them, what effects (if any) to use and what tone you play with. It’s all about context.
I’ll give you an example. Play a some blues licks in the key of E over a background of G, C, D country strumming and your blues licks will become very country sounding.
Another example of context is to play your licks with a clean tone with most of tone rolled off on your guitar and now the same licks sounds jazzier.
You can play the first part of a solo lower on the neck and shift to the higher octave position towards the end of the solo to build intensity.
So where you place the Tricks and what tone you use dramatically alters how they are perceived.
An Exercise Idea
Pick three 2 Minute Guitar Tricks and try using them on one song. Try them in different order or at different points in the song and then change the order in which the licks appear. The process of figuring out what works best and where it works best is valuable.
The Tonal Equation
The tonal equation is made of two basic components, your fingers and your gear. Let’s get away from gear. Aside from having a properly set- up guitar and new-ish strings, you can practice unplugged and don’t need the rest of your gear. You need to feel the fingerboard and strings. You should strive to gain control over your vibrato technique. If anything defines your sound when it comes to blues and rock guitar playing it is your vibrato. Really focus on the intonation, timing and where to place your vibrato. Here’s a great way to improve without learning new guitar riffs; try to play all the Guitar Tricks WITHOUT using a pick.
Now let’s talk about distortion. I am a fanatic about it and I just love classic tones. I love natural tube-driven distortion and I like distortion pedals that sound tube-like. High-gain tones that are harmonically rich, compressed, sustaining etc. are a lot of fun to play solos with. It’s very easy to defer to that kind of sound every time you take a solo, but it may be undermining your ability to express yourself musically.
Clean Guitar Tones
As a younger player, I used to hide behind effects and distortion. I used to rely on high gain tones to cover up sloppy fast-picking. I would only clean up my tone for strumming chords or arpeggios but for a fast lead I always slathered on as much distortion, delay, reverb etc that I could muster and get away with.
It wasn’t until I had been playing for many years that I realized how important it is to feel comfortable playing lead with a clean sound too. I still use all the aforementioned effects, but there is another galaxy of playing that exists when playing clean.
Clean-tone playing is much more unforgiving since it practically highlights your mistakes. The big payoff however is that that is where the nuance is. The subtlety, the emotion and the best way to orchestrate and serve the song is often with a clean sound. You are not hitting the listener with a ton of bricks, you are persuading them with melody. Playing with a clean sound also forces you to play accurately and melodically. Don’t be afraid to clean up your act. The rewards are there.
Combine Clean and Dirty Tones in Your Solo
You can also create tension in your solos by playing the first part of your solo clean and then graduating to a more gritty tone towards the end of the solo.
Solos need to have a beginning, middle and end. The solo can be viewed as a small musical story. Use the 2 Minute Tricks, experiment with which ones work best and place them in the order that tells the story you want to tell over the chord changes they sit on top of.
Play It On Acoustic
Practice on an acoustic guitar as well as electric guitar. Finger strength and improved vibrato are natural byproducts of playing on an acoustic guitar. You may view my 2 Minute Guitar Tricks as electric guitar riffs, but they are really only notes. They work on any guitar. You may not have the ability to play the higher positions if your acoustic does not have a cutaway body, but see how far you can get. Early blues was played on acoustic instruments and you should consider playing one too. A great exercise is to record a rhythm track on acoustic and play a solo over it. Do that over and over. Be sure your acoustic rhythm track is in time and in tune. Try different Tricks and experiment by adding and subtracting notes.
I encourage you to post here and let everyone know how you are doing with my 2 Minute Guitar Tricks do your experiences can help someone else.

Possibly the most important instruments in your inner band is the drummer. Without a solid groove your music will suck. Every time I walk into a guitar store and hear players playing lightning-fast licks that don’t groove I just cringe. What’s the point of all that speed without a groove? Lack of groove makes the song pointless.

So you need to hear the drums, the bass the singer etc. when you are practicing. The whole point of playing is to play with other players and make music together. Think of the players you admire most. I will bet you they played in a band at least most of the time. I guarantee you they heard the other parts in their head every time they practiced alone.

So what do you do when other players are not around? Channel your inner band that’s what. Imagine the drummer’s groove locking to the bass player and play a solid rhythm part. See if you can lay down a solo and seamlessly jump back into the rhythm part without missing a beat. If you can’t do that, then keep practicing until you can.

You have to hear the other players to do that even if they are not physically present.

I don’t care how many chords, scales, picking techniques you know or how fast you can play them. If you want to attract an audience you need to groove. So start hearing the band playing in your head and figure out parts the fit into the framework of the song. Listen to what you imagine are the other players and strive to play WITH them by not stepping on them and playing with the beat. You can train yourself by playing to drum loops or a metronome.

If you can hear your inner band, your actual band practice will go much better because you will already have some idea how you fit in. You will have to adjust your playing around the actual players but you will relate to the song differently. And if you record your playing alone and when playing with others you will find out if you are grooving. Then you can fix what does not work.

So you aren’t crazy. Hearing imaginary musicians is actually a good thing.