TECH TALK

TECH TALK

JOE WALSH GUMS UP THE WORKS

Billy Cioffi

by

Since the first wave of British guitarists, few American rockers have staked out their own turf with an equal nod to musical mastery and anti-authoritarianism as has Joe Walsh. He is the exception to everybody’s rules. Since he hit the road and the national airwaves with the James Gang in 1969, many of his English contemporaries have considered him (and still do, for that matter) the most unique and gifted of the U.S. players. Walsh was one of the few to blend crunch with melodic flair in his soloing, although it’s his rhythmic approach that sets him apart from his Anglo counterparts. This wasn’t lost on Jeff Beck, Peter Townshend, Jimmy Page or any of the other icons.

After a brief but successful solo outing, Joe was asked to join the already immensely popular Eagles in 1976. He was, perhaps, the only logical choice, and his entry into the group coincided with their most creative album, Hotel California. Walsh contributed much to the sound and direction of the band, adding a harder edge to the guitar-work and his own cynical zaniness to the controlled chaos that was the Eagles at their height.

After the group decided to call it a day, Walsh continued to release eccentric yet wonderfully tuneful solo albums and the occasional sessions for friends. He recently worked with Stevie Winwood on his latest Grammy-winning LP, co-writing a track and performing on it, and can also be heard on Richard Marx’s debut album. Most important, however, is Walsh’s own solo LP, Got Any Gum?, which signifies Walsh’s renewed commitment to his solo career. The album is as good as anything the guitarist/singer/songwriter has ever done; with soaring melodies, shimmering guitars and Walsh’s distinctive vocals, it’s a stunning record.

But Walsh has lost none of the cynicism that he’s sharpened to a fine satirical point over the years. During his “chain saw” days of Eagle Hotel destruction, his wit and wildness became legend. Still, today there is a low key aspect to him that seems to temper his anger. You get the idea that the “Clown Prince Of Rock” wants to be taken seriously for a change. As well he should be, for his contribution to guitar playing and pop music in general have been sadly overlooked and underestimated. Talking to Joe is a stream of consciousness adventure that reverberates with hilarity and truth, although his truth is sometimes not so funny. His observations are candid, to s^y the least Without further ado, then, dig the gospel according to Joe Walsh, slightly-skewed guitar hero:

MUSIC JOURNALISM

“I love reading record reviews. I was asked to review a record for Playboy, a rec-

ord by a guy out of Memphis named Jimmy Davis. It was the first record I ever reviewed. Who are these people who decide whether a record gets two stars or three and a half? Especially Rolling Stone. I hate Rolling Stone, ’cause they hate me. They taught me to hate them; they don’t like anybody who has been together more than two weeks. The L.A. writers hate the New York writers and vice versa. I’m not bitter, but somebody missed the point if in their Top 100 records of the last decade they listed the Sex Pistols and not the Eagles. The Eagles aren’t even mentioned. Henley was the guy who used to write back to the critics when he got a bad review. I used to say, ‘Don, man, what are you doing?’ They butchered him for it. Don used to get so upset and they always got the last word.”

METAL

“I don’t understand that, either. I mean, what does that have to with the real world? People are so into it, all these guys playing in circles. Turn it down!”

AGING AND ROCKIN’

“Definitely, at 39, there’s a new generation coming in that are not like you and me

when we were their age. They re completely blitzkrieged by merchandising and media and baloney. They haven’t found an identity yet.”

CURRENT CHART GODS ’N’ GODDESSES

“That’s why they’re such suckers for idiots like Madonna. I think she has nothing to do with music. She’s a Barbie Doll designed for merchandising. I don’t think her band or road crew actually relate to her on a lifetime groove—a friendship relationship. What I resent is she does a video in kinky lingerie, stockings and garter belts, dryhumping a chair in a strip joint and picks up a 10-year-old kid. I think that’s irresponsible! Now there are girls from nine to 16 keying into everything she does—her fashion and her style. How would you like it if your 10-year-old daughter wanted fishnet stockings and kinky lingerie for Christmas because she has seen Madonna and thinks it’s cool? A 10-year-old kid? Now that is irresponsible, but it sells. Oh boy, does it sell!”

NEXT BIG THINGS “In the changing of the guard between generations, there ain’t nobody who has actually taken over. It was big bands, Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, right? About 10 years after that, Elvis. About 10 years after that, the Beatles. Ten years after that—what? Michael Jackson? He ain’t exactly your Ph.D. candidate but he sold more records than anybody else!”

THE EAGLES REUNION “We got offered a lot of money to get back together for the US Festival. We got offered 1.2 million, but we didn’t want to be motivated by greed. Plus, it wasn’t enough.” WHAT HE GOT FROM THE EAGLES “Peace of mind and the respect of my peer group. I’m at peace with myself, I’m very happy. It has nothing to do with music. The worst thing that can happen is to get material benefits that shut down your creative process. I’ve been rich a couple of times and it is addicting.”

