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THE
WOODY MANN INTERVIEW -
First
appeared in Acoustic Guitar Review February 2000
AGR:
What and/or who was your earliest musical influence?
WM:
I grew up with a lot of folk music in the house. People like Woody
Guthrie, Leadbelly, Paul Robeson, Peter Seeger, and the Almanac
singers. When I stared playing music I discovered Big Bill Broonzy,
Brownie Mcgee and Josh White and that got me hooked on guitar and
blues music. There were contemporary players like Dave Van Ronk,
Jack Elliott, and Jim Question who I loved also. By far, the
most influential person in my life at that time was Gary Davis.
AGR:
When did you first start playing and can you remember the excitement
of getting your first guitar?
WM:
I started playing at about 8 or 9 years old. My brother had a Guild
that I kept borrowing to get used to the steel strings I started
on nylon). When I got my first guitar- a Martin D18 -excitement
is an understatement.
AGR:
It's well documented that you studied with the legendary Reverend
Gary Davis. How did you meet him?
WM:
I wonder who documented it? Makes me sound ancient... When I was
looking for a guitar teacher someone suggested I call up Davis.
So I did. Annie , his wife answered the phone and said come on over.
I got my mother to drive me there and when I heard ( really for
the first time) his amazing swinging guitar playing there in his
living room - I said, "can I study with you?, and he said yes.
From there, I guess the rest is documented.
AGR:
What was he like to work with? I've heard Rory Block say that he
just sort of fired stuff at people and expected them to pick it
up.
WM:
With me, Davis was patient and giving. Perhaps because I was so
young, I don't know. I would come over and spend the entire day
learning his tunes, lick by lick and jamming with him for hours.
He
did fire stuff at you but he made sure you got it. I was a pretty
studious student.
AGR:
On your fine album "Stairwell Serenade", we hear Gary
Davis speaking at one point. He says, "Just play what you know".
What did he mean exactly by this?
WM:
Yes, that's Davis. It is from a tape of my lessons with him. I would
tape record each lesson so I can learn the tunes. Just play what
you know... play your own music.
AGR:
You also played with Bukka White and Son House. How did this come
about?
WM:
I played with Bukka White at a few festivals in the Midwest and
I met Son in New York through Nick Perls, who owned Yazoo records.
His place was the center of blues activity in NY and any time there
was a blues musician in town, Nick would have them over. One one
occasion, he called and asked me to come over to record with Son
House. Well, of course, I ran over even though I was pretty nervous.
I just
reissued these sessions on "Been Here and Gone".
AGR:
You perform a lot and teach a lot. Which do you prefer?
WM:
Both. I like performing steady. I find that the consistency of playing
in front of people keeps me creative and keeps the spontaneity in
my playing. I can be lazy without performing. Now , I feel more
comfortable playing music on stage than off. I enjoy teaching is
doses. I am consolidating my teaching by doing more workshops, about
once a month when I am in town . I find these weekend workshops
very rewarding and it seems to be creating a good music scene here
in NYC. Students are playing together and jamming more, creating
a healthy music community. Looks like I will continue these throughout
the year-offering various subjects. The workshops give me a chance
to stretch.
AGR:
You have studied acoustic blues in enormous depth and have produced
a stack of tuition material. Where can we get this from?
WM:
All of my books/videos are listed at me website
www.woodymann.com (the website has my touring info as well)
Also Trevor Laurence at www.avguitar.com
sells all of my products.
AGR:
How much do you practice? At your level of playing it must be very
hard to make improvements. Do you think you can get any better and
how do you see your playing evolving in the next few years?
WM:
I don't think of it as getting better - just deeper into music.
I've discovered after many years of playing that all I need to do
is play on a constant basis and things naturally evolve. Just stay
in touch with the instrument. If I am working on a project I am
more disciplined in my practicing. When I am performing steadily
- I naturally play everyday. When I am in-between - I try to keep
in touch by playing an hour or so everyday. Aside from keeping my
chops loose-it keeps my head on straight. For me there is no one
way to practice. If music is gong to be part of your life - it has
to be flexible. I do have a few practice techniques that I learned
from Lennie Tristano that I still use. As I am now working on some
new material and getting back to these basics - play slowly and
focus on the basics of rhythm, melody and harmony. I am also improvising
a lot more and want to keep that idea in the tunes.
AGR:
What guitars do you use and what setup, amps, effects etc do you
favor for live playing?
WM:
I use a Frankin guitar - a one off model make out of wenge wood
and a lowden. I also just received a Kevin Ryan guitar that I will
be using. If it is a local gig, I take my Michael Dunn guitar for
a few tunes or my D'Aquisto archtop. I use Highlander pickups -
the duel system running through a new blender by Rane. I always
use an external microphone for the guitar as well. Each room is
different and I experiment.
AGR:
Do you have any advice for guitarists trying to master the difficult
art of fingerstyle?
WM:
Sure. Listen and try to find someone to learn from who has a good
sense of many styles so you can develop your overall technique rather
than just on style. Play what you know slowly. To me the goal is
to
get into your own sound.
AGR:
Which contemporary acoustic guitarists do you admire?
WM:
I really do not listen to guitar music much. But there are a few
whose originality and sense of adventure I admire. Peter Finger,
Tim Sparks, Duck Baker come to mind.. Of course there are other
guitarists like Charlie Christian, Wes Montogomery, Eddie Lang,
Jim Hall, and Attila Zoller (to name a few) who have had a great
influence on me.
AGR:
This may be a daft question, but who do you rate as the finest guitarist
amongst the old blues guys: Blind Blake, Gary Davis or maybe someone
else?
WM:
The beauty is in the individual. It depends on who I am listening
to at the moment. There are a bunch of players that are on my favorite
list - Lonnie Johnson, Blake, Davis, Blind Lemon, Scrapper,
and Patton to name a few.
AGR:
What recording and other musical projects have you got on at the
moment and what's planned from the future?
WM:
I just completed a duo CD with Bob Brozman "Get Together"
and a new book of my original material is just released called "Lisboa".
Also, Been here and gone is a CD I put together from earlier sessions
with duets with Joann Kelly, and Son House as well as some recently
recorded material. I also recorded some videos for Stefan Grossman
(Blake, Broonzy) and will do a few more in the near future. I am
trying to find the time to work on new material - it feels good
to move on. some solo and with a small group. I have a lot of ideas
using melodies and rhythms from various sources but as usual it
is coming together and I don't think about what style it is anymore.
I let you decide... I have been touring a lot and looks like the
next 12 months will be pretty busy. As far as my teaching, I mentioned
the weekend workshops in New York City and I'll continue these throughout
the year when I am in town. The one project I am most exited about
is International Guitar Seminars, a week long residential guitar
workshop I started with Bob Brozman.
Last
year was our first year and it was a great success. This year we
will have two sessions: in New York City at Columbia university
in June, and The University of California,Santa Cruz in August.
This is a place where students of all levels can come together for
a week of non-competitive learning and jamming around the clock.
This year Martin Simpson, John Cephas, Orville Johnson as well as
additional staff will be with us for the week. We are keeping it
small to maximize individual attention. It is a very rewarding project
for me and it gives Bob and I a chance to teach in a program of
our own design and offer our knowledge in a relaxed and intimate
manner. It is a fun week to say the least and I think all who attended
came away with something special. I should mention our website -
http://www.guitarseminars.com
if anyone is interested they can call Trevor Laurence, our coordinator
for details (212 989 7003)
AGR:
Finally, thanks Woody for taking the time to answer these questions.
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