West Michigan Musician Blog

What town do you live in?

Grand Rapids, Michigan

What is your main instrument?

Guitar – Electric, acoustic

What other instruments do you play?

I play some keyboards. In college I worked on trumpet, clarinet, sax and banjo.

How long have you been contributing to the local music scene?

I’ve been playing in Grand Rapids for about 25 years with various groups.

Where are some of your favorite places to play in West Michigan and why?

My band The Hip Pocket plays at Billy’s frequently. That’s a great venue for us and a great club to work with. They appreciate good music and really seem to support the musicians. We have a lot of fun there. There aren’t many other places that can handle a 10 piece horn band.

Tell us about the “Hip Pocket”:

Well there are 11 people in the band. The instrumentation is trumpet, tenor sax, bari sax, trombone, guitar, bass, drums, keys, male and female singer plus our sound man. I put the band together because I’ve always wanted to play in an R&B horn band. I love Tower of Power and we cover a fair amount of their material along with Earth, Wind and Fire and some Motown. We play a little bit of everything but focus on the R&B/soul horn thing.

It’s a great group, some very fine players and terrific individuals. We’ve played for just about everything you can think of and I have had many players in the area sub from time to time. It’s by far one of the most enjoyable music situations I’ve ever played in. It’s entertaining and rewarding musically. It’s hard to find a challenging music situation for a horn player let alone being a rhythm section player. There’s a certain rush when someone comes up to tell you how much they love what you’re doing and that they can’t believe we have ten players in the group. You can throw a small group together but when you put ten players together you better have some tough arrangements to show off a bit. I think we do.

What other groups do you play with locally?

I do some pick up work at some of the casinos. I play in a top 40 group called the Jetsonz but we’ve changed a few players so we’re not out playing at the moment. A fusion group comprised of The Hip Pocket rhythm section called Side Pocket. There are a few Churches that I enjoy playing at. I’m all about that but Saturday gigs can make that a bit difficult. Sitting in with friends is always cool. Randy Marsh is great for encouraging you to come out a play. You gotta love the guy.

Who are your main musical influences?

I grew up listening to LP’s of Ella Fitzgerald that my Dad had. Back in the late seventy’s I started listening to Larry Carlton and Robben Ford. I guess that’s when I started listing to a lot of jazz. Everything from Joe Pass to Weather report. I was lucky enough to attend GIT when Scott Henderson was going there. I have been a huge fan of his ever since. Tribal Tech is a huge favorite.

As a guitar player there are the standard influences. Pat Metheny, John Scofield, I love Wayne Krantz. There are the rock guys, Steve Lukather, Eddie Van Halen, etc. There are so many unbelievable guitar players. I love Michael Brecker and Branford.

If I had to pick one though it would be Robben. I did some one on one lessons with him when I was at GIT and he just plays the way I want to play. I’ve seen him play jazz with the LA Express, his Blue Line stuff and the stuff with the Yellow Jackets. He’s just great.

What gear are you using on your gigs these days?

My Hip Pocket rig is an Egnator Preamp and a TC G-Force straight into the PA. Those are two great pieces that I love. I have a Mesa Boogie Mark IIC and a Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special that I take to other hits. Straight in and straight out, no effects. I really like both amps and I like to use a volume pedal in the effects loop on one to beef up the volume when needed. A little Steve Morse trick which can make a soundman nuts.

What styles of music do you prefer to play?

My favorite music would have to be fusion. It’s the combination of sounds and feels that interest me. Again, I was exposed to that stuff out in California while going to school and it left a pretty big impression on me. It’s nice to get out and play jazz pick up gigs and just play real book tunes but I don’t have them all memorized like some cats do. I guess I like to play everything but the dream gig is a fusion gig or maybe the guitar spot with Tower of Power. That’s a great-rehearsed band. That’s something that I really appreciate and enjoy. The loose stuff bores me and is a little hard to take after a while. There’s a certain rush when you play a gig that is really burnin’ because it’s great music and really, really tight.

What other styles would you like to play more of?

It would be great to be able to play some Tribal Tech type gigs. I really enjoy playing through Giant Steps, rhythm changes and other tunes that make you work. I have a friend who plays bass and he always makes me play out of my comfort zone when we jam. Richie Beirach and Bill Evans stuff. It’s a lot of fun but you really get to understand how good those cats are.

Who have you been listening to?

Every time I want to get inspired I listen to Tribal Tech. I love the way Gary Willis and Scott Henderson write and of course play. It goes around and around probably with my mood. My iphone has Robben Ford and Tribal tech on it. I really enjoy Diane Krall. I’ve been working on some transcriptions of Guthrie Govan lately. The guy is amazing. There are several cuts on his Erotic Cakes CD that could just keep listening to over and over.

Who have you studied with and how was that experience?

Various local guys. Jim Stuck who used to own Robbins Road Music was my first jazz guitar teacher. I loved to listen to him play. I seemed to get more out of lessons with him when I’d get him playing and then just watch. I took a few lessons with Danny Heines when he still lived in town. He’s a nice player and was kind of my first exposure to the Grand Rapids Jazz scene. In college I studied classical guitar and was lucky enough to get a semester of lessons with Guillermo Fierens when he was at GVSU. He was intimidating because he was so good. After that my interest turn to electric guitar and I went to GIT and was turned on to Robben Ford in a big way. Howard Roberts, Joe Diorio and some other great players were teaching there at the time and I had numerous one on ones with them. Howard Roberts was one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. He had a way of lifting the curtain from your eyes. He always seemed to know just what you needed to work on and how to inspire you to do it. Robben Ford just made you want to play like he does. Robben attacks everything he plays with so much passion you can hardly stand it. The guy is so humble also. When I was at GIT some guys were putting a fake book together of fusion transcriptions and they took some of Robbens into him and asked it they were right and Robben said, “ Well, if you’re going to rip me off they might as well be right,” and corrected them for the guys.

