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An
interview with Amber Rubarth |
An interview with Weezil Malone |
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1. Describe the early years of your musical roots and how your talent was nurtured. When I was three years old my mom came home and found me on the piano playing by ear all of the songs my older brother had been taking lessons for, she quickly signed me up for piano lessons (which I didn't particularly 2. Were there any events, people or catalysts that were musically influential? When I was 14 years old a boy who I was very close to lost his mother and it really brought up some difficult feelings in me; I realized I did not know how to help one of my closest friends during the most challenging step of 3. What does your live set up consist of? I bring my acoustic Martin Sigma guitar with me, a capo (just for two songs!), my keyboard (a Kurzweil 88 key) and usually a Shure Microphone, either Beta or SM-57/58. 4. Do you play any other instruments? I played a little thing called an aquasonic on the album, it's this crazy looking metal vase with prongs going up in a spiral around it and you fill it partially with water and bow it. The most ridiculous and eery thing I've ever heard. 5. How involved are you in the recording of your projects? This first album "Something New" was an excellent experience for me, I worked with Devon Copley and Alex Wong of The Animators, and they were both very encouraging for me to have as much input as possible, listen for exactly what I wanted to hear and figure out how to create it. I couldn't have asked for better people to work with. In the studio this time I was learning a lot, I had other people play drums, bass, horns, cello... Alex and I wrote the scores together for the horns and cello. We would all three discuss our different opinions on times, arrangement, grooves, harmonies, etc. and in the end they always left me to make the final decision. It really was a huge growing experience for me and I'm looking to be even more involved in the production of my next album. I wrote all of the songs also except for two which I co-wrote with The Animators while we were out there. 6. What is the name of your latest CD? "Something New" - and consequentially it comes in a cool metal tin case. Because that's, well, something new! Check it out www.amberrubarth.com 7. What vocal microphone did you use in the studio? We tried out a few different ones and I ended up preferring the natural sound of a simple tube mic. 8. Are you pleased with the production of the CD and who produced it? Very much so. I'm glad I did that as my first project, I'm looking forward to the next one being much more sparse with instruments - stripped down vocals, piano and perhaps some simple strings. 9. Where was it mixed and mastered? The Animators recorded, mixed and mastered it at Angelhouse East Studios in Brooklyn, NY. 10. Who plays on the CD? I played guitars, aquasonic, snapping, clapping, and sang vocals/background vocals... Alex Wong played all the percussion/drums, as well as some acoustic/electric guitar, aquasonic... Devon Copley played wurlitzer, 11. Where are you planning on touring? In November I'll be touring through California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. December I'm staying home in Los Angeles and working on some writing/recording. January is taking me out to the east coast, New York, 12. What music organizations are you affiliated with? Indieguitarists (yeah!), ASCAP, Just Plain Folks, Indiegrrl, Gogirls, BerkleeMusic.com, AwareStore... And a brand new one I'm very excited to be a part of created by Intellective Records, I've been included as one of 13. Do you have your own record & publishing company? I do have my own publishing company, Inspiraled Music. I am waiting to decide about starting a record company or not, I am studying up on it to learn more. 14. Are there any people that you would like to mention here who have helped your career? Martin Sexton who reinvented my idea of how impactful a musical experience can be and how kind and humble a person can be (I had the honor of opening for him a few months ago at Hawkins Amphitheater in Reno, a real hero to me). Joel Ackerson who I mentioned above, The Animators who have been a huge inspiration to me in many ways, John Ponzo who is an amazing mentor to 15. What are your plans for 2006? Right now I'm looking to team up with a manager, booker and/or label, and to release a new album that is primarily piano based. I also am adding to my live show, incorporating piano and another new instrument into the live show, and putting together a trio (drummer and cellist)... in 2006 I want to go on tour as an opening act for one of my favorite artists, there are a few I have in mind right now that I would be just thrilled to tour with. For more into on Amber Rubarth visit www.amberrubarth.com or see the female pop category of the database. |
