Interview with Myles
Goodwyn and Brian Greenway of
April Wine
Article by Dave Alexander, Edited by Tom
Morel
On
Brian - Ah..the guitarless 80's. A terrible time for guitar players
that spent time getting that perfect tone together. You know, guitar based rock
only went away on radio. The fans of it never disappeared. Radio just abandoned
them. The Classic Rock Station format has brought guitar based rock back to the
masses but it will never be what it was. It was a style that was the sound of a
generation, and that generation still rocks!
Is it making a comeback? The music world is such a fragmented place
these days. From what I see at our shows, I would say that guitar based rock is
getting attention with our younger fans. Will it make a big comeback? For the
love of it, I hope so. There is always a new twist on an old sound. Rock has
gone in and out of style, but it has never gone away.
Myles – A station that I listen to has recently changed its format
to classic rock. It’s really refreshing
because I’m hearing a lot of classic stuff and a lot of soloing, a lot of
guitar work. Listening to what’s new
out there, you’re really not hearing the solos and great guitar work anymore. As to whether it’s going to come back, I
don’t know, but it really is nice to hear and something that I miss in the new
stuff.
Myles – I assume that people like Alex and Rush, Colin James, Rik
Emmett who’s another great guitar player, are well respected. I would say overall there’s certainly respect
for Canadian guitar players.
Brian - I don't think that where you are from matters as much as
what you can do. If your a brilliant player with great chops and tone in a
great song, there are no
borders.
Brian - I've been playing for 38 years. I wondered when I first
started what I would be like when I got to this age as a player. I'm happy with
it. I stayed in a style that I liked, Blues based. I love blues and never
get to play it as much as I would like to. Some guitar friends got into jazz as
they got older. I never got a feel for it.
I know I'm not technically as knowledgeable as others
might be, but it all works for me. I
don't consider myself only a guitar player. Vocals and writing are a big
part of what I do on and off the stage.
Myles – I’m not really a guy that plays much anymore. It’s totally by instinct. I remember an interview with Steve Miller
some years ago and they asked him about his guitar playing and he said ‘I don’t
really practice, it’s instinct. I pick
it up and I play.’ Whatever happens,
happens. I don’t sit down and work on it so many hours a week. I find that when I go into the studio, that
I’ve got the chops and I’ve got the sense as a producer and a player to be able
to put together the solos, parts, melodies and harmonies. If you don’t think about it so much and you
just go for it and see what happens, you find yourself in new territories. I think Santana once said, ‘when technique
and imagination meet, that’s when it’s perfection.’ If you can play what you hear, that’s
perfect. I’m not someone that dedicates
himself to being a ‘Lead Guitar Player’ it’s just all feeling…get a great
sound, get a feeling, get something that works for the record. I find that Brian and I can do that.
Myles – When I first started playing guitar, my influences were
country music, when it was Country & Western. I was brought up in rural
Brian - Well, I started out to be a drummer. That didn't last long
as I discovered that drums were real loud to practice you needed a whole lot of
drums.
Guitar? It was easier. You only needed the guitar and a
pick and with out an amp you could play for hours without disturbing anyone.
I was a Beatle Baby as most guitar players were from that
era. I thought George Harrison was God. Later I found out the Eric Clapton
really was, but in the beginning it was Harrison and Lennon. One night I
heard blues for the first time at a dance. I didn't think too much about it
after the band's first set. I was still wanting to hear top 40. They came one
for the second show and something happened. I suddenly understood the 12 bar
blues and the feel of it all. It was like opening up a door. Suddenly, Top 40
seemed like a child's toy that became boring. Later that summer I was into Mike
Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop when they played with Paul Butterfield's Blues
band. The biggest influence in my life was Eric Clapton when I heard him on
Live Cream in 1967. His style floored me. The tone, the sustain, chops! Shortly
after that came Jimi Hendrix. He still freaks me out today when I listen to
him. I once sat 3 rows away from Mick Taylor when he played with John
Mayall and watched his vibrato and how he used it. I went home and practiced
for weeks to develop that into my style. The others were Robin Trower in Procol
Harum and Ritchie Blackmore. I think there is a little Jimmy Page there, but I
was never a big Zepplin fan.
Brian - I love Little Feat. I could listen to them for hours. It's
not just the playing but the arrangements and writing I listen to. Jimmy
Nail and Mark Knoffler are two others that are in my CD most of the time. Today
there are only two kinds of music for me. Good and bad. I listen to all
kinds of styles from Classical to Country. I admire a player or a
writer that has great chops and technique no matter what style of
music they are playing.
Myles – I have my own record company now and I’m working with ‘X’
number of bands. Today I’m in the studio
with a country artist named Julian Austin, so I’ve been listening to an awful
lot of country to understand what’s going on these days in country. I’ve been buying Dylan lately. I listen to a lot of radio…mostly talk radio
though. I got a little turned off with
everything sounding so generic on the top 40.