What degrees have you received and from what institution were they acquired?

I spent two years at the Muskegon Community College as a classical guitar music major but didn’t get my associates degree. I took classical guitar lessons at GVSU for a semester after MCC and also played with WMU’s night jazz band with Bobby Davidson. After that I went to the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, California and received my paper there. That was a great experience, some of the best instructors and experience you can get.

How do you continue to challenge and educate yourself musically?

Well as a friend of mine and I were discussing practicing and improving he said to me, “I think if you want to get better just learn tunes.” I would say that’s one of the best approaches. Learn everything, all styles. For me, transcribing and arranging tunes for The Hip Pocket is a big part of learning for me.

I know of half a dozen or so soloing concepts and the struggle is to make them all work. Can I make this idea sound a fluent as Michael Brecker did? I really like Scott Henderson’s approach to playing and trying to work that out is tough; I mean that guy can really play. Using all the scales and soloing concepts and taking them from exercises to making music is the trick.

You teach at GVSU as well as privately. How would you describe your method of teaching sight reading, improvisation and other musical concepts to young guitar players?

The first thing is do a lot of it! All of it! For guitar it’s a little different than piano or horn because there are so many perspectives. Not all new students want to read, some just want to play Sweet Home Alabama and that’s cool. The whole goal, in my opinion, is to play tunes not mindless exercises. I use the basic Hal Leonard book to teach sight-reading. From there it’s everything although trying to convince someone to learn how to read music who sees their friends strumming a few songs and who can’t read themselves is a challenge. As a guitar player you have the whole guitar hero thing to deal with. People who don’t want to marry the guitar, just have some fun. That’s cool too.

Teaching improvisation concepts to students is fun also but you have to have someone who wants to learn. You know the joke, how many guitar players does it take to change a light bulb? Five, one to change the light bulb and four to stand around and say I could do that. Well I see a lot of them and isn’t going to cut it. Guitar is a challenging instrument because you can’t just look at the thing and see the white and black keys. To get really good you have to know that cold and most people don’t want to do that. Any musical concept is very simple to teach. If you can’t demonstrate an idea musically and with passion so that it’s interesting why should anyone want to learn it? I can usually demonstrate whatever it is well enough for someone so that they say, “I want to learn that.” It is surprising though to run up against the ignorance of people regarding just how challenging mastering any instrument can be. Most are clueless and unfortunately many are in the education business themselves.

What advice might you give to someone who is discerning a Jazz Studies degree? What should they look for in a teacher and program?

Find a school where the instructors are out there doing! I don’t mean finding someone hiding behind the degree at some school or university who never gets out in the real world and never plays without his or her academic buffer. Those guys make me sick. If you ain’t out there playing in a work for hire situation and making money at you ain’t worth it. With music I think whoever a person studies with has to prove themselves every day and that means in the real world. I have always learned the most from people who were out there carving themselves a piece of the pie. I have my favorite institutions and the Musicians Institute is one of them.

What advice might you offer to a younger guitarist who might want to play music for a living?

You better be really good because you have to be. I tell my students that their worst nightmare is showing up to an audition and finding out that I’m there for the same audition also. You also have to be versatile. Be able to play all styles of music. Be able to write out horn parts and piano parts. If all you can do is play your instrument how valuable is that? There are a million cats that do that really well so try to give yourself an edge. Above all, play, play, play.

What are the most applicable qualities of a professional guitarist in West Michigan?

I think it’s universal but the one thing I have learned from some really good players is humility. It ain’t about me. You need to be able to contribute to whatever situation your in and not be telling everyone how they need to do this or that. Get out of the wagon and pull because nobody really cares about you that much. Give them a reason to want you on the gig. You need to get into as many playing situations as possible also.

What qualities(personal and musical) do you see in yourself that keep you on the “A” list of West Michigan guitarists?

You have to be able to delivery the goods. If the gig calls for reading you read. If it calls for solos you solo. If it calls for rhythm playing you do that. Again you need to contribute to the situation in every way.

Name five of your most memorable achievements/musical experiences:

Well there are a bunch, let see.

Playing my all guitar arrangement of Some Skunk Funk in front of Ralph Humphreys and having him say he was impressed.

Opening for Earth, Wind and Fire with Derico Watson. Man that guy is hot.

Having my band play at the crow’s nest on Vail Mountain.

Playing for Don Rickles and having him invite me into his dressing for a 20-minute personal conversation. What a classy guy.

I love The Hip Pocket. There are so many times when I just shake my head and tell myself how lucky I am to have friends I love, who play so well and I get to be the guitar player. That’s a rush I never get over.

Do you have aCD?

The Hip Pocket did a CD a few years back of all original music. It’s always nice to listen to it and say wow we did that.

Where can we purchase your music?

Go to www.hip-pocket.com

Where do you see yourself musically in 10 years?

I’m not sure. The music business has changed so fast in the past 10 – 20 years that I don’t have a good read on where it’s going. I’m getting to old for American Idol. Ha, ha, ha. I love teaching and playing and I know that will be in the mix.

Links? Shameless Plugs?

www.hip-pocket .com

search The Hip Pocket on Face book