Movies, Music, & More Than Hollywood: October 2006

....NOTE TO MY READERS & DOYLE BRAMHALL II FANS....

....REPUBLISHED & POSTED BELOW is MY SECOND, IN DEPTH INTERVIEW, which I did with DOYLE BRAMHALL II!!!!....

....It was conducted on Wednesday, January 22, 2003, and originally published in the December 2003 issue of "Vintage Guitar Magazine"!!!!.....

.....(My FIRST INTERVIEW With DOYLE, which is POSTED here http://www.doylebramhall2nd.com/presspop_ups/vintage.htm with thanks to DOYLE BRAMHALL II who posted it on HIS OFFICIAL WEBSITE, was conducted in May 2001 and published in the September 2001 issue of "Vintage Guitar Magazine")!!!!

....The Published version of my SECOND INTERVIEW With DOYLE, was dramatically EDITED & CUT and over half of this wonderful insight into music, personally expounded upon by and from DOYLE, as well as his equally insightful discussion and fond reflections regarding his creative background and music/artistic influences, were left out of the published version.

....HERE FOR YOU, IS THE COMPLETE, UNEDITED, FULL LENGTH INTERVIEW!!!!....

....My SECOND INTERVIEW (And ARTICLE) With DOYLE BRAMHALL II!!!!....

"DOYLE BRAMHALL II - Consummate Beauty, Divine Thunder, Otherworldly Artisan"

© Copyright July 23, 2003 By Arlene R. Weiss-All Rights Reserved
© Copyright October 30, 2006 By Arlene R. Weiss-All Rights Reserved

Music royalty has been a part of Doyle Bramhall II's lineage and destiny since birth. His father, Dallas, Texas blues stalwart Doyle Bramhall, has collaborated and lended his stellar songwriting, drumming, and producing talents to a celestial who's who of venerable musicians including Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan, Lightnin' Hopkins, The Nightcrawlers, and Double Trouble, many who often were regular houseguests at the Bramhall home during Doyle II's childhood.

The impact of growing up in a family and a region, as Doyle affectionately points out, so rich in "our American Musical Culture", witnessing firsthand the then still living legendary blues artists performing live, was undeniable and firmly set Bramhall on the musical path he has since made his own.

Doyle went from being a blues guitar child prodigy sitting in with SRV and Double Trouble, to such sterling gigs as backing up blues harpist legend Charlie Musselwhite, to a youthful stint with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, to literally spreading his musical wings as a founding member of Austin's legendary supergroup, The Arc Angels.

An artist versed in a diverse, eclectic array of music styles and an astonishing musicologist of sorts, Bramhall is relentless in his quest to push the musical envelope to both explore and craft new musical horizons.

His talent and perseverance at last have paid off with the release of his three stunning solo albums; 1996's "Doyle Bramhall II", 1999's "Jellycream", and 2001's "Welcome", each a unique, sterling showcase for his many musical gifts and evolving creative growth, which in the last few years, also brought him to the attention of mentoring, collaborative colleagues, (and fans of the left handed, upside down playing guitar virtuoso), Eric Clapton and Roger Waters, all successfully solidifying Bramhall's validation as an exceptional, accomplished artist in his own right.

Bramhall just keeps surprising all the naysayers who had him labeled and pegged solely as the once and future Texas blues guitar slinger, determined to always chart new paths along his own amazing musical journey.

Crafted songwriting and vocals are Doyle's strength, ongoing emphasis, and glittering talents which clarify that Doyle's prowess as an omnipotent, otherworldly guitarist is a parallel compliment to, and ultimately, an extension of his talents as a composer, singer/songwriter.

(One need only span his career catalog from the raptured, impassioned, "Sent By Angels", and power, thunder, and intensity of the rock driven "Living In A Dream", to the inspirational "Carry Me On"; from the blue eyed soul imbued "Marry You" and "I Wanna Be", to the sixties classic rock retro stylings of "Green Light Girl" and "Soul Shaker".) And while the blues will always hold a revered place as part of Doyle's musical essence, rock, R&B, jazz, soul, world music, all are part of Doyle's wondrous multi-textured musical fabric.

Currently, and over the course of the last year, the prolific Bramhall has involved his multifaceted artistry in a wealth of projects. Last September 2002, Doyle headlined a "one time" special reunion performance of The Arc Angels at the first ever, annual "Austin City Limits" Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

Doyle also filmed a two night stand at Austin's infamous home of the blues, Antones, Friday January 10, 2003 and Saturday January 11, 2003 for Televised Broadcast on the HDNet High Definition Television Network's music showcase program, "True Music", ) which was repeated for televised broadcast at various times throughout the day and evening, on a daily basis, for the week beginning Friday 2/14/2003).

Doyle also has been busy, creatively collaborating with a number of esteemed artists, proud to feature both his gifted songwriting and guitar virtuosity on their new records.

