Sonny Landreth
The Southern slide maestro talks teenage kicks, dream guitars and ‘torturing’ his pet dog…
I got my first real six-string…
“My first guitar was a big Kay Acoustic. It was impossible to play, but it sure did look great. I saw it in a local music store and my parents got it for my 13th birthday – so by today’s standards, I was an old man. Then I traded that in – and thus began the years of gearswapping. I got a little Gibson Classical and that was a completely different beast, then my first electric was an Epiphone Olympic Double. Once I’d cranked that up, it was all over. I wish I still had those guitars, but in my teens, I couldn’t afford to have more than one.”
All I want is you…
“The Gibson ES-345 TDC. That was the guitar I lusted over when I was a kid. I got a job at this music store, which was an amazing experience and it really helped me get exposed to music. They were a Gibson dealer and we had a guitar room, and that’s where I fell in love with that guitar. But somebody else bought it. So then I took the leap. I didn’t have the money – there was no way – but I figured I’d be working there the rest of my life. So I ordered that guitar. Unfortunately, that’s when Gibson hit the wall, so I never did get a ES-345. Maybe I should get one now. It ain’t over yet, so who knows.”
Slide away, give it all you got…
“Oh God, my sliding playing was awful at the start. I don’t know if it was harder on me, my family or my dog. I knew I was getting a little better when he quit barking! The thing with slide is that it’s a totally different approach than traditional guitar, and the fact that you gotta control the pitch, that’s the beauty and the beast of it. When you start improving, it’s quite the elation. I’m honoured that people like my slide work. It was a bit surreal when Eric Clapton praised me, because he was one of my greatest heroes. You start to think, ‘Well, maybe I am doing something right’.”
I’m hot for teacher…
“I would have loved to have sat down in front of Wes Montgomery. He was a huge hero of mine as a kid. As it turned out, our local jazz cat was friends with Wes. In the afternoons, I’d go over to his store after school, and he’d get on the phone, call up Wes Montgomery – and I’d be stood there listening to the conversation. That’s as close as I got.”
Life on the road, don’t need a heavy load…
“To be a good live guitarist, you just have to get out and do it. There’s no better way to learn than playing live. You’re forced into a situation where you’re allowing yourself to be put to the test. Before we did the live album, we booked a few weeks of dates, just building up a head of steam instead of hitting it cold. At the same time, you gotta be able to let that go, so the spontaneity can kick in and do its thing. That’s when the good stuff starts happening.”
Gonna be 18 ’til I die…
“Eric Johnson once said something in an interview. If you can survive the business, and all the ups and downs, and all the pessimism that’s gonna sneak into your daily life – and hang on to some of that excitement and magic you had when you first started playing guitar – then that’s what makes the difference in the long run. And I really believe that as well.” RecordedLiveInLafayette is out now on Provogue/Mascot
“To be a good live guitarist, you have to get out and do it. There’s no bett er way to learn”