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GuitarSite.com Guitar News Weekly Edition #91, May 22, 2000 |
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FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS http://www.flyingburritobrothers.com The Flying Burrito Brothers helped forge the connection between rock and country, and with their 1969 debut album, The Gilded Palace of Sin, they virtually invented the blueprint for country-rock... One of the most influential bands in country/rock for the past three decades. Originally founded by GRAM PARSONS and CHRIS HILLMAN back in the late 60's, THE BURRITOS have been known more for the high callibur of musicians and songwriters who have passed thru the ranks, rather than any top 40 singles. Regardless of the personel changes throughout the years, THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS have always maintained their trademark southern California brand of country & rock... in part due to the fact that at one time or another, the band has always been spearheaded by a creative team of Los Angeles country rock singers & writers... GRAM, CHRIS, RICK ROBERTS, GIB GUILBEAU, JOEL SCOTT HILL, BERNIE LEADON, GENE PARSONS, JOHN BELAND ect. Today's FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS continues in that tradition...
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INTERVIEW with JOHN BELAND of The Flying Burrito Brothers By Rob Walker When I first had the opportunity to interview John Beland my research attempts were stymied by the sheer weight of his career. The history of the Flying Burrito Brothers is such that I would refer you to the band's web site to do your own research because I don't have the page room here to do it justice. Suffice to say that the FBB's are one of the most influential bands in country rock music over the past three decades. John Beland led the band to a series of country hits in the 80's and his guitar and vocals have been heard behind some of the most influential and legendary artists of our time: Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie, Dolly Parton, The Bellamy Brothers, Rick Nelson, Nicolette Larson, Gene Clark, Ry Cooder, and Joan Baez to name a few. Many top artists like Garth Brooks and Rick Nelson have recorded his songs, and as a top session player in both LA and Nashville, particularly during the 60s and 70s you are more than likely to have heard his playing on any number of hits. And yet one of his career highlights has been bringing his band to our shores for the first time. I was priveleged to spend an hour with him in Tamworth. John Beland played the Grand Old Opry at 19, a venue of such heritage, that playing it would seem quite a daunting experience for someone so young. "I was coming from Los Angeles where I had been playing at the Troubadour, doing sessions and so on. Nashville was the far off place, so when I got to join the Linda Ronstadt band, we were booked to play the Johnny Cash Show, an ABC TV show which was taped at the Opry. Cash was one of the innovators of bringing rock and country together, and he bought in the students of the Vanderbilt University, which was a really radical thing to do in conservative Nashville. On the bill was Neil Young, James Taylor, Tony Joe White, Albert Brooks, Bread and Earl Scruggs and Linda and us. But not only that, after the show Linda says come on over to Quadraphonic Studios, I'm doing some harmonies for Neil Young. So over I go and in the booth is Neil Young, James Taylor and Linda doing the harmonies on 'Heart of Gold' I can still picture it. So besides the Opry I was in on the session of one of the biggest hits of our time, and we got snowed in for the night. It was real rock dreams. But even as young and dumb I was at 19 I was smart enough to have had great respect for the heritage and importance of what I was involved in". "In fact it was through knowing Linda Ronstadt that I met musicians like Ricky Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and in fact Kris said to me in his early days in LA ' if everything goes good I'll pay you a lot more. Sure enough when he exploded a few years later he hired me back and I did make a lot more. Everybody I worked with then have remained good friends. We've all had a chance to play on sessions with our childhood idols. I've been very lucky What a cool job." Today in times of the debate of what is country and what isn't rages, the Burritos won a Billboard Award for the Best Crossover Band from pop to Country. John laughs loudly when recalling this. "I didn't ever think we were pop" he laughs "but hey I'll take any award I can get , it's still hanging at the door of my studio". In those days relations between LA and Nashville were a bit strained; even in the 60s when Merle Haggard and Buck Owens recorded in LA the old Nashville crew didn't like it. A lot of country music stations wouldn't play any songs that weren't recorded in Nashville. And they didn't like bands like the Burritos, the Eagles, Poco, and so on. It wasn't until recent years that the importance of these bands was recognised." With so many people espousing an opinion on what ís country, John has firm thoughts on country's origins. "Blues music is what influenced Hank Williams Snr. He was learning guitar and singing from an old blues musician he knew. That's how country music evolved, a combination of blues, Irish music and bluegrass. I was heavily influenced by blues. I grew up on the south side of Chicago down Harlem Avenue playing clubs when I was a teenager. A lot of country players would tell you that they could trace their early influences to blues. You know the stock blues and country riff are two different things though, but when they merge you get a wonderful approach to playing guitar. Take Roy Buchanan, Albert Lee they melt the styles together. My heroes were guys like Lonnie Mack, James Burton on the