Earl Slick In Conversation

Earl Slick In Conversation

High on our target list of musicians we would love to catch up with is American guitar sharpshooter Earl Slick, who we have seen perform with Glen Matlock and the New York Dolls. Of course his work with Lennon and Bowie is key to both these artists’ opera…Ear’s recall is exemplary. So this is two guitar nerds I conversation when Slick’s travels brought him to London…

JLTT: At last we get to speak with the guitar alchemist!

ES: You’re too kind…and it’s a pleasure

Great. Now we saw you at The Boisdale in Canary Wharf in London in Glen Matlock’s group and you managed to make a free-ranging sound out of just an old Telecaster, an Ebow, a fuzzbox and a Buddy Guy polka dot wah-wah. It must be your studio experience but how do you get such a wide-range of sounds out of all that?

You know how? Cause’ that’s how I learnt how to play because all I had was a Telecaster, a little Fender amp and that was kind of it. Until you had to figure out how to use your hands, the amp and the volume and that’s all I used. I got the amp and turned it up to ten and the rest of it is…well, what you hear or have picked up on as a player

You get the sound of the guitar in a very personal way, playing with its nuances.

Absolutely and that’s very astute on your part because a lot of guitarists, especially the ones who started playing in the Eighties they were very reliant on pedals and stuff when the thing is that if you really learn the instrument and the guitar’s relationship to the amp you can get all of that. I hate to lose the sound of the guitar unless I specifically do a fast song which really bends it out of shape and I use it for that specific reason to bend it way out of shape. For the impact required !

See the players I like include Steve Conte, Wayne Kramer, Rory Gallagher and they find a way of getting that very personal sound without relying on sheer volume…rather the dynamics to be explored.

(Nods ) Yeah that’s the same mind-set. All great players.

May I ask you about David Bowie? Your work with Bowie was just fantastic and somebody asked me to mention the Glastonbury Festival set which has come out now. At the time, was it a bit disappointing that David didn’t want that broadcast?

No because he had his own perspective on what he wanted to happen or NOT happen, he made the choices, his name on the release, after all….and because of that judgement he was able to be very particular about what was released because he didn’t want anything other than his best work to be coming out. That’s a personal thing, on his part. If he didn’t feel that for some reason that he didn’t want it out, there was always some substance behind that decision. Which we would not ever question, I would stress.

Gotcha.

It was something we never really spoke about. It could’ve been legal things too I really don’t know because in all honesty I’ve only seen it once.

Okay. A few days on from Glastonbury, you’re all recording a BBC TV show with Gail Ann and all and it is just fantastic – especially Stay. Because you’re doing stuff that wrings the dynamic out of every turn…any memories?

(Sighs) I’m trying to think about that. That’s a while back.

I’ve got a DVD of it and he very proudly introduces the feature of you doing ‘Stay’ which is just tremendous.

Thank you and I love playing that number so when you love playing something you play it better!

The other track which really put me onto you big time, was the old live version of ‘Panic In Detroit’ which I think is from ‘David Live’.

(Thinks) It wasn’t on that original released disc. It was actually a B-Side of a single and then it ended up as a bonus track on the later releases of ‘David Live’.

It was the flip to Knock On Wood, you’re right. Can you remember what guitar you played on that?

It was a 1965 SG Junior.

Oh really? That makes me think of one of the first guys I saw ..Jorma Kaukonen in Jefferson Airplane they used to use SGs a lot and John Cippolina of Quicksilver. Wow. On ‘Station To Station the track, just to go back; is that a Les Paul?

I think primarily it is a Les Paul. I also used a 62’ Strat and my SG again. Those three guitars.

I think I saw you with a Peavey six-string?

(Nods) You know, was a short-lived thing but the guitars that they made they made them to agreed specs

Right…

Basically, specified pickups in them.

With the way you play, the neck setting seems very responsive.

Yes – I only use a neck pickup that has got a little more output to it so I can control it. I like to have it but I very rarely use it to full throttle.

I roll off all the treble to get the axe to sing on the neck pickup.. Can we talk about John Lennon? I thought his guitar work was awesome, very crisp.

(Warmly) You are one of the few people that I have spoken whether it is press or personal who actually acknowledges that and yes, I liked the way John played. The authority…few seem to get it

Just listen to Bowie’s Fame! The cuts I really dig are Nobody Told Me and I’m Losing You

Yeah I love both of those they are two of my favourites. Normally what he would do is he would get everything set up and everybody comfortable and then get to work. He knew what he wanted!

John Lennon and his sense of humour..was that in evidence in the studio?

(Emphatically) All day! Every day ! He was on it all day which made it a great work ethic because you never really felt a lot of the time like you were even working. That’s the ticket man, – if you can be either onstage or recording and you don’t have that self-imposed pressure of “I’ve gotta be perfect and this is really serious.” The best playing I’ve done is when things are kept a touch light-hearted.

We saw you play with The New York Dolls in The Tunnels under Waterloo Station! Have you known them long?

