Christmas in Cali

The wonder that is television, Hollywood style. We flew to Los Angeles last week to tape a California Christmas TV special. It will air on several networks on over 200 stations. Check yer local listings, of course.

It was shot in the center of a shopping mall called The Grove. Very nice mall, lots of great shops and some amazing steaks, French-style.


The Grove

T-Bone and Zev gave an impromptu concert of old favorites from The Band, including "Tears of Rage" and "When I Paint My Masterpiece". Captivating.


T-Bone and Zev

The weather, it was dry. I brought a pair of shorts with me, luckily. Most of the crew packed strictly for the New York dates and were left wearing all black in the blazing California sun. It didn't seem to bother the cool and calm Eliot Lewis, though.


Eliot

The fine folks at Taylor and Jenny Smith at Gibson Guitar loaned us some instruments. T-Bone scored a lovely Hummingbird. It sounded fantastic and was "aged" by Gibson so it looked old and broken in. We are waiting for Gibson to send us a price, and one of us is going to buy it.


Hummingbird

Smooth and funky Mike Braun played his thing. Most tasty.


Mike Braun

A different but equally talented string section. Being from California, they naturally all looked like models. The first violinist has a newborn at home...yikes!


Strings

The fabulous Dave Brunetto and Andrea Muraglia. They keep us going in the right direction. Thanks for all you do, kids!!


Dave and Andrea

Eliot and Everett. They sing, they play, they pose.


Eliot and Everett

Production Manager, Tour Manager, Artist Manager. The brain trust poses post-gig. Great work, all.


Pete, Dave, Brian

New York State of Mind

I started my new gig with Hall and Oates this week, after filling in on a couple of shows last month. Daryl and John have a new album out, their first Christmas record, and it sounds amazing. Great songs, great vocals - the usual. I'm taking care of John's guitars, as well as (long-time Hall and Oates bassist) T-Bone Wolk's guitars.

Zev Katz is playing electric and upright bass on this series of promo shows in support of the new album, and I'm looking after his gear, too. Eliot Lewis is playing keys and singing, Everet Bradley is adding percussion and vocals, and groove king Mike Braun is drumming.

Thom Termini is Daryl's tech. He's been working with Cheap Trick lately, and actually pulled a tour of duty with Al DiMeola, one of my early guitar inspirations.


Thom Termini

We are holed up in an upstate New York studio run by Peter Moshay, who's hosting a few of us in his nearby home for a week or so of rehearsals.


Pete Moshay

Lots of gear and lots of detailed work. Getting various arrangements of songs to fit on TV and radio formats is time consuming. Computers help...and so does uber-tech Anthony Aquilato.


Anthony Aquilato


Mike Braun Powers Up

The control room is stuffed with excellent gear.


Sony Oxford


Control Room


Outboard Racks

Here's the first night of rehearsals. T-Bone is the Music Director, and he keeps things moving along. He's a first-rate guitarist and in his youth was an accordion prodigy, placing high in the state championships.


First Rehearsal

After a couple of days of the guys working out the arrangements, the much-less-ugly and equally talented string section arrived to work their magic into the songs. I only remember the name of the section leader, Lorenza Ponce, because that is a memorable name... sorry, ladies, I will make this right soon!


First Violinist Lorenza Ponce


Second Violin


Viola


Cello

The quartet sounded great and they are a fun hang. I had made some of my Mom's chili the day before, and it was tasting especially good at lunchtime. They all seemed to like it, along with the incredible sandwiches from an Italian sub shop nearby.

Legends in the Fall

Why do I love Nashville? Last night is a great example of what happens here on a fairly regular basis - musical magic. The Legendary Steve Cropper, guitarist, producer and songwriter extraordinare was paid tribute last night in a benefit for the T.J. Martell Foundation.

Steve Cropper is a key figure in American Music. He played all of the guitar on everything cut at Stax Records in Memphis. That puts him on the seminal tracks of Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Booker T and the MG's, et.al. He co-wrote (Sittin') On The Dock of The Bay, Knock On Wood, and other Soul classics. I can't begin to scratch the surface. Try here for more: Play It, Steve!

Steve dug into his Rolodex and put together an amazing show. The house band consisted of Cropper, bassist Dave Santos, guitarist Bob Britt, drummer Bobby Beckett, piano and organist Mark Jordan, and a brass section led by Jim Horn, with backing vocals by Robert Bailey, Vicki Hampton and Wendy Moten. Google any of those names or type them in All Music Guide and you will see a list of credits that covers the breadth of popular music. They were a powerhouse band that easily handled every style they attempted from greasy R&B to Stone Country.


Rehearsal at The Ryman

I got a call to be the guitar tech after Bob Britt mentioned to Production Manager Hugh Bennett that there sure were a lot of guitar players, both local and flying in from around the country. Hugh agreed and hired me to keep an eye on the guitars and pickers all day at rehearsal and all night during the show.

The first special guest I met was Steppenwolf's John Kay. Very nice guy, still sounds great and rocks hard, but he did not play guitar at this gig.

The next special guest certainly plays guitar.


