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| From | Kerry Kompost <kerry_kompost@yahoo.com> |
| Subject | Re: Discovering Bobby Sutliff |
| Date | Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:03:55 -0800 (PST) |
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I’ve been on this list for ten years now – you know
how you hear about all these bands over the years, and
you file ‘em away in what’s left of your memory for
whatever reason, and you never really get the chance
to check ‘em out, but you know you should?
That’s been my experience with regard to countless
Audities-style bands – sometimes, there’s simply not
enough hours in a day (or money in the bank) to check
everything out. So I take what I can in bits and
pieces, hearing an artist on a compilation here, a
CD-R there, an MP3 now and again. You know the drill.
I’d heard tales of Bobby Sutliff’s guitar prowess here
on Audities on more than a few occasions, but the
references to “country twang” and “roots rock” in
regard to The Windbreakers and his solo career
influenced me to put him in the “I’ll check it out
when I get a chance” category. No offense intended,
but I’m just not much of a roots-rock or alt-country
guy.
Anyway, I’m reading John Borack’s excellent book
“Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Powerpop Guide” and
listening to the accompanying CD, when this song
starts off with a very intriguing piano part draped in
a heavy acid-psyche vibe. I’m thinking, “This sounds
cool.” The song then goes off in more of a traditional
rock-song vein, and I drift back into my reading. I
check out the back page and see that the song I’m
hearing is a Windbreakers tune, so I pay a little more
attention to the guitar playing. I’m hearing the
rhythm guitars – good, solid playing, a few melodic
riffs here and there, some basic layering of acoustic
and electric guitars -- nothing out of the ordinary,
really, just solid playing, no frills.
I go back to reading as the song plays on, telling me
something about going crazy, of voices in the head.
Rock and roll, waiters and gentlemen.
Suddenly, the traditional rock song veers off of a
limestone cliff –- both hands gripping the steering
wheel, white knuckles and all -- and this cavernous,
echo-y, huge electric guitar swoops in out of nowhere,
soaring over this Mariana Trench of a chord change.
I’m stunned; the book drops to the floor. The soloist
wrenches unexpected, left-field melodies from the
instrument, beautiful “blue notes” scattered here and
there like maple leaves on a mill pond in October,
skating oh-so-playfully over the music, masterfully,
emotionally. I’m dragged, willingly, along for this
angular sonic ride, the searing melodies going from
major to minor keys – and back -- in seconds, flurries
of neon-green sonic stabs lighting the midnight sky of
my mind like Aurora Borealis in March.
Hit rewind and let’s hear that sucker again! (Note: no
matter how hard you try, you can never, ever recapture
that first moment of hearing a piece of music that
blows you away; it’s like heroin in that regard, or so
I’ve been told). Again, the guitar glides over the
bottomless pit; man, what interesting phrasing (notes
played as if they were spoken words -- swear words,
that is)! What cool note choices (nary a Guitar
Player(tm) cliche in there)! What utterly aggressive
and emotional playing! I’m reminded of the sublime
guitarist Steve Hackett (Genesis) for some odd reason
– the intelligence-fused-with-emotion of the soloist
causes me to mentally place him in the same general
box along with Jeff Beck, Mike Keneally and Dave
Gregory, the box labeled “Guitarists Who
Kill/Guitarists I Need to Learn From.”
About a year or two ago, I asked Bobby – via this list
– for some starting points with regard to his favorite
guitar-centric original recordings. I assume his sense
of humility wouldn’t allow him to toot his own horn
here (or anywhere), and I never heard back from him,
never followed up with him; my loss.
So I’m asking Auditeers for suggestions as to where to
start with Bobby’s most crazy guitar stuff -- you
know, those “you really shouldn’t have played that,
that’s too weird” solos and guitar craziness that I
love so much. I don’t care if it’s roots-y or twangy
-- if there’s thoughtful, emotional, left-field guitar
playing, that’s enough for me (one AMG review of one
of the Windbreaker’s songs said the guitar solo was
“overwrought”, which, as any self-respecting musician
knows, is utter bullshit, and of course I have to hear
it now LOL).
Thanks to John Borack for an excellent guide, to Bobby
for being exactly who you are as a musician, and to
any Auditeers who can steer me over the limestone
cliffs...
kErrY
www.myspace.com/kompost
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