The guitarist goes long on influences, nontraditional structure, his signature style, and what happens when the band “trainwrecks” during a live show.
We know what you’re thinking: Dave Navarro is gonna talk about the onstage brawl. But Cory Wong starts this episode of Wong Notes with an important caveat. This show was recorded long before the awful breakdown and confrontation between Navarro and Jane’s Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell, so don’t expect any salacious gossip. But that just makes this episode all the more interesting.
Navarro talks Wong through his formative influences, from Hendrix, Zeppelin, and the Doors to Maiden, heavy metal, and goth. That melting pot, he says, became one of Jane’s Addiction’s calling cards: “Perry and Eric [Avery] ended up in a band that is influenced by bands they hate,” laughs Navarro, who geeks out on Rush and prog-rock.
Navarro discusses how Jane’s Addiction has a propensity for jamming live, a practice developed out of a mutual appreciation for nontraditional song structures. But the delineations can sometimes go wrong. “We do run into trainwrecks,” says Farrell. “Sometimes we’ll find ourselves in a part that we’re vibing on, and we’ll keep going, and Perry doesn’t know what we’re doing. He’ll come in and it’s in the wrong place, and we’re fucking him up.”
Tune in to hear Navarro talk his “rabbit hole de jour” practice style, how to exercise your fingers and your brain, and a lead technique he calls “the Navarro smear.” All this and more on this latest episode of Wong Notes.
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Constructed with solid flamed Hawaiian koa back and sides, paired with a solid spruce top, this guitar is designed to offer rich, balanced tone with articulate highs and warm lows.
The HG-28 introduces a new approachable body size to the Martin line, best described as a smaller 14-fret sloped-shoulder Dreadnought with the depth of a 000. Anyone who picks up this guitar will instantly notice how comfortable it is. Like a new, old friend. It's ideal for players who cherish the robust Dreadnought sound in a more comfortable size.
At the heart of the HG-28 is its construction from solid flamed Hawaiian koa back and sides paired with a solid spruce top. This choice of tonewoods not only delivers a stunning aesthetic but also ensures a rich, balanced tone with articulate highs and warm lows.
Whether you're strumming chords or picking intricate island melodies, its shorter 24.9” scale length offers a more relaxed string feel and excellent response. The HG-28 plays easily with low action and feels right at home in standard tuning or any one of several slack key open tunings such as open G, which is widely used in Hawaiian-style guitar music.
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