Serve The Song

Ed DeGenaro playing his trademark fretless guitar.

The world is full of great guitarists. Spend just half an hour on Youtube and you will be convinced that every bedroom in the world now houses an unknown prodigy. Standing apart from this crowd has become no small feat, but Seattle based guitarist Ed DeGenaro has managed to do it by blending an unusual approach to the guitar with a bottomless musical imagination. The result is tasty jazz-fusion, seasoned with Latin, country, and rock, and topped with a dollop of humor. It is a musical flavor that is uniquely his own. Recently I got a chance to chat with Ed about his guitars, his music, and his new CD “Less is Seldom More”.

AC: Congratulations on the new album. “Less is Seldom More” is a great record - a great progression from “Doghouse”.

ED: (Laughs.) That’s because it cost me about five times as much as “Doghouse”. It also has some great musicians on it.

AC: Yes, lots of great playing! I have to say that the bass part on Ave. D is just smoking.

ED: That was Ric Fierabracci. He really hit that shit out of the ballpark.

AC: I’m curious about your writing process.

ED: Well on “Less is Seldom More” I did such a small part of the writing. Much of it was done by other people for me. Like Ave. D was written by Chris Taylor. And the way that started was Chris sent me a loop - you know - a drum loop and a bass line, and I just improvised over it. And he would cut it up and go “Oh, this sounds like a great melody,” and then I would record it.

AC: I was curious about that….it sounded like there were loops….

ED: No, no, no, no…they started out as loops. There are no loops in the final product.

AC: Are there samples? I cracked up the first time I heard Yes Man. I noticed that the vocals aren’t credited. Are they samples you found somewhere, or what?

ED: The munchkin vocals?

AC: Ya. Did you do that?

ED: No, those are actually samples. Same with the voice on Ave. D. The only samples are the spoken voices.

AC: Tell me about your recording process. Digital? Analog?

ED: The first part of question, yes, the second part no. I use something called Sequoia. It is German software that’s total high-end…it’s used for classical orchestra usually. And what happens is we just transfer, bounce.

AC: You have a lot of different guitar tones. You must use quite a range of amps and guitars.

ED: (laughs) Actually, after I was done recording I sold about 16 amps, because I realized out of all the amps I used about 3 on the album, out of the 20 set-ups I had.

AC: Which ones?

ED: The majority of the album is the Axe-FX direct into the recorder. I’d say about 75% Axe-FX, a couple of little bits are an old Marshall or an old Fender, and the majority of the gain tones are the Axe-FX into the VHT Deliverance.

AC: You are really known for your fretless guitar playing. How much of your playing on “Less is Seldom More” is your fretless guitars, versus standard fretted guitars?

ED: You know what – “Less is Seldom More” really doesn’t have all that much fretless on there. I think there’s a little bit of fretless on Ave. D, and then there’s some on Monkey Bawls, Matt’s Bible Camp is all fretless on the distorted guitar, Yes Man has some fretless in it. Confirm Walk Forward has some fretless in it. Id say about 1/3 is fretless.

Tune in next week for the second half of my interview with Ed DeGenaro. In the meantime, go buy “Less is Seldom More”! If you are a fan of fusion or just love great guitar you won’t regret it.

Ed Degenaro Website

Buy “Less is Seldom More”

This is a guest post from Michael S. Armentrout - music fan, lover of King’s X and future concert promoter.

It has been said, “If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.” (Anon)

Artists are not immune to this law of nature.  Undoubtedly, if something can go awry, it probably will.  How one responds is the true test of character.  You may have the technical, musical abilities, but do you have the mental game to endure and overcome?

This series of articles is aimed at artists who have few road-miles under their belt.  Think of it as friendly advice on how to enjoy the performing experience even more.  Sit back and read the experiences of others.  First up, sound issues…

photo by jhowell852

Dave Scoven - david.scoven@dss.virginia.gov
Drummer – Tele-Phonic
Engineer, Producer - Floating Iris Studio, Richmond, VA

I was the house sound engineer for Rockitz, in Richmond, VA, which, at the time, was the smallest “A” club in the U.S – capacity 325 (and that was generous). I would say that the PA there was adequate for the size of the venue. It was nothing special, but adequate.