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1. Describe the early years of your musical roots and how your talent was nurtured. It was my dad who really put the spark in me. He was a partier and I think wanted to be a musician but didn't ever pursue it for himself. He just showed up from work one day with an old Stella acoustic with action so high I should have taken up slide there and then, but didn't know about it. Needless to say that action built both finger strength and callouses faster then any known way to man at the time. I started out with songs that were popular at the time, the mid sixties. Folk was pretty popular and was mixing it up with electricity pretty good. It was a new outlet for electric guitar then and after proving my commitment to guitar dad bought me an electric, Norma, again with action so high speed was out of the question. I played the popular tunes of the day to be able to have bands and play with classmates but whenever I was on my own, walking to or from anywhere, kicking stones down the street I got plugged in to the zone and my thoughts and steps were all centered around bass lines that I thought I was making up but were actually lines subconsciously rooted in to my brain, either from the universal mental wave or from tunes that I had heard but not really known I was listening to. They were always solid blues lines, think of the bass line to "I should have Quit You, Baby" ala Led Zeppelin. Those kind of lines filled up my self and made walking across town, literally, like a walk in the park. Don't know if I was picking them up or they were coming from inside me, but they were constant companions, because I did a lot of walking. 2. Where there any events, people or catalyst(s) that were musically influential? Once again, my dad. He would bring home guitarists from bands in the bars he would party at and they would teach me licks on saturday afternoon. Dad would have them come over and use our house to rehearse in. we had a huge house and we would clear out the dining room and set up the band. He did this just to expose me to the process. There were two ways me and my dad connected. Baseball and Music. We actually had a very head butting relationship that lasted all his life but when I played ball or guitar I was his pride and joy. He also turned me on to Duane Eddy and Boots Randolph. I would listen to Mr. Eddy and just be amazed at that "twangy" sound he would get. Nice simple licks, no monster speed licks ( perfect for me and my Norma), just solid and sometimes beautiful melodies drenched in reverb and Twang ! 3. What does your live set up consist of? I use two different setups now. One for smaller venues, clubs and casinos, and one for bigger stages like concerts and festivals. The smaller rig is a Fender JHot Rod DeVille with the 4/ 10" configuration. It is real similar to an old Super reverb only with the option of Channel switching. I love the gain and the super gain option. I set the clean channel and the normal gain to the same volume and boost the high gain a bit higher for solos. I don't use much distortion on the normal gain because I use it for some rhythm playing on some of the more rocky songs. I am very strict about keeping rhythm volume low so that vocals are up front. My lead volume and amount of gain are very consistent, the changes for each song are mainly tonally. I always leave some room on my guitar volume knob in case I have to play a clean lead. I never have my volume knobs turned all the way up. I use a Shure sm 57 to mic my amp, there is no better mic for this chore out there. For larger venues I add one of my early 70's Super reverbs to the mix and use an A/B switch between the two amps. The natural overdrive sound thickens up the lead tones played along with the super gain on the DeVille so it's as thick as the Ice Cream at the top of the carton. Yummy ! 4. What was it like to win WYCE’s Jammie Award Best Local Blues CD two years in a row? (2002 & 2003) All three of our releases had been nominated, the first one came in second to my local heroes release and I didn't mind not winning that one at all. the second Cd we put out won the award and beat six other nominees. That one was thrilling because all of the nominees were deserving. The third Cd and our second award was a total surprise. The number of nominees was lower but I really thought a youngster from Kalamazoo was going to get it. All year long all we would hear was about this new wonder kid, Cody ****** who was blowing everybody out of the water with his live show, and I had conceded that he would leave with the award, but when they called our CD as the winner not only was there some surprise but there was also some re-enforcement to the quality of material we were putting out there. Those are the moments that you make decisions on. They help you realize that you have made good choices and give you the confidence to do it again. Every time you do something again it is better than the previous, just because growth comes with hard work and trying to do it better this time. That is a big driver for me. No matter how good a project ends up there are always places one thinks, " I should have done this, or changed that". So the next project you try harder to get things more to what you think is a better idea and that itself is growth. Of course when it's done the cycle starts over. 5. How many CD’s have you recorded and released with your band Weezil Malone & The King Size Blues Band? Officially we have released 4, the newest named "Another Side". There was some music in us that had a bit different direction and sound then what we had developed and nurtured as our sound so that dictated the name of the project. There is a demo floating around that I still get request for from around the world, literally. I don't know how it got as far as it has, it was just a demo for getting some work for us when we were just starting out seriously and is a mix of originals with covers. I shake my head whenever I get a call for one, it will always be a mystery to me who got that thing out in circulation. Officially we have released BAD BAD MAN, READJUST YOUR ATTITUDE, and EVERYTHING'S GOOD. ANOTHER SIDE is now available but we are not having the official release until January 6th, with a party at Billy's, Grand Rapids' home of the Blues. 