Stevie Ray Vaughan Interview On How He Sees Jimi Hendrix--Jimi's Approach To Blues And How To You Can Use These Blues Tips From SRV

Stevie Ray Vaughan was interviewed in 1989 by Jas Obrecht and the part of the interview I feel is vital to players,  is where Stevie talks about Hendrix and what he thought about Jimi's approach to blues. As well as his pickup settings and any similarities in his own material and Jimi's.

Thank you to Jas Obrecht for permission to publish this part of the Stevie Ray Vaughan interview with him talking about Jimi Hendrix and the music he should really should have played. That being blues. Stevie, I always thought changed the way blues was played, and had more sensibilities of a jazz player than a blues  cat. Stevie's brother Jimmie is the player I have always thought was more of a natural blues and roots player.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
What made Jimi's blues playing so distinctive from other guitarist's?

[Pause.] I think a lot of it’s his touch and his confidence. I mean, his touch was not just playing-wise, but the way he looked at it, like his perspective. His perspective on everything seemed to be reaching up – not just for more recognition, but more giving. I may be wrong about that, but that’s what I get out of it. And he did that with his touch on the guitar and his sounds and his whole attitude – it was the same kind of thing.

What pickups settings did he tend to go for while playing blues?

Well, I have my own ideas about that, but I tend to not necessarily get that right [laughs]. The way I play, sometimes I tend to play harder than I need to, therefore I don’t get as much out of it.

Tonally, I hear a similarity between your Texas Flood album and some of Jimi’s records.

I’m trying to get as close to a natural, old-style sound as possible, and I think a lot of his tones were that way. He was just reaching for the best tone that he could find. Actually, I kind of think a lot of his tones were just that’s the way he heard them, and he didn’t have to worry about it – which is something that I do a lot!


http://jasobrecht.com     Go to Jas Obrecht's site where you can read many great interviews of players from today and yesteryear and be taken back to the greatest music of our time, and learn what these players really thought.