On the night that English rock band Lords of the New Church played, I was surprised to see four full Marshall stacks rolling in. There were two guitar players in the band. To my utter amazement, each guitarist was using 2 full stacks. That’s 400 watts of guitar. I hoped against hope that the guitarists would be using the “extra” amps as stage props, and would be playing through one stack each, set at a reasonable volume for the stage.

No such luck. Lords of the New Church took the stage for sound check, and I measured the guitar volume coming from the stage – not through the PA, mind you – just directly from the stage. One hundred and twenty-six decibels, at the mix position. That’s the equivalent of having your head inside a jet engine. I approached the band an informed them that the audience would hear nothing but guitar during the performance if the guitarists didn’t turn down – considerably. Of course, I got the stock answer to such requests, which was “we cannot get our ‘sound’ unless the amps are all the way up.”

“All four?” I asked. Silly me.

Well, the crowd arrived and the place was packed and the opening band sounded fine. Then the Lords of the New Church broke loose all Hell. Stiv Bators, former vocalist for the Dead Boys and a sub-cultural icon in his own right, seemed to be mouthing words, but there was no audible vocal sound. Neither was there much in way of drums, except for the all-too-familiar sound of cymbals getting a brutal thrashing. The crowd was there to see AND hear Stiv Bators, and they we not amused. In fact, they went absolutely ballistic. As for me, I stood dumbfound behind the mixing console, with 126 decibels of guitar in my right ear and at least that level of road manager in my left. Then, just when I thought it could get no worse, Stiv Bators stooped the show. Let me repeat: stopped the show. He announced that band would not continue until the sound was “fixed,” and if it could not be “fixed,” everyone would get a refund and could go home.

Now I had 126 db of road manager in my left ear, and 126 db of club owner in my right. I seriously considered running away, very seriously. Anyway, the more I explained that the club’s PA simply could not compete with an excess of 120db in stage volume, the angrier everyone else got. The Army has a great phrase for this type of situation, and it probably isn’t appropriate to print, but the first word is “cluster.”

The road manager went to talk to the band, and the club owner retreated to his lair in the basement, not to be seen again that night. Lords of the New Church finally did perform, but to say that they sounded awful doesn’t begin to paint an accurate picture. It was, in a word, the worst night I ever had as a Front-of-House engineer, by a long shot.

As for lessons learned that fledgling bands can take away from this experience, the first one ought to be obvious. All sound systems have limits, and if the stage volume is louder than the PA, you might as well not have a PA. The best bit of advice I can give is this – it has to sound great on stage for it to sound great out front. Especially in a club, because the stage mix is always part of the main mix. It’s inevitable. If the mix is bad onstage – too loud, out of balance, etc. – there is very little that even a great a sound mixer can do to make the house mix sound very much better. In all my time at Rockitz, this correlation was verified time after time – if it sounds like a record onstage, it will sound like a record out front. If it sounds like muck onstage, well, you’ll just sound like muck, and if muck isn’t “your sound,” it’s going to be a very long night.

A typical problem with playing any show is poor monitor sound/consistency, especially for a guitarist. The sound quality is either terrible or too low. Some places don’t even allow you to put your guitar in their monitor! A guitar player cannot be effective if he cannot hear himself. This will make any gig miserable for a guitarist (this would apply to other instruments as well, but I am a guitarist and this has been my personal experience. I play no other instruments).

What I’ve done to add some consistency and get the same guitar sound EVERY show is purchased a set of wireless in-ear monitors (with the molds, they are useless without custom molds), a 4 channel mixer, and my own speaker mic. What this allows me to do is separate my guitar from the rest of the channel in my ears (via the mixer). I mic my own amp and run it into my mixer and then take a line from the soundboard for everything else I need in my ears. This way my guitar signal goes directly from my amp’s speaker into my ears and I control the volume. This way I’m not subject to the soundman’s gain tweaking, coloration, or effects, and I get the same guitar sound every show.