Everybody sounded the same. I
found that very frustrating. It’s very
seldom that I hear something come out where I can say ‘Oh my God, does that
ever sound good!’ For me coming back to
country, I find that is a lot of fun and I find myself playing guitar on the
records, because there’s not a big difference between rock and country now. I work with some serious guitar pickers
too.
Brian - I never was forced to take guitar lessons but I was
forced to take piano for two years. I'm glad I was as I can play keyboards
today. I took a few guitar lessons for the first few years, but most of
what I know I taught myself. Didn't most of us learn that way! I did
practice for hours. Sometimes up to 6 hours a day when I could. I had a passion
for wanting to become a player.
Myles – If you’re going to a place like
Brian - No. It's not like teaching in a school music program. If
you want a good teacher, reputation as a player and teacher should be good
enough as a reference.
Brian - I was going to do this with or without them. I felt that
strong about it. They saw the passion I had and left me alone with it. Everyone
was in a band back then in the late 60's and early 70's. Today, it’s a different story being having a
family of my own. My Daughters are young and think what Dad does is cool. My
wife gives me the support she always has in everything I do. You know the
story.....behind very successful man is a strong woman!
Myles – My Dad took me to a music/furniture store in
Brian - I've always been serious about music. There have been good
times and there have been the lean times. Hey, that happens. As a player, I
have never had a blank period. As a writer, sure. That can happen. You just
keep chipping away at it. It'll come.
Brian - I don't practice like I used to. I find that touring keeps
me in shape. If we're of the road for a while and not recording I'll practice a
few hours
every week to keep the fingers in shape. Sometimes I find
it refreshing not to play for a few weeks. Just to get way from it. Kind of like a vacation. Then it feels good
to pick it up again.
Brian - No, ( LOL ) it's what you see is what you get
with me!
Myles – No. I really don’t play much at all at home…we do
approximately 100 dates a year, so a third of the year, I’m not even home. And so beyond that, I tend to only pick up
the guitar to write.
Myles – I write alone 90% of the time. I collaborate a few times, but I’m pretty
uncomfortable with that process of two people sitting down across from each
other with a blank page. I think it
takes a certain kind of writer to be able to do that. It’s difficult unless one guy’s really
outgoing. Ideally, if you’re going to
get together, have something before you do…an idea, a great chorus, melody,
whatever. 90% of everything that I’ve written for April Wine, which is over 150
songs, I’ve done alone. I like the time
it takes to write a song. Some of them
come very fast and then there are others that I keep going back to and that’s a
process where I can really take my time to refine the song.
Brian - I always write alone. It just worked out that way in April
Wine. First, I always write the music. I'll get a verse feel then
I'll marry it to a chorus. I write on Adat using 8 tracks. I'll use a Boss Dr.
Rhythm 660 for a beat to put down a snapshot of where I'm going. I write on
keyboards and guitar. So the first track down will be one or the
other. Next comes the song structure. I need a bridge after getting
comfortable with the verse and hopefully killer chorus. Once all that is down
on tape, I'll go back and demo the whole music track complete with solos. I
write the words and melody last. I don't know if this is the proper way to do
it but once again, it works for me. Theory when writing? If it sounds good...
it works!
Myles – I just come in and play it.
I say here are the chords, this is the tempo, this is the feel. I don’t like to come in with half scattered
ideas. Sometimes it’s great because I
can say ‘I just need to jam on an idea’, but generally speaking I find that if
there’s chords and there’s a feel but there’s absolutely no melody, I don’t
hear a song. Whenever possible, I have
all the lyrics, because the lyrics dictate how you’re going to play it. So when I present a song, I try and have as
much of it together as possible.
Brian - Yes. My stage gear stays with the crew for most of the
year as we live in different cities. At home I have a custom made one of a kind
guitar made by Andrew Clement of
Myles -
Brian - My main guitar is a 1969 Les Paul Custom I bought it new
for $500 Canadian. Now they ask a bit more I hear. I have used that guitar on
every recording and just about every show I have ever done with April Wine. The
neck has been broken twice and I finished it is 1978. I shaved the neck down a
touch to feel more like the neck on a '59 and the teardrop sunburst was toned
down. The pickups have been replaced so many times I forget what is actually in
there. I believe the pickup config now is 2 Seymore
Brian - Hey, we called it 3 guitars no waiting! It was simple
really. Each one of us had a distinct sound way of playing. We all blended
together into a good sound. When we all came together in a chorus on a power
chord, it was like thunder! The beauty of it was, we all did not have to be
playing at the same time. Two of us could double up on a pattern and get a
double tracking sound going with the natural chorusing you get from two guitars
playing the same thing, while the 3rd could be playing a counter rhythm, or we
could have 3 different parts like we did on 21st Century Schizoid
Myles – 3 guitar players is great.
