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Brett Garsed
(14 Jan 03)
Part 2: Big Sky
Big Sky
Q: I have listened to "Big Sky" several times by now. To be honest, the CD hasn't left my player for quite a while. It's a beautiful album and already one of my favorite guitar-albums. Great job!
Can you tell us something about the inspiration for the tunes? Because, they really have a certain soundtrack-quality to them, and I think they were inspired by actual things, more than just being based on some lick or cool riff…
Brett: I love music that conjures imagery when I listen to it so I suppose that's what I tend to write. I usually write the melody within the chords themselves so a lot of my songs would almost work as solo guitar pieces but I just do this so I can hear the direction of the song. I'm not really good at writing riffs. That's why I really like working with TJ as he can come up with 20 classic riffs in as many second whereas I'm more prone to writing melodies over chords.
Q: How long have you been working on those songs?
Brett: One of them dates back to '89 whereas all the others were written between 2000 and early 2002. I do like the songs to grow naturally rather than just forcing them to be completed so if I get stuck on a certain section I'll just leave it and let it float around my mind till my imagination tells me where it should go next. I do a lot of writing in my head while I'm stuck in LA traffic!
Q: Was the creation of the album a constant development, or was it rather "on and off"... after all, you're involved in several projects and teach at the MI etc.
Brett: I suppose it was on and off but once I'd decided to do it, it was the main thing on my mind even though I was also involved in other projects. The most recent release is under the band name of MOJO and the album is called "Tapestry". This is myself, Kofi Baker on drums and Ric Fierabracci on bass.
Q: My upcoming solo-album will be a collection of songs I wrote throughout the years, and so it's like "OK, they have been around for years, let's finally record them for this album". Was it the same for "Big Sky", or did you write most of these tunes after you decided to record a solo-album?
Brett: I started writing with nothing in mind other than creating some songs I'd enjoy listening to myself. I didn't want to put any pressure on myself and commit to it being an album. My good friend Grit Frederick heard my demos and wanted to help me get the album done so he's my executive producer in a way. It's good to work with friends and family so there's no fear of being ripped off in any way.
Q: Where was the album recorded?
Brett: It was recorded at Ric Fierabracci's studio here in LA. Ric tracked all the drums as well as playing the amazing bass and also mixed a vast majority of the album. I'm absolutely honored that he believes in my music so much and without him it simply wouldn't have happened.
Q: What made you pick Ric (bass) and Toss (Pianos, drums)? How did you contact them?
Brett: I've known Ric for about 6 years now. He, TJ, Virgil and I were doing gigs at the Baked Potato and we'd always be connecting on various projects. Ric, Kofi and I were doing the Mojo album and also doing trio gigs around town when Ric suggested jamming with Toss as well. We wanted to separate our various projects so we could do different tunes. I'd first seen Toss Playing with Mike Landau and was absolutely floored by not only his chops but his incredible dynamic range. He'd go from thunderous parts to barely touching the things almost playing like a percussionist so I knew straight away that he was perfect for my music. I've thought Ric was the #1 bassist on the planet the minute I played with him so he was the absolute first choice. Toss and Ric always play for the song.
Q: Where all their parts pretty much written out before the recordings, did you tell them exactly what to play, or did they have a lot of freedom to create their parts and thereby add to the songs?
Brett: I did demo the songs extensively as a lot of people heard from them being placed on the web but it's always a guideline when you're dealing with musicians as good as Ric and Toss. No matter how well I program a drum machine or try to play a bass it's still nothing compared to these guys so I basically let them get familiar with the arrangements and the dynamic of the songs and the rest was their choice. They just sensed everything perfectly so I didn't have to say anything.
Q: Can you tell us about the gear you used? Because I really like both the clean and the distorted sounds on this album, sounds great.
Brett: Most of the electric parts were done with my ESP tele and Bogner Extasy but I did use Scott Henderson's Fender Bandmaster for quite a few tracks. It's been modified by Alexander Dumble and is the most beautiful recording amp I've ever used. I also used a THD Univalve for the slide solo on "Got The Horn" and those amps are really amazing. I hope to experiment with that amp a lot more in the future. I also used my '75 Strat which I've had since I was 13 years old. It did all the Farnham tours and was my main guitar till I got the Steinberger.