(Laughs) Oh man. We – me and David J – we grew up in the same place and we really didn’t know each other because the two of us were on the opposite sides of town and by the time we hit our early twenties we were both at it and gone and out on the road with our individual projects – me out with Bowie and him with the Dolls. So we never really crossed paths here and we didn’t know each other. When it came up when somebody called me and said “They’d be interested in you doing this tour”.

You seemed to circle the songs like a shark and the plunge in! Because this is something I remember very clearly. The Live At The Bowery record captures this…

It came out pretty well, the lineup clicked…

How did you get Bowie to sing a track on the solo album Zig Zag….the song Isn’t It Evening?

(Smiling) David got himself on that track! There was some studio time for my material. Things started taking shape one time and I thought maybe I should at least throw a few things down and record them. We were in the recording studio somewhere in New York and I spoke to him. I guess David was in there and I didn’t know that and he said something like “Do you think you might need someone to do some percussion or tambourine?” So I sent him about half a dozen rough parts (it was basically some rough acoustic guitar with some chord changes on it). And he wanted to contribute a vocal. Lucky me…

It’s such a haunting song…

The idea was that we didn’t think about it and there wasn’t any other way that we were gonna write a song and put it on the record. There was no great pre-thought. He wrote it just with an acoustic guitar and we built the track around that and then I went in with another version of it and David put some vocal on it.

I’ve got your ‘Lost And Bound’ collection and no offence but it sounds like someone has thrown a stack of musical postcards down in front of me because it doesn’t sound like one style.

No it doesn’t because I had two lead singers in the band who were trading off and it caused the record to have a lack of ,,cohesion overall, I guess. BUT it has some value. I put it out years later because there are some tracks that work really well and why just have the stuff sitting around?

I thought Glen Matlock’s album was the best rock record I heard all of last year and nearly all self-written, bar the Scott Walker tune..the one sad thing is, since Glen recorded that song, Scott has passed on.

I know. Really sad. It is a funny thing because Glen has the Pistols and I have Bowie and sometimes people think that is what we are going to do.

That’s happened to another friend of mine Elliott Randall. Of Steely Dan. He can do SO much! now it is players like you guys that inspire the likes of me.

With Elliott and myself, the way we play guitar even if we do a Bowie or Buddy Guy track but it’s still me. The essence of your guitar playing and the personality of your playing from artist to artist. It is still you and that is something that came naturally to me.

Hopefully my sole cliché question…do you have a favourite recording of yours?

I would say that it would be Stay from ‘Station to Station’ and the title track from ‘Reality’. The thing with the ‘Reality’ one, David stopped touring. Never got much of alive airing. I did a few of these Bowie band things over the years. He was quite a musician and a hell of a songwriter as well.

More live shows?

We are doing the 229 Club in London in August and some festivals…

Use that same kit!

A lot of people don’t know that the way I get a lot of those sounds – that pedal board looks like a toy with a wah-wah pedal and a couple of different fuzz tones. And the Ebow..

I have a couple but I’ve got an ElectroHarmonix Freeze which is useful for sustain..you can hit a note then play over it whilst it continues…

I’ve used the Ebow for many years..yeah it is so distinctive with what it does. When you play a solo on that thing, you are gonna get a lot of weird sounds when you don’t hit the string right on top it. It is a sign of a musical guitar player – it is about the song first and the guitar is there to embellish it and bring the song to another place. That is the whole idea because a song is about the emotion of it and if there is going to be a guitar in there then it needs to enhance that emotion. That’s why some bands can release great records.

I’ve really enjoyed this chat and it has been really long overdue. I get the chance to talk in depth and I really appreciate it.

My pleasure man. It was a really good interview and getting back to Matlock – the thing I like about doing the thing with Glen is I get to use and do all the stuff I enjoy doing and the songs are not all the same. It is good when the material is diverse and cohesive which isn’t easy to do but somehow Matlock figured it out. It makes my job way more enjoyable. We are very like-minded and have fun. Thanks man – I enjoyed your angles and points..

Take care.

Pete Sargeant

(Thanks to Sacha And Earl and Andy R)

Feature Image And Additional Photo Credit: Supplied By PR

Glen Matlock and The Tough Cookies featuring Earl Slick perform on Saturday 10th August 2019 at 229 Club, London, United Kingdom. Tickets onsale here: http://bit.ly/2wBPX9W

In addition, Glen Matlock and The Tough Cookies featuring Earl Slick will also appear at Rock and Horsepower 2019 Presents Golden Stone Years: A Tribute To Brian Jones on Saturday 17th August 2019 at Hurtwood Park Polo Club, Surrey, United Kingdom. Tickets onsale here: http://bit.ly/2OPmPZR

You can read our exclusive interview with Glen Matlock here: http://bit.ly/2OwFyFg

Read our review of Glen Matlock’s latest album ‘Good To Go’ here: http://bit.ly/2NxIepF

RECOMMENDED LISTENING –

Glen Matlock – Good To Go

David Bowie – Young Americans, Station To Station, Glastonbury 2000, A Reality Tour

Earl Slick – Lost & Found, Zig Zag

New York Dolls – Live At The Bowery

John Lennon – (Various solo albums)