When I first heard of Col. Bruce and the Aquarium Rescue Unit I was taking guitar lessons at a local store and my teacher played me the “Mirrors of Embarrassment” album. Everything about that album was totally cool from Jimmy’s blazing solos to the interplay with drummer Jeff Sipe and bassist Oteil Burbridge.
I have recently got to know Oteil and Jimmy a little bit and it occured to me how important those ARU albums were to me and I never really spent time talking to them about it. However, they did have a TON of great Col. Bruce stories. From meeting Ralph Towner in DC on night to discussing the possiblities of any blood relation between Col. Bruce and John Abercrombie (they look like they could easily be brothers) it was one story right after another. After a few of these you get the feeling that their former bandleader is a bit eccentric.
I came across these videos on YouTube and they perfectly describe the Colonel’s famous sense of humor.
You can tell from the moment you see Paul Gilbert pick up a guitar that he truly loves to play. I have been lucky enough to work with Paul a few times now and it is always great. When I came up with the idea for this project, Paul’s name was the first one on my list.
Around the time I was 5, my uncle let me hold a pick and strum while he fingered the chords on my cheap acoustic guitar. After that, I battled with the boredom of learning sightreading from a guitar teacher at a music store. I lost the battle and retired from guitar at the age of 6. At 9, the music teacher in my 4th grade class demonstrated the steps of the major scale on the blackboard. I wondered if those steps would correspond to the frets on my guitar. I went home and tried it, and a major scale came out of my guitar! I was so excited that I started playing by ear, and I haven’t stopped since.
What has been your most significant musical experience?
I auditioned for a band when I was 12 years old. The other guys in the band were 16-18 years old and played really well. It felt so good to jam with them and to make a sound that “sounded like a record”. They never actually told me that I didn’t get the gig, they just gave me a long list of difficult songs to learn to try to discourage me from calling back. The songs were beyond my ability at the time, but I tried hard to learn them, and I called them up daily to see if I could try out again. They stopped answering their phone, but I ended up learning a lot of good songs.
What is the best advice on pursuing a career in music you were ever given?
When I was 15, Mike Varney told me, “When your demos sound as good as your favorite records, then you’re ready to become professional.” This was scary advice!
What is your favorite sound?
A band that knows the songs. Jimmy Page bending a string in 1971. John Lennon singing in 1965. A real band that plays and sings well enough to not need to be chopped up, edited, and tuned with Pro-Tools.
Name some of your biggest non-musical influences.
My mom and dad.
Charles Schulz
Gary Larson
Carl Sagan
Ayn Rand
Roald Dahl
Thomas Jefferson
Richard Dawkins
The story of Ernest Shackleton and “Endurance”
The invention of e-mail and Google
Learning to cook
Living in Pennsylvania, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Japan and Being married
What is the most memorable concert you ever attended?
It’s a 3-way tie:
Van Halen in 1979
Ozzy with Randy Rhoads (with the original Def Leppard supporting!) 1981
Todd Rundgren in 1990
Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 5 songs that appear.
“This Will Be Our Year” – The Zombies
“Scarlatti Sonata in A minor L.241/K.54″ – Sergio and Odair Assad
“No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Required” – Yes
Imagine you play in three highly successful bands, tour the world non stop and are considered one of the greatest guitarists in your generation. Well, then you would be traveling in the same circles as Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks. Both of them come from the south which obviously comes out in their music but each took a completely different way to get there.
Warren came up playing with artists such as David Allen Coe and Dickey Betts before joining the Allman Brothers in 1989. In my opinion the Allmans wouldn’t be anywhere near where they are today without Warren’s presence. Derek came from more of a jazz and fusion background. Even though his uncle Butch is the drummer in the Allman Brothers, his solo band rarely covers similar territory.
Below is two masters doing what they do best, sitting around with a few acoustic guitars and playing some blues.
I created a few worksheets for my students to help them learn some different voicings for major, dominant and minor seventh chords. These were the most downloaded worksheets from my last blog and I thought it would be useful to post them here again.
I will also post these on my Guitar Resources page.
This is also probably a good time to announce that I have opened up my schedule to allow for more private lessons. These will take place on Monday evenings and Saturdays. I will be teaching at the Warner Center for Arts Education in Torrington, CT. If you are interested in signing up for lessons, please call 860-489-7180.
As I develop more worksheets for my students, I will post them here.
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