Blues rock guitar legend Joe Bonamassa takes time out from Black Country Communion to record a stellar new solo LP Dust Bowl. TIM SLATER gets to dust his broom...
DUST FOR LIFE... J
oe Bonamassa must be a top contender for the title of ‘Hardest Working Man in Show Business.’ With his solo career still on the up, the American guitarist’s surprise hook-up with former Deep Purple man Glenn Hughes on the Black Country Communion project in 2010 rapidly saw any free time in the Bonamassa diary shrinking to virtually zero. With a second BCC album in the can this January, Bonamassa is concentrating on promoting his new solo LP Dust Bowl, which was produced by his faithful right hand man Kevin Shirley and recorded in snatches during downtime from touring with Black Country Communion. Partly recorded in Nashville and California, Dust Bowl features notable guest spots from country legend Vince Gill, John Hiatt and his BCC mucker Glenn Hughes. The Nashville sessions have imbued Dust Bowl
with a rootsy feel; country boogie stompers rub shoulders with moody atmospherics that reflect the bleak rural landscape depicted by the LP’s title and the input from the likes of Vince Gill and John Hiatt seems to have given Bonamassa the freedom to shake of his blues rock shackles and show a different side. “We had some success with Black Country Communion and we didn’t want to feel that we were competing with ourselves,” Bonamassa explains, “We wanted to come out with a different vibe and a different tonality... even different styles of songs. I thought I did some good writing on this one. I’m proud of this album!”
Responding to the inevitable question about
how he manages to balance myriad projects with such skill, Bonamassa reflects that the title for his new solo LP was inspired by his frenetic schedule.
48 3pickup “It was mad! I had a solo tour booked, BCC
were in the middle of touring...when I joined Black Country Communion I figured that I would just be the guitar player. I would have been happy for Glenn to do all of the interviews and I would tune-out and just play but the thing got legs and it was a bit overwhelming. The song Dust Bowl itself was inspired by the fact that for the past two or three years my life has been pretty much a whirlwind, like a dust storm. ‘Dust Storm’ doesn’t really sing well so I came up with this Steinbeck concept of the Dust Bowl and I wrote the song. We did it piece by piece, it was a very hard record to make because I was essentially making it on the road and doing it piecemeal. Some days you wouldn’t have the headspace or the energy to be bothered or get into and Kevin Shirley was really good to help with that and get the job done.”
A lifelong battle with Attention Deficit Disorder hasn’t affected Bonamassa’s ability to laser-focus on a project, but he admits another secret to maintaining his notoriously high energy levels... “Diet Coke and lots of Starbucks! During the last few years my ADD has kicked into hyper- drive but my mental problems have been helpful in helping me focus and get everything done. However, I am looking forward to taking a break from the studio and recharging my batteries.” The guitarist notes that the monster guitar tones on Dust Bowl are mostly down to his favoured combination of Gibson guitars (he currently has three separate signature model Les Pauls) but Musicman guitars have also recently started to play an important role in shaping the unmistakable Joe Bonamassa sound.
“I used a Musicman Baritone doubleneck on a
song (on Dust Bowl) called Black Lung Heartache; Musicman has been great to me over the last three years. They know I am a hardened Gibson guy but one guitar can’t do it all. Musicman guitars are really well built and are great if you want a different tonality from a Les Paul or even a Flying V. I like the Musicman guitars because they can sound really punchy but they are different from a Les Paul, in a good way. Musicman guitars are all American made, they are made by top craftsman, they also have some world class guys that play them: John Pettruci, my friend Steve Lukather, Albert Lee. Sterling Ball runs that show really well and because Ernie Ball guitar strings are his bread and butter, he has the luxury of not having to compromise on quality.” PM
DUSTY ROAD Catch Joe Bonamassa’s UK leg of the Dust Bowl tour at these venues... Blackpool Opera House Saturday 15th October, Capital FM Arena, Nottingham Sunday 16th October, Cardiff International Arena Tuesday 18th October, Plymouth Pavilions Wednesday 19th October, HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London Friday 21st & Sat 22nd October
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