Scott Henderson Discussion

[Kevin Thomas]

Hi Scott,
There's a band that never got the success it deserved (imho) here in Europe, and I've heard they made it bigger in the US. It's XTC. I wonder if you know them, and if you like them. Since their have many songs with great guitars on it, I think you might love them. They're at the other end of the guitar spectrum compared to you, and I think you have to love their writing. But I'm not so sure you'll love their sound (it's very sugar pop sometimes).
in case you don't know them, isn't that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQo8aekXlnw pure genius ???

Also, since you're asked very (too?) often what you think about that guitarist or this band, by magazines and by your fans, you also deserve that question : Do you know artist that claim they've been influenced by you or that they like you? I know two : George Benson (you said he likes Vibe Station) and Christophe Godin (french guitarist, he said you're one of his influences https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-0TKh6bQCY)
And maybe there are guitarists that you inflenced, they don't talk about it but YOU noticed it. Did that happen? Have you already felt like "This guy stole from me... cool, I'm worth copying!"?

[Scott Henderson]

I don't like being put in the position of music critic, but I'll just go ahead and be honest. They're good, but I listen to Led Zeppelin and all the great rock bands of that era, Weather Report, Miles Davis, and all the greats of jazz. Albert King, Jimi Hendrix and all the amazing blues players, Ted Greene, Tommy Emmanuel, Philip DeGruy and the great solo guitarists, James Brown, Sly Stone, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Mozart, Bach, Debussy, Ravel... I think you're getting my point. I'm unlikely to be impressed by 99% of the new music I hear. But yeah, they're good.

Like any known guitar player, I have my clones, and I hope they stop listening to me - that's what they need to do. On a very superficial level it's flattering to be imitated, but it's terrible for your career to sound too much like someone else - ask Scott Kinsey.

[Kevin Thomas]

I feel the same very often. It's getting harder and harder to find music that compares to the greats I love. Though, I think that I'm not badmouthing Sir McCartney if I say that Andy Partridge (XTC's leader) is as good as him in terms of composing music (he would not disagree, especially knowing that he thinks Kanye West is so talented).

There is also another reason why I told you about them. A few weeks ago, you said you did not listen to Carlos Santana's music since he went pop, and you don't like pop that much. And I didn't believe my ears. I thought "Is this what he calls pop?"
If you talk about popular music, then ok, everything on the radio is pop. But if you're talking about that genre inspired by the Beatles and the Beach Boys, then let me say there still are a few artists that are as inventive, creative, original as the greats (such as XTC, or the first albums of the Cardigans which also come to my mind right now).

PS : I loved the story with Jeff Berlin and the engineer on the plane!

[Scott Henderson]

I don't remember saying I don't like pop, because I'm a fan of Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, etc. I think that qualifies as pop, but I try not to make it about labels - it's either good or not in my book.

I admit that I haven't heard many of the newer musicians, mainly what my students play for me, but I've liked some of it.

[muddytrane]

I know a thread for XTC isn't where I should bring him up but since you mentioned him I gotta comment and ask you Scott to talk about Ted Greene. Ted has got to be one of the most under appreciated talents on the guitar that I know of. I first purchased his "Solo Guitar" album when it first came out because I always love taking chances on guitarists that play solo guitar, especially jazz or blues standards. I'm interested in hearing the individual take/ideas done on the tried and true. I was so blown away by his playing that I kept waiting on a next album, which never came. Listening to Ted made me think that this guy was just staring at the fret board because his playing sounded so technical that he had to be constantly watching what he was doing. It wasn't until I saw a video of him that I was amazed at how laid back he was and played almost effortlessly. His Blues playing was just out of this world! Being on the East Coast I never got the chance to see him live as I always kept waiting for him to come around but never saw him near me. You guys on the West Coast and especially at MI were blessed to have him around. Scott, can you talk a little about Ted as a person, teacher and his influence on you, especially with your Blues playing. As with Lenny Breau, an amazing talent not exposed to the masses enough!

Scott can you also mention a few guitarists that might not be "household" names that we/I should check out. I'm always looking for new players to check out/listen to. They could be either current or even players from the past. I have a very large music collection but that doesn't mean I have 'em all! Thanks.