- On your opinion, who are the guitarists that influenced most of all the evolution of the rock guitar?
- They are many and it will take a long time to list them all. However, let’s divide the guitar music of the ‘60s and early ‘70s in 3 categories: “The Blues Brits” (Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Jimmy Page and, later, Ritchie Blackmore and Rory Gallagher), “The Strat Connection” (Jimi Hendrix and all his followers) and “The Tele Connection” (Roy Buchanan and his followers).
- I heard a lot about the guitarists you included in “The Blues Brits” and “The Strat Connection” but I’m not very familiar with “The Tele Connection”. Tell me more!
- Well, this is how I call Roy Buchanan, Danny Gatton and, more recently, The Hellecasters. They are less famous than the guys in “The Strat Connection” and “The Blues Brits” but not less important for the evolution of the guitar playing, on my opinion. There are also other great guitarists that played Teles (I might be wrong but I think that the Telecaster - called Broadcaster in the beginning - was the first solid-body guitar ever produced) but Buchanan, Gatton and the Hellecasters are connected by their style, the influence they had on each other and their phrasing is much different from the other guys that played Teles.
- Who was the first?
- Buchanan. Certainly, he was influenced by early blues players but he developed a technique that was never seen (or, should I say, heard) before. He invented the pinch harmonics, he developed chicken picking, he used all kind of gimmicks but his solos were always coherent, musically speaking. Every guitarist that listened to him in those days (the ‘60s, early ‘70s) was influenced by him and I’m talking about Jeff Beck, Robbie Robertson and Billy Gibbons, among others. Then, Gary Moore made a superb version of Buchanan’s Messiah Will Come Again. It’s impossible not to hear Buchanan’s influence on Stevie Ray Vaughan and Steve Vai.
- It seems he made a lot. Why isn’t he better known?
- He was a modest guy, he maybe had one or two drinks more than he should have, he didn’t have an explosive stage presence like Hendrix, he turned off great offers that would have blasted his carrier… Who knows?
- And the other guys?
- Danny Gatton was Buchanan’s roommate for a period. It’s strange and very-very sad they both committed suicide at the age of 50. Gatton went even further than Buchanan in the chicken picking technique, his solos were beautiful, accurate and very difficult to imitate. He played all the styles you can imagine; he was an excellent jazz player, for instance. You see, when we’re talking about “The Telecaster Connection” we’re talking, in fact, about the Big Guitar Americana (or a big chunk of it) and it’s a shame Buchanan and Gatton were not appreciated as much as they deserved.
- Can you show me some licks?
- Look at this:
Gatton played this lick with his chicken picking technique. [˄ stands for a pick down-stroke, ˅ stands for a pick up-stroke M stands for the middle finger, A stands for the ring finger]. And another one:
- Maybe the Hellecasters finally did it.
- In a way, yes. They had a Grammy or a Grammy nomination but, evidently, awards are bullshit. They recorded only three albums, I think, but the guys are doing well on their own, not in the Hellecaters context. They are three very different guitarists, technically speaking. John Jorgenson is more jazz-oriented, a great Django fan, Will Ray merges normal and slide playing as no one did before and Jerry Donahue is a great bender and chicken-picker.
- These guys seem to be great guitarists. I‘ll go home and try to listen to them more than I did.
- They were not “great guitarists” only. They were great musicians; first of all, their solos are full of fantasy and even humor sometimes. Listen to them and try to learn. It’s not easy but it’s really rewarding.
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