Re: (TV) "Like who cares?" / Guitar Player, January 2006, "Chasing The Mus e - Tom Verlaine", Andy Ellis

["Joe Thornton" <joe.thornton@gmx.net>]

A few comments on that article... (Thanks, Leo)

> TV:  The whole record was recorded in two nights, so there wasn't a lot of
> rehearsal...

That's amazing, isn't it? Especially after the way Tom did the solo albums, 
which must have taken a lot of studio time. W&C does sound very different of 
course.

> AE:  Do you attack the strings with a pick or fingers?
>
> TV:  I like playing single-note parts with my thumb, though,
> for chords, I'll often use a thin pick.  A thin pick doesn't't
> make as much of a percussive sound as a heavy pick,
> so you don't really hear a click on each note.  I prefer
> that clarity.  Whenever I used a thin pick in the '80s, I'd
> break it in seconds, but now I can pretty much get through
> a show using one pick.  I'm playing lighter, and I don't
> play near the bridge unless I want some goofy special
> effect.  Instead, I almost always play over the neck pickup,
> but  with only the bridge pickup on.  That gives a full clear sound.

Somebody pointed out a few years ago that one of the distinctive things 
about Tom's playing was that he hit the strings very hard, and he'd use 
thicker strings than the usual. Even as a non-musician I could relate to 
that; it explained some of the amazing sounds he has on the solo albums.

> We've recorded all the performances (Music for Films), and Jimmy is slowly 
> working on
> putting the music together for an album.

Wonder if that is code for: "Hurry up, Jimmy, for christsake." 8-)

Another interview mentioned a DVD. It would be fantastic to get the original 
films together with the music, though I had the impression that Tom was 
hostile to the idea of anyone experiencing the music and films other than in 
the live, cinema setting.

> AE:  What's your take on the state of guitar playing today?
>
> TV:  I can't say I know a lot about it, because I don't play the radio.
> I buy records in thrift shops or flea markets---that's where I find
> things I've never heard.  I stumbled across several interesting albums
> on tour in Europe this summer.  One was a '70s Hungarian band
> using an electric zither, playing "You Are My Sunshine" and really
> bad American Country tunes.  It's an interesting idea.  I also enjoy
> listening to compilations of field hollers and gospel songs from the '20s
> and '30s---voices from long ago.  When I do hear a guitar in
> contemporary music, it always has the same sound.  I guess it's a
> distortion plug-in---"Preset 80" or something.  Like who cares?

These are curious reminders (for me) of the folk/world music band Mozaik 
whose album I eulogized here a few months ago. One of the members, Nikola 
Parov, is Hungarian/Bulgarian, and the band recorded their second album in 
Hungary a few weeks ago (look out for it in a couple of months). Another 
member, Bruce Molsky, sings a field holler on that first album. I also 
venture to guess that Tom might be interested in the string sounds that 
Mozaik produce, though it's all acoustic. Andy Irvine usually plays a 
guitar-bodied bouzouki, and plays it like no one else.

--JoeT

P.S.  I have to say that the new Kate Bush album Aerial is quite an 
achievement. Kate is in great voice, and she plays piano beautifully. And 
Kate most definitely did NOT record it in two nights. Many stand-outs; I'll 
cite "Joanni", about Joan of Arc. "Who is that girl? ... Joanni, Joanni 
blows a kiss to God..." (All hail the oldies, still producing great music!)
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