The celebrated NYC-based veteran talks the heyday of New Yorkās jazz scene, playing with the greats, arts funding in America, and more.
Mike Stern has been around the block. The jazz-guitar virtuoso earned his stripes through the ā70s and ā80s in New Yorkās jazz scene, playing 6-string with drummer Billy Cobham before tapping in with artists like Miles Davis and Jaco Pastoriusāeven at a time when guitar wasnāt necessarily a cornerstone piece of a jazz outfit. In this episode of Wong Notes, Stern fills Cory Wong in on the ups and downs of 50 years spent in one of the most complex and underappreciated music genres.
Stern made the leap to New York from Boston when Davis invited him to join his band (back when jazz was the pop music of the day, notes Stern), but it was a rocky rideāStern says he and many other musicians were ābottoming outā from addiction, until a friend went sober and convinced them to give sobriety a try. Stern talks about Milesā hidden love for the guitar, and how he succeeded in fitting into non-guitar environments.
Wong and Stern touch on the decline of arts spaces and cultures in America (thanks, Stern says, to misallocated funding), playing gigs where the band outnumbers the audience members, the benefits of running the same rig in every room, and how to pick the right pickāfor Stern, that involves a bit of wig glue. Tune in to get the details, and be sure to check out our 2018 Rig Rundown with Stern, too.
āGet It Right, Get It Fastā: Jerry Douglas on Bluegrass History and Session Secrets
The legendary Dobro player talks about how to get session work, working with Allison Kraus, and the ābaton passā involved in recording great songs.
Bluegrass music is bigger than a genre. Itās become an entire world of ideas and feelings in the popular American imagination. And musician Jerry Douglas has been a key part of its celebration and revival over the past 30 years. āIt's an old form of music that came from people in the south playing on the porch and became this juggernaut of a genre,ā says Douglas. āItās a character. It's a physical music.ā
Douglas has racked up an impressive cabinet of accolades, including Grammys, American Music Association Awards, and International Bluegrass Music Association Awards. Heās been dubbed the CMA Awardsā Musician of the Year three times, and played with everyone from Allison Krauss and Elvis Costello to Bela Fleck and John Fogerty. Heās an encyclopedic guide to contemporary American roots music, and on this episode of Wong Notes, he walks Cory Wong through the most important moments in his 50-year career.
Tune in to hear Douglasā assessment of bluegrassā demanding nature (āHonestly, there's not so many genres nowadays that require as much technical facility as something like bluegrassā), whatās required of roots players (āGet it right, get it fast, make it hookā), and why the O Brother, Where Are Thou? soundtrack connected with so many listeners. Wondering how to get involved with session work? Douglas says thereās no one-size-fits-all answer, and what worked for him might not work today. The key is to be dynamicāand know when to keep your mouth shut.
There are plenty of gems in this interview, like Douglasā thoughts on what makes a good solo, but the most significant might be Douglasā big takeaway from decades of sitting in on communal roots-music sessions. āWe can play in all genres,ā says Douglas. āWe just have to listen.ā
On this Wong Notes, the legendary Doobie Brother, Steely Dan member, and session weapon talks the science of music and how to defuse conflictāwhether on the world stage or in the sound booth.
āSkunkā Baxter has had an interesting career. The Washington, D.C.-born musician was one of Steely Danās founding members in the early 1970s, and played on some of their most iconic numbers, like Canāt Buy a Thrillāsā āReelinā in the Yearsā and āDo It Again,ā or Pretzel Logicās āRikki Donāt Lose That Number.ā Then, he moved on to join the Doobie Brothers, from roughly 1974 to 1979, where he fatefully invited Michael McDonald into the band. After that stint, he became a go-to session player for artists like Rod Stewart, Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton, and Donna Summer, and a touring performer for Elton John and Linda Ronstadt, among others.
That was just the beginning. Baxterās interest and background in electronics, science, and recording technology gained him a position in the U.S. defense industry. Turns out, a lot of digital music gear shared similar principles with emergent defense tech. āBasically, a radar is just an electric guitar on steroids,ā says Baxter, noting the same four fundamental forces at work over everything in our universe.
Wong and Baxter trades notes on how to navigate studio sessions (āJust shut the hell up,ā offers Baxter), early conversions of pitch into digital signals, and how Baxter cut his solo on Donna Summerās āHot Stuffā on a $25 guitar. And can mediating between artists and producers feel like high-stakes hostage negotiations? Sometimes. Tune in.