I’ve found that the truly great musicians play music every chance they get.
For the past four years,
I've worked with Randy
Owen, lead singer for the band
Alabama. Because Alabama has
enjoyed 41 No. 1 songs and
sold over 73 million records,
there's a truckload of material
for a set list, and shows tend
to run long. Randy tries to
keep the fans happy by playing
everything—and sometimes
even taking requests. One
of the cool things about the
Randy gig is that, even after
a marathon concert of two
to four hours, Randy will sit
around on his bus playing guitar
and singing. He cannot get
enough. Randy, along with the
rest of Alabama (Teddy Gentry
and Jeff Cook), is an incredibly
musical guy with a great
work ethic.
Last week, I was lucky
enough to play a private
party with the band. As I
took the stage, I looked out
in the crowd and saw Steven
Tyler, Brad Whitford, and
Joey Kramer of Aerosmith.
About 35 hit songs into the
set, Randy invited them
onstage and handed his Strat
to Whitford, who promptly
ripped into that unmistakable
“Walk This Way" riff
while Kramer smacked out
that funky groove behind me.
We all joined in. Tyler started
singing and moving the way
only he can, and the crowd
went crazy.
After an extended jam,
Kramer ended the song. By this
time, our set had run too long,
but Whitford began riffing a
greasy blues thing in E. Tyler
turned to Randy and asked,
“What's he playing—is this one
of your songs?" Randy replied,
“I have no idea—he's your guitar
player!" Tyler and Randy
began improvising lyrics, then
Randy started scat singing and
Tyler did a harmonica solo that
was pure genius.
When it finally ended, we
were way past quitting time.
Randy said goodnight to the
crowd, and the Alabama and
Aerosmith guys graciously
hung around and posed for
photos until a road manager
said, “The helicopter is waiting.
We really have to go."
I packed up my gear and set
out in search of a post-show
beer. I walked out front to the
bar, where a little country band
was playing “Tulsa Time."
Whitford was up there with
them, playing a goldtop Les
Paul with P-90s. Apparently,
on the way to the chopper, he
heard a groove and jumped
onstage for a quick jam. Tyler
was standing at the foot of the
stage, watching and listening
while he bobbed his head to
the music. Much like a postshow
Randy Owen, these guys
just could not stop.
I've found that the truly
great musicians play music
every chance they get. It's not
about the money, the fame, or
the approval (although I'm sure
all of these added benefits are
wonderful). They do it because
they need to make music.
A few more examples: I was
playing a TV-show wrap party
at B.B. King's Blues Club in
Nashville when former Bad
English singer John Waite
staggered onto the stage and
slurred, “N a stong, I'm ...
end a Rock ... owed." Taking
an educated guess, I stomped
on my overdrive and launched
into the Zep's “Rock and Roll."
When Waite heard the riff, he
suddenly became the perfect
British Rock God. He literally
out-sang Robert Plant's version
and looked great doing it. He
finished with a slam of the mic
stand then stumbled off into
the night. The transformation
was nearly superhuman,
which made for an incredible
performance.
Not long after, I was playing
a tip gig with a throw-together
band at Tootsies in
Nashville when Chad Kroeger
of Nickelback walked up to the
stage and stuck a century note
in our tip jar. I asked, “Want
to sing?" He grabbed the mic
and said, “Sure. Drums, give
me a ba da da, da, ba, da da,
da beat. Guitar, hit a low-E
chord." Kroeger began singing
CCR's “Born on the Bayou"
and we fell into his swampy
groove. Not only did Chad
lead the band through his
own uniquely bluesy arrangement,
but he nailed that nearly
impossible Fogerty vocal line.
The monitors were terrible, the
soundman was nonexistent,
and the band was unfamiliar—
and yet he managed to pull off
a jaw-dropping performance.
Two months ago, I was
musical director for a multi-act
benefit where American Idol
winner Kris Allen was slated
to sing three of his songs with
the band. After a long day of
travel and soundcheck, Allen
gave a great performance. After
the event, those of us in the
house band were contracted to
do a two-hour dance set, while
the stars were free to leave. I
saw Allen hanging out by the
side of the stage. I gave him a
shout out and he immediately
jumped onstage, grabbed an
extra guitar, and led us through
five or six classic country covers.
Given his pop-star status,
it was amazing to witness his
encyclopedic knowledge of
country music. Despite his
long day and early flight out in
the morning, it was remarkable
that he chose to jam for free
rather than get some much-needed
sleep.
In early August, I was recording
in Greece when the band I
was working with was invited
to a dinner party at Vangelis'
house in Athens. (Vangelis is
the Greek composer best known
for his scores for Chariots of Fire
and Blade Runner.) We arrived
about 10 p.m. Appetizers lasted
until 11. Dinner took us past
midnight. Desert and coffee
lasted until 1 a.m. By then, I
was deliriously tired and eager
to leave because I had a 7 a.m.
international flight the next
day. Then Vangelis invited us
into his living room, which
had two grand pianos, a few
harps, a PA, some guitars,
and a keyboard. He sat at the
keyboard and said, “Come
play." Somebody handed me a
guitar, our keyboard player, Ty
Bailey, sat at one of the grands,
and we improvised for over an
hour, moving seamlessly from
one cinematic, trance-inducing
melody to another. Vangelis
was excited to play—like a little
kid. I think he staged the lavish
party just to get a few people to
play with him.
Forgive the shameless name-droppery,
but these firsthand
experiences illustrate a point:
The common denominator in
phenomenal musicians is their
absolute love of playing music.
They are sensational because
they do it all the time. It truly
is about the music.
John Bohlinger is a Nashville multi-instrumentalist best know for his work in television, having lead the band for all six season of NBC's hit program Nashville Star, the 2011, 2010 and 2009 CMT Music Awards, as well as many specials for GAC, PBS, CMT, USA and HDTV.
John's music compositions and playing can be heard in several major label albums, motion pictures, over one hundred television spots and Muzak... (yes, Muzak does play some cool stuff.) Visit him at youtube.com/user/johnbohlinger
or facebook.com/johnbohlinger and check out his new band, The Tennessee Hot Damns.