Q: Dan, I once saw you perform in Liverpool, UK some 25(?)yrs ago. It was in a room over a pub, and very enjoyable it was too.
Anyway, at the interval, a young local lad got up and ripped - very impressively - in to some Django tunes. His name is Gary Potter and is now recognised as a leading expotents of Django style playing.
Now - the question! Has Django influenced your playing in any way, and, if so, could you give some examples? — FLATPICKING ACROSS THE MERSEY
A: Wow, I remember that gig in Liverpool and my old pal Dave who set it up, I think. I have many great memories of those over-the-pub gigs in the UK. I was always so deep in the folk and bluegrass world, it took a while for me to discover Django and other great players. Of course, when I did, I recognized what a genius he was. At the same time, I sorta' avoided trying to imitate him, just as I have resisted other great players I discovered during my time with the guitar. I have resisted Doc and Tony and Norman and a lot of great players in order to sound, for better or worse, like myself. Please understand, this is out of huge respect I have for all these great players: they are so great, that getting too close to their recordings could make a person sound like trying to imitate them.
Having said that, I will confess that I'm not above stealing the occasional thing from a great player: in my recorded version of "Crazy Creek," the concluding run is stolen ("researched") from Django. It's great Django run #1,973,278; it's also the very dickens to try to play.
Q: How can I stay in rhythm when I'm singing (or trying) and playing a bass run (also trying)? So often, I end up changing my vocal phrasing during the run or vice versa. — BASS RUNNING IN CIRCLES
A: I actually think your question goes to the center of a whole set of problems with timing and pitch when performing. It has to do with having to do more than one thing at a time, like patting your head and rubbing your tummy. Only it's a lot harder, because playing badly is more important than playing the head-and-tummy game. And it's not even "multi-tasking," which allows you move multiple in-parallel tasks by moving back and forth between them. What you describe is more like "simul-tasking," because timing and pitch and hitting the right note all have to happen in a package labeled "now."
My best suggestion: memorize. One of the main reasons one aspect of playing and singing distracts us from another aspect is that we're trying to think about one or both. So memorize the run... get it so automatic that you can play it without thinking about it. Pay attention to what it feels like in your hand... memorize that feeling, go over it precisely 873 (or so) times until it's automatic and you sort of hate it. Something else to practice and memorize: memorize and practice some of the moments in specific songs where this problem arises: fix it at home, memorize the fix, and when it's automatic, then take it on the road.
Q: On your recording of "Forked Deer," the arrangement includes transposing the tune into a minor key. How do you approach working up such out-of-the-box ideas in your arrangements? Inquiring minds want to know: how does the actual tune influence those moments, how much of it is simply for effect, and armed with an unconventional idea for an arrangement, what steps or mentalities do you recommend to develop it? — ALEX IN UPLAND
A: One of the things I enjoy is playing the great traditional tunes in arrangements that call new attention to them, and that provide our performances entertainment value. In search of variety and entertainment, we do warp those tunes around. Of course we're not the only ones: the tradition changes tunes drastically too, although more slowly. Composers like Aaron Copland write orchestral versions of traditional material that arrange tunes. But also note that I don't say we "change" the tunes; they remain the same yet continue to inspire other kinds of approaches by other musicians, and we want it to be that way: the traditional tunes have a kind of inherent power because they have passed from musician to musician over generations, and it's our great joy to have inherited those vehicles of joy and beauty.
As to where the ideas come from, it's hard to say; I can't explain the creative process, I just hope it kicks in when I need a new idea, and then I hope the audience likes it, is moved by it. A performer sticks one's neck out pretty far with these ideas, because, as Red Allen said, "Some sells and some don't." So variations on tunes are risky, a little naughty and impure, and... fun.
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