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Guitar legend John McLaughlin answers your questions

15th Sep 2012 | 17:27

Plus: The Beatles or The Stones, and why?

On 16 October, John McLaughlin will release his 24th solo album,
Now Here This, a stunning set of originals that finds the worldrenowned guitar legend playing with the kind of unbridled musical
spirit that prompted even Jeff Beck to declare him to be "the best
guitarist alive."
"It's a very special album, and I'm so proud of it," says McLaughlin,
brimming with good-natured cheer as he kicks back in his hotel room just
off Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. "You know, I'm 70 years old, and I still
feel like there's so much I have to do. There's a lot to discover, so many
questions to answer."
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On the subject of questions, we came armed with a bunch of them - from

MusicRadar readers, no less. Plus, we threw in an all-time favorite of our
own, one which has been known to break up bands, friendships and
marriages for the past five decades. "Go for it," McLaughlin says with a
laugh. "I'm feeling good and ready."
Jim Williams asks, What kind of guitars are you playing these days?
"I've got a PRS. The wood is so beautiful it's like violin wood. It's got the
McCarty pickups. Last year, I got a prototype of a WiFi guitar MIDI. How's
that for amazing? I don't have it installed on the PRS yet; it's installed on
my Godin Freeway. On my new record, I used that guitar for the MIDI,
and for the electric guitar I used the PRS.
"I'll tell you about my rig, as well. I don't use an amp anymore I use
tube preamps. From there I go into the monitor and the front of house.
This Zendrive pedal is really fantastic. It's only got one tube in it, but it's
very good. I used it on the new album."
Lee Freeman asks, Why Now Here This rather than Now Hear This?
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"Because 'Now Hear This' sounds like the old 17th Century: 'O ye, o ye!
Now hear this!' I'm not admonishing anybody. It's actually a lot more zen,
the title. At my age, every moment is real. So there's no message, but
that's it. Now this is the moment we have. Here that's the moment
where we are. This that's what's in front of us. Sure, it's a double
meaning with the words."
Terry Eagleton says, I understand there's an influence of Indian
music on your new record. What did you think of George Harrison
and how he incorporated Indian music into his work?
"This is not a new thing for me, my use of Indian music. I recorded an
album in India a few years ago, Floating Point, and the drummer on that,
Ranjit Barot, is now the drummer in my band. Ranjit is Indian and he
grew up with Indian music, but he plays Western drums, so he's got the
best of both worlds. He's simply outstanding. I think this band has never
sounded better, and I'm so happy with the new record.
"George Harrison. I loved George. I mean, we're both two old hippies,
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aren't we? [laughs] Like George, I had the privilege of studying with Ravi
Shankar. Ravi taught me about North Indian music, South Indian music
so many things. What George did was wonderful. The movie that
Scorsese made on him you know, I'm not even a fan of Scorsese, but I
really enjoyed that documentary. The way he treated George was
beautiful. We see him as the special person he was. What he did on the
song Within You, Without You was fantastic. He wasn't a great sitar
player, but it didn't matter. He brought the color.
"That was an important time in the '60s. We were all trying to answer big
questions: Who are we? What is real? What is the meaning of life? The
Beatles, The Beach Boys people were looking East for inspiration.
George was the most well-known of the musicians doing that, so his work
was very special."

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McLaughlin on stage with his new Paul Reed Smith Private Stock Violin
guitar. Andrea Palmucci
Stelly D asks, How do you go about recording nowadays? Do you
embrace a lot of new technology, or are you fairly old school?
"I absolutely love the new technology. Everybody records straight to disc
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now. Recording to tape it's probably been 15 years since I've seen a
tape machine in a studio. So I do direct to disc recording, and of course,
there's some wonderful plug-ins now it's tremendous. The speed of
mixing is unbelievable.
"I know a lot of people overdub while recording, but I still like to play live.
You can't re-create a live vibe. You may be able to perfect your
performance with overdubs, but you can't improve a feeling. Whether
we're on stage or in the studio, we play live and we use the new
technology."
Calvin Wong says, I remember an interview in Total Guitar in which
you said, as a child, you took your guitar to bed and played until
your fingers bled. Any tips to prevent this from happening to me?
[laughs] "As long as you've got a mom who will separate you from the
guitar, you should be cool. That's what my mom had to do. I don't know. I
was 11 years old, and I had been playing classical piano for three years,
and suddenly the guitar came and landed in my arms. I fell in love with
that instrument, and I still love it today. I love it so much. The guitar l
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learned on was probably worth $4 or something, but it was priceless to

me. It meant so much. So don't worry if you hurt your fingers. They'll feel
good eventually. Play."
Michael Mott says, Words of wisdom on right-hand technique would
be most welcome.
"Right-hand technique, yes. There are essentially two different
approaches: One you support your right hand. Two you don't support
your right hand. I'm of the school where my right hand is supported on
the bass side part of the bridge, but it's kind of floating over it. You have
to find the way that works. I've had students who have developed cramps
because of how they pick.
"You've got to relax. At the same time, you have to have a certain amount
of tension. You have to attack the note, but not aggressively. Coax the
note out with your pick. Work on your poise. You have to find that middle
spot where your hand isn't floppy but it isn't still and rigid."

