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For Solid Air Records Web Site / Masa Sumidé' c8 ^7 }. A) O" N) r1 H) G X
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Tell us how you got started with the guitar and your early influences?1 |( W1 X7 m! F# U
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My memories are a bit fuzzy as to when I first held the guitar to start with, but I do remember that everything started with “The Ventures”.
- q( U; j5 Q3 p4 L) o* G5 h$ ?# hIt was around 1967 or 68, I guess.
) Y6 z& F L! ~3 `1 f/ g5 RTheir guitar music made a huge impact on me and propelled me into action.
, J! z9 M* M s6 ]& w4 L2 iI can’t describe the feeling I got when I was first exposed to their music.1 w5 I3 s3 @" A: b: U% e3 }) G/ ~
It was so new to my ear and everything was so fresh.4 @" V# @5 k1 [/ x9 |
I wanted to be like Norkie Edwards and often found myself copying his licks on the guitar from morning till night!4 o3 S) n( N+ P: _
So, I can say my roots are firmly set in guitar music. t2 q7 R9 p4 m
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After the Ventures I was sucked into hard rock music and got hooked on Deep Purple, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and so forth." A5 b: {3 }1 H5 J, ?; |. I: L \* _
I don’t listen to today’s rock music because they sound a bit too overproduced and lack the kind of raw energy the bands from the past had.
3 v- L8 V/ t/ x$ h' x( RI prefer songs built around nice guitar riffs with simple arrangement.5 T. l% o. X; R* c
“She’s A Groover” on my collection CD is my humble attempt to recapture the good-old style of rock in shuffle.
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Do you listen to much guitar these days? What players have influenced you as a maturing artist? % E) v" J3 h$ Z m' R+ W
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/ e: f( P3 M" n# e) ^% {- `9 K( iI listen to heaps of acoustic guitar music and my solo guitar CD collection is getting bigger and bigger.5 J8 n( C/ P. N2 X' F/ F
It’s actually nearing the 200 mark!7 ~: \! u9 W9 j% J9 f3 E/ e! ~$ [
When I listen to other guitarists’ music it’s purely for inspiration these days, but like any other guitar freak, I went through the stage of putting every piece of music under the microscope trying to work out every single move and all the fancy stuff.
, R7 H/ |! `8 {$ Z' ?But I don’t do that dissecting anymore.0 @$ {! i3 f! S* ?* _7 B
This doesn’t mean I’ve stopped learning, I’d like to add.
$ G! I1 w5 s1 @; N2 O- A3 i6 XIt’s just that I’d rather enjoy the music as it comes and listen to the whole picture.% k% J* V3 b8 ^4 }" O, j! r
I’ve come to understand the simple fact that technique alone doesn’t get you anywhere and that it’s what comes from inside that counts most.3 M4 y w g, V1 a* P1 v$ u( Q' S
The guitar knows it too, I think.) W1 E# T% e. N7 L: v4 b' f3 b2 c5 p
It detects your state of mind the minute you hit the strings and responds to it accordingly.6 ~: L; o2 }6 I& K6 |- b3 J
This is what I like about the acoustic guitar because you cannot lie to it.
1 T7 R) c" H% ?4 j; b4 EI wouldn’t be hurt if someone said that I could use some practice, but if I was told that I didn’t play with feeling it would be a different story.
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2 U! N1 P: `+ yThere’re two guitarists who have influenced me in a big way.
4 P- T, s8 F# Z0 r x* ?Joe Pass and Tuck Andress./ o) A& ^: m+ \; M
I have nothing but respect for these two guitar giants.. U H" U) X" h* @. t2 f9 [
I’ve learned a lot about chord melodies from Joe Pass’ solo CDs and Tuck’s albums have taught me how to swing and groove with a funky touch.
1 G* e/ V2 }! ^, G5 jI feel very indebted to them and wish to dedicate a tune for each hero on my next CD.
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8 j. v6 h! B$ b! r b5 p; F, i+ n. HWhat tunings do you favor and why?
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Let me first make a confession…I used to dislike open tunings!, p1 d5 a4 p% Y P# R
Can’t do without them now, but I used to be locked into thinking that standard tuning was the way to go and that using alternative tunings was as good as cheating!
0 ]; l# C" V9 m- i7 _! w' _ hLooking back, I probably saw open tunings as an easy way out, which isn’t the case at all!
5 \) _' B7 Z" {4 x r8 d7 [7 Y H% DI put it down to my hard-headedness when I was going through my share of a developing stage. 5 y9 o7 Y# A! C2 D/ D
% I2 ^3 f9 B" o( [' aNow I’m a big believer in open tunings and mainly use DADGAD, DADGBD and Dropped D tunings. N1 U( K/ {$ Y4 x9 Z
I’m not too sure if Dropped D tuning qualifies as an open tuning.
9 y6 c5 f. S% L3 u. ~Anyway, those are my kind of tunings.
O; s8 `# X U) I" cI haven’t tried lower tunings yet so I don’t know what those tunings have to offer…unknown territories for me.