The Guitar Strap

James Burton is a living legend. Every guitar player - including me - has learned something from James Burton whether they know it or not. It would take an entire post to cover his career, but here are some highlights. At 17 he was playing with Dale Hawkins when Hawkins cut "Suzy Q". That's Burton's lick that propels the song and gives it it's swampy hook. John Fogerty knows that lick well, a cover of "Suzy Q" was CCR's first single.

James left Hawkins (to be replaced by Roy Buchanan, who learned much from Burton) and joined up with Ricky Nelson, the singing son of TV icons Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. Each week, Ricky would play a song featuring James' incredible Rockabilly guitar licks, played on a red Telecaster plugged into a Fender Twin Reverb.

After Nelson, James became the hotshot session guitarist in L.A., playing the pivotal "Lonesome Fugitive" lick on the Merle Haggard classic among many others. On the road, Burton was the ultimate sideman with Emmylou Harris, Elvis Presley, John Denver and a list of luminaries. Check out more at his web site, James Burton: Wild Man of the Telecaster.

We got along immediately, since I was playing "Burtonesque" licks on a rental Tele that the show had ready for any guests not traveling with their own instruments. He pulled his signature Tele out of his gig bag, with the custom strap and let me go over it. Gulp!

James' action is very low, his strings are .009 to .040, if I recall correctly. He plays with a very light touch and uses a flatpick and a metal fingerpick on his middle finger. He probably invented light gauge strings, since back in the '50's he used to buy a regular set, throw away the low E, move all of the strings over and put a banjo string on the high E. Many a frustrated musician of the day could not figure out how he was bending the strings so easily.
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James Burton's Signature Telecaster


Me and James

During rehearsal, Steve Cropper, Burton and my great friend Bob Britt were standing near each other and I coaxed this photo out of them. If you are a guitar player and are wondering what to play next, ask your self what Steve, James or Bob would play and you will be just fine.


Steve Cropper, James Burton, Bob Britt

A second shot, just because the lighting guy accidentally gave me a nice "look".

Cropper, Burton, Britt

I'm not too shy to get a picture made with heroes of mine.

Cropper, Me, Burton

The front man and guitarist of Asleep at the Wheel, Ray Benson, stopped by the guitar tech station to get a rental Tele and hang for a while. Great guy, great player. He showed me the right way to play Bob Wills' "Roly Poly", the way Eldon Shamblin showed him. Thanks, Ray!


Ray Benson

The next special guest that arrived for rehearsal was Blues Master Robben Ford. Robben has been visiting Nashville lately, writing songs with the many great writers here in town. He plays guitar like no one else has...or can. Simply gorgeous tone, even from a borrowed amp (Bob Britt's black panel Super Reverb) and my Boss Blues Driver stompbox. He enraptured every musician in the building. Stunning, on a stage filled with legends. This is the guitar he brought. I slapped some D'Addario XL110s on it and he was good to go.


Robben Ford's '59 Reissue Les Paul


Me and Robben Ford


Lee Roy and Ray

My old boss and friend Lee Roy Parnell came in to rehearse his two tunes, and James Burton jumped at the chance to play with Lee Roy. Nobody has Lee Roy's touch on slide guitar, and his phrasing on standard guitar is so beautiful and melodic. I strongly suggest you pick up his last two records to hear some excellent contemporary soul and R&B with a Texas country twinge.


James and Lee Roy


Lee Roy's '57 Reissue Les Paul

For all of you guitar geeks out there, here's a special treat. Everyone except Lee Roy and Mark Farner used the house amps, all Fender Twins and Bob Britt's Super Reverb. Trust me when I repeat the old adage "Tone is in your hands", but if you want a peek at how certain amps get set as a starting point, check this out. I did the old tech trick of writing down the settings of the amp on a piece of gaff tape and taping it to the top. Usually, this is so we can set up the artist's amp to their usual settings, which can get bumped and changed on the road. Since we had multiple guests playing, I was not sure who was going to be sharing amps, so I wrote down each player's preferences after the rehearsed.


Vintage Fender Super Reverb, Boss Blues Driver

Robben Ford Amp and Settings

Reissue Fender '65 Twin Reverb, Boss Digital Delay

James Burton Amp and Settings

Silver panel Fender Twin Reverb with Master Volume

Ray Benson Amp and Settings

After an amazing night of great performances from all of the above, plus Mark Farner, Beth Neilsen Chapman, B.J. Thomas, T. Graham Brown, Delbert McClinton, Felix Caviliere, and many others. Cropper brought out the man he introduced as the "finest singer I ever heard" - which is saying a lot - Michael McDonald. McDonald sang "Knock On Wood" and blew the roof off.


Steve Cropper and Michael McDonald

It would not be a guitar fest without a Blues Jam to close the show.

The Blues Jam: Cropper, Burton, Farner, Parnell, Ford

The MC of the evening was the star of "The O.C.", Peter Gallagher. He did a wonderful job keeping the many set changes interesting and did a very credible job singing an R&B ballad on his own. My wife insisted on this photo, she loves them dimples.


Peter Gallagher and Donna

Here's the final shot in my camera, taken by Etta Britt of Robben Ford and her husband, Bob. Thanks, Bob Britt for hooking me up with yet another choice tech gig. And thanks to Steve, Robben, James, Ray, Lee Roy and all of the band, Stage Manager Edwin Lewis and the Ryman crew for an amazing night.


Robben Ford and Bob Britt