6. How involved are you in the recording process? I just went over my amount of involvement with one of my doctors today. She picked up one of our Cd's, the newest one, and couldn't believe how much I was involved with it. I do most of the writing, most of the vocals, work with the engineer and do the directing. I choose the continuity, own the record company, publishing company/ affiliated with ASCAP, I do all the artwork, and as weak as I am at it the marketing. I could use some, no I could use LOTS of help with the marketing. We have a super product but it won't go anywhere without the proper marketing and advertising. We are lucky we get as much community and other regional radio play as we do get. That all helps. Getting play from NPr channels has increased our audience tremendously. Internet play has given us world wide exposure. I get requests daily from radio stations around the world who heard us on the net. I thank all of you guys and ladies for the pioneering you are doing for us musicians who are left to doing it all on our own 7. Do you have your own label & publishing company? My record company is WEEZWORDS RECORDS and the publishing is also done by WEEZWORDS, which is registered with ASCAP. 8. Which CD has been the most successful to date? I think READJUST YOUR ATTITUDE and EVERYHTING'S GOOD are running neck and neck. READJUST opened the door with Alligator record's Bruce Iglauer to me as a songwriter. That was the CD he complimented me on my songwriting and invited me to send him material for use with his current artists, allowing me to submit material directly to him. That was a thrill. 9. Are you affiliated with any music associations or blues societies? I am a member of ASCAP, TAXI, and regionally a long term member of the West Michigan Blues Society. They are strong backers of and the biggest reason we have the quality blues we do in West Michigan. Yes, and I always walk away in a dream like state.. I have gotten to open for John Primer a couple of times and he has been very generous with compliments and a very gracious person to meet. I was thrilled to be able to meet and/or jam with Jimmy Rodgers, Son Seals, Lonnie Brooks. Playing guitar has also let me play or acquaint myself with heroes other than guitarists as well, like Koko Taylor, Sam Lay, the late Gatemouth Brown, Eddie Clearwater, Roosevelt Dean. Enough said, anymore and I feel like I am bragging. I consider myself just plain lucky ! 11. Are you the main songwriter for your band? Yes, I write most of the material for the band but our keyboardist (what a monster) writes some really fine and often humorous, material. 12. What is your main guitar? Red, my V-neck telecaster is my main instrument. The next most used are Whitey, a 60's model Tele and then a Les Paul special with action as high as my old Norma for slide and a Steel Resonator made by Fender I also do most of the studio slide work with. Love I use the Paul for slide work, usually tuned in an open G, sometimes E. We have just had 18 of our songs picked up by a production studio in Hollywood for future film use. we have ben recorded for some live radio and replay at the Kalamazoo blues Fest, and done some regional television spots, mostly festival spots. a couple of community Tv programming shows highlighting the band. Sound is a matter of what somebody thinks you sound like to them. Of course we all want to have our own identifiable sound, and I think we have achieved that over the eleven years we have been together. Definitely Blues but the rock we have been fed through listening while growing up naturally makes its presence known and creeps into the scheme. I try to keep the licks identifiable with the Blues library but of course after playing them with your own fingers and heart they take in your feeling and attribute themselves to your sound. Gatemouth said to let what music you got inside of you come out and be what it is. Don't worry if it's Blues or not. People will call it what they will. " I ain't no bluesman, I'm a musician !" There was a time I was becoming disillusioned with the competitiveness of the scene and wondered why I was doing it still. Billy Rider, the founder of BILLY'S and drummer and harmonica player most notably for the late Johnny Littlejohn, took me out one night after too many after hour discussions at his place. we went to a couple different jam sessions in the area and sat in together. It was a blast to just play, no band stuff, just getting up and honkin. when we were done for the night and riding home he just smiled and asked me, "Did you have fun ? Did it feel good ?" "Hell yes" I answered, " I feel like I own the world right now." " Then you know why you're still playing and we won't hear anymore of this nonsense about not playing anymore, will we !?" I never brought it up again, don't imagine I ever will. For more info on Weezil Malone visit www.weezilmalone.com or see the male blues category of the database.
© 2005 Yonge Music
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