We’ve been talking a lot about Bob Gatewood in the past few weeks, in addition to playing music from his latest CD, which is called Be Good To Yourself.
Being big fans of the late great power pop musician Will Owsley, we were happy to come across the following note from Bob and it’s a very cool gesture on Bob’s part, so we had to share it here.
Read on…
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Hello Fans of Will Owsley,
Will’s sister, Lucie Owsley, invited me to write about some of my experiences with Will and some of the recording I did with him. I am happy to do so. I am a musician from the Lake Erie Island town of Put-in-Bay, Ohio. I recorded an album of my songs with Will Owsley in 2001 that I am really proud of, “Finally Home”. We were joined in the studio by some of Will’s friends, all of them Nashville luminaries and session masters, as well as a couple of legendary rock musicians.
A friend sent me a copy of “Owsley” in 1999 or so. It was reminiscent of the music I love, and it was written and performed and recorded so very well, it just knocked me out. I was preparing for my next album at the time, so, one day I was on the phone with my producer, Tom Bukovac, and told him about it. Tom is the guy that the Academy of Country Music has been calling the Best Guitarist of the Year for a few years now, but, I am just happy to call him my old friend. And, I am very lucky that he really likes to record the songs I write.
I Told Tom that I wanted to send him a cd that was just knocking me out by a guy named Will Owsley.
Tom said, “Will Owsley? On Giant Records? He lives here in Nashville and he’s a good friend of mine. I’m playing on his next record and I booked him to play lead guitar for yours.”
Well, imagine what a nice surprise that was.
Will Owsley performed many of what we call “track makers” on that album. There are several examples and one comes to mind right away. It is the intro to a song called “Did We Try”. Will imagined a beautiful sound, then performed a difficult guitar riff to pull it off. It was amazing. The sound was so cool, it was sampled and repeated it a few times during the song. It is a very unique combination of techniques that I have never heard anywhere else.
I can explain in non-musician terms how he did it – I think:
1. Wielding his trusty vintage dot-neck Gibson 335,
2. He played a “12th-fret harmonic G-chord” (imagine an electric harp, but not exactly).
3. One of his guitar pickups was set to “full-on” and one was set to “full-off”.
4. This allowed him to toggle between the two pick ups, like Pete Townsend, to make an “on-off-on-off” effect, in time with the music.
5. While this was going on, he brought the volume up and then down with one foot on a volume pedal.
6. Then, as if there wasn’t enough going on already, he does a different pattern with the other foot on his Wah-Wah pedal!
Who thinks to do THAT? It was just the idea of the moment with Will Owsley. Two hands. Two feet. Brilliant!
You can hear one of the sections in which the sound was used if you click the play button next to “Did We Try”, and you’ll hear what might be described as “landing and taking off”, but I’m not really sure.
Check it out: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/gatewood
While I write this, an idea has occurred to me that might let me return Will’s favor a little.
TO ALL FANS OF WILL OWSLEY:
If you purchase the song, “Did We Try”, as a single or album or cd, 100% of the income from that song (less sales tax) will go to Will Owsley’s Children, right up until Christmas of this year, 2011!!
The recording was made by me, Will, and a bunch of Owsley recording friends. It won all sorts of awards and I believe is very good.
Let me know if you are a fan of Owsley’s when you buy it and I will send it all to the kids until Christmas!
You can find “Did We Try” at all your favorite online stores, but they keep a big chunk of the money, so, please visit: www.shop.bobgatewood.com.
Sincerely,
Bob Gatewood
