GW: Why did you start playing?
Jimmy: Well... I think this is a pretty unique
first inspiration, but when I was 16, I had always
loved music but had never paid any attention to
guitar. One afternoon while watching a music video
show, I saw a video by a band called Pseudo Echo doing
a remake of the 70's hit 'Funky Town.' Aside from just
digging that song, I really locked onto the lead
singer/guitarist. He did a smoking lead on it and it
just blew me away. I had a passing thought of how cool
it would be if I could play like that. So, I decided to
buy a guitar with money from my first job I had just
gotten stocking beer at a quicke mart (pretty cool job
at 16!) I was so naive at the time, I had no idea there
were music stores that sold guitars. My first thought
was the Sears catalog, so... A month or so later I was
the proud new owner of a $100 Harmony strat from Sears!
Looked just like the one the Pseudo Echo guy had...
except the small detail of his being a FENDER strat! It
was a few months later before I realized the error of
my ways when I noticed it wouldn't stay in tune and the
strings appeared to have been welded into the bridge
causing me to use an ice pick to try and remove them
while changing strings. A few months later I saw the
movie 'Crossroads' and it was all over after that. I
have never even thought about doing anything else
since...
GW: How old were you?
Jimmy: 16
GW: What are some of the milestones in your development
as a player?
Jimmy: : My biggest milestone I think was attending a
two week session at the National Guitar Summer Workshop
in Connecticut, back in 1991. I had gotten a little
bored with the basic pentatonic scale way of playing at
the time even though I still sucked at that and knew
that there had to be other ways to play out there... I
took a fusion class the first week taught by a great
player from NYC named Jeff McErlain...that opened up so
many doors for me by explaining all of the modes and
arppegios and the whole jazz approach of playing
over the changes. The second week was a special class
with Frank Gambale that to this day still weighs
heavily in my development. Some may think his class
would focus a lot on his sweep technique but it was the
most intense theory course on how he approaches soloing
and what he is thinking when he plays, breaking down
song after song out of the Real Book and explaining
all the different ways to improvise over them. I
actually taped every class over that two week period...
It would have been a waste otherwise because my brain
was so fried after the first day, there is no way I
would have retained .01% of the info I got there if I
hadn't.
The other is just playing in bands and in as many
situations possible. You can only get so good playing
in your room. You have to get out and see how stuff
works in real situations.
GW: What were some of the hardest things for you when
you first started?
Jimmy: One thing: Alternate Picking. Ahhh!!! This
was by far the hardest thing for me to get a grasp on.
I'm not sure of the reasons other than possibly me
being left handed and actually playing right handed...
I am completely retarded with my right hand. When I
started playing, it just seemed to make more sense to
me that because it looked like most of the work and
speed was accomplished with the fretting hand, that it
was obvious that I use my left hand for that. It wasn't
until later that I realized just how important the
picking hand was. Also, my first teacher was great but
never really focused on picking. He did a lot of legato
playing so I never payed any attention to picking
really. I didn't really notice a problem until a few
years later when I seemed to hit a wall and could not
understand why my playing was so choppy and I couldn't
get faster or cleaner. When I started lessons in
college, my new teacher was a Steve Morse type player
and had phenomenal picking technique... I asked him
what my problem was and as soon as he saw me
play, pointed out that my technique was basically three
or four down strokes, an up stroke here or there...
Really terrible. So, I whipped out the Paul Gilbert
Intense Rock 2 video and started practicing my three
note per string scales about 6 or 7 hours a day. The
hardest thing was breaking the bad habit I had been
playing with for so long. I am still so paranoid about
loosing my picking technique now, I still go through
some crazy picking warm ups every day.
It made a big difference in my frustration at the time
when I was able to talk to Paul Gilbert at a clinic
once and he told a similar story of his struggles in
the same area. He told me he saw a clinic with Randy
Rhodes years back and asked Randy his advice on
alternate picking. Randy replied by saying that it just
came natural to him and he never had any problem with
it, which frustrated Paul even more! So seeing Paul's
progress in that area since then, it can't help but
motivate me to never stop working on it.
