How ​Tom Waits gets THE BEST musicians to sound like AMATEURS 

Oh Mr. Gore, you are pure genius!

@@bernsense Far from it, though I appreciate the sentiment! (I say that with authority, because I’m in Salt Lake City right now playing with the guitar octet Another NIght on Earth and the Utah Symphony. I’m kinda the weakest link. Jiji Kim … Daniele Gottardo … Steve Mackie … Them’s the real geniuses. :)

Thanks Joe! It was so interesting and inspirational to watch this. I would love to hear more about what you have learned studying medieval music. Also since you're into Afrobeat, check out Thandiswa Mazwai's recent set on Tiny Desk, blew my mind.

​@@Harrier_DuBois Thanks - I just did! What a lovely voice. It’s not afrobeat - that style comes from Nigeria, and the Africans I played with were mostly from there and Ghana. But that South African style is a HUGE primal influence for me. One of my strongest childhood musical memories was hearing my mom’s Miriam Makeba albums. (She was a Xhosa singer from SA who achieved international popularity in the 1960s.) I’ve loved this one for well over 50 years: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sfQp_W9NIQ8.html Years later, when my attachment to classical music was fraying, I became obsessed with South African pop, especially anything that featured guitarist Marks Mankwane, still one of my absolute faves. Like this one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Y7Kn6UF1-6s.html I spent many, many hours learning to play in this style. Meanwhile, it’s the 30th anniversary of Malcolm McClaren’s brilliant and bizarre Duck Rock album. He went to South and worked with Zulu musicians years before Paul Simon - and ripped them off just as much! Notice any similarity between this song and the one above? (BTW, Duck Rock is also one of Tchad Blake’s favorite albums.) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-q7bw51Aya-4.html Yeah, same song, with McClaren singing nonsense words that sound vaguely like the Zulu lyrics. I love this brilliant Trevor Horn production almost as much as I do the rootsy original. But McClaren stole the songwriting credit and didn’t even list the album’s non-British musicians, like whoever this amazing guitarists is. (Could it have been Mankwane?) Anyway, Zulu and Xhosa music has been part of my sonic mindscape since my grade-school years. :)

I can only see the first part of your reply, the rest is hidden for some reason, but yeah I know it's not really Afrobeat but it is African Jazz. I like Fela Kuti and what his son is doing these days is really cool too, I've played his video of Opposite People with Newen Afrobeat so many times.

This channel is such a "hidden gem" and I hate that phrase because I wish more people could know about it!

Just thought the exact same thing. What a gem.

At least you didn't use the U word ​@@Guysm1l3y

I was so glad when this channel came back from the dead. I missed it when it was gone.

ABSOLUTELY!

Was that a Sears poncho , or a real poncho ?

That is beautiful, why does this make me laugh

@@artonion420 cause it’s a reference to a Frank Zappa Song 😅

@@philipphollebauer9591 i didn’t reply to that comment but sure, I appreciate the reference as well

Absolutely unbelievably great interview. Best ever on You Tube.

Don’t say that about your “uselessness,” Josh! Every guitarist has something unique about their playing - the trick is to find that voice. My path happened to run through theory-heavy academia, so I went with that. But few of my favorite players can even read music, let alone drone on about music theory.

@@joe_gore thanks Joe, very kind and supportive words. Would love to see more of you talking about stories like in this vid.

truth. if we are to aspire to any illusion of mastery, it should be that of the master-amateur. this is part of my code.

I’ve got that move down. ❤

I am the pompous one, am I not? ;)

@@joe_gore Yes, and it was pitch perfect. Love what you do. Can you post a link to your record? I was surprised there isn't one, but maybe I missed it.

Well, where genius's surf...

I hope I don’t get into trouble.

Aw shucks. You’re too kind.

"To bring you my love" has had a huge influence on me. I even had the chance to see PJ Harvey (and Joe !) on this very tour: One of the best gig ever attended. About Joe's amp approach: his Line6 helix presets are worth getting and studying.. There are anything but common.

Totally agree. I wasn’t there for that particular conversation, but it’s a great example of how Tom communicates with his collaborators.

@@joe_gore And the proof of "how it works" is just in the glorious sound of those records. He knows how to utilize the mastery of so many musicians, such as yourself, to be who they are yet do what is part of HIS vision. And what a vision. I would like to hear more about how you see Kathleen interacting in the process. Where is she in all this, I mean physically, but also in a more metaphorical way? I just think that that collaboration needs to be studied in more detail--there truly doesn't seem to be much like it in the parts of musical history that I know of. And thanks for adding these little comments on the comments of others. I want to look for more of your a) interviews and b) SOUNDS.

"Let's grab some tools from the wood shop, some elastic bands, ice cream buckets and a duck call and make the most touching love song ever." For Tom, it works.

I’m 65 now. I wore some makeup (for reals).

@@joe_gore Looks like next time you’re in a video podcast you’ll have to share your skin care routine. Seriously though, thank you so much for sharing all these gems from this little piece of music history and thanks for sharing how you think about music.♥️

Merci beaucoup ! Le plaisir était pour moi, mon copain.

In college I had friend who had been best friends with Leon Redbone's daughter and apparently 1.) neither Tom nor Leon ever drop character-they are their personas-and 2.) they are friends. She said she once slept over at the Redbone's when Tom was there for Leon's birthday party and she said it was the most fun she'd ever had. I can only imagine.

@@joe_gore En français en plus! Fantastique! merci 😉

@@AlexGalt-ch3ei Wow...A perfect sleepover! He is such a genius. Would have been up all night listening to his stories...

@@lareinedemado Mon français est nul, j’ai donc besoin de chaque occasion pour m’entraîner !

