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I’ve been using Elixir Strings for ten-plus years. I was still in high school when I heard about Elixir Strings, and the whole idea of the coated string to prevent corrosion and to keep them sounding new was super intriguing to me. Then, as soon as I started checking them out, I thought, “Wow, this is great! They do exactly what they claim!” They always sound fresh, clear and crisp. And they last so long … In fact I had some residencies at a couple of different venues, performing in my acoustic duo, and I had a set of Elixir Strings on my Taylor guitar for many, many months! I thought it was really impressive how much mileage I was able to get out of one set of strings.
Then while touring with Andy Grammer, I ended up connecting with Elixir Strings and developing a relationship with them. I invited them to some shows, and I was so impressed with them, as people and as a company.
You tour and record with Andy Grammer, as well as a host of other artists: How do Elixir Strings benefit you on tour versus in the studio?
On tour or in the studio, gear consistency is of paramount importance to me – to musicians in general – because there are so many nonmusical, uncontrollable variables we have to deal with on a daily basis. So if I’m recording, and I’m in the zone, I want to have the peace of mind to know that if I pull out a specific instrument for a specific color, that it is going to sound as consistently good as it did a few weeks ago. And that’s important in both settings. Elixir Strings give me that peace of mind.
Can you give any advice to young players on how to handle mistakes during a performance?
Yes! ALWAYS play through your mistakes, whether on stage or while practicing. We are human and mistakes are inevitable, even if you're the greatest musician ever. You just get better at covering them up! Just remember the most important thing is the song. It’s not fair for the rest of the band to stop and start all over if you make a mistake - the show must go on. Play through your mistake, try not to call too much attention to it or let it get to you. If you do, it will just affect your vibe and energy while performing.
You play Elixir Strings on your acoustics and electrics: What do you like about the OPTIWEB® Coating for electric strings?
Elixir Strings sent me a set of the OPTIWEB Coated Electric Strings when they were still in development. I put them on my main guitar – a custom, handmade Strat with stainless steel frets – as I knew it would be the perfect litmus test because I play the heck out of that guitar. And I loved them! They feel fantastic. And, sure, you can tell that there is a coating but it is very, very slight. Regarding tension and feel, I think Elixir Strings nailed it. I can really dig into the strings – and I’m not a light player – and they always respond. Also, I have my tremolo set up so it’s floating, so I’m really used to the way strings react to a floating tremolo. String tension has a lot to do with how that feels – the OPTIWEB Coated strings feel great!
What advice do you have for younger players, or beginners, regarding the importance of guitar strings?
The problem that beginners have is that they don’t know what a quality instrument feels like or sounds like. They might have a vague idea if they have a guitar teacher who has nice gear, but if they pick up an instrument in a guitar store that has old strings versus new strings, they might think a good instrument doesn’t feel good simply because of the string quality. Or, if they buy a good guitar with new, but non-Elixir Strings on it, they take it home; in a few days, if they don’t wash their hands before playing, or take good care of their instrument, the strings will feel nasty, and the guitar won’t seem as good. That makes practicing discouraging. But Elixir Strings keeps a guitar feeling new and sounding good, which allows you to play well and stay inspired.
What's the funniest thing that ever happened to you on stage?
Oh man, that’s a hard one considering I play for one of the biggest pranksters ever. We have quite a few funny stage stories. Every time we are on a big bus tour with support acts, we almost always end the tour with some kind of tour prank. We toured with Rachel Platten and Alex and Sierra in the spring of 2015 and ended in Salt Lake City. After we pranked all of them pretty hard, they pulled out all of the stops. Rachel showed up with full drag costumes and makeup for all of us and got us pretty early in the set. They came out mid song and dressed us and "applied" makeup. We had to finish our whole set in full drag and makeup. That was pretty funny, but we really got them good too!!!
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It’s not so much about how many, it’s how much time those projects take… “Halloween Baptizm,” the new guitar quartet I recorded, had most of my attention this year. I spent a couple of hours every week on that until last March, then I spent several hours each day until I was done recording; that took about four months.