GW: What is the most memorable moment in guitar history
for you?
Jimmy: Aside from it being invented?!
A personal
experience would be seeing Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray
Vaughn in concert together.
GW: Who did look up to then... And who do you look up
to now?
Jimmy: Jeff Beck and Jeff Beck...
He was one of my
first heroes and is still the main player I look up to,
Mainly because he has never seemed to put a boundary on
what he wants and is able to do and continuously pushes
himself to new heights without repeating himself... He
seems to totally reinvent himself every few years. Also
seems to be a real class act as well. Other players I
admire and look up to include Eric Johnson, Blues
Saraceno, George Lynch, Paul Gilbert, Jerry Reed,
Robben Ford and a list that is just to long to
compile...
GW: How do you get your inspiration?
Jimmy: Even after playing for so long now, I still
go to sleep at night dreaming about how cool it will be
when I get that next awesome lick down that will push
my playing to the next level. I have always been driven
by the idea of how good I can someday be and try to
focus on the little things that will add up over time
to get me to that point. Just playing and learning things
from other guitarists that play different styles than me
is very encouraging as well.
I also have a buddy in New York named Joe that is a
huge inspiration. Until I found Guitar War, he was the
only guy I knew that was equally as obsessed with
the guitar as I am and who I could ramble on for hours
about all things guitar until my cell phone would die.
GW: What are some things you would tell anyone who is
interested in learning to play the guitar?
Jimmy: One of my teachers once told me that the
guitar is the easiest instrument to learn but the
hardest to master. There are so many roads you can take
once you get the basics down, it is never ending...
My advice is to focus on the basics obviously and the
small inflections that make up your own voice; vibrato,
how you bend the strings, etc, and listen and absorb as
many players from as many styles as you can. You can
pick up a lot of great ideas to use in rock from jazz
and country players and vice versa. Never feel like you
have learned enough. There is no such thing.
Also, absorb all the music you can that came before
you. You obviously start with your current favorite
players but find out who influenced them, who they
listened to that made them the players they are... Be
aware of the journey the guitar has taken over the past
50 years...
The last thing is to not get discouraged no matter
what. Chances are, if you are practicing a lot the
right way and it seems you're making no progress. You
probably really are. Look at the big picture and know
that what you are practicing now may not show up in
your playing for months or even years but when it does
and you can look back to how you once played compared
to the present. It should make it all worth it and just
motivate you even more.
GW: What equipment do you own now?
Jimmy: Guitars: Four Samick Blues Saraceno models,
one with a Dimarrzio Tone Zone in the bridge, a 50's
reissue Fender strat with a JB jr in the bridge and
an 18 dB preamp boost wired to the second tone control,
a '83 Fender strat tuned to open 'D' for slide, a Pink
Paisley reissue tele for the country twang and a
Charvel Spectrum from the 80's. Great guitar, my only
one with a Floyd.
Amp wise, I exclusively use a POD 2.0 into a Peavy
Classic 60 stereo power amp, then into two Peavy 2x12
cainets with celestion speakers in them. Contrary to
what some think of the POD, I am still blown away by
its capabilities. I have had mine for almost 2 1/2
years now and I still find sounds that amaze me...
There have been few tones that I haven't been able to
match with it and I think it sounds great plugged up
for live gigs through the power amp and into my cabs.
For recording and direct to PA it is obviously top
notch... I sold all of the other amps I had soon after
buying the POD, The single greatest piece of gear I
have ever owned in my opinion, and it is just my
opinion... I would not consider myself a master of tone
or anything, and I haven't played through every amp
known to man, but it works for me.
GW: What kind of music are you listening to at the
moment?
Jimmy: It changes from week to week... Commercial
music wise, I like Saliva, Audiovent, Hoobastank,
Nickelback, Enuff Z'Nuff... All of those for great
songs and good jams. I also love Paul Gilberts
commercial albums for great songwriting, too...
