Interview with Jan - August 2005
Your library of
production music is one of the
most popular in the world. Can
you give some numbers or some
details on just how pervasive
your music is today? Where might
people have heard your catalog?
Yes my library music seems to turn
up all over the place. On theme
tunes, films, TV shows and all
types of commercials all over the
world. In the States last year
there was a big Volvo campaign
which used a tune of mine called "Cartel" which
incidentally was used over here
in the UK for a massive Budweiser
Campaign. Good mileage on that
one. I have stuff used on:
UK - The Jeremy Kyle Show (Theme), You Are
What You Eat, Trisha, The Jerry
Springer Show, Flog It, Holiday
Homes from Hell, Escape to the Country, This
Morning, Absolutely Fabulous, Friends, Ten
Years Younger, Bargain Hunt, Paul
O'Grady Show, Wife Swap (Theme), Basil
Brush, Men Behaving Badly, Family Affairs, I'm
Alan Partridge.
USA - Friends, Wedding Story, Makeover
Story, Skunked TV, Dating Story, Oprah
Winfrey Show, Switched, Ambush
Makeover, Adventure Camp, Wife
Swap, Dragonfly TV, Hi-Fidelity(Film), America's
Most Wanted, Jamie Foxx Show, America's
Next Top Model, Tonight Show, Crime
and Punishment, Saturday Night Live.
To be honest, that's just scratching the surface.
Like most library writers, our music finds its
way accompanying all sorts of visuals.
Tell us about your new favorite guitar.
My new favorite guitar is made by a guy from Wolverhampton
named Terry Morgan. It is called a Garric Custom
and you can see a photo of
it on the site. Terry builds lovely instruments that
are one hundred percent reliable and fabulous to
play and look at. He does a marvelous set up too.
I have so much respect for this man. My Garric has
a Floyd on it and PRS pickups. It's so easy to play
and it sounds great. His prices are really reasonable
too, but even if he doubled his prices, I'd still
buy from him. It's that good.
All three of your albums are currently
out of print. Do you have any interest in getting
the re-released? Have you given up on guitar wizardry?
I'm trying at present to get my back catalogue on
iTunes somehow. My manager Andy Farrow is dealing
with it as we speak. As you can appreciate, there
are a few legal hurdles in our way but I'm sure that
we'll get there fairly soon. As for guitar wizardry,
I'm not sure what I want. I had to change my life
quite dramatically after "Prickly Pear" was
finished, purely down to the fact that guitar records
where going out of fashion then, and I wanted to
feel more secure financially. I loved the old days
but now I make a pretty decent living doing what
I do. That may sound like a compromise but it's not
really. I love what I do now just the same as what
I did then. But hey, if we get another shred explosion,
count me in.
What are your thoughts about the
popular music scene and how it relates to the guitar?
Do you see guitar wizardry making a return?
After quite a long absence, the guitar solo seems
to be creeping back into popular music. I listen
to Radio One in the UK all the time so that I keep
up up with what's happening and I've heard a few
solos on there so hey, perhaps yes, let's see. As
far as the popular music scene in general, I'm pretty
much taken with it. There are a lot of good bands
out there. They may be rehashing music from times
before but I don't care. If it sounds good and exciting
and full of energy, I'm in. Also lyrics seem to be
much better these days thank God. If I hear Foo Fighters,
Queens of the Stone Age, Athlete, Coldplay, Feeder
or Beck on the radio then I'm happy. The approach
to guitar is so different these days. It's not so
much about how technical you are, it's more about
how creative you can be in a simple but effective
way. Listen to "Little Sister" by Queens
of the Stone Age. The solo in that is one of the
coolest that I've ever heard. As for super simple,
Coldplay usually include really basic lead work in
their music, but it always sounds so beautiful.
What does your studio rig consist
of?
Amp wise, I am in the enviable position of having
the whole Cornford range. From the 6 watt Harlequin
and Carrera, to the MK50 and all in between. These
are the amps dreams are made of. Paul Cornford and
I are good friends so I'm one lucky chap indeed.
I have other amps too which I use occasionally. Two
of my favorites are a Marshall JCM800 and a Laney
GH50L. Guitars that I use on a regular basis are
my two Kramer Nightswans, Garric Custom (superb instrument),
Gibson 335, 1966 Gibson J45, 1967 Gibson Les Paul
Standard, G & L Tele, 2 x Fender Strats. Going
back to the amps, everyone who is serious about recording
should check out the new Cornford 6 watt Carrera.
It will take any kind of valve you want, 8 or 9 pin.
This means that you get as many different amp sounds
as you have different types of valves. Of course
the overall tone is typically Cornford (which is
a good thing) but the tone does vary noticeably.
Are you and Cornford ever going to
get off your duffs about this Hoodlum pedal?
Ha ha. Yes, it's taking it's time isn't it? The everyday
running of a small amp manufacturer means that there
is little time to dedicate to research into sideline
products, hence the delay. We still talk about it
so it's still ongoing.
You and Adrian Clark are going to
establish a backing tracks download website. What's
the scoop there?
Adrian and I are just setting this up right now.
We will be offering blues jam tracks as mp3 downloads
at very reasonable prices. For each separate item
you get three main lick examples, a full 12-bar solo
example and then a full 5-minute (approx) dynamic
backing track (not just a loop), and a PDF file of
the transcription. Details to be finalized as yet,
but I think that they will be offered as a batch
of ten at a time. The site will of course be secure
and have all the usual 'try before you buy' audio
examples. Early stages yet, but we have the high
quality jam tracks ready to go so it's just the set
up and legal side to sort out. Check out bluesjamtracks.com at
some point soon.
Over the years you've had dozens
of guitar masters over to your flat to record.
Do you have any fun stories about any particular
visits? Which players have impressed you the most?
Steve Vai was the most impressive purely down to
what he is capable of on the guitar. And also he
has a real presence to him. That gangly body and
saturnine features. A bit scary possibly. I
loved Yngwie just because he is such a character.
He's so full of himself it's not true. But you can't
help but like him because he's down to earth and
vulnerable at the same time. Confusing eh? Joe Satriani
is a lovely man and someone you would like to have
as a friend I'm quite sure. I loved meeting my old
hero Pat Travers. He's still roughing it in a clapped
out old bus with his band, but he has still got the
magic. God bless you Pat. May you live forever. Finally
let me tell you about Zakk Wylde. Big, big fella.
Plays so hard, you think he's gonna break the guitar.
I bought 24 bottles of beer and he drank 18 of them
while he was here and asked if he could take the
other 6 back to the hotel. But of course, yes sir,
please do. I am in awe of not only his playing but
his capacity for booze. I am now his biggest fan.
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