A Conversation with Al Anderson (continued)

PM: I didn't catch the 35th anniversary gig, but I happened to be in New York when they did another 35th gig on a boat on the Hudson. So I jumped on that and did see that. And it was good fun. I like Johnny's playing. But I can't help being a Big Al fan. In terms of filling shoes, those are a daunting pair. And the back catalog is monstrous, including the trunk of cover tunes.

AA: There's a lot to learn, for certain. But it's not a question of filling someone else's shoes, you know. He's not me. And I'm not Ferguson. [Steve Ferguson, the first genius guitarist for NRBQ]

PM: Right.

AA: But I try. We all think Ferguson is the guy. We're all trying to copy Ferguson.

PM: Amazing. And he's another unusual character, right?

AA: But I mean, some people want to see me, so they don't give Johnny a shot. He doesn't do this like Al, he doesn't do that like Al. And I had the same thing when I joined--he doesn't play it like Ferguson, and--

PM: Yeah, I hear you.

AA: People are prejudiced to the band they grew up with, which was me for twenty-three years.

PM: Right. But I mean, I think it's hard to know, especially if a person is such a musician that he's modest about his own accomplishments. I saw you with NRBQ a couple of times, and I remember just--well, first of all, being so amazed, and second of all, laughing my ass off so hard, because it was such a spectacle to see you just crushing that Telecaster with tone, and the sense of humor, the way you sang. I mean, it was a complete spectacle, Al, and so satisfying, unforgettable.

AA: Well, thanks.

PM: I mean, Big Al in that band, speaking strictly of that point in time, it's spectacular, it's indelible.

AA: Did Leslie show you that video of us opening up for R.E.M. in 1988?

PM: No. I'm supposed to see it when she gets it back later today. What's the deal with it?

AA: This is us not screwing around, because we had the album out on Virgin, and we had better be good, kind of thing. It was all rock, for the most part. We're doing the rockin' stuff that we did. "Here Comes Terry," "Shake, Rattle & Roll," "Rocket In My Pocket," "Wild Weekend," "You're So Beautiful" by Charles Wright, that's the only ballad we did. Charles Wright and the 103rd Street Rhythm Band, they did "Express Yourself."

PM: The pictures I've seen of you playing at nine years old I thought were uncanny. We've all seen pictures of our friends playing their guitars, their drums, or their pianos at nine years old, but they're all--

AA: The Elvis pose.

PM: Yeah! [laughs] You've got full-on sneer, but not only the sneer, but the way the hands are locked on the neck. It's just like, well, wait a minute, that's a kid! He already looks--you know, when you see kids playing guitar--

AA: Yeah. If you notice, if I'd pressed down, I wouldn't have made a chord.

PM: Exactly! It's almost an A 6th, but not really. But if you don't look too close, it looks like the little kid is about to pull the strings right off the son-of-a-bitch. It's a very aggressive pose, and it led me to believe that you're probably one of those guitar players that kind of got good right away. No?

AA: No. Ventures.

PM: Ventures?

AA: Learning Ventures songs, Duane Eddy. I wrote with him a year and a half ago

PM: Duane Eddy? What was that like?

AA: I went to his house. I said, "Man, I used to go to sleep with that album cover of Especially for You. He had that '57 Gretsch. And he changed it, it was like one knob there, two knobs there, and the one switch. And it was red on the album cover. He went to the closet and got it out. It was still mint.

PM: Holy shit. That must have been fun.

AA: But he says the new Gretsch's sound better.

PM: Really?

AA: Time took its toll on the pickups.

PM: Oh...do you play new Gretsch's at all?

AA: No. I have a '59 6120.

PM: How have the pickups stood up with the '59?

AA: That guitar was never used much. It sounds pretty good, but--

PM: Records, or not especially--

AA: No, I never used it at all.

[laughter]

AA: One fault is you're not supposed to use light-gauge strings on it.

PM: Really? Do you string pretty light?

AA: I use nine to forty-twos on electric. [Very Light]

PM: Wow. And you can tune down the way you do with nine to forty-twos. Because aren't you known to tune down to C sometimes, right?

AA: You're the guy who asked me about "Rocket In My Pocket" at Radnor. [Actually, on the very top of Ganier Ridge at Radnor Lake in Nashville. We crossed paths at the top, hiking different directions one day, over a year ago. I was chasing him down the hill quizzing him on a few guitar matters...]

PM: That's right.

AA: Aha! I remember that. The only thing tuned down is the E string.

PM: The E string is just down to C, that's all. And I was saying, "No, no, it can't be that." You go, "Yeah, it is, trust me, man." [laughs]

AA: This is my favorite guitar on the wall. [He pulls a '58 Gibson ES125 down and starts playing "Rocket In My Pocket." It sounded as good solo as it did with the band. Listen to the Live version of the song on the clips page, from Diggin' Uncle Q.]

PM: Oh, wow. Wow.

AA: That's all there is to it.

PM: That is totally cool. Shit, I wish I had a movie camera. I would love to film that. I hope I remember that.

[I was so jazzed I didn't notice the tape stop on side A. I asked him about when where and why he cleaned up from drugs and alcohol. He said it happened when they were out on tour with Bonnie Raitt, one of NRBQ's biggest supporters. Although they'd had some wild times together through the years, she'd already cleaned up for a while. ]

AA: I was backstage at this Bonnie Raitt show, and, let's just say I was feeling no pain, you know? Anyhow, I walked past her dressing room and looked in--all I saw was a bunch of exercise equipment. And it hit me,"Al, you're an asshole." I knew she quit, and I knew she had two years. And then she won all those Grammys. Talk about making yourself available for good things to happen. She's the poster girl for that.

PM: Yeah, she is. And Aerosmith, who cleaned up and got the $25 million deal.  continue

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