I also
still listen to a heavy dose of Guitar stuff,
everything from Clapton, Hendrix, Beck and Eric Johnson
to shred guys like Gilbert and Racer X, Blues Saraceno,
Michael Lee Firkins, Richie Kotzen and various other
players like Marty Stuart and Danny Gatton for country
things. Mike Stern, Frank Gambale and Robben Ford for jazzier stuff,
Johnny Winter and Eric Sardinas for slide...
I will
still occasionally pull out CD's from back in the day
like Motley, Dokken, White Lion, Great White, Megadeth,
Aerosmith, etc... Metal bands I like currently are the
Euro German metal groups like Hammerfall, Iced Earth,
Jag Panzar and Helloween.
GW: How do you go about recording a song once it's
written ?
Jimmy: I record using a Roland VS 880. I usually
record the drum track first, most of the time with an
Alesis SR 16 and then put the rhythm track over it. If
I can, i get my bass player to put a bass line down for
me and then I will burn that onto a disc so i can jam
over it a few days or weeks until I work out a cool
melody and solo ideas. I will then record those and
piece them together before doing the final mix and then
burning that to CD and loading it onto my pc.
GW: If you can summarize how music has changed your
life in one word, say it
Jimmy: Groovy!
GW: What do you think separates the good guitar players
from the great ones?
Jimmy: Several things...
1) Those that pay attention to little details and
inflections that can make your playing sound unique and
more expressive.
2) Those that can hold back and not feel the need to
show everything they have in every song... Play for the
song regardless of how much faster or crazier you can
make it because you can. This obviously does not
translate to a lot that goes on here, just speaking in
the context of a regular song.
3) Phrasing is everything. Playing a technically
smoking run or a great sweep is one thing but ending it
with a cool phrase makes the whole thing come alive and
breathe. Anyone can learn technique with enough
practice but few learn the art of phrasing. That just
comes with practice and lots of listening to ones who
are great at it...
4) Developing your own voice and absorbing influences
from everything and everyone. All the greats from
Clapton to Vai, Eddie to Yngwie, and Lynch to Beck can
be spotted within a few notes. Everyone should strive
for this whether you reach it or not, it will make you
better.
GW: Would you be tactful in giving constructive
criticism?
Jimmy: I have no problem giving constructive
criticism because I would only do it to try and help
someone become better. I have so far to go myself as a
player that I have either been there already or going
thru the same problems now... Sometimes you can miss
simple things in your playing that are really
important. You may also get a new idea that can turn
your playing in a whole new direction from what may be
just a passing comment from someone but a huge point in
future development for you. In the end though, it's
just opinions... Everyone has a different one on how
they would approach the same thing. You take the ones
you think will help you and file them away.
GW: Do you think you would change as a person if you
ever get famous?
Jimmy: I hope not... Everyone would say that. But I
don't think I would. I feel that there is much more
inside me that drives me to become a better musician
than wealth and fame, and I would hope those things
would not diminish if I did become famous.
GW: What do you think life without guitar would be
like?
Jimmy: Dark and unhappy. I cannot even imagine
that.
GW: If you could have any guitar you wanted, what would
you choose and why?
Jimmy: : My goal is to own every color and make of
the Samick Blues Saraceno models. I have and continue
to find these really cheap on Ebay and it amazes me...
They are outstanding guitars with a great sound and
feel and are very versital for different situations.
They only have two models but I have two of each and
they are all different...The neck sizes vary greatly,
the pickup and knob configuration are different on each
also. I saw one a few days ago on Ebay that even had a
Gibson hardtail tremelo on it... They are like cabbage
patch kids or something, no two are alike but they all
smoke...
I honestly would chose a custom model of one of the
Samicks made to my specs over a top of the line PRS...
Crazy as it may sound, that is how good these guitars
play and sound to me. Aside from that, I have never
been one to pay such a large amount of money for a
guitar. I don't feel that vintage guitars were made out
of some magical tone tree in the enchanted forest back
in the 50's...