So relieved that some people were interested. I knew I was going into megageek territory, but I couldn’t help myself!

Agreed! This kind of content is what RU-vid is for, to me at least. In general I tend to like things that are just a bit beyond my comprehension. Music geeks with passion, love it!

I’ve met her, and she’s awesome. Sadly, I’ve never been in the studio with her, but hope springs eternal!

On a Friday night in the Bay Area, the local KSAN D.J. played the entire Small Change album with no breaks. back then I was listening to Miles Davis, Weather Report, John Mayall, Taj Mahal, Brazilian albums, and lots of soundtracks. I was never the same. Sometimes you have to thank yourself for saving yourself.

Your kind words mean a lot to me!

Hee hee - I was me, not Jack or Ryan, who turned it into a theory class. Sorry about that! 😀

Me tooooooo!

Right?! And so many other musicians too.

What incredibly kind things to say, Joshua! I’m deeply touched. Plus thanks for getting one of my janky pedals! ❤

I worked with a guy in S.F. who came up from L.A. He said Tom was in his Yoga class. I kid you not, and that's probably privileged information.

I’m so glad you liked it!

Thank for that!

Really?! ❤

Awww! Thanks of zillion!

Yes - it’s just brilliant work.

Me too! I saw him live in ‘75 or ‘76, when he was touring “Saturday Night.” I kind of lost touch after the first three or four albums, but Swordfish and Rand Dogs immediately reeled me back in. Never in my wildest dreams …

Nail polish remover will set you free! (But seriously - thanks!)

Thanks, Dan! Feel free to ask me any questions. But I don’t believe there were any room mics - I thing the low B string just overdrove the amp’s preamps and reverb. But then, I was not there for the mix. I remember playing with a loud amp, but a relatively light touch - except for notes like that one.

@@joe_gore Ah man, what a pleasure to get a reply from the very source! Wow, so it’s only obvious to me now that you had the same tuning for “Black Wings” as you did on “Goin’ Out West”. Of course! And listening back to it again, yep, makes total sense that with a light touch throughout the bulk of that solo, you could then get that low B to do that (wonderful) thing by hitting it much harder. I’m a 49 year-old, somehow still full-time musician/producer down here in Melbourne, Australia. I can tell you hand-on-heart that in my final year of high school I was obsessed with Bone Machine, and that particular point of that album (when your guitar went from thin and eerie to suddenly-demonic) was one of it’s most magical moments for me. It opened up my imagination in ways that literally shaped my future. So….thank you! I was fortunate enough to work on two albums with Tchad some years later. Oh and if I still have your attention, another funny story: about ten years ago I was introduced to Johnny Marr by a friend at a bar in LA. Lovely guy, but I was a little strapped for something to talk about. Then I remembered something. I told him about buying a Guitar Player magazine when I was a kid that had him on the cover. I told him how much I loved that interview with him, because he got really stuck into Yngwie Malmsteen and was generally dismissive of all the shred-lords that dominated the scene. A phenomenon I was equally bewildered by at the time. I told him how in that interview, his focus on song-based playing really influenced me as a young person. He told me he remembered that interview well! And largely because he received hate-mail for months from the “big hair army”! That interview was with you of course. So thank you again!

I Love! that! Yeah, that’s pretty much where I went in my book, suggesting that modes as they’re conventionally regarded are bullshit. I believe modern listeners hear in major and minor, with varying degrees of chromaticism. For the 97,000 reasons I think we look at modes the wrong way, check the interminable fina chapter!

The pleasure was quite literally mine! Thanks for listening to me pontifacte!

I hope you like it! Just a few minutes I finished the first rehearsal for an orchestral version scored by David Robertson for the Utah Symphony. I had to relearn and memorize a lot of stuff!

Are you kidding? It was an honor and a pleasure to participate. :)

I wished I remembered more of his jokes and comments. He really is convulsively hilarious.

@@joe_gore “convulsively hilarious” 🤣 I love it !!!! Well we just have to hang out together for an eternity in an abandoned farm in purgatory to hear the rest of Tom’s stories. 👍🫶

Well, I do love the sound of my own voice a little too much for my own good. ;)

About that Vernon story: Right after Tom Wheeler at Guitar Player hired me, I said we should do a Vernon story (I learned about him from Musician magazine, the best music publication of the era.) It was Tom who suggested making it a cover story, and it was my very first. Mind you, this was before “Cult of Personaity” became a hit, so he was really taking a leap in putting a little-known guitarist on the cover. Happily, the song had become a radio hit by the time the magazine came out. The coolest part is that Vernon and I are still in touch. Aside from his playing skill, he talks about music with more passion and insight than almost anyone I know. He it truly a voice of wisdom, and he’s every bit as cool as you’d hope.

@@joe_gore thanks for taking the time to reply, I've been a LC and Vernon+his many projects fan since that edition of GP and seen them many times, so thanks to Tom W as well for the intro via that editorial decision. That article really did pique my interest and I followed up on every reference therein, from his Smash & Scatteration project with Bill Frisell to Ronald Shannon-Jackson which brought me to Last Exit and Sonny Sharrock. Agree completely, Vernon has a world view that both intrigues and informs in equal measure with his wisdom, wit and creative artistry - waiting for the day he puts pen to paper in long form. I've corresponded occasionally on Twitter with him and he is always so generous with his time and insight. Reckon Jack and Ryan need to get him on Dead Wax.... In the meantime I'll go listen to some Free Form Funky Freqs and refresh on "All Stripped Down" 😀 - thanks again Joe, Ewan.

Welcome aboard!

I'm glad you found it worthwhile. Jack and Ryan's edit makes me a lot more interesting than I am in real life.

Sorry - I couldn’t help myself! 🌹