As for my other projects, I recorded a soundtrack for a documentary called “Regarding Gravity,” which is going to premier at the Montreal International Documentary Festival this November. I would work on that every few weeks as new footage came in. That was a lot of fun because I used my Taylor 8-string baritone quite a bit; it was perfect for the atmosphere of the film, which is a bit mysterious – maybe “ambiguous” is a better word – yet also whimsical: The rich low end, endless sustain, and unexpected octave strings of the baritone were perfect for that anomalous juxtaposition. I’m so grateful Elixir® Strings makes strings for that unusual guitar. I also recorded some cantankerous electric guitar for the soundtrack, layering multiple parts with heavily distorted melodies that overlap and feed back – like a looping “Air on the G String” played by Hendrix or Sonny Sharrock, quite contrary to the lush smoothness of the 8-string.
In 2016, I also started playing with a Jackson Browne tribute band called Running On Empty, though that band only plays every few months. When that group started, I was playing all the eclectic rhythm parts and 50 percent of the solos – legendary guitarist and educator Arlen Roth was handling the other 50 percent, including all the slide parts. Well, last April, Arlen left the band, and my parts doubled overnight! I had to learn all those amazing slide solos and, though I’ve played a bit of slide – enough to show students the basics – it’s hardly my forte. So I’ve played more slide in the last two months than I had in the 20 years prior!
I have to say, the new Elixir OPTIWEB® Coated Strings feel great for slide! You see, I’ve been playing Elixir POLYWEB® strings for 17 years, so when the OPTIWEB Coating for electric strings came out I was a bit skeptical – I like the slick feel of the POLYWEB Coating. But the feel, not to mention the tone, of the OPTIWEB Coating…has a little more grip – a grip that the slide really takes to. So OPTIWEB Coated Electric Strings were introduced at just the right time for my needs.
All that and you also teach private lessons.
Private lessons, and I began teaching classes at the University of New Haven last year too, The History of Rock. So, yes, I keep busy. One of the things I love about teaching is getting to work on a wide variety of styles with various students. Just last night I went from '80s “hair metal” – Mötley Crüe, Ratt, and Def Leppard – to fingerstyle ragtime to King Crimson in the space of three lessons! Not only does that allow me to play in different styles, but it also means I have to be able to explain what’s going on in each context; that keeps me on my toes.
And how many of your students use Elixir Strings?
Once they start with me, all of them! Anyone who doesn’t use them already, I just hand them one of my guitars, and they’re shocked at how great the strings feel! Elixir Strings makes other brands feel like barbed wire! Seriously, I’ve had students come in with strings so corroded that they’re virtually unplayable. This is a real drawback for beginners specifically because if they have bought a “new” guitar with uncoated strings that have been on there for a couple of weeks, they feel awful, sound awful, and make the guitar more difficult to play: The student often thinks this is their own fault! When this is the case, I start the lesson with a quick change to Elixir Strings and already the student feels better about their playing. Teaching doesn’t get much easier than that!
And what’s happening with Prester John, your duo with mandolinist David Miller?
Well, that’s an interesting story: At age 45, after playing music for more than 40 years, David decided to retire from live performance! I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed – David is a phenomenal player, and I don’t think we ever had a bad show – but I understood. He wanted to spend more time with his family and renovating his 200-year-old house! He still plays and teaches though, and still uses Elixir Strings on his mandolin. The one upside of all this is I figured out a way to play many of David’s parts by performing them on the higher register of my 12-string and using my loop pedal.
Can you give us an example of how Elixir Strings helped you while recording “Halloween Baptizm”?
Easily! I recorded that album over a period of months, playing one part then another, then coming back and refining parts and punching in. I had to play 52 different parts in all! As a result, string tone needed to be consistent; I didn’t want a dull punch-in two weeks after the initial take. Using Elixir Strings meant I never had to give this a second thought. I literally could record a lead melody on the 6-string in March and then punch in a new articulation in May without anyone ever noticing a difference in string tone! That was vital!
Fifty-two different parts? What inspired you to do that?
It was a combination of things, but basically, I have had the idea of the guitar quartet for many years and finally the time was right. There were a lot of logistical issues – not to mention an artistic compulsion – that compelled me to play all the parts myself, but I hope that soon I’ll be able to play "Halloween Baptizm” with three other guitarists. Or maybe four others will play it without me! I would love that. I hope that this guitar quartet will encourage guitarists to play together in new ways.