Johnny Marr - "The Headmaster Ritual" - Fender Amps Interview 2009 

Headmaster Ritual is literally a perfect song

One of the few men alive who can get away with saying Rifftastic

He wishes he wrote All Day and All of the Night, but he literally *Wrote This Charming Man* ?????

He is an Original. Nobody sounds like Johnny Fuckin Marr

'The Headmaster Ritual' always slays me. It's probably my favorite Smiths song, with some of the greatest guitar work ever written and played. It proves that heartfelt rhythm playing can be more effective than wild soloing. All young guitarists need to listen to Marr's work.

3:51 God that’s such a good riff. Gave me goosebumps...

I can literally sit for hours and watch Johnny noodle away.

6:20 Thats when starts playing "the headmaster ritual" riff ;)

Johnny Marr in the Smiths is one of the most underrated guitar players of the last 30yrs. The smiths wrote so many good songs. Morrisey, Johnny Marr & Andy Rouke all complimented each other so well. Marr plays like nobody else. The riffs he comes up with are so musical & complicated, i have no idea how he came up with that stuff. When he plays them it looks effortless, but try to play it & you realize its damn hard. The Smith's, imo, deserved more credit than they got.

Best guitarist of all time!!!!!

Best quote-- 5:30 -- "...it never gets too Harley-Davidson....I'd take a scooter over that any day, really..."

Only Johnny Marr could have inspired me to pick up a guitar after 20 years. Just hearing that fender twang and his choice of chords makes me want to play again

"I personally prefer this, well frankly because Fender is paying me"

honestly. when I just started to learn guitar, I thought johnny marr was really not that great, but now that I play more and improve more, more I see the genius of his playing.

the nicest person I've ever met in the the music industry, and my fave guitarist, to shake the hand of this guy that has played most of my favourite songs was insane, I love you Johnny Fucking Marr x

When I listen to today's indie, rock bands all I hear is Johnny Marr on the guitar playing!! He was so far ahead of his time. Its really remarkable

I could watch these videos of Johnny all day....and probably will.

if it wasn't for Johnny Marr, I wouldnt had picked up the guitar.

I love his version of "all day and all of the night", the tone he gets at 1:14 is just quintessential early 1960's rock n'roll

Play the chords to Beatles songs alone in your bedroom and they sound flat unless you sing a melody against them. Play the chords to "Headmaster's Ritual" (or practically anything else Johnny Marr wrote) and they explode into life all by themselves.

3:51 one of the best guitar riffs ever written.

Every freaking time I hear the opening riff to "What Difference Does It Make? ," I am just thankful that I was alive during the time when the Smiths made music. Killer music. Damn, as many times as I have heard that riff, I just caught myself smiling yet again when he was playing the first 20 notes...

1:15 Johnny Marr wishes that he had written the riff from "All Day and All of the Night" by The Kinks but in my opinion, the riff from his song "The Messenger" is just as fantastic.

The way those open notes ring out in that lick from The Headmaster Ritual are just mind blowing

I was genuinely enjoying Johnnys personal stories and then he played a few riffs that took me back to my optimistic youth! Such a charming man❤️

Describing your music as a Lambretta over a Harley Davidson is one of the most genius descriptions I think I've ever heard. He's like "There's nowt wrong with a Harley it just ain't for me". God bless you Johnny Marr.

My favorite line in Headmaster Ritual: He does the mili-try two step down the nape of my neck. *Brilliant*

I learned so much....what a teacher and a gentleman

Every time I watch Johnny play it makes me wanna go plug in and rip

I started off a Harley guy, got into more expressive players like you and synthesizers as well. Thanks for the quality and integrity over the years, you are one of a kind and you have been for a long time. To have an individual voice in art is as rare as it gets, and as good as it gets in my opinion.

God bestowed Johnny Marr with wizardry. The licks from "This Charming Man", "Headmaster Ritual"? C'mon. Some girls are bigger than others apparently.

JHONNY YOU ARE A PART OF MY LIFE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR MUSIC

still the cooolest guitarist ever. Hearing those Smiths riffs bring a tear to the eye

I haven't a clue what the man is saying about Attitude and Harley Davidsons, but that doesn't distract from the fact that Johnny Marr is one of the greatest guitarists that has ever walked the face of the earth. Those riffs are unforgettable, singular, and inspired countless other artists.

His playing never fails to impress. Doesn't need to shred yet his style is instantly recognisable.

