Who has influenced your music?
My playing experience is the main thing -- all the things I've played. When I started it was the Shadows and the Ventures and Sandy Nelson: I was always interested in rhythms. From that I think I got a rhythmic way of playing guitar, not rhythm guitar, playing lead in rhythmic patterns. Melodic as well --I got an influence from Django Reinhardt, Sweet Sue, Ain't she sweet? and stuff like that.
The first time I really felt on the spot was with John Mayall. I'd always been a blues fan, I'd listen to the Bluesbreakers and stuff like that . . . but I got that call to join John on the Thursday, and I was on stage with them in Germany on the Sunday! The only rehearsal we had was on the Sunday afternoon. There I was on stage in front of an audience, and John would turn to me and say, 'Take a solo now!' The material was easy enough, twelve-bar blues mostly, but that experience of having to react to an audience and build up a number, that taught me a lot. Recording-wise, Townshend was a tremendous influence, on that Thunderclap Newman record. He was working on Tommy at the time, and we were just three geezers who were thrown together. We didn't even know each other, we were thrown in the deep end. It was terrific, just seeing what could be done with two Revoxes or with an 8-track. At that time I was very young and that was great experience.
Many of your things to have been thrust on you at short notice. Why do you think that is? Do you sit around waiting for things to happen to you?
(Laughter) You could say that. I'm pretty lazy, I don't mind admitting it. It takes a long time to get to know people. So I tend to stay put until something else comes along. I don't know why I've been asked to join bands all of a sudden -- it's never been 'I've known you for years, let's form a band' sort of thing. It's just the way it's happened. I think it's important to have people around you that you respect, people that have talent, and it's the influences of the people around me that will shape my music more than anything.
You've never said to yourself, 'That's the sort of guitar playing I want to get into: I must learn that'?
Yeah. There's one aspect I've been trying to perfect for a long time: that's finger-picking, country blues stuff. But there are no real heroes around for me at the moment. There's no-one of whom I'd say, 'He's the one, that's how I want to play.' I get many influences, bits of classical music, anything . . . it's taking these things bit by bit, nicking this, learning that, and gradually progressing that way.
What sort of music do you listen to at home?
I like a lot of brass. It might sound corny, but I like dance bands, I really do. Jazz-style dance bands. That really turns me on. At one time I used to be a heavy rock fan, but now it doesn't appeal to me so much. I'm not putting anybody down, but it's just disappointing to me to hear a band just go bash-bash-bash till the end and then get off. I suppose basically I like melody, I go for melodic stuff these days.
What guitars do you use?
I usually stick to the Strat for studio work. I have a Telecaster with a Gibson Firebird pick-up on it, which is terrific in the middle switch position -- you seem to get a delay between the two pick-ups and you hear two different sounds. I can't always get it, but it sometimes sounds like two different guitars playing together. I have a Flying V too, which is good for the raunchier kind of song. I used to use only one guitar, an SG Special. It was the only guitar I had, and it was stolen four years ago. There were four guitars in the rehearsal room and mine was the only one in a case. That's the only one that was stolen, so they obviously knew what they were looking for. The awful thing is that it might have been somebody I know. Whoever's got it, if he'd like to write to me I'd only be too happy to have it back, no questions asked. I've never found an SG as good as that. So I sometimes use an SG now, but for most things it's the Strat.
Why? What suits you about the Strat?
It's an all-round guitar, you can get so many sounds out of it. You can adapt your sound to the song you're playing. Some guitars, you get one good sound and that's it. I like to change according to what I'm doing. I did a lot of session work, and you have to get a lot of different sounds there.
Do you like session work?
Yes, I do. But I've never been like the average session man: I always know the people I'm working with, it's someone who likes how I play and I like their songs. I've never been able just to walk into a studio and read a part. Reading is another thing that I'd like to learn to do.
What strings do you use?
I've been using Ernie Ball, but I'm going back to Fender Rock and Roll. They're more velvety -- there's more slideability. There's a good thing I came across in the States called Finger-Ease, I think. It's an aerosol that you spray on the neck and fingerboard and it's like you've been on stage for five hours, all sweaty and slidey. It's really good if you've got cold hands, like when you're rehearsing in a cold church hall and your hands are sticking to the strings. You spray this stuff on and you get the slide and the fluency. That's very important to me, fluid playing. I don't like jagged guitar playing.
How about amps?
I'm not fussy really. Anything from a little Fender Twin Reverb to a big Marshall. There are two American amps I really like. An SG amp, custom built, that I used in Nashville. That had a very good sound. And a Kustom amp with a graphic equaliser, that's pretty taster. But I'm happy with any basic straight amp, as long as it's got good speakers. I like the Binson echo thing, that's very effective on stage.
I get the impression that although you prefer certain guitars for certain effects, it doesn't matter to you that much which guitar you've got in your hands...
No, I think the sound comes out of how you play, not what you play. If you can get that sweet sound out of a really crappy guitar, then why worry? I don't like messing about too much with sounds. I get confused! I like to concentrate on getting the piece together, getting the music right.
I'm very aware of what I play in the studio. My approach is different. Everybody's afraid of making mistakes in the studio, so I think you play more carefully. But also in the studio I have a lighter touch, because I don't have to worry so much about getting the sound across. On stage the acoustics vary from night to night, sometimes the amp doesn't sound anything like it should, and you sometimes struggle a bit to get the sound. In the studio, if you've got a good engineer, he'll tell you if it's too loud or there's not enough bass, and you go and have a listen and experiment ... you've got more time to think. You can do three of four takes until you get the right sound, but on stage you have to get it right the first time.
But I haven't really done that much recording. The Thunderclap album was the first I did, and I think the guitar sounded great on it, thanks to Pete. After that it was a few sessions -- it's always been someone else's session, so if they're happy with the sound and I'm happy with what I've played, I leave it at that. I think the best is yet to come!
