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Darrin: Good
afternoon Tommy!
Tommy: You are calling from Vancouver?
Darrin: Yes the Vancouver BC area. Sunny and warm today!!
Tommy: I just got back from Eastern Europe, places like Serbia
and Croatia. It was not that warm.
Darrin: Let’s
start off with a congratulations on the CMAA Golden Guitar
Award this month in Australia. That is the second one in as
many years. You won this time for Gameshow Rag/Cannonball Rag
from your latest album The Mystery. What did it feel like to
win again, and especially in Australia?
Tommy: Thanks. Yes, it is two in a row. It is great to win at
home. For years I did not get nominated for the Country Music
awards, because I was with Sony, and they did not want me to
be associated with Country music. They wanted me to stay with
the mainstream rock and roll and that stuff. And of course,
the roots of my music are country. So it is good that the
label I am on now in Australia, which is ABC, supports that.
They were really pleased.
Darrin: You are also up for a Grammy. Is that making you a
bit nervous at all?
Tommy: Umm not really nervous, I just don’t want to go build
my hopes up too much. It is just such a great honor to even be
nominated, to have your music appreciated like that and voted
for is a wonderful thing.
Darrin: You have been touring like crazy, and just returned
from a swing through Eastern Europe. How was your playing
received in places like Croatia, Serbia and Hungary?
Tommy: It is going unbelievably well. Completely unbelievable.
The places I am going to now, in such a short time, gone from
playing the small theaters and clubs, to now playing the
larger concert halls. In less than 2 years, I have gone from
playing for 500 people to 2000.
I have been on TV every time I have come to Croatia. It is
not like any other country. Their main thing is classical
music in the theaters and halls. Then they have pop but
nothing in between, so it works out perfectly for me. They
like what I do and they are very supportive, the media and
television. They like to have me on, because I have a bit to
say, I am an entertainer, and it is something unique for
them. It has allowed me to make headway there and it is
almost like fast tracking it.
Darrin: Let’s go back a little in history. How old were
you when you first picked up a guitar and started to learn to
play? What was your first guitar?
Tommy: I was 6 years old. It was a Maton. Similar to what I
use today.
Darrin: Aside from Chet Atkins who were some of the players
that inspired you, when you were learning to play?
Tommy: A lot of the people that really inspired me were Marty
Robbins and Grady Martin was playing with him at that time.
Scotty Moore with Elvis, later James Burton with Elvis, Don
Rich with Buck Owens, Roy Nichols with Merle Haggard. They
were the kind of guys that were always giving us something new
to learn. We were always waiting for the next Merle Haggard or
Buck Owens to see what would be next.
Darrin: Inclusive of myself, people are amazed when they
see you play for the first time. I am actually still amazed,
even after a few hours of clips under my belt. How and why
did you create such an unusual style, with so much percussive
play and experimental stuff on the acoustic guitar?
Tommy: I think that it is your personality coming out. I
started playing finger style, because I heard Chet and Mel
Travis, but I wanted to do my own ting with it. I begged,
borrowed and stole as much as I could then, and still do, but
I definitely make up my own stuff, write songs, and try to do
something different with it. I use that kind of funky element,
that you call percussive, but as a way to make it funky. A way
to make it feel good.
Darrin: I love the crowd reactions, the amazement on their
faces, and the way they laugh, when they get stunned.
Tommy: **laughs**
Darrin: Do you ever reach for an electric guitar, at home,
or at a show? If you do, what kinds?
Tommy: Sure, all the time. Well, I have Fender Tele’s,
Gretsch’s and I have some great Matons as well. Maton make a
fantastic solid body. It is like a Les Paul, but it has
f-holes, so a bit of a sound chamber in it, and humbuckers,
that you can pout in and out of phase. I have been using that
in some recording, with a band I am producing named Blue
House, I used my Maton’s and my Maton electric on most of it.
I also have one that is like a Gretsch Country Gentleman, but
it is hand made, by a friend of mine in California, a guy
named Jim English.
Darrin: You have toured and recorded with some legends.
Can you think of a session or tour that stands out as one of
the most memorable for you?
Tommy: Umm..boy there is a lot. The tour with Eric Clapton in
1990 is coming to me. That was a real memorable event for me.