Absolute legend!

Hard to find someone as articulate about Guitar culture as this. Metaphor use is usually confined to color and size .... but “I’ll take a scooter over a Harley” is just a great way to put it in perspective.

Al Pacino is good in this one. Such a great actor! Is this a new Spinal Tap-like movie or is this old??

07:30 - nonchalantly, '....so it works for that...' as if he had not just made jaws drop.

Legendary guitar tunes, Johnny is the Maestro of melodic guitar players...LOVE U JM!!

Britain isn't producing these kind of great artists anymore :-(

I could watch 5 hours of this.

Guys, please do a re union tour before i die. I'm 50 now, so time is running out. I bought all your albums in the 80s, so you owe me this . :) Thank you....

he loves his guitar so much he sleeps with it and i say that lovingly. he is a beautiful musician

I could listen to him talk and play all day

F me, man, I literally started crying shortly after he started in on "Headmaster Ritual", I didn't see it coming, f%&k! I'm not a kid anymore, have three kids who've already grown and moved out, I've lived through a lot, but there is something that Marr's playing does that nobody else ever comes close, he is way beyond "guitar player", that level of melancholically (?) beautiful melodizing is freaky, he makes it look so easy, but even when he's just screwing around he's still working from that Next Level, and it goes way beyond technical proficiency, he isn't just Singing Through The Guitar, he's singing through it with multiple voices at once, an entire mini-orchestra at his fingertips. I listen to tons of fingerstyle guitarists, soloists, Chord Masters, Jazz-Rock, Blues, you name it, but he literally plays like there are four of him inside the controlling just those two hands and frigging bleeding through the guitar strings, it's mesmerizing, heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. I haven't been able to sleep all night, I got on the "Johnny Marr Train", and before I knew it, I'd been up all night, his playing and arrangements still affect me like they did when I was a teenager. My teenage son, a decent player in his own right with shockingly good taste for a Millennial, discovered Marr and The Smiths on his own. He goes to an Expeditionary Model school, he plays guitar 5 days a week in school, has performed live in front of large crowds several times already, was a finalist in a recent eTown "Young Songwriter's Contest" that was recorded and broadcast, just played another instrument on a song his friend cut in their Studio a couple of days ago, he gets to play a lot more than I did at his age, my dad absolutely tried to discourage me from doing the same when I was his age, I didn't really start playing 6-8 hours a day until I was in College, and then at the expense of time with my thing wife and children, we're really privileged to live near this school, it's the main reason we've never moved out of State the past few years, with far too many people flooding into Colorado, killing what it used to be. My older kids couldn't handle the Melancholia of the '80s and '90s "Alternative Music" that I constantly listened to and played, and along with on my guitar, when they were younger, so my teenage son never heard me play those Smiths/Cure/Jane's Addiction/New Order/Alice In Chains mix tapes or CD's, those got banned from the house by my wife, not wanting our little ones to slit their wrists or something. But my teenage kid winds up finding all the music I loved in College and High School without me ever playing it for him; it's cool and odd at the same time: he always thinks he's discovered somebody I don't know, shocked to find my iPod Nano is already loaded with them, and I still have boxes of Mixtapes in the shed the same. He never bothers with my iPod or my phone, he's had access to his own tablets, laptop, and phone for years, and, because I've mainly been playing Celtic Fingerstyle and Bebop the past few years, he's wrongly assumed that's all that's in my Playlist. This past year my middle son gravitated towards Marr and Navarro, on his own, both whom have a similar vibe, as well as having a huge influence on my playing when I was younger, through to today, albeit in a different context (I recall seeing some Guitar writer liken Navarro to a "high gain Johnny Marr", quite agreed, though Marr takes the cake, IMHO). I love that my "boy" gets Johnny, it doesn't need to be explained to him, he can feel what he's saying, deeply, he hasn't yet developed the emotional self-restraint/numbness we tend to develop as we get older and have to survive some very tough times, and when he wants to tell me about how it affects him, he plays it instead of explaining it with words, rare in this day, I think, to have such concord with anyone young, especially my own son. There are so few musicians out there that days who can do this on guitar, IMHO, not like Marr, not with both the feeling and the structure he manages to pull off without devolving into eventually-detached deconstructions (which, though understandable, given how bored musicians can get with their Standards, sometimes loses something that made the original so magic). I've seen Morrissey live twice, but was let down by the crude, rockabilly-clone guitar sound of his current guitarist, and find a lot of it vapid and repetitive, he's just not the Foil to - and inspiration for - Morrissey that Marr was...how could he be? I don't believe they'll ever really get together again, Moz has minimized Johnny's contributions too often and too loudly, sadly, but if I had to lock just one of them, it's Marr, all day long. I'd take a Smiths reunion (maybe minus Joyce, he pissed on it), of course, but this is somehow both fresh and still bearing the magic of the original, quite a feat, in my book.