The Brian Moore MC-1 was also used a lot on this album. That's a really beautiful guitar which I'm very lucky to have.
Q: What kind of acoustic guitar did you use for the acoustic parts?
Brett: I used a Maton which is an Australian made guitar. I've been using the same model that Tommy Emmanuele uses in the hopes it'd make me play like him but it hasn't happened yet! :)
Q: Where all your guitar parts written out once you entered the studio, or was there a lot of improvisation involved, i.e. regarding the solos?
Brett: The solos are always improvised mainly because that's what excites me about playing in the first place. I don't think memorizing things is a strong point for me so I'm much better just going for it and making sure the record button is on from the first take as that's usually my most honest interpretation of the music. After about 4 takes it goes downhill from there so I've gotta get it quick!
Q: How did you come up with some of those beautiful melodies, like i.e. in "Brothers"- do those come to you when you fiddling on the guitar in font of the TV, or do you sit down with the guitar and go "OK, I am gonna write a tune now"?
Brett: Most of the time it's the first thing that comes out when I pick up the guitar at the beginning of the day so I try to have a tape recorder handy for all those ideas. "Brothers" started off like that and I just let it grow over a few days as I kept returning to it. I have no idea where they come from which I've heard is quite common for most songwriters. I don't use musical formulas but that's probably due to my lack of formal training. I really do want to study in the future if I can find the time and money as I want to grow more harmonically.
Q: One thing I especially like is your slide-playing, like i.e. in the main melody of "Drowning" ( CLICK HERE to hear a soundfile of the main-theme, played by Brett with a slide ). To me, it definitely has a vocal-type sound of it (the phrasing etc, reminds me of a singer's voice). Was that what you were thinking of, trying to emulate that sound, or did it turn out that way unintentionally?
Brett: I think that's the beauty of slide guitar as it turns the guitar into a fretless instrument so it's very similar to a human voice. I love playing slide and have been tempted to play it exclusively but the truth is I usually only play it when I'm recording or gigging. I don't practice it like I should. I did that melody using a Fernandez Sustainer guitar and it's featured heavily on this album. I first got it back when TJ and I were doing "Exempt" and have been addicted to it ever since.
Q: To me, when I listen to "Bad Luck Go Away" (from the Garsed / Helmerich album "Under The Lash Of Gravity, click HERE to hear an MP3-excerpt of that song) these days, it sounds to me like some kind of early vision of the music featured on "Big Sky". Do you feel the same? I mean, the song would fit perfectly onto "Big Sky", in my opinion.
Brett: Yeah, I agree. TJ and I were working on the "Under The Lash Of Gravity" album and we each did a solo instrumental tune. TJ's was called "Vicodin" and is some of the most beautiful playing I've ever heard and probably will ever hear. "Bad Luck Go Away" came from that time and once again it's the Fernandez.
Q: You put demos of some of the songs on "Big Sky" online a while ago, for people to download for free. What was your motivation to do so? Did you wanna hear some opinions before recording the album, or did you not plan on "Big Sky" at all back then? Did you get feedback for those songs, and did that inspire you when you picked and worked on the tracks for the album?
Brett: I suppose it was a combination of market research and personal statement. I did want to see what people thought of the tunes and by putting them on sites like Mp3.com it made them available to people that I knew would have never heard of me before so their feedback would be very unbiased. I would love to be able to give music to people as a gift but making albums costs money unfortunately and as most of this kind of music is self-financed it's hard to do it without trying to at least cover the basic cost of recording and duplication. It was really great to hear from people all over the world and see that the music really did reach them at a personal and emotional level as that's where I write the songs from. I want to inspire and move people just like my influences did and still do till this day.
Q: Can we look forward to another solo-album by you in the near future? If yes, (and I know it's hard to tell for you just now), do you think it will be similar (vast, rather atmospheric, dreamy songs) or will it be very different, like i.e. "Lash Of Gravity" was very different from "Quid Pro Quo"?
Brett: I'm sure I'll do another album but I have no idea what direction it'll take. I guess we'll just wait and see! I'm hoping TJ and I will be able to do another Uncle Moe's project with Willis, Kinsey and Chambers someday.
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Part 2: GIT / The Guitarist >> |
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