FEATURES >>> ADAM SLACK just be an accident. I’ll play around and go, “Oh, that’s a nice bit,” and then try to work something around it. There are also times when I’ll hum a solo without having a guitar in my hands, and I’ll have to figure out what I was doing. It’s different every time. I’d love to ask Brian how he does it, if I meet him. What do you do? I tend to like improvising. I love that “seat of your pants” thing. If your solo in “One Night Only” had a bit of “messing around” as you said, it’s a great example of conscious crafting and improvising. The intro part is a real ear-catcher. Thank you. That definitely was a situation where the initial idea came while I was noodling, but then it took quite a while to decide how to phrase and refine each part. Did you ever take lessons, or did you learn everything by ear? I never had lessons. It was actually Green Day that got me into playing guitar when I was 13. I remember seeing the video for “Minority” on TV, and I was like, “Wow, I want to do that.” So I bought a Squier Strat, and I learned from downloading Green Day videos and copying how Billy Joe played. Then, at 15, I got into Oasis, and I started being aware of solos. But I don’t feel like I started playing properly until I was 18, and began playing in bands and writing songs. I used to jam with my cousin’s cover band in my hometown—just playing rhythm— and sometimes he’d throw me into the deep end in front of the crowd. He’d say, “Do a solo!” I’m like, “I don’t even know how to play.” But I think it was really good, because when you’re thrown into the deep end, you have to learn how to swim. I guess I picked up things that he was doing, and I learned by playing live, really—making horrendous mistakes along the way. YouTube lessons really helped me, as well. From a performance standpoint, what’s it like going from small clubs to arenas? To me, it all depends on my monitor mix. Sometimes, the stage volume can be loud in a small club, and that can get a bit overwhelming. On the other hand, there are times when I can’t have my guitar loud enough, because Luke can’t hear himself. And then, you have those horrible gigs where you can’t really hear the guitar, and you can’t really hear the vocals. That’s the problem with smaller clubs, and it’s quite frustrating. None of us want to use in-ear monitors, so we kind of just duke it out. But we did a show in Quebec with the Who, and it was the best gig I’ve ever played. It was in front of 80,000 people, and the wedges were incredible. We could hear everything crystal clear. Of course, if you walk away from the sweet spot of the wedges, it gets tougher. You can feel the drums, for example, but not hear them. But you just get used to everything, you know? You trust your sense of rhythm, and you just get on with it. g Tanglewood guitars offer vintage-inspired designs with modern features and playability, all while avoiding the elite price tag. That’s why Tanglewood is recognised as the UK’s all-time best-selling acoustic guitar brand. Whether it’s your first acoustic, or your next acoustic, your Tanglewood will become your favourite. NOW AVAILABLE IN THE U.S. TANGLEWOODGUITARS.COM
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