SUCCESS

“You get obsessed with it. It costs a lot to be rich. One of Walsh’s laws of rock ’n’ roll is you can’t write songs in the office. If you’re too busy putting new speakers in your BMW to practice, dig it! I shut it all down. It was a painful process and it destroys some people. A lot of rock stars hit that ‘Earth To Rock Star’ crisis. I shut the whole machine down: I check with my business manager and, if I’m too extravagant, I stop doing stuff. I don’t know if I’m rich now or not. I trust people that oversee it. Are my people being paid fairly and regularly? Yes. Do I have enough money to continue making my music and not worry about more money? Yes. I say ‘fine’!” ENSONIQ ESQ-1 DIGITAL SEQUENCER/SYNTHESIZER The new ESQ-1 is an eight-voice polyphonic, polytimbral synth with the sound of three oscillators per voice. There is a choice of 32 multi-sampled and synthetic waveforms for a wide-ranging variety of sounds and effects, including brass, piano and strings. The ESQ-1 comes with an 80-character flourescent display showing 10 programs—by name and number—at any one time. There are 40 programs on board, with an additional 80 cartridges available. The instrument is touch-sensitive with a 61-note weighted action keyboard. The ESQ-1 MID allows the user to “slave” other MIDI units together to create a 16-voice synthesizer.

NEW GEAR

Contact Ensoniq at 263 Great Valley Parkway, Malvern, PA 19355.

THE FENDER CHAMP 12 The Champ 12 is an amplifier capable of filling the needs of the most discerning pro as well as creating the dream sounds of the beginning or intermediate player. The Champ 12 features two inputs, gain switch-

ing, reverb, midboost (for a heavier distortion sound), line out and a headphone jack which automatically disconnects the speaker for private practice. The footswitch can be used to go to the overdrive mode and also switches the tone control’s frequency response when going from clean to overdrive. The size and sound of this durable

piece of gear makes it the perfect amp for practice and gigging. The Champ 12 is also available in special coverings of black, red, gray, white and “snakeskin.” Pretty snazzy stuff. Suggested retail price: Champ 12, black covering $329.99, with special covering, $359.99. For more information contact, Fender Musical Instruments, 1130 Colum: bia Street, Brea, CA 92621.

LUDWIG SIX-PIECE PRO OUTFIT

Ludwig is marketing a new drum set available as the Model L3175 Classic or L3175S Super Classic. The sets are constructed of choice hardwood maple shells and features a 16” x 22” bass drum, 16” x 16” floor tom, 12” x 13” power tom, 11” x 12” power tom, 9” x 10” power tom, and a61/2” x 14” Ludwig Supra-Phonic snare. Each outfit is equipped with deluxe Modular II stands with up-to-date Ludwig hardware (the standard hardware grouping is a L2945 snare stand, L2946 boom cymbal stand, L2942 cymbal stand, L2943 hi-hat stand, L2963 add-on tom holder and a 1201 Ludwig Speed King pedal.) The set is mounted with Ludwig’s heavy duty Modular system. The suggested list price for the whole ball of wax is $2,800. For more information contact Ludwig Industries, P.O. Box 310, Elkhart, IN 46515. At 30 and 40 bucks a pop, changing the strings on your bass can be an expensive proposition. These days it could take a whole night of playing just to pay for the damage on that new set of bailing wires. (That, by the way, is what B.B. and Albert King used to do in lieu of store-bought strings!) But the guys at Dean Markley are determined to keep your fingers and tone intact. Their new SLP (super long play) bass strings are designed to hold high performance over a longer period of time, softening the crunch on your fingers and your pocketbook. In addition to requiring less frequent changes, the exclusive nickel/iron alloy used in Markley’s SLPs offer some other surprises in sound, feel and power. The string’s high iron content gets the most out of the guitar pick-up’s electromagnetic field, providing a full and well-articulated bottom end. And bassists who live or tour in humid areas will appreciate the corrosionresistant qualities of the SLPs. Contact Dean Markley, Inc., 3350 Scott Blvd. #45,

DEAN MARKLEY’S SLP BASS STRINGS

Santa Clara, CA 95054.

STEINBERGER TRANSPOSING BASS The latest from Ned Steinberger’s innovative lab is the TransTrem for bass guitar. The instrument features instant key transposition, in-tune chord and harmonic bends, slide effects and 24 open notes and variable string tension. In much the same way as it works on the original guitar version of the TransTrem, the bass model changes the string tension at a controlled rate for all the strings. This enables the chords and intervals to remain in tune during the operation of the tremolo system. With the instrument you can bend chords up to a minor third and down to a fourth. Obviously, this is quite an extension of the instrumentalist’s range on his or her axe. The Bass Transposer is able to shift into six different tunings from normal E to D, C and B, and up to F# and G. Transposing is simple: all four strings remain in perfect fourths so the performer doesn’t have to change his finger patterns. To learn more, get in touch with the Steinberger Sound Corp., 122 South Robinson Ave., Newburgh, NY 12550.