{"id":23159,"date":"2024-12-28T12:13:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T12:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/?p=23159"},"modified":"2025-01-12T14:49:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-12T14:49:29","slug":"the-interviewer-asked-joe-satriani-why-andy-fairweather-low-and-thats-exactly-the-question-i-wouldve-asked-too-hes-played-with-eric-clapton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/2024\/12\/28\/the-interviewer-asked-joe-satriani-why-andy-fairweather-low-and-thats-exactly-the-question-i-wouldve-asked-too-hes-played-with-eric-clapton\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe interviewer asked Joe Satriani, \u2018Why Andy Fairweather Low?\u2019 And that\u2019s exactly the question I would\u2019ve asked, too\u201d: He’s played with Eric Clapton, George Harrison and David Gilmour, but now, this rhythm guitar hero is ready to take center stage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Andy<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After bursting onto the British music scene in 1967 as frontman for Welsh pop-rockers Amen Corner, guitarist Andy Fairweather Low later built up an extraordinary list of credits as guitarist, singer, and collaborator with Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, George Harrison, Joe Satriani, David Gilmour, Bob Dylan, and many others.<\/p>\n

Until now, Fairweather Low has largely gone unrecognized in the blues world. But his new album, The Invisible Bluesman<\/em>, showcases his unique voice and guitar mastery in a collection of material recorded since he left Clapton\u2019s band.<\/p>\n

The title <\/strong>The Invisible Bluesman<\/strong><\/em> is apt \u2013 you\u2019ve toiled away for decades in the shadows. Why was it time to take front-and-center position?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was Malcolm Mills\u2019s idea, the guy who owns [the record label] The Last Music Company. He said, \u2018I’ve seen your show and I think we need to put this blues thing out there. There\u2019s an audience out there and they\u2019re not getting it.\u2019 He came up with the title and I went, \u2018that’s exactly how I feel!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve played with Gatemouth Brown, BB King, Otis Rush, Jimmie Vaughan\u2026 the list goes on \u2013 but it seems to mean absolutely nothing. When I did a big show at New Year\u2019s last year, it was advertised as \u2018Andy Fairweather Low, lead singer with Amen Corner\u2019. Now, I\u2019m not disowning it, but I\u2019m 76 years old. Give me a break!\u201d<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s your final album, too?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy previous album, Flang Dang<\/em>, did absolutely nothing. And I loved that album; I played everything on it except the drums. I think this is probably my last self-penned album. I don’t see the point anymore, unless something breaks.<\/p>\n

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All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cBut a blues album, a soul album, or a gospel album? You never know. I\u2019m just going to play live and enjoy it. I\u2019ve already got a tour next year happening for two months playing to about 300 to 400 people nightly, and it\u2019s already 90 percent sold out. I\u2019ll see how life on the road feels in 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

You came to work with George Harrison through a mutual love of Ry Cooder\u2019s guitar playing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d met a couple of times at different Ry Cooder gigs and just said \u2018hello,\u2019 nothing more. Then I got a call from Roger Forrester, who was Eric\u2019s manager, and he says, \u2018George wants you do the tour of Japan, and play all the intricate slide parts; he doesn’t want to do them.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/figure>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t play slide \u2013 but I knew this was a life-changing moment. I thought, \u2018I\u2019m either going to turn up at the rehearsal and they\u2019ll realize I\u2019m an absolute no-go. Or I can phone George and own up. So, I asked Roger to get me George\u2019s number, and I rang him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told George, \u2018I know we met at a Ry Cooder concert, and I\u2019m a big fan of Ry, too, but I\u2019m never going to play slide. I’m having enough trouble with my fingers without putting a metal or glass bar in the way. I\u2019ll stick to what I do.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut George said, \u2018Everybody seems to like you, so why don\u2019t you just come up?\u2019 And I did, and we got on really well. After we talked for a while and laughed a lot, he said, \u2018Let’s play Give Me Love<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/figure>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I knew that inside out because Living in the Material World<\/em> is one of my all-time favorite albums. I can sing all the harmonies on that song, and sing the slide solo \u2013 but I couldn\u2019t play it. Eventually I had to learn to play it, because he wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he didn\u2019t change his mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I said, \u2018George, I\u2019m the rhythm player. You\u2019re the slide player.\u2019 But he wouldn’t have it. It was the same with Eric \u2013 I had to play the front of Tears in Heaven<\/em>, and other hits of his. Riffs and licks which everybody know, and they\u2019ll go, \u2018That didn’t sound like it.\u2019 So there was always a fabulous pressure on all those gigs.<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/figure>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your current guitar and <\/strong>amp<\/strong> setup?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to guitars, it\u2019s mainly a Knight Arena which was made by Gordon and Robert Wells. I use a Cornell amp, made by Denis Cornell from Southend. I wanted him to make me an \u2018inefficient amplifier,\u2019 which is against all of the ethos of an amplifier maker.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut after a lot of trials he made me an amp with a volume knob, a tone knob, and a bit of vibrato. And that is it. No graphic equalizers, no presence, no nothing. And the amp just growls.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a period in the late 80s, you were mostly playing <\/strong>Strats<\/strong> fitted with Lace Sensor pickups, then you moved on to humbuckers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOn one of the tours with Eric, I had these Strats with the Lace Sensors, but I eventually ripped them all out \u2013 I couldn\u2019t get on with them. I first put in two humbuckers and eventually ended up with one. I like humbuckers because it helps keep everything simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll plug the guitar in, turn it up maybe to four or five, and if it growls then I\u2019m there tone wise. And though you can do all the fine bits with nice pretty notes and all, it\u2019s got to have that growl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/figure>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Playing rhythm guitar is so underrated. Do you think people misunderstand its importance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI was lucky that I never had the facility to be a lead guitar player, but I loved being a rhythm player. I was lucky in that I wasn\u2019t good enough to be a lead guitar player \u2013 and I didn\u2019t want to be.<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/figure>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m three feet away from Joe doing these songs, but I can\u2019t think as fast as he can play. I did bring lots of different guitar tones, rhythm tones, whatever \u2013 I had a fabulous Supro with a lap steel pickup, and Fender made me an Esquire, so I could add things.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Joe, God, he was fabulous. We spent three weeks, and made a live album. And I think to myself, \u2018Why me? The singer with Amen Corner is playing with Joe Satriani!\u2019 He was so kind and tolerant, and I\u2019m forever grateful to him, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

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  • The Invisible Bluesman<\/strong><\/em> is set for release on February 7 via The Last Music Company.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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    Joe Matera is an Australian guitarist and music journalist who has spent the past two decades interviewing a who’s who of the rock and metal world and written for Guitar World<\/em>, Total Guitar<\/em>, Rolling Stone<\/em>, Goldmine<\/em>, Sound On Sound<\/em>, Classic Rock<\/em>, Metal Hammer<\/em> and many others. He is also a recording and performing musician and solo artist who has toured Europe on a regular basis and released several well-received albums including instrumental guitar rock outings through various European labels. Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera has called him, “… a great guitarist who knows what an electric guitar should sound like and plays a fluid pleasing style of rock.” He’s the author of Backstage Pass: The Grit and the Glamour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    (Image credit: Getty Images) After bursting onto the British music scene in 1967 as frontman for Welsh pop-rockers Amen Corner, guitarist Andy Fairweather Low later built up an extraordinary list of credits as guitarist, singer, and collaborator with Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, George Harrison, Joe Satriani, David Gilmour, Bob Dylan, and many others. Until now, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23159"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23559,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23159\/revisions\/23559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guitarmadrid.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}