old Ricky Nelson records, Clarence White from the Byrds. And I love Eric Clapton's playing. John Beland is well known for playing the legendary B Bender originally built by Gene Parsons from an idea from The Byrd's guitarist Clarence White. "Gene Parsons was the drummer from The Byrds, but he was also a machinist. Recounts Beland. "Clarence wanted to be able to bend the B string, so Gene came up with this double bodied Fender telecaster made up from bicycle parts and they devised a way that you could pull down on your strap and bend the B String up a full tone. There were four of us in LA who had one, Clarence, Bob Worford, Bernie Leadon and myself. We were able to get a lot of session work as a result and I've used it ever since." "I'd had the B-Bender most of my music life. I'd borrowed it from Larry Murray who owned the Troubadour and then one year he and his wife gave it to me for a Christmas gift in the early 70s. I'd had one of my 50s Telecasters stolen and they must have felt sorry for me. Anyway I used it for years on all my sessions. Then in 1990 I made one of those decisions you know you're gonna regret. I was in Nashville, the Burritos had broken up, I was going on the road with the Bellamy Brothers which I didn't really relish and I was pretty down on the whole Nashville scene, so I sold it through a broker. I didn't know who'd bought it, but I got great money for it and was able to buy a number of vintage Fenders - they were OK, but they were never the same. So last year when I knew we were coming to Australia I made the decision to get it back. I put an ad in a vintage guitar magazine and one day I got a fax out of the blue from an attorney who said his client, a Pittsburgh guitar dealer, had it on display in his shop. He was a Burritos fan and offered to sell it back to me for what he had paid me for it. Amazing! I'd never sell it again, I feel so lucky to have got it back. The Australian tour is the first tour I've used it on since I got it back". The conversation about times past begged a question of the present, such as his opinion on the newer instruments as compared to the old... "I think the wood is horrible, but the pick ups in the newer guitars totally blow away the guitars of the 50s and 60s. The old Teles were notorious for buzzing in rooms with a few fluorescent lights, but you can get great pick ups these days. In fact I'm about to put a set of Fender noiseless pick ups on my B-Bender. But the sound of the Telecaster to me isn't so much the pick ups but the sound of the strings slapping the maple neck. I didn't ever get that playing anything new. And acoustics ...I use a 12 string primarily, on hooks. The first thing John credits new technology with is the fact that it got him his guitar back. But he feels the accessibility for musicians to so much information as well as the interchange of information between musicians is a great bonus. "When I started in 1962 as a guitar player our only access was to vinyl records, you know there were no radio outlets for people like Lonnie Mack or BB King, you really had to search for their stuff. Now everything's at your fingertips. Whether it's the Internet or your equipment, like the new FX stuff, it's amazing what's at your fingertips." John uses an inexpensive Korg Toneworks FX unit on stage that he tapes to the top of the amp. "It saves the back! It's a good unit for getting great sounds. In the studio you've got to use it with good quality compression, but it's a great little unit. On stage I use a Marshall. I'm totally wigged out on them at the moment. I think Marshall is a great compliment to the Telecaster. I used the combo amps, liked Clapton used on the Bluesbreakers. Man it's great. It's a light little amp and I crank it . It's got a great sound gig after gig. I highly recommend Marshall amps to Tele players. I went away from Twins because I like meat on my sound, Marshall has given me that." On their recent Australian tour the Burrito's used the Marshall 4102 guitar amp, the B150 bass amp and LR150 keyboard amp. The legend that is the Flying Burrito Brothers continues with a new album 'Honky Tonkin', which demonstrates a collection of music legends still making great music, highlighting the importance of our music heritage and the fact that it behoves musicians to ignore it at their own musical development's peril.
by Rob Walker of Australian Musician The Australian Musician Magazine is Australia's only A4 glossy publication designed for all musicians. It is published by the Australian Music Association quarterly in March, June, September, and December each year. 15,000 copies are available from the Australian Music Association's network of member retail stores. These stores are located all over Australia The Australian Music Association is all about nurturing the Australian Music Industry: http://www.australianmusic.asn.au/
The latest Flying Burrito Brothers CD "HONKY TONKIN" is on Stallion Records (Brisbane) The Stallion Records label is as distinctive as it sounds - unmistakably country music that is cutting edge, powerful and commercially appealing. The label was launched at the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival in 1999, generating wide spread industry interest through the high standard of artists already contracted to the label. Our artists are in the enviable position of being closely tied with some of the most notable country musicians and producers in the industry. After having residency in the Country Music Capital - Nashville for 7 years of his 21 year stint based in the United States, Managing Director Brian Cadd carefully guides Stallion Records. Brian utilises his many years of experience and industry contacts in developing the Stallion label into a local and international country music force.
Stallion Records
Official Flying Burrito Brothers Site:
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