Tell The Story And Get The Sound

The Fabulous Thunderbirds

From an interview with client Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds…

Cris: What makes for a good solo?

Kim: You have to phrase it and draw people in. You don't do that by playing a zillion miles an hour for five verses. If you can't get it done in one verse, you can't get it done. It's that simple. Unless you're playing an instrumental, you don't ever take more than two verses. You're telling a story. You're phrasing it. And you're getting the sound. In order to get the sound, you have to really back off of the instrument. That's where you're going to get your optimum sound. And then you still have headroom to get a different sound if you hit it harder. Also, when you back off of it, you're able to execute things that you're not able to execute if you're blowing your face off all the time.