I got to meet Eric, and I got a standing ovation the very
first night. Everyone around was pretty surprised, he wasn’t
there to see it, but he came to watch the following night.
Then we got to know each other, and it was really nice.
The Stevie Wonder tour I did, back in the 80’s was a great
experience. He was such a sweet person, and very enthusiastic
in what we were doing. He would invite us up at the end of the
show and we would combine both bands, and the guy that was our
singer, had kind of modeled himself on Stevie, and it was
surprising the first time he heard him sing, and I got to jam
with him a lot. It was really amazing.
Darrin: If you had to pick a track of The Mystery, what
would it be, and why?
Tommy: It would be the track The Mystery. It was written when
I was in a very hospitable place in Wales. I was very
grateful to be there, although the weather was terrible, the
places were really kind of small, it was a coal mining town,
and I was trying to bring some music to these people, and it
seemed like my heart was full of joy, and full of love for my
life and the people around me, and I really think the song
came from something very supernatural. When you listen to the
melody, it has a real depth to it. It is a song I am very
proud of.
Darrin: You travel and tour extensively. Are there any
destinations in the world that you have not played at yet, and
really want to get to?
Tommy: Oh yeah, and we are headed there this year. To Russia.
I am playing in St Petersburg, and Moscow. I have been to
Poland, and to Hungary, but never quite got to Russia.
Darrin: They are very passionate about music in Russia
Tommy: Oh yeah, definitely.
Darrin: Will you make it to Canada this year?
Tommy: Oh yes, we will be there in June.
Darrin: What is next for you Tommy? More touring, writing?
Perhaps a wee bit of a rest?
Tommy: No need for a rest, I have this month of touring,
actually I am touring solid until August actually. Really damn
busy. There is a lot going on. If you look at my schedule with
my tour dates, it doesn’t stop.
Darrin: How do you like the relationship with favored
Nations? How did that all happen?
Tommy: The record label in Australia, a friend of mine send a
tape to Steve Vai, who contacted me and asked what it would
take to get me on the label, that they loved my stuff, and
wanted to support me. And Steve and I became friends. I had
not met him before that, and this was about 2001, he came to
my shows in LA and we just kind of hooked up.
Darrin: I have never heard a negative word about Steve or
the label.
Tommy: I really like him so much and I am looking forward to
the next album. I have a few new songs, but not recording
yet. Lot’s of new stuff.
Darrin: Tell me a bit about Bluehouse, the band that you
produced just recently.
Tommy: They are 2
girls from Australia, and they are so damn talented. And they
sing so well. They have this unique thing together. And when I
was working with them, I really worked hard to not fall into
the trap of overdoing it, and putting too many backing vocals
etc.
I just wanted to represent them as they are, because they have
everything. I just wanted it to be really organic. Acoustic
bass, drums and guitars. A few keys. The girls can deliver
the goods.
Darrin: You have been taking them out on tour with you?
Tommy: Oh yes, they will be opening for me in Holland in April
I believe it is. I want them to be seem all around the world
you know? They deserve it.
Darrin: Is production work something that you would want to
get more in to later on?
Tommy: Well, that is what I did for a living before. I was
the house producer for CBS back in the early 80’s. I had a
good run of success out of it, but I worked myself to the bone
doing it.
But it was really really wonderful. I learned a lot from it,
and I love producing, and pulling what I can out of people. I
love pulling performances out of singers, and getting what I
want to hear from them.
Darrin: Thanks
again Tommy, I really enjoyed talking to you
Tommy: Thanks . Get out and about!!
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January
30th, 2007
Darrin B |
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Tommy
Emmanuel
Releases
click for more info and purchasing
The Mystery - 2006
Live One - 2005
Endless Road - 2004
Greatest Hits - 2001
Only - 2000
Collaboration - 1998
Can't Get Enough - 1996
Classical Gas - 1995
Initiation - 1995
The Journey Continues - 1993
The Journey - 1993
Determination - 1992
Dare To Be Different - 1990
Up From Down Under - 1987
From Out Of Nowhere - 1979 |
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Tommy
Emmanuels' Gear
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Tommy
Emmanuels'
USA Label
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