you can see that this was in the middle of him designing his jag I only noticed because I couldn't see the signature on the headstock and then I noticed that he hadn't done up the rhythm circuit into the hi-pass filter thing yet. He has the mustang bridge, the white on white colour scheme, he has the whammy bar staying in place thing and also the tele pickup switch, but the other things i mentioned aren't done yet. I think its just cool do see this stage in his guitar designing process

Johnny versatility is unmatched .

Genius, you are already a legend.

I love how Johnny plays: Its always exciting! while it isn't necessarily difficult to play, it's fiercely original without being to far gone from rock

one of the cleanest all rounders. understated. legend

I want to give this man a massive hug! Johnny Marr is a MOD!

God that amp sounds amazing

From about 00:20 to 00:54 he's playing "Dogs of Lust" by The The. Such a good song!

Go Johnny Go 🎸

I Want to give Johnny Marr a MASSIVE Hug ! xx WE ARE THE MODS! XX

Headmaster Ritual sounds great here. Then again, it always does! :-)

6:06 Always lovely to see him play but the records don't have any of the drive he has on these settings, Headmaster Ritual for example sounds nothing like this, it's super clean with some phaser/flanger giving some texture.

guitar beast and the most humble guy ever

Wow, Tony Montana is a great guitarrist.

I see it's a bit like "Some Girls are Bigger than Others" when stripped down at 7:02.

wow i wish more people would play like this guy!

LEGEND NEVER DIE .

Me all time favorite rock guitarist.

Pure Artistry: Inspired countless bands with his distinctive sound...I hear it all over the musical spectrum

Thank you Johnny.

Thank you for this leson

his "What Difference Does it Make?" riff is pretty bad ass too!

A lot of what he said went over my head if I’m honest,but speaking as a layman all I can add is his sound just sounds so bloody good!

As with any artist, it is so novel to hear how he uses each tool for a specific range and quality, to blend an overall project. This is actually fusion. He does so much on his own to build the body of his music, that arrangement and post production seems easier than many other artists. Also, in the comment 'Don't want to play distorted cause you can't come back from it.' Usually this is true. But Hendrix played with this a LOT; distortion and back to rhythm.

The perfect blend of Mod and Rocker.. Johnny, thanks!

Goosebumps.

The Dean of post-punk UK Guitar. Respect.

"It never gets too Harley Davidson, I could appreciate that vibe, but for me it's always got to be like, you know, I'd always take a scooter over that, any day really"....... sounds like something Nigel Tufnel (SPINAL TAP) would have said! :D

Johnny Marr tuning up is better than 99% of the musicians out there.

"It works for that". Master of the understatement....

7:01 is pure beauty

What a beautiful person x

In a class of his own. Thxu

Love this man.

Awesome!

Caught his show in Philly. He's a god.

I love watching Johnny Marr discuss his process for composing riffs.

One of the greatest guitar heroes! If you don't know him, you don't know anything about rock-n-roll.

I'm surprised I've never heard him say it, but he's going after the surf rock guitar tone!

Amazing musician and good music...

My favorite guitarist of all time, hands down.

Simply amazing...

Love his sound. Trying to get there, Brilliant!

5:45 is why Marr is so so cool. Metal culture. Pah. Totally 100% agree with him. I'd take a scooter over a Harley Davidson any day too!

I lovvvve Johnny Marr!!!!!!!!

Master of riffs

The headmaster ritual!!!! Great song!!

0 dislikes... the world DOES make sense after all!

'You don't want it to get too Harley Davidson' haha true

Bloody brilliant genius

Unique guitarist, still dazzling and unmatched.

3:52 is fucking unreal What Difference Does It Make?

Maybe I'm blind, but I don't see that many people recognize that this man is a genius.

I could listen to him banging on about music while fannying about on guitars all fucking day. Met him once, didn't shake his hand, regret that. 😔