Doyle's talents can be heard on a bounty of new albums released throughout 2003, including B.B. King's "Reflections", Jack Casady's "Dream Factor", Lisa Marie Presley's, "To Whom It May Concern", Boyd Tinsley's "True Reflections", and on the soundtrack for the televised hit dramatic series, "Crossing Jordon". And once again, Doyle is currently back in the recording studio with Eric Clapton, working on Slowhand's new record.

As a special treat for fans of the singer, songwriter, guitarist, on July 17, 2003, Doyle launched his own, official website, http://www.doylebramhall2nd.com/, highlighting up to the minute news, tour information, a complete discography, press, photos, a biography, and full length MP3's of Doyle's music including cuts from all three of his solo albums, from the Arc Angels album, demos, never before released tracks....with new music also to be posted for fans to preview.

Then there are the two projects which Doyle holds most dear. First, Doyle's father, Doyle Bramhall Senior, recently released his own new record, "Fitchburg Street", a loving homage to the long ago Dallas home where the two grew up and honed their musicianship. The album features Doyle's incendiary blues guitar chops along side his father's soulful vocals, honoring the great blues, soul, and R&B artists that forever inspired both father and son.

And then, there's Doyle's own labor of love, his new solo record; a current work in progress which the singer, songwriter,....and guitarist, is resolute in writing songs that will once more, affirm his ongoing evolution as an artist of many music hues and dazzling craftwork.

This genuine, contemplative, and wistful auteur, took time to discuss "Fitchburg Street", working on his new record, as well as to fondly both reflect and regale on the vast treasure of music, memories, and artists who continue to inform and inspire him, including Lightnin' Hopkins, Freddie King, and a not surprising reverential esteem and regard for several artists and personal music heroes also near and dear to this writer; Sly Stone, Donny Hathaway, and....

....(the next time you hear "Sent By Angels", listen for Bramhall's eloquent paean nod to Stevie Wonder as Doyle so sublimely and exquisitely sings at song's end, "Isn’t She Lovely".)

ARLENE R. WEISS: How are you! Remember our last interview, about two years ago!

DOYLE BRAMHALL II: Yeah I do! Yes!

AW: I heard that you're doing a lot of work on a new album.

DB II: Yeah! I'm writing a lot and I'm trying to start the whole process over again.

AW: And you were just at Antones two weeks ago! How did that go?

DB II: Oh, it was good. They filmed it for some high definition television network. It's called the HDNet Direct Satellite TV Channel. I think they're airing it in about a week and a half, two weeks.

AW: I also heard about you doing the Arc Angels gig over at the "Austin City Limits" Music Festival and that it went great. I was so happy for you and the band and for "Austin City Limits", that they did that, and that you, and Charlie (Sexton), Chris (Layton), and Tommy (Shannon) were invited to play and headline it.

DB II: That happened to be a really cool event. We got together about three or four days before the show to rehearse, so I basically rehearsed every day. I did the show, so I've been very busy.

AW: How did you become creatively involved working with your father on "Fitchburg Street"?

DB II: My Dad recorded the whole record and he wanted to get me on it for a couple of songs because every time that we play together, its a very unique thing....being my father and us growing up together playing music. He invited me down to Austin to record on a couple of songs. It was all done pretty quick. I went down there and spent a couple of days in the studio. I think we cut three songs or so. Then I overdubbed a couple of guitars on some other songs. But at the time, I was doing so many different things, that that was just sort of a blur.

AW: It always seems like you're so involved with so many different creative things at the same time which I think is great. You have your hands in a lot of different projects at the same time. You're working on your own album. You're working on other people's albums. You're playing different clubs....

DB II: Things just keep coming up. I'm really glad that they do. I'm always surprised when I get a call because it's not like I'm going out and searching for it. It seems like when I'm not doing anything, that's when I get a call.

AW: What was the impetus for you, in choosing the four songs that you collaborate and play guitar on, "Dimples", "Changes" which we're going to get to because you do a blowout version of that, "Forty Four" which is a wonderful interpretation, and "That's How Strong My Love Is"? Did you actually choose those four songs to play on?

DB II: No. My Dad chose all of the songs. He had everything that he knew he wanted to put on the record. He called and said that he wanted me to play on certain songs. "Dimples", "Forty Four", and "Changes" he wanted us to do together because we had played some live shows where we did those particular renditions of those songs. So basically, he wanted to capture what we did live, in the studio and he worked out the versions that we came up with. But yeah! My Dad had it pretty much sorted out. He knew what he wanted me to play on.

AW: What creative approach and playing technique did you use in developing your own personal distinct interpretation and musical voice for each of those four songs, while still adhering faithful to the original, artistic statement and vision of the four great soul and blues artists who wrote those four songs, being John Lee Hooker, Buddy Miles, Howlin' Wolf, and Roosevelt Jamieson?

DB II: We cut those songs pretty fast, in a couple of days, and so I didn't have much time to think about it. "Forty Four" we did live, so we already had that version as well as the version of "Changes". My thing was, with a song like "Changes", I always feel that when you're doing a great song, that you either have to better the original, or you have to do it completely different and make it your own. On those songs, we didn't have much time to get into all that because we were under a time constraint where we had to get out of the studio. So we just went in and played. And then I think the uniqueness comes in the way that me and my Dad play together, so that has an innate sound to it that sets it apart from other things.

