Q&A with Blues Saraceno 7/29/10

[wjombat]

There are a lot of artists out there that I could learn from.

OK. So who is the artist you would most like to work with?

[Blues Saraceno]

Hey Blues,

Thanks for all the funky music!

One aspect of your playing/soloing that a lot of people appreciate is that it moves, grooves and swings... the note choices, the feel... it's all there.

What advice would you give to someone who is trying to incorporate these aspects to their playing?

Thanks!

Absorb it all as an overview, not lick-by-lick or piece-by-piece. My problem with a lot of current artists is that they don't have their own thing going on and how excited can I get about that?

What impresses me the most is having an identifiable sound. I am very un-excited by people who are great at the execution, but don't have their own sound.

[wjombat]

Thanks for talking with us. I am going to yield the floor to some other folks.
Colby

[Blues Saraceno]

OK. So who is the artist you would most like to work with?

Toss up between Rick Rubin and Quentin Tarantino.

[Blues Saraceno]

Thanks for talking with us. I am going to yield the floor to some other folks.
Colby

That's fine.

[Jeff_H]

Blues...when you are working with a Marshall amp, do you have a favorite model that you use? Old school Plexi or 800 or something more modern. It seems that most great guitarists always talk about "this one amp", and it was either lost, stolen or something.

[Blues Saraceno]

Blues...when you are working with a Marshall amp, do you have a favorite model that you use? Old school Plexi or 800 or something more modern. It seems that most great guitarists always talk about "this one amp", and it was either lost, stolen or something.

The Marshalls I favor are always the four-input old school Plexis.

The only amp that's irreplaceable for me is the very first original Dirty Boy that my dad built for me on the kitchen table. With guitars and amps, I'm very particular. It's like people, you meet a lot in your life, but you'll only be friends with a few of them. When I find something I really like, I try not to get rid of it.

[Evan Skopp]

Blues, first of all, thanks for spending time with us. Second, you're one of the longest continuous signature Seymour Duncan artists. And correct me if I'm wrong, but on your end, your relationship with us is your longest. What is it about Seymour Duncan that works for you?

[Blues Saraceno]

Blues, first of all, thanks for spending time with us. Second, you're one of the longest continuous signature Seymour Duncan artists. And correct me if I'm wrong, but on your end, your relationship with us is your longest. What is it about Seymour Duncan that works for you?

At the end of the day, all my guitars sound better with a Duncan pickup. They just do. I don't know why or how. But they do.

A buddy of mine is a gear dude and he has every pickup under the sun. But I don't know why, but the Duncan stuff just works for me. For me, it's about the tone.

[tone4days]

hey blues
no question from me, just a quick thank you for stoppin by our little corner of the web and for all the great music over the years .. i first heard you at a clinic here outside of baltimore, md about 20 yrs ago and was immediately convinced that you 'had it' - not just a flash in the pan, market-packaged phenom ... glad things have gone well for you

cheers
t4d

[Blues Saraceno]

Do you ever listen back to your earlier recordings and wish you had of approached some of the music differently as you've evolved as a person and a player with time and experience?

Of course. For sure.

When I listen back then, there was so much behind the scenes stuff that was going on. When you listen to Hairpick and Plaid, the machine they loaned me didn't have a punch-in feature. So I had to record a solo on three different channels -- the beginning on channel one, the middle on channel two and the end on channel three -- and then I had to make a composite track of all the solos one generation down. If you listen carefully, you'll hear that some notes overlap.

I would love to go back in time and change things. But I've resigned myself that it's a snapshot in time and it is what it is.

[Blues Saraceno]

hey blues
no question from me, just a quick thank you for stoppin by our little corner of the web and for all the great music over the years .. i first heard you at a clinic here outside of baltimore, md about 20 yrs ago and was immediately convinced that you 'had it' - not just a flash in the pan, market-packaged phenom ... glad things have gone well for you

cheers
t4d

I'm still trying to become a flash in the pan. Maybe if I get something going on with Miley or Lindsay...

[Blues Saraceno]

By the way, about Lindsay, what did she get? Eight days in the can? That's hardly worth mentioning...

[stevie_bees]

What would you like to be remembered for most?

[Jeff_H]

By the way, about Lindsay, what did she get? Eight days in the can? That's hardly worth mentioning...

"30 Days In The Hole" would seem more appropriate as rock n roll punishment.

[Blues Saraceno]

Last question from me:Any tidbits you can throw us about current or upcoming projects that you're at liberty to mention?

I did the guitars for the Hawaii Five Oh promo. Does that count?

I do a ton of work for a certain catalog company. It's glorified musical wallpaper, but it's pretty elite. The problem is that it's not available to the public so I can't really promote it on here.

[Blues Saraceno]

What would you like to be remembered for most?

My handsomeness. And for giving Brad Pitt a run for his money.

In all seriousness, I want to be remembered for being a good father to my two girls.

[Blues Saraceno]

I've really appreciated my time with Seymour Duncan on my personal tone quest. I wish everyone the best finding their own individual sound. I'm sure there's a model in the Seymour Duncan line that will work for you like it works for me.

Thanks to all of you for hanging with me this afternoon.