EQ Magazine - March 2009 - (Page 35)

Of course, it takes a certain mindset to improvise comfortably—even for a jam-band guitar hero such as Haynes, who has logged tenures in Gov’t Mule, the Allman Brothers, and the Grateful Dead. Decoding that improvisatory mindset can pay big dividends in the studio, where “happy accidents” are often the elements that can transform rather ordinary music into something truly magical. Here, then, are a few “codebreakers” from Haynes himself. FIND YOUR MUSE “The Gibson Les Paul is my guitar of choice,” says Haynes. “I have a Gibson signature model that is a combination reissue of a ’58 and a ’59 Les Paul. I’ve always been drawn to creamy and rich guitar sounds. I’m not one of those people who gravitates toward more thin or harsh sounds, and, for some reason, a lot of my favorite sounds growing up were either made by someone playing a Les Paul, or someone playing something that sounded like a Les Paul. Like any musician, it’s important to find your own sound. You’re always searching for it, and you never completely find it. But sometimes you get close to it, and you want to stick with that approach. This is why the Les Paul is a big part of my voice.” SEEK LIFE-LONG INSPIRATION “The first sounds I remember moving me were the sounds of regional black gospel music coming over the radio in North Carolina, where I grew up. It made the hair on my arm stand up. I was perhaps too young to know what was going on, but something happened. Then, shortly after that, I discovered soul music—James Brown, the Four Tops, the Temptations, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding. That was my first love, musically speaking. Long before I ever heard rock and roll music, I was in my room singing along with soul records. It was the sound of the singer. The voice itself. I fell in love with voices. Levi Stubbs from the Four Tops, Dennis Edwards from the Temptations, Otis Redding, James Brown, and Sam Moore from Sam and Dave—they all had these phenomenal voices. I remember at an early age hearing B.B. King and Ray Charles, being moved by their voices, and then eventually putting together that they also played their instruments very well. That was a light bulb for me—‘Hey, you can sing and play an instrument!’” PLAY WITH OTHERS “When I was 12 years old, I found some like-minded kids my age who became my best friends because we all shared an interest in music. We would get together in somebody’s house, and annoy their parents by playing really bad music. We thought we were doing the right thing. In hindsight, we started out screeching, but I think we thought it was better than it was at the time. But the main thing here, is that it’s really important you never forget the impulse, the spark, and the desire of making music with other people. It’s a critical connection, and that connection is even more important than sitting in your room and practicing and practicing—even if you know you’re getting better and better. It’s only through other people that you can verify you’re able to communicate through music.” SHAKE OFF THE SELF-LOATHING “There are always moments when something technically goes wrong, or musically goes wrong, or things just aren’t gelling or clicking. I think many musicians tend to over-amplify what that really means. In our brains, it’s a catastrophe. You tell yourself, ‘Everyone in the audience knows exactly how bad this is.’ You have to remind yourself that it’s never as bad as you think. I don’t think an audience’s reaction, and what a musician thinks are the same. As an example, some nights I might walk off stage thinking I had a terrible night, and yet someone who has seen me play many times might come up to me and say, ‘Wow, that’s the best I’ve ever heard you.’ And I may walk off stage one night thinking, ‘Wow, I had a really good show. I discovered some new territory.’ But, again, someone who has seen me many times could come up and say, ‘Eh, I’ve heard you play a lot better.’ The lesson here is not to self-edit too much. Just play, because no matter what you do, someone other than yourself is going to decide whether it’s great or not.” SCREW THE CRITICS “On the other hand, you can’t care too much about someone else’s opinion of what you just did. That can freeze you up. It’s more important that what you played remains important to you.” FEARLESSLY SEEK THE UNKNOWN “For musicians hooked on improvisation, a good night is when you discover something new.” CHECK YOUR MAP “Some of the bands I play in—such as Gov’t Mule, and, to a certain extent, the Dead—are enhanced by my using effects, such as wahs, tremolos, octave dividers, Leslie simulators, and such. When we first started Gov’t Mule, for example, I wanted to utilize effects, because, in a trio, it’s nice to have the different textures, because you don’t have keyboards, additional guitars, and all that kind of stuff. But in the Allman Brothers, I just go straight into the amp, because that’s the sound of the band. You have to keep your ears open to what will work in different musical environments, because it’s often different for every situation.” LET GO “When musicians come together to raise money for charity—like the Christmas Jam—it can kick you into a different mindset because of the spirit and the intent of the event. For one thing, you think back to why you started playing music in the first place. You didn’t start to get paid, or to achieve some sort of chart success, or whatever different musicians end up aspiring to. You probably started because something moved you, and made you want to play or sing. Of course, you don’t need to play a charity event to get into that mindset. Whatever you’re doing—playing a show or making a recording—just keep in mind that some beautiful music can be made with very little structure and very little scripting or rehearsal if the right elements are combined at the right time with the right intent.” www.eqmag.com MARCH 2009 EQ 35 http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - March 2009

EQ Magazine - March 2009 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Mr. Scruff Apollo Sunshine Al Schmitt Toolbox Third Eye Blind Kind of Blue Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Ableton Live Vocal Tools Gadgets & Goodies Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - March 2009

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