60 Secondswith... VirgilMcMahon
Aminute’sallittakestofindoutwhatmakesagreatplayertick.Beforehejumpedinhislimo fortheairport,wegrabbedachatwithVirgil&TheAccelerators’guitarist,
GT:Doyouhaveatypeofpick thatyoucan’tlivewithout?
IstartedusingJimDunlopTortex picks1/1.5mmwhenIfirstlearnt toplay,butIwenttoseeRonnie PetersonwhenIwassixwithmy dadandgotoneofhispicks whichwassimilarinsizeand shapetoaJazzIIIpick,soItookit homeanditfeltverycomfortable forme.SoIusedituntilIworeit downtoanub!Ihavealways foundasmallerpickeasierto handleandmorearticulateto playwith.SoIonlyuseJDJazzIIIs or,ifI’mfeelinglikeIwanttotry somethingelseforwhatever reason,I’llusetheJazzIIIXL.
GT:Ifyouhadtogiveupallyour pedalsbutthree,whatwould theybe?
IfIhadtochoosetheDesert IslandThreeitwouldhavetobe myRoyalOverDrivebyVan Weelden,myLine6DL4andmy wah.TheVanWeeldenRODdoes itall,worksgreatwithanyGibson guitarandanyFender.Ithasa mid-boostswitchandthegain boostswitchreallyaddsathicklift indelivery.It’smyfavouriteOD pedal,itout-gunsmyKlon!My Line6DL4hasbeenapartofmy set-upforthelastsevenyears.It doesjustabouteverykindof delay,sweep,swellandecho.The wahisalate‘70sJimDunlop CryBaby–can’tgowithouta wah-wah;justdon’tgoliving everysolothroughit!
GT:Ifamusicchartwereputin frontofyou,couldyoureadit?
No.Ican’tevenreadtab.It’slikea foreignlanguagetome.Ispent threemonthsinanorchestrapit playingguitarforamusicalstage production.TheMDandtherest ofthebandlookeduponmeas theAntichristfornotbeingable toreadsheetmusic.Ihadacopy ofthemusiconCD,learntitfrom thereandalsomadeanotesheet ofthedifferentsongsandkeys andwhereIshouldplayonthem.
GT:Isthereanyone’splaying (pastorpresent)thatyou’re slightlyjealousof?
I’mnotreallyjealousatall. Everybodyisdifferentinhowthey play.Icertainlyadmirealotof differentplayers,butnotjust guitarists.Ilovebassplayersand saxplayersandItrytousethose kindoflicksinmyplaying.There’s alwaysroomforimprovement,soI takedifferentlicksandtricksfrom lotsofdifferentpeopleandroll themupintomyownball.
GT:Yourhouseorstudiois burningdown:whichofyour guitarsdoyousalvage?
It’simportantto practiseinorderto continuestretching yourself,evenifit meansacock-up hereandthere!
Itwouldhavetobemy1994Black LesPaulknownas‘ThePreacher’.It belongedtomydad;hegaveitto mewhenIturned14andI’veused iteversince.Icouldn’tlivewithout thatguitar.
GT:What’syourfavouriteamp andhowdoyousetit?
Eithermy1971MarshallJMP-50or my1961FenderBassman.Idon’t tourtheBassmanbutIdotourthe Marshall.Isettheamptothesound oftheroomwearein.Generalrule ofthumb,though,is75percent midsand25percentbass.
GT:Whatkindofactiondoyou haveonyourguitars?
Amediumaction.Ican’tdothe shredderlowactionortheSRV drive-a-bus-under-the-strings height,either.Somewhereinthe middleismanageableand comfortableforme.AllmyLPs havethestringswrappedoverthe stoptailalaBillyGibbons.
GT:Whatstringsdoyouuse?
IuseErnieBall10-52onallmy guitars.MyJohnAllison0model acousticusesaslightlyheavier gauge(12-54).IloveErnieBall stringsandeverythingtheymake. Afterall,“Ballsarebest”.Haha!
GT:Whowasyourfirstinfluence toplaytheguitar?
Mydad,Hendry.Iwantedtobe likehimbecausehemadeguitar looksoeasyandsocool.He taughtmeaboutallguitarsand ampssohewasthecatalyst.
GT:Whatwasthefirstguitaryou reallylustedafter?
A‘68BlackStratocasterlikeJimi Hendrixplayed.Myfirstserious onewasalimitededition‘96Lake PlacidBlueStratwithamatching headstock.Isoldittomycousin whostillhasitandwon’tsellit backtome!
GT:Doyoustillpractise?
Everyday,usually.Sometimes fourhours,sometimesonehour. ItdependsonhowI’mfeeling physicallyandmentally.It’s importanttopractiseinorderto continuestretchingyourself –evenifitmeanstheoddcock-up hereandthere.
GT:Who’sthegreatestguitarist that’severlived?
Therehavebeenmanygreats, especiallythosethathave pioneeredcertainstyles,butit’s eitherJimiHendrix,EricJohnson orShawnLaneforme.
GT:Isthereasoloyoureally wishyouhadplayed?
LarryCarlton’sonPointItUp.
GT:What’sthesolo/songofyour ownthatyou’remostproudof?
I’mproudofalloursongs.Whenit comestomyownsolosIam alwayscritical,butIthinkthesolo onTakeMeHigherisokay.
Whatareyouuptocurrently?
Thenewalbum,ArmyOfThreeis out6OctoberonMysticRecords. TheUKtourrunsfromSept29to 16Nov.Formoreinfoonit,goto: www.vataband.com.