UNSIGNED SPOTLIGHT CHRIS WOODS
This exciting young acoustic guitar virtuoso talks about his new enhanced album that offers some useful tips on how to learn his powerful percussive playing style...
Words: Tim Slater
Chris Woods: pushing forward the acoustic guitar’s boundaries…
percussive instrument. Spanish flamenco guitarists have a long tradition of rapping or slapping the guitar as a way of maintaining the music’s propulsive momentum but when it comes to the folk idiom this approach was still viewed as something outside the mainstream until fairly recently. Born in Surrey but raised in the South West of England, 26 year old Chris started playing the guitar seriously in his early teens. An avowed metal- head, Chris claims that his teenage strumming was more influenced by the likes of Rage Against the Machine and Korn than Bert Jansch but his
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acoustic epiphany did arrive eventually when he first heard John Martyn. g CW: “To a younger person, heavy metal is where most of the
interesting techniques are. I wasn’t so much into Steve Vai but I was drawn to metal’s chunky riffs and fast solos. That excited me at that
time...and
then I heard John Martyn and though ‘ah ha!’” g PM: Why did John Martyn’s unorthodox guitar style draw you
towards the acoustic? g CW: “I think that I needed to hear someone that was using technique
in an interesting, creative and passionate way, rather than a purely technique-driven way. John Martyn was the man who showed me that you could link technique with soul and emotion. That is my focus now; I want to use technique in a musical and emotional sense rather than just for
technique’s own sake.” g PM: The percussive style that you’ve developed has caught a lot of
people’s attention for a variety of reasons but your physical, syncopated approach seems to have more in common with funk than traditional folkie
finger picking. g CW: “I think that when you listen to John Martyn, everything that he did had a very distinctive groove to it. I never sat down and learned songs as such but I like to emulate people whose playing I like. John Martyn had that laid back groove but also from listening to Nu-metal bands in my teens – who often blended heavy music with hip hop to make groove-based stuff
- that’s why I think that feel is ingrained in my musical mind.” g PM: You are using Timber Tones wooden guitar picks and the
Logarhythm stomp box. Is your new LP an organic experience? g CW: “It’s called Wood Craft and it’s an EP with tuition videos, it’s an advanced CD. I know that people get a lot of pleasure from watching players as much as listening to them, so there is a lot of video on there. There are five audio tracks on there, featuring Timber Tones picks and the Logarhythm. It’s all very groovy stuff. There is also a nylon strung guitar tuned down to ‘B’, which sounds very powerful. It’s all very exciting and it’s the first time that I’ve done something down in this format. I explain the techniques that I’m using on the tracks that I’m playing and I also talk
52 3pickup CHRIS WOODS LIVE DATES
Make a date in yowur diary to see Chris Woods playing live at the following UK Guitar Shows:
• Haydock Park Guitar Show - 15th May • Leeds Guitar Show - 18th September • Middlesborough Guitar Show - 23rd October • Merseyside Guitar Show - 20th November • Guitar Nation, Wembley - November 26th & 27th
Also come and meet Chris at the Timber Tones Plectrums stand at Frankfurt Musik-Messe on April 6th - 9th Hall 3.1: Stand A94.
For more info, go to
www.chriswoodsgroove.co.uk.
hris Woods is one of a new breed of British acoustic guitarists whose exhilarating style is changing the perceived boundaries of the acoustic guitars unique capabilities as a melodic and a
about the Log. The way that I use the Log is different to how most other people use it, I use it more like a kick drum to accentuate the groove and bring that out. I also talk about Timber Tones picks and the how the mixture of fingerstyle and using a plectrum doesn’t restrict
you to one style of playing.” g PM: What is your experience of using Timber Tones wooden
guitar picks? g CW: “I’ve always used heavy picks but with Timber Tones, first and foremost it’s a feel thing, especially if you play an acoustic guitar. Rather than picking with a piece of plastic, you are actually picking with a tone wood and I think that we all agree that if you play a beautiful guitar you don’t want to use a £5.00 set of strings and that comes down to your plectrum as well. It’s making sure that you are playing your guitar with the highest quality products all the way through the process and ultimately if you have a beautiful guitar, good strings and a good pick you are going to sound good. It all comes down to the shape of your fingernails and the pick you use... that’s the core of it!” PM
Wood from the trees:
Chris Woods’ claims that Timber Tones picks form a vital link in his tone path.
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