A wish comes true
Back in October, I posted some notes on a new song for a pedal steel guitarist in the US, Bruce Kaphan, that was about to play on a song of mine called 17 Hills. I mentioned to him that in addition to adding touches all through the song, he could take a crack at the solo section; but I warned him that I was trying to locate Mark Knopfler, who I thought would be perfect for a lead guitar part for that solo. Well, six months later my wish came true: I was invited to Mark’s studio in London where he took some time out of mixing his own album to play on my song.
I’ve been lucky to work with some of the world’s most iconic guitarists—including Jerry Garcia and Eddie Van Halen, two guys that were possibly past their sell-by date… but Mark’s playing is a gorgeous as ever, and he’s matured as a storyteller and songwriter, which made him the perfect choice for 17 Hills. He really grokked to the fact that his guitar helps propel my story. The song is nearly eight minutes long and has an epic, road movie type feel; it’s very dreamy at times, but his guitar brings it sharply into focus. I think very cinematically, and Mark’s entrance is like a jump-cut. One minute we’re in a wide shot of a car kicking up the dust on a distant desert road; suddenly we cut to a closeup of to the radio in the car’s dashboard.
British Grove studios ars a perfect blend of old and new. He has a couple of EMI desks with levers instead of faders; an ATC board beloved of guitarists (Steve Vai also has one, and swears by the mic preamps); a more modern Neve board, and of course a ton of Avalons, Fairchilds and LA1076s, all going to classic 1″ and 2″ analog machines or state of the art hard drive recorders, as the project requires. Presumably has has more guitars than God lurking behind closed doors, though only two or three emerged for our session, and the chosen one was a custom Don Grosch. Its tone was somewhere between a Strat and a Les Paul, though of course in Mark’s hands it could sound however he wanted. At one point while transitioning between sections I asked him if he’d changed his tone–no, of course not, it was all in the fingertips!
I was relieved that my song sounded pretty accurate on the big monitors, as it was the first set of tracks I’ve worked on in the Nutmeg and brought elsewhere. It was a pleasant, relaxed session. I always skirt the line between letting a musician like that just do his thing, versus giving too much direction and cramping his style. And I’m a keyboard player after all so I don’t really have the vocabulary to explain what I’m looking for. But our communication was good, and I think we got something great. Mark gave me upwards of 12 takes, and we did a fairly hasty comp while I was there, though such is my reluctance to let anything great slip away, I think I’ll give the rest of his takes a good going over tomorrow and make sure no sweetness slips through the cracks.
March 29th, 2009 at 6:22 am
Congratulations Thomas, it’ll be very cool to hear Mark’s contribution to what’s got to be a great song. And a fascinating, well-told tale as always!
March 29th, 2009 at 9:25 am
The Garcia and Van Halen tracks you mention are amongst my favourite TD tracks so I can’t wait to hear your new album. Perhaps Mr Knopfler could be persuaded to accompany you on tour?
Thanks very much for letting us into your diary.
March 29th, 2009 at 9:59 am
thomas
if mister knopfler had not been available,which other guitar players would you have loved to have used on the track?are there any musicians who you would really love to work with,but havent yet?
cheers,
david
March 29th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Among the guitar hall of famers, I guess Jeff Beck could have pulled it off. I like his style a lot. Not so nuts about Clapton as a guitarist, though I like his songs, and as for Santana…. ugh, I was already bored of him in the 70s, let alone now when he seems to be still out there treading all over vocalists that I don’t like either! I expect the feeling is completely mutual, can’t see Carlos digging me very much. I liked a lot of Adrian Belew’s work with T Heads, and I like David Byrne for that matter. Also Andy Partridge, obviously. Who am I leaving out?
Anyway, Mark K was absolutely the right person to play on 17 Hills, and he met my highest expectations. I headed home on the train with a Firewire drive in my backpack and a big smile on my face.
March 29th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Thomas,
I love that fact that you are always ‘painting pictures’ with your music. As a radio producer and musician it’s a fundamental tool I have strived to perfect.
March 29th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I borrowed a lapsteel guitar last week to try it on one of my songs. Not as easy as it sounds ! Even with an open tuning
I’m stuck between being a guitar player and a keyboard player but master of neither.
Whatever about Andy Partridge…. why not Dave Gregory ? I occasionally bump into Dave and I reckon he’d welcome the invitation. Drop me a note if you want to get his email. He’s such an inventive guitar player and a joy to record with.
Peter. Dublin.
March 29th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Oh sweet. After the email I still have somewhere where he couldn’t do it due to time constraints, this is terrific news!
Can’t wait to hear it!
March 29th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
my heart is filled with joy, as an artist and not a musician, I can fully understand (but in a different way) what you’re saying, to share in the creative process with a like-minded artist and kindred-spirit is a beautiful thing, and we must cherish those moments, those few moments of accomplished dreams, so far and few in between all the other moments of our ordinary day (as humans)… You write beautifully, and we can all appreciate what you say and it makes the rest of us (mere-mortals) sleep well tonite, having shared also with you, your joys… and we sleep with a little light glowing inside us, and with smiles on our faces…
Thank you,
m.
March 30th, 2009 at 5:06 am
BJ Cole is an helluva player…he coulda definitely done a great job too
March 30th, 2009 at 6:50 am
Dear Thomas,
Thank you so much for another personal and fascinating entry. I love how honest and open you are without a hint of pretension. It’s such a rare thing.
I adore Mark Knopfler’s playing and I especially like his guitar work on a Dire Straits track from their last album called “You And Your Friend”. It sounds very “pedal steel” to me. Do you know the track?
Anyway, I’m stoked to discover that he’ll part of the new album.
Sincerely,
Darren
March 30th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
I hear Andy Partridge works out of his shed in his back-garden. Love to hear him contribute to another TD album….
April 1st, 2009 at 7:17 am
use all the cool guitarist you want on the lp, but use jeff pevar on tour. he can cover them all. good guy too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC2rgq8TXbQ
http://www.pevar.com/
A
April 1st, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Congratulations on such an amazing collaboration. When is your album coming out? And btw – welcome to Twitter
April 19th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Nice! I must say that one of my favorite perks of my career has been getting to work with musicians and music. Of course Mr. TMDR was one of them. At around the same time in the late ’80′s my character Riff had a scene where he dreams Sir George Martin, Mark Knopfler and Paddy Martin were playing his tune. It was a very sweet piece which I believe was written by George and Mark. I remember when we were taping the visuals for it, Paddy had the hardest time miming to his own Penny Whistle for all the different camera angles. I think the brain works differently when creating and he can play without thinking about the mechanics and concentrate on the performance as is the case with any good musician of course. Mark was very quiet and Sir George was ever the gentleman! Here’s a snap from the shoot:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e340/michaelequinn/Mike-George-Mark-Paddy–Ri.jpg
Mike Q.
April 26th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Mark K is wonderful, from his work with DS, his Dylan stuff, all through to his solo work today. Another Marc that would be nice is Ribot.
June 16th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
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