1 b! Y% r6 ]2 U0 h* EAmong the three tunings I use, DADGBD is my favorite because of its minor 11th feel.$ {. K$ F# a' ]9 t$ p0 s! D
Works pretty well for tunes in a minor key.6 `( _6 |" t) z& L% P( N) E
“Blues In The Slow Lane” on “2 Blue 4 Words” is played in this tuning., p9 j: _: H( l! u6 i+ _& N6 V
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. O: x+ A6 T l$ ^, V3 [3 bWhere do your ideas for tunes come from?) i' h1 W5 Y8 Q# B/ ]9 D. A* v
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Obviously, my creative source is backed up by a hodgepodge of music I’ve listened to up until now and I owe a lot to the players who have taught me all the tricks of the trade through their albums.+ M f& N9 T z% k7 K: _
They have provided me with something to stand on and I’ve managed to build it up from there.
2 B& P* G/ b, U2 m7 YI’m very thankful for all the forerunners., e" [5 p f# K: }/ M- S2 V
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I don’t sit down with the guitar telling myself, “I’m going to write a few tunes today no matter what” or anything like that.9 k4 U" d5 p0 w: |* v9 g% R* _
It doesn’t work that way.
' O% T5 Q j P# t* A) P2 wI usually look for some melody triggers when practicing the guitar and take it from there.. d$ J# X7 V( O% [" `5 T6 S
If nothing hits, so be it.8 R2 q* J) X/ E& s/ T9 _
On the other hand, if some chords or notes trigger something inside my head, then I start building a tune around them. Either way, I don’t push myself to compose because the stuff coming out under those kinds of conditions usually sound a bit forced and hurried.
# f# X, s8 m* l. o- OIn addition, I get easily bored and don’t stand still on one tune, which I think contributes to the pace of my songwriting in a way.
* _1 g& [( p, F4 V7 AAs soon as I finish a tune I start looking for other triggers and then others…I like to think ahead and keep on moving., g) L2 o- z, k
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1 z; P* i+ M( D: k( }' u: Q# {You have an aggressive style of attack.... do you use nails? Give us a m# v$ ]! d( _3 F+ ^; A: x1 a- B
technical breakdown of your approach to playing AND recording.( A2 s3 N# C3 L& K
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It’s all nails and flesh.( v* }4 U! X3 c
I don’t use any plectrums because I want to feel the strings on my picking fingers.3 I" } ^- C4 @# D! W$ {4 C
This is one of the reasons why I use custom light gauge strings on my guitar instead of heavier sets.
- l: I/ @0 Q+ T* h: p/ \You can put more strength in your fingers and there’s less chance of breaking your nails.
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/ O* R- ?1 U! HAs for playing style, I really like percussive types of playing because I’m into rhythms.
/ ~7 e. P7 q$ S/ u! U, `( NThere are always some percussive sounds happening in my head when I’m practicing and composing.
& g( y0 B( Q0 L' H6 hIt has a lot to do with my past as a multi-instrument player, I guess.
3 i& `! C* Y. M& z/ k+ ` UI used to play the drums, base and the piano on my demo tapes.: g2 k _ N9 O$ ?3 l- F7 G
I was a total control freak at that time./ X7 `3 w) D1 T# u- ^
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; g4 u$ B# \( q7 y% nMy approach to recording is quite simple: the sooner I nail a tune the better.) l( @4 D' C% D* }9 ]2 m. X" r) g
Good tracks are usually recorded in a few takes, so I try not to use more than an hour for a tune otherwise I’d lose the freshness and my focus.
+ P3 @- f3 P, F- Y1 RIn addition, my hands sweat a lot and the strings die on me in a hurry.
0 H; i7 X5 c7 m& qI change strings every two songs at recording, depending on their freshness.5 [6 U6 A8 x7 H2 v& y, Y; ^
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Please talk about the strings you prefer and action etc...
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* {9 x u% _) F4 II use “Martin SP custom light strings” and they feel just right on my fingers.* y8 E6 S$ q% _: E' Q' e- ?5 W
They sound warm too.# [4 H3 V5 o0 U) z' F/ U7 L
You’re probably wondering, “Hey, that’s a thin set of strings…”
: u7 |0 t; g/ ?I don’t blame you, but I can’t handle a heavier gauge than that because my grip isn’t as strong as it should be.$ ]% A3 o' s+ t t6 I) d9 i. |
Sound-wise, I lose a bit on the bottom end, but I compensate it with added tension in the neck so that it doesn’t affect the whole picture much." l( I# }2 s: [; A8 }3 ^9 I# G
I shake my head in amazement to those guys putting on medium gauge strings!) ~8 |, v% ?. b0 R4 K8 E0 ^1 v
However can you handle those???
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7 p7 C- P: K. nI’m not too knowledgeable about action…my idea of the right action is that when you play an F and it feels right with no buzz happening, then it should be okay…but I may be wrong.
5 V! {9 _6 S; C: lEither way, you’d be better off having a guitar tech fine-tune it.3 N5 N7 R! A) d2 _# P2 n
“Don’t mess with something you don’t know” is my pet phrase when it comes to the technical side of things.
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发表于 2008-2-11 14:08
发表于 2008-2-11 23:31
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