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On stage with old friend and collaborator Carlos Santana at the Montreux
Jazz Festival, 2011. LAURENT GILLIERON/epa/Corbis
Olly Rybarczuk asks, What was it like to play with Miles Davis?
"What's it like to play with your guru? I loved Miles Davis since I was 15. I
had just turned 27, and there I was in the studio with him. And I was
nervous! [laughs] I was sweating heavily, let me tell you. But what do you
do when you're confronted by somebody you revere? It was incredible.
He was so gracious. In that first recording session, for In A Silent Way, he
pulled stuff out of me that I didn't know was there. This was his genius.
After that recording session, I saw him a lot. I'd go over his house, and I
always brought my guitar. He wanted to pick my brain, because he'd
never had a guitar in the band before. Eight months later, a lot of that
stuff went into Bitches Brew."
Stratoblogster Guitar Blog asks, Who are some of your favorite
contemporary guitarists?
"Contemporary? There's a few. Jeff Beck, of course. For me, he's my allopen in browser PRO version

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time favorite guitar player. We go back about 40 years. Even today, he's
such a beautiful guitar player. The newer ones Wayne Krantz. Very
nice guitarist. Jimmy Herring is another great player.
"But I'll tell you, I heard a 13-year-old guitar player named Quinn
Sullivan, and he's unbelievable. He plays like Jimi! A 13-year-old and he
plays so good. I saw him in Switzerland, and I couldn't believe what I was
hearing. He's a protg of Buddy Guy's. Buddy's taking him everywhere.
And the kid can sing, too. Thirteen years old. Far out, huh?"

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John's pedalboard, featuring Zendrive, Seymour Duncan Twin Tube and

Mesa/Boogie V-Twin preamps. Also housed is a wireless MIDI for guitar
invented by Andras Szalay and distributed by Fishman Associates.
Electric 6 wants to know, What do you do when you're in a rut with
your guitar playing?
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"I don't really have ruts anymore. I've had them in the past, but I've been
playing the guitar for 60 years now. Sixty years is a long time. [laughs]
The thing is, in a way, you can call me a guitar player, but that's just what
I do. What I do is play the guitar it's what I love, even now. I still find
new things. I wake up and pick up the guitar, and even if I don't have
anything in my head, I'll discover something incredible. This happens to
me every day. Every day, I discover something utterly unbelievable when
I play. In the end I don't think we can get to the end. I'm going to die
saying, 'Can I have one more day?' [laughs] Because the pleasure of
discovery is just unequalled."
Alex Wallington says, I love the album you did back in the day with
Carlos Santana, Love Devotion Surrender. What did you learn about
the guitar from playing with Carlos?
"Oh, Carlos, first of all, he loved Jimi, just like I do. But Carlos is a Latin
soul, so he's got that side of him. He had something about the way he
played. Even in the mid-'60s, he had a sound and a lyricism that I
absolutely loved. Our styles of guitar playing are so different, but we
revere many of the same people. The way he would play was the perfect
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complement to what I would do. We played last year in Switzerland, and

we performed some of the songs from Love Devotion Surrender, and it
was like putting on an old pair of shoes. It was lovely. We went on stage,
and it was like time had stood still. A very special guitar player, and a very
special human being."

Feeling blissful in 1973 with a Gibson EDS-1275 double neck. Jeff

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Albertson/CORBIS
Nick Able asks, What's a day in the life of John McLaughlin like?
[laughs] "Well, OK, I'll tell you how I spend a typical day. I wake up
maybe 6:20 in the morning, and by 6:30 I'm meditating. I do about 15
minutes, maybe 20, sometimes longer on weekends it's longer. Then I
get breakfast ready. I wake up my boy and my wife and have breakfast
with them. We live in the South of France, so it they're not up yet, I might
go out and have a croissant or pain au chocolat.
"Next, I might do some administrative work, but what I like to do first is
pick up the guitar. I want to play my instrument. For at least 45 minutes
I'll play before I do anything else. On the weekend, I take my bike out for
a ride. I go up about 1500 feet, over a distance of 10 miles. It's no fun,
but I'm very happy when I get to the top. [laughs] It's the only way I stay
fit. Or I might go for a swim or play some tennis.
"After that, then I have some more administrative work and some e-mails
to take care of. I like to cook, so quite often I cook dinner. That's it. After
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dinner, we might watch a movie, go for a walk whatever. There's a day

in my life."
Finally, we have one of our own questions: The Beatles or The
Stones, and why?
"The Beatles or The Stones? Oh, that's a good one. Well, you know,
there's no comparison. The Stones are just like I don't even know why
they're still so big. I was at the first audition they had at this club in
London, way back in the early '60s. They were so out of tune and out of
time! I said, 'What is going on here?' But I did get to know the Stones
later, and especially Mick, and he's a really good guy. He's got charisma
in spades, and they they have their legend. They built their legend and
they'll live off of it.
"The Beatles, they brought a whole new dimension to pop music. Of
course, the psychedelic period is much more interesting to me, starting
with Rubber Soul and on to the White Album. Great, great records. I was
such a Beatles fan. I was very sad when they broke up. And I loved
George and the Indian music that he wrote. We both shared similar kinds
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of orientations.
"So musically, for me, when I hear the Stones and I hear something like
Sgt. Pepper, which is a masterpiece, I know which one I think is really
great music. And it's personal in the end, but there you have it."
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