Post by rockinronnie on Feb 28, 2014 21:39:40 GMT
www.ram.org/music/articles/quointerview.html
from the above a good read
some snipets from it
What does it feel like being in Quo, writing and recording music, and being on the road for the last 30 years?
It's a marvelous thing, really. I consider myself extremely lucky to be doing what I'm doing. When I was a kid I wasn't very good academically. I received my first guitar when I was 10 and I immediately wanted to go into show business and form a successful group. All my dreams have come true. Life with Quo has been fantastic. The music has opened my life. I've seen the world and had a fantastic time. I can only imagine my life one way---like it has been. People often ask me about things I would change if I had to do it all over again, but I wouldn't change a thing.
Do you prefer heavier or lighter Quo songs?
Live, I like it heavy. The faster numbers are definitely where my preference is. It's good to put some of the slow things in, since you need a break sometimes as the heavy stuff takes up a lot of energy, but I generally prefer Quo when it's rocking.
If you could play one old song again which he hasn't play in years, what would it be?
Big Fat Mama. We used to play it a lot, but we dropped it as time went on. It's great old rocker with no frills.
Going on to more technical questions, why do you use your Telecaster more than your Gibson SG?
I use the Telecaster because I found in the early days when Quo started to get heavier that the Gibson couldn't handle it anymore. The Telecaster with the heavier strings can take the pressure. I am not a lead guitarist---I'm a rhythm guitarist and I hit the guitar hard, which is my role in Quo. The Telecaster is the only guitar that can take the punishment on a good night when I really dish it out.
I adore the sound of the Gibson and I love to record with it. But on stage you have treat it with kid gloves. If I had to do Caroline or another song like that, I don't think it could take the pressure. That guitar isn't as tough as the Telecaster. I've had the Telecaster altered as well, so it is rock solid. You can't do that with a Gibson. I've taken out the bridge and the fine turning knobs. The strings go straight over the body. When people play the guitar, they can't believe the tension. I enjoy that however, and I hit it with gusto and it doesn't go out.
What guitar do you use for playing 4500 Times on stage, and how do you tune it?
I use a custom-built Gibson for that and it's a B tuning. I discovered it once when I had too many glasses of wine. I screwed the tuning pegs into weird positions and I found this tuning where I use a base G for the bottom E. It's very limited---I can only play seven or eight chords, but it has a great effect. You have to have control of the guitar, but when it works and when you get the right sound, it is fabulous.
Why did you lower the amp stacks on recent tour and replace them with a small stage?
We had horrendous problems with the stage volume when we used the large stacks. Everyone wanted to get a kick from their stacks. Marshall built me an amp that went to 11, sounding very like Spinal Tap, and it got so horrendously loud that the sound man couldn't mic the cabinets properly. We felt the audience was suffering as we were too loud on stage.
We changed to in-ear monitoring. This increased the sightlines and you can turn the volume down on stage. Since you have your own mix you can have it set to whatever you want, and hopefully the sound for the audience is more clear and more colourful. Consequently, when we started to use this system we didn't need to lug around the high stacks, which require an extra trailer. The mic lines have always been the same, about 4-5 feet from the stage. I think we have improved the sound quality for both ourselves and the audience.
from the above a good read
some snipets from it
What does it feel like being in Quo, writing and recording music, and being on the road for the last 30 years?
It's a marvelous thing, really. I consider myself extremely lucky to be doing what I'm doing. When I was a kid I wasn't very good academically. I received my first guitar when I was 10 and I immediately wanted to go into show business and form a successful group. All my dreams have come true. Life with Quo has been fantastic. The music has opened my life. I've seen the world and had a fantastic time. I can only imagine my life one way---like it has been. People often ask me about things I would change if I had to do it all over again, but I wouldn't change a thing.
Do you prefer heavier or lighter Quo songs?
Live, I like it heavy. The faster numbers are definitely where my preference is. It's good to put some of the slow things in, since you need a break sometimes as the heavy stuff takes up a lot of energy, but I generally prefer Quo when it's rocking.
If you could play one old song again which he hasn't play in years, what would it be?
Big Fat Mama. We used to play it a lot, but we dropped it as time went on. It's great old rocker with no frills.
Going on to more technical questions, why do you use your Telecaster more than your Gibson SG?
I use the Telecaster because I found in the early days when Quo started to get heavier that the Gibson couldn't handle it anymore. The Telecaster with the heavier strings can take the pressure. I am not a lead guitarist---I'm a rhythm guitarist and I hit the guitar hard, which is my role in Quo. The Telecaster is the only guitar that can take the punishment on a good night when I really dish it out.
I adore the sound of the Gibson and I love to record with it. But on stage you have treat it with kid gloves. If I had to do Caroline or another song like that, I don't think it could take the pressure. That guitar isn't as tough as the Telecaster. I've had the Telecaster altered as well, so it is rock solid. You can't do that with a Gibson. I've taken out the bridge and the fine turning knobs. The strings go straight over the body. When people play the guitar, they can't believe the tension. I enjoy that however, and I hit it with gusto and it doesn't go out.
What guitar do you use for playing 4500 Times on stage, and how do you tune it?
I use a custom-built Gibson for that and it's a B tuning. I discovered it once when I had too many glasses of wine. I screwed the tuning pegs into weird positions and I found this tuning where I use a base G for the bottom E. It's very limited---I can only play seven or eight chords, but it has a great effect. You have to have control of the guitar, but when it works and when you get the right sound, it is fabulous.
Why did you lower the amp stacks on recent tour and replace them with a small stage?
We had horrendous problems with the stage volume when we used the large stacks. Everyone wanted to get a kick from their stacks. Marshall built me an amp that went to 11, sounding very like Spinal Tap, and it got so horrendously loud that the sound man couldn't mic the cabinets properly. We felt the audience was suffering as we were too loud on stage.
We changed to in-ear monitoring. This increased the sightlines and you can turn the volume down on stage. Since you have your own mix you can have it set to whatever you want, and hopefully the sound for the audience is more clear and more colourful. Consequently, when we started to use this system we didn't need to lug around the high stacks, which require an extra trailer. The mic lines have always been the same, about 4-5 feet from the stage. I think we have improved the sound quality for both ourselves and the audience.