The common guitarist bad habit Joe Bonamassa finds “so unappealing”
Joe Bonamassa has some timeless advice for guitar players – and a few thoughts on the “unappealing” habits that turn jam sessions into ego shows.
In a new interview for Gibson Gear Guide promoting his latest collaboration with Epiphone – the ’59 Les Paul Custom, a recreation of his “extremely rare” Gibson “Black Beauty” LP – Bonamassa lays out what he sees as a common bad habit among guitarists: failing to “read the room.”
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“As a player, you’ve got to read the room,” says Bonamassa. “If you’re getting called up [onstage] for a jam, or called up for one song, there shouldn’t be a technical team in tow with a pedalboard the size of a Fiat.”
There’s no need, he adds, for an “F1 pit crew” just to play a three-minute jam. “Just plug straight in, man. We’re not making our careers here. Just use the volume and tone controls, and figure it out.”
His interviewer, Dinesh Lekhraj, then notes how Bonamassa practices what he preaches in his own sessions, often plugging straight into whatever amp’s available in the room during shoots.
“I think we get caught up in, ‘Is the tone right? Is the volume right?’” says Lekhraj.
“Exactly,” Bonamassa replies. “And if you want a Tube Screamer or something like that, great. Stick it on the amp and go.”
“If it’s your gig and if it’s your situation and you set it up, then yeah, go down as many rabbit holes plug it all in – because that’s your gig. I mean, if you’re sitting in with somebody, that’s a little different story.”
The guitarist also describes how “unappealing” it is when jam sessions spiral into all-out guitar duels.
“I’ve been onstage plenty of times with five or more guitar players, and the greatest asset you have at your disposal is the volume control,” says Bonamassa. “When somebody’s soloing and there are five guitar players, it shouldn’t be on.”
“Leave some space,” he continues. “And then when they point to you, go for it. You wanna make music for music’s sake and not your sake. The days of those Ralph Macchio and Steve Vai duels are long gone. It is so unappealing to sit there and watch that go down.”
That said, Bonamassa admits there’s one exception to that rule.
“The only time I’ll do it – and it’s fun because I love the man and we have such a mutual respect for one another – is when Eric Gales gets onstage,” he says. “We both know we’re going to get a black eye and a bloody nose. We’re going for it, and the crowd loves it.”
“But it serves a purpose because it’s a spectacle, it’s P.T. Barnum juggling a polar bear on a unicycle. But in other situations, you want to be respectful to your fellow players.”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
