2020-03-01 Total Guitar

10

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TOTAL GUITAR MARCH 2020

FIVEMINUTESALONE

JONATHAN WILSON

TheAmericanaartistonNashville,hismusicalfather,

touringwithRogerWatersandperfectingyourcraft...

Gotmyfirstrealsix-string...

“I gotmyfirstproperguitaras a combined

Christmas/13thbirthdaypresent,a blackSquier

Stratocasterwitha Squier15 amplifier.I could

alreadyplaybecausemydadhadan amateur

bandandhe hadseveralacousticsat thehouse.

HisbandwereplayingtheBritishInvasion

stuff– theywerethatgenerationof kidswho

sawTheBeatlesontheEd SullivanShow.I was

soundingdecentfora youngsterandgota lot

ofencouragementfrommyfamilyto keepit

up.ThatmademerealiseI couldpursuethis

beyondjustplayingforfunin mybedroom.

Myownfirstacousticguitarwasactuallya 1962

GibsonJ-50I boughtin the90sfor$1,000plus

sometrade-ins.It’smymainacousticto this

day– thatthing’sfantastic.”

Getrhythm...

“Mydadwasa realbigfanof JohnLennon’s

jaggedrhythmstyle,andhe encouragedme

tolistenandnotbe toonoodly,to noticethe

otheraspectsof playing.I spenta longtime

onthedrumstoo,andthatinformsmytiming

andrhythm as a guitarist. I always say that is

whatmakesyoumoney,notspeedandtons

andtonsof notes.If yourtiming’sgreatand

youcansit in thepocketandyou’remaybe

evencontent to chug on the same chord for a

while, you should be okay.”

Let me whisper in your ear...

“It’simportantto figureoutwaysto growthe

potentialof yourears.Thegreatswouldsit at

aturntable and play along to Elmore James or

someone like that, and that’s a tried and true

way of training your ear that has served me

well.Withtabor visualsthere’snoreal

connectionto thenotes,thetonicor thekey

ofthesong.YouTubecanbe goodbecauseyou

canseesongsplayedcloseup,half-speedif

youwant,butyouseethesekidsjustshowing

off,playingfastandjumpingfromsongto

song- that’s not useful. Slow down, try to

understand the tonal centres of a song without

theflashybitsandgetyourplayingsteadyand

confident.It’seasyto havea homestudio

thesedaysandit’sa goodideato overdub

overyourself– getit in theformof a recording

session,getfamiliarwiththesoundof

yourselfin headphones.”

Chasin’ the big wheels all over Nashville...

“Itwasn’tonpurposebut[newalbum]

DixieBluris definitelythemostemotional,

straight-aheadalbumI’vedone.I recordedin

Nashvilleto tapintothevibethere– it’ssuch

agood-timesessiontownandyoucanhear

thatin thesoundof thepedalsteel,thefiddle.

In thepastI’veself-producedandit’sbeen

along,arduousprocess,so to be in a band

withtheseincrediblesessionmusiciansall

trackingtogetherat thesametimewas

ahugelyfreeingexperienceforme.”

Justanotherbrickin thewall...

“I neverexpectedto be workingwithRoger

Waters.Weplayed 156 showsontheUs+

Themtour,I sangprettymuchall the

DavidGilmourpartsanddida fewsolos,but

alltheiconicGilmournote-for-notestuffwas

donebyDaveKilminster,an amazingshredder.

Iwasoffthehook!It canbe a dauntinggig,

butRogeris totallychilledoutandsuper-funny.

He’s76 andhe rocksharderthantherestof us!

I do remembersomeincrediblemoments–

playingtheCircusMaximusin Romein front

of80,000people;playingWish You WereHere

infrontof a stadiumof peoplein SouthAmerica

ona Guild12-stringI borrowedfromJackson

Browne.ThenI haveto comebackto planet

earthandplaymyownshows.Butit isn’t

thathard.I getthebestof bothworlds–

that’stheidea,right?”

DixieBluris outon6thMarch

viaBellaUnion.

Words:

Grant Moon

Jonathan Wilson, captured

in the wild between South

American stadium shows

“I’VEHADINCREDIBLEMOMENTSWITHROGER,

SUCHAS PLAYING IN ROME TO 80,000 PEOPLE”