ISSUE #38 MMUSICMAG.COM

Q&A Rick Gould

JOE BONAMASSA The dedicated bluesman mines Music City talent for an album of originals

WHEN STARTED Nashville isn’t known as a blues town. You’re not a big fan of recording. work on his 11th solo release, Different It is known as a country town but some of the When I go into the studio, I just want to get Shades of Blue, the guitarist-vocalist most soulful people I know—including great in and out. It’s like going to the doctor’s knew he needed to shake things up. So blues writers—live in Nashville. Some of the office for me. I prefer playing live. Nothing Bonamassa teamed up with top Nashville world’s best players live there. It’s not all Luke makes me happier than doing one or two songwriters—including Jonathan Cain, James Bryan and Taylor Swift. Many artists go there takes and getting out. All the solos on this House and Jerry Flowers—to pen original because that’s where the great musicians are. album, except for one or two, were done tunes. “I owed it to my fans to do an all- live, and there’s not a lot of layering. It original record, and I owed it to myself to Was it a challenging experience? really is old-school. The only thing I don’t prove I could,” he says. With producer I’m of the mind that I’d rather be the worst do while we’re tracking is sing. Chances Kevin Shirley (Journey, , Rush), person in the room than the best person in are I’m chewing gum at the same time and Bonamassa recorded with session pros in the room. I don’t want to be sitting in L.A. something’s gotta give. Las Vegas. “The album has a distinctive feel talking to cats about singles. We don’t do to it,” he says. “It’s bluesier than anything I’ve singles. It was definitely a good experience, Why did you and Kevin Shirley decide done in the past five years.” and I’m going back to Nashville to record to record in Las Vegas? next summer. The writers I worked with are We’ve done four albums there—we mixed Why team with other writers? great lyricists and that’s the name of the one and recorded three. We recorded Because I’m not Bob Dylan, and it’d probably game—if you get a great lyric you can put everything pretty much live except for the take me five years! Necessity is the mother one chord over it and still have a great song. vocals, which were done later because of invention, and a plane ticket is the mother If you put bad lyrics over a beautiful piece of there’s a lot of bleed. We like Vegas and of necessity. Every three or four years I like music, it’s still a bad tune. the Studio at the Palms. It’s a great way to to throw a cherry bomb in my life—shake it get out of town and escape L.A. It’s also a up, do something different. I just said, “I’m Describe the writing process. great way to change your headspace. This going to be involved in writing all the songs, It’s like going to a dinner party. You bring an album is one of the best-received albums I’ve but I’m going to Nashville to work with some appetizer or a bottle of wine. You walk in and done in a long time, if not the best-received. of the greatest songwriters I can think of.” hopefully you’ve got something started and If the fans love it, I’m happy—and if the fans Luckily, they were nice enough to work with they’ve got something started, and that’s hate it, I’m not happy. me. I went to Nashville five times last year. the ballgame. –Jeff Tamarkin

‘If you put bad lyrics over a beautiful piece of music, it’s still a bad tune.’

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M mag 38.indd 24 3/16/15 1:09 AM