We have a utility player whose name is Carl
Brian - In a word? Always let the Stage crew or Security take
care of it. Never get involved. You might not be able to play the next show!
Worst case scenario? Leave the stage.
Myles – Funny you should mention it…we just had one in a show in
Brian - I still get nervous before a show. It's the
excitement of it that I still have after all these years. You see I still
love what I do. If you know your parts cold, just go out there and give it all.
That's what I always do.
Myles – That’s a good question…I don’t have stage fright to the
extent that I’m really nervous before I go on stage. It will happen sometimes and in my career, it
has. When you’re going on before the
Rolling Stones, if you don’t have stage fright, you’re dead, there’s something
wrong, you’re not breathing. You just
get through it. But it’s very seldom
that I will feel a real stage fright. I
did go through a period of panic attacks when it would come and I just couldn’t
breathe, but that went away after a while.
It’s basically in your mind. You
can get worn out and really tired and that’s when it will hit you. If you’re seriously nervous before a show, I
don’t think a shot of Jack Daniels hurts either if that’s what it takes for you
to calm down…hehehe
Myles – It’s real and I have it in my living room. It sits next to a 1956 Wurlitzer
Jukebox. It’s a Goya, all plastic except
for the tuning pegs and the frets. The entire
body is plastic. It obviously doesn’t
sound very good, but it’s a beautiful looking guitar. The picture is on the back of the album and
the guy was a real street person. The
person standing behind him with a dog on a leash was his actual son.
Brian - The sound is all in the hands. That's where the tone comes
from. It's how you hit and pick the string or chord. The amp helps. I use a
Marshall DSL 2000 head with a JMP900 4X12 cab. I like the 75 Watt speakers.
Myles likes the 35 w celestions. I like the extra bottom and the fact they
don't brake up as soon as the 35's do. My highs and mids on 2 with the bass on
6. Volume on the gain channel is 5 & 5. The clean channel volumes are 10
& 8. My guitar volumes are never on full unless it's a loud solo. Even then
I try to back it off a touch to where there is a little more tone. For FX all I
use is an old Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1 that I bought new in 1978. I
tried digital FX and had quite the rack mount thing going on there for a while,
but I found it coloured my tone to much, so back I went to what worked in the
beginning. If it ain't broke...don't fix it!
Myles – I use a Marshal. I
took it off the road 2 years ago. I’ve
had it since 1973 and that’s all I’ve ever used as my main recording and live
amp. I was just afraid that because it’s
so old and been around so long and it’s so dear to me that it would get broken
or get stolen, so I replaced it with a Marshal 2000. I still use the old one in the studio for
recording. I have many, many, many
guitars. I have guitars here that I’ve
owned longer than the amplifier. I have
an SG here that I’ve had since the early ‘70’s that I still use. I love the fact that I’ve had these guitars
for many years. I know exactly what they
sound like. When there’s a solo needed,
I can go to that specific guitar, plug it into that amp through my Marshal
speakers and there’s my sound. It’s
really easy, it’s a no brainer. It’s
really easy to get that sound. Brian
experimented way more than me, but it’s always Marshals. Your hands have everything to do with it…and
your pick. That really is part of
it. I’ve used the same picks from day one. I’ve never changed my picks. I like the medium triangle picks. I always use those because if I broke one
point, I have 2 more and I like the size of them. They’re very difficult to find sometimes, you
can’t just find them everywhere. It’s
bigger than a lot of picks I see some people use, so there’s a lot of surface
to hold onto.
Myles – It’s a no brainer.
It’s just wrong. Period. I mean there’s not even a discussion in my
mind. Unless these people are paying the
writers and the publishers their fair share then it cannot be allowed. It’s as simple as that and I don’t buy any
other argument. I hear a lot of young
bands out there who don’t care; they think they’re getting heard. I haven’t heard a story yet, where somebody
became a major star because Napster sold their records and they caught on. I
don’t know any stories like that, but even if there was, it still doesn’t
change my mind. It’s stealing, it’s
wrong and it’s criminal…
Brian - I'm undecided about all this. It's a great way to promote
yourself on the web, but I don't like the fact that royalties are not
accountable. There is going to have to be a format worked out that benefits
both artist and consumer.
Brian - Absolutely. Promotion is what we all need to get
recognized in this business. A common place to access information of the
trade can only benefit us all.
Myles – I think it’s great.
I think it’s good. I think that
the music business in general is very confusing. Any information you can get around guitar
playing and contracts concerning your desire to be a professional guitar player
or wherever you want to go with it…I think it’s really important that there’s
something like that that they can turn to.
Any good advice is almost priceless especially when it’s that easy to
access. You can ask questions and you
can get answers and you can get tips from players and why not? I think it’s great!
Myles – Thank you very much.
Brian - Dave, Thank you. I enjoyed it.
You can get more info about April Wine
from their official website at http://www.aprilwine.ca
or any of the many fan sites around the internet.
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