One way to make sound consistent for the whole band is to hire your own man with his own rig. This can be expensive. We are a 5 piece working rock band that plays clubs that hold anywhere from 500 to 3500 people. His price ranges from $300-over $500 depending on what equipment he needs to bring with him to cut the gig. The up side to that is he is very consistent, can tackle and solve almost any sound issue we might have, and his equipment is constantly maintained and working properly. It is important to find someone you like and trust and stick with him as long as you can afford to pay him. There a lot of really bad soundman out there and chances are, if you’re hiring different guys every week you will find all of them.

The most common issue to arise at a gig involves the medium used to connect with an audience. All of the talent in the world will be wasted if you cannot tell your story the way you intend to.  It is comparable to a painter with a soiled canvas.  They may still create a masterpiece, but it will probably require an inordinate amount and effort.  With a little forethought, knowledge and preparation, you can ensure your message will not be lost in the cacophony of noise.  Have you experienced any of the above?  How did you respond?  Leave a comment and share with others.  Until next time…

photo by Mister Boboli

These days, it seems searching for potential bandmates is much like looking for a new job.  Or hiring an employee.  Or finding a roommate.

It involves hours of scrolling through craigslist and message boards, searching for someone who shares your musical vision, fits with your style and matches your goals and commitment.  So what do you look for in a potential bandmate?

Here are some things to consider when contacting, auditioning, and working with potential bandmates:

• Find someone who shares your musical influences. It seems this is the number one thing folks are looking for out there on the craigslist scene.  Classified ads list the top five favorite bands of the person or group seeking others to jam with.  This can be a good starting point, but don’t make it the sole criteria.  I have found many people list bands and genres that are far different from the way they actually play or write music.
• Find someone with different musical influence. You want to mix things up a bit.  When it comes to formulating a “new sound”, mixing styles and genres is the name of the game.  Unless of course you’re forming a Guns and Roses tribute band.  Then of course, you better all live and breathe G&R.
• Make sure share your level of commitment. If you’re in it for 2+ weekly rehearsals, constant gigging, touring, and studio recording, then be up front about that in your search.  Make it clear that’s what you’re going for, and only work with folks who are up for it.  If you’re in just for fun, maybe a monthly jam and the occasional house party gig, then don’t seek out players who dream of rock stardom.
• Find players that have as good or better chops than you. If you know you’re a solid player, then you know who’s on your level and who’s not.  Respectfully decline to continue on with guys who just can’t keep up with what you’re doing.  Finding players who are better than you can greatly improve your musical skills.  Welcome this opportunity, and if they’re up for moving forward with you, then it could be a good thing.
• Be sure the logistics work for all parties. If they live 2 hours from you, rehearsals will be difficult.  If someone doesn’t have a car or access to public transport, that can be a hassle.  Figure out the ride-share situation, sharing of equipment, etc.
• Avoid money issues. Lets face it, cash problems can be a tricky issue - especially if your friendship doesn’t go back a long way.  Be clear about everyone’s share of expenses and avoid players who refuse to pay their fair share.
• Personality matters. Just because everything works on all of the above points doesn’t mean you will get along with your potential bandmates on a personal level.  Find someone who gels with your personal sense of humor, or shares your perspective on things you care about.  If there’s no personal chemistry, there won’t be any musical chemistry.
• Age matters. Or should I say, stage-in-life.  If you’re 18 and you’re interested in playing gigs, partying all night, and looking forward to a lifetime of world domination that lays ahead of you… You probably don’t want to commit to a band relationship with an accomplished player in his fifties with a wife and kids, full-time career and a mortgage to pay.  Or you might, but just realize the differences in approach and commitment that will arise based on which stage of life you’re in.

Over to you

What do you look for when considering potential bandmates?