Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open - 96

we were talking about options. I think when
we were writing on the bus, I had an SG tuned
down, and it carried over from that. I hadn't
played SGs like that on previous records, so it
was nice to get a bunch of different sounds,
but I did use a lot of guitars.

an Alessandro made its way into every
sound. I really like the sound of blending
big amps and small amps.
Do you ever use pedals to get volume
boost or gain?

Most of the distortion sounds are coming
straight from the amp, and most of that
is me changing pickups and turning the
Volume knobs up and down. I'm constantly
messing with both. I have a few things, like
a Klon Centaur I take on the road, as well. I
go through phases where I have a few distortion pedals I'll try here and there, but I'm a
creature of habit, too. Sometimes I'll stay
with what works. In my live rig, I have a
Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere, an old Boss
OC-2 Octave, a wah, and a couple different
delays and tremolos.
I have a signature wah that really works
good. It's called a Wowee-Wah, and the
really s is you can flip a switch so when you
take your foot off, it turns off. When you
put your foot on it, it turns on. You don't
have to click it. It's great because when I'm
using wah while singing, I can't really pay
attention to whether it's on or off.

What's unique about your signature
Les Paul?

It's based on a '59 body with a '58 neck, with
Burstbucker 1 and Burstbucker 2 pickups.
It has a TonePros bridge, but the main
difference between it and a normal
Les Paul is the circuitry designed by
Peter Miller and John Cutler, who
did a lot of work for The Grateful
Dead. Basically, when you engage the
switch, the tone doesn't change as you
turn the volume down. On a regular
Les Paul, when you turn the volume
down it gets duller and duller, which
is great - I get a lot of great sounds that
way. But if you want all the high-end
to come back, the switch gives you a
lot more tone options. That's the most
obvious distinction.
What are your 335s?

How does playing with someone
like John Scofield affect the way you
approach the guitar?

I have a '61 dot-neck I play a lot, and I have a
Custom Shop natural-finish; for a new guitar,
it really records well. The ones I take in the
studio are the '61 and a '58 B.B. Special I used
to play solos on High & Mighty.
There are plenty of other Gibsons in
your road cases.

A lot of the stuff I'm using onstage is not
only for different sounds, but different tunings. I'm doing some capo stuff
these days because Gov't Mule,
over the course of a tour, will do
150 songs. Those guitars are out
there for different tunings, some
are capoed. It's nice to recapture
the sound of what you originally
achieved. I also have a 12-string
Les Paul that goes out.
Why don't you have more
Teles in your arsenal?

It's never been my voice in
the past, but I use it on three songs on the
new record, so I'm going to be carrying one
or two on the road. Maybe it'll spark some
experimentation. That's always the fun
part - to be inspired by a sound that's not
in your wheelhouse. Every guitar and every
sound inspires you to play differently. We do
three-hour shows, so while I'll sometimes
keep the same Les Paul for a long time, it
really depends on the set list.
What amps are you using onstage?

Mostly my Soldano SLO-100, which has
been drastically modified by Mike Soldano.
I'm also using the Homestead 100-watt Red
Head that's become the replacement for my

old Diaz CD-100. Peter McMahon, who
makes the Homestead, is a continuation of
Caesar Diaz' stuff, so I've been using a lot
of his stuff. Between those two amps I can
get a lot of different sounds. One is kind
of Fendery and one's kind of Marshally.
It's between those and whatever guitars
I'm using, and effects if the song calls for
it. In the studio, I may have them working
together, but live it's either/or, never at the
same time.
My effects work out of a Bob Bradshaw
switching system. I can use up to three
amps. In the studio, I always include a
small one - in the case of the new record,

VINTAGE GUITAR

96

September 2017

The first time John and I played
together was in the late '90s, when
we recorded the live Sco-Mule record
when Allen Woody was still alive. We
rehearsed for one day, played two shows
and recorded them. We wanted to put it
out forever, but Woody passed
away shortly after and things went
another direction. We finally put
out that record a couple of years
ago and toured behind it.
Sco is one of my favorites. It's
inspiring to listen to all the stuff
he does that's uniquely him. One
of the things that I found from the
first time we played together was
it caused me to play a little jazzier
and him to play a little blusier, just
because we're listening to each other. I really
love playing with John and I'd do it anytime
I could get a chance. He's one of the greats.
There's a strong chemistry between
the two of you.

For us, there has to be enough common
ground and enough contrast to make it work.
If you're too similar, it won't work, and if
you're too different, it won't work. From the
first time we played together, I had a blast.
Anything else Gov't Mule fans can look
forward to?

We'll be playing festivals, staying extremely
busy. It'll be a solid year of promoting this
record.
Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open

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