Joe Bonamassa has urged his fellow guitar players to “read the room” when jamming with others, and how, in those moments, “a guitarist’s greatest asset” shouldn’t be ignored.
The guitarist has collaborated with Epiphone for the 13th time, recreating his “extremely rare” 1959 Les Paul Custom. Very few left its Kalamazoo factory that year with a Bigsby vibrato and twin humbuckers, and his, sourced from a little old lady in Pennsylvania, is one of them.
“The family didn't realize it was a very special, rare variant,” he says. “There's maybe 20 or less in existence.”
Speaking to Gibson Gear Guide’s Dinesh Lekhraj in a video to promote the sub-$1K electric guitar, Bonamassa was in highly quotable form, offering sage advice while simultaneously rallying against outdated rock-star attitudes.
“As a player, you’ve got to read the room,” he begins. “If you're getting called up [onstage] for a jam, or called up for one song, there shouldn't be a technical team in tow with a pedalboard the size of a Fiat. You don’t need an F1 pit crew for a three-minute jam.
“Just plug straight in, man,” he adds. “We're not making our careers here. Just use the volume and tone controls, and figure it out.”
Lekhraj responds by recalling Bonamassa’s attitude for these Epiphone promo shoots. He says Bonamassa plugs straight into an amp already in the room — in this case, a Mesa/Boogie combo — and quickly dials in a tone. He doesn’t get hung up on minor details.
“I think we get caught up in, ‘Is the tone right? Is the volume right?’” Lekhraj offers.
“Exactly,” Bonamassa concurs. “And if you want a Tube Screamer or something like that, great. Stick it on the amp and go.
“I’ve been onstage with five or more guitarists many times, and do you know what your greatest asset is? The volume control. When somebody's soloing and there are five guitar players, it shouldn't be on.
“Leave some space,” he continues, pausing for emphasis. “And then when they point to you, go for it. You wanna make music for music's sake and not your sake. The days of those Ralph Macchio and Steve Vai duels are long gone. It is so unappealing to watch that go down.
As ever, though, he has an exception to the rule.
“The only time I'll do it is when I get onstage with Eric Gales,” he confesses. “I'll do it, and it's fun because I love the man and we have such a mutual respect for one another. We both know we're going to get a black eye and a bloody nose. We're going for it, and the crowd loves it.
“But it serves a purpose because it’s a spectacle, it’s P.T. Barnum juggling a polar bear on a unicycle. But in other situations, you want to be respectful to your fellow players.”
Elsewhere, Bonamassa has revealed the unlikely origin story of one of his most prized Les Pauls, how he still lives by the advice he got from Leslie West in his younger days, and has recalled the pinch-me moment when Ozzy Osbourne asked to collaborate with him.
The new Epiphone Joe Bonamassa 1959 Les Paul Custom is available now for $999, and follows last year's hugely popular Copper Iridescent Les Paul Standard.