AW: Your take on Buddy Miles' "Changes" though, it's the highlight of the album. Your improvisation, precision, and virtuosity are gorgeous. It seems as if you are completely in the moment, playing on your most exuberant, personal level. Can you elaborate on your interpretation of this classic song, how you made it your own, and how and why your playing is so overwhelmed with all of these nuances? You can tell I was taken with it. It's a wonderful performance and it brings a lot to the song.

DB II: I just played the song and I wanted to try and make it as different as possible than the original. But we didn't have time to do that so we stayed to the way it was cut originally and my Dad has the Buddy Miles feel anyway, on that. He's a hard hitter and he's definitely a time keeper.

AW: You both spar off each other wonderfully.

DB II: It comes from growing up with each other. I listened to my Dad every day of my life growing up. That really comes naturally and so it's easy to play with one another. Other than that, I just plugged the guitar in and played the song and it was nothing more than what my feel is on the guitar, in the way that my fingers sound hitting the strings. Outside of that, it was simply playing with my Dad.

AW: How did you achieve the very raw, distorted, fuzzed guitar tones on "Forty Four" and "Dimples"? Did you use any specific pedals, effects, or gear?

DB II: Not really. The only thing I might have used is a Fuzz Face, but I was going through an old Plexi Marshall and I had some kind of old hollow body guitar. I can't remember what kind it was. It belongs to a friend of mine, Craig Ross, who's from Austin. He has a lot of cool guitars and he let me borrow one of his guitars. It was just an old funky hollow body guitar. I think that tone mainly comes from going through the Marshall. It was super thick and had a very warm distortion to it. It was pretty easy to do. We did a couple of takes and that was it.

AW: Both songs have this very authentic, atmospheric sound as if they were recorded on analog tape, live, one take, in a room, with one mic, just like the original recordings. They don't sound as if they were recorded digitally or in a studio. Is that how you actually did it, or did you use any particular creative or production processes?

DB II: No. But it's as live as you can get in a studio. My Dad ended up using live vocals so that was all the same take. I think there was a drum booth and everything was somewhat isolated. What might be a factor on those songs was that because I had played those songs so much growing up with my Dad, I didn't have to think about anything, so I wasn't thinking about how to do any parts and I was being as spontaneous and loose as possible on them.

AW: That's probably why it sounds so good though.

DB II: Yeah! I didn't care about the changes or sticking to anything in particular on those songs, so there was this looseness of almost like just doing whatever I wanted and that everything that I did was going to work and it ended up sounding that way, very free.

AW: Were you actually involved in the arrangement of the various lead and rhythm guitar parts, such as how you wanted the chord structures and melody lines to be constructed, the vibe, and so forth?

DB II: Not really. The only one, on "Forty Four" I came up with the rhythm guitar part, but it's nothing more than playing the song. But I obviously wasn't sticking to the original. I was playing it as we were a band.

AW: What were you main studio guitars and gear on the record?

DB II: It was the old funky hollow body guitar and a 69' Plexi Marshall, a JMP.

AW: Did you use any of your guitars, "Little Doyle" or your 63' Harmony Rocket?

DB II: I didn't bring any of that down. I went down and played the same hollow body guitar the whole time.

AW: Can you elaborate on how your Dad and his music influenced and inspired you as a guitarist, as a singer, and as a songwriter?

DB II: Well I think because I was around my Dad, and that all of the musicians that he played with, Stevie Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan and all the different Texas musicians that he was involved with were really talented musicians....and I was lucky enough to be around that growing up. They were definitely my teachers. They never showed me anything on guitar, but being around them all the time, I just absorbed it and it became so much a part of my DNA after a certain time that it’s something that’s completely natural for me. But my Dad is also a songwriter as well as a singer and a drummer. When I first got into music, I wanted to be a drummer and I wanted to do everything like my Dad. But after awhile, we had a lot of drummers in the family and my stepbrother ended up being the drummer in the early band that I was in. We needed a guitar player and we didn't know any guitar players that liked that kind of music. I was sort of unusual for a thirteen year old, as it was for any eleven, twelve, thirteen year old, to like the kind of music that we did. There are not too many fourteen year olds that are listening to Lightnin' Hopkins and Muddy Waters records.

AW: Are you still into funk and R&B because I remember that you like that as well, which I do too? Sly Stone and other artists in that genre?

DB II: Yeah! Those were records that I got into a little later. When I was about eighteen, I started getting into all the more funk oriented bands. But I had always been into Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder. My Mom and Dad listened to a lot of records and I got into so many artists and different types of music.

AW: Do you know that when you sing, a lot of the songs that you sing, your phrasing and interpretation sounds a lot like Donny Hathaway, especially in the years when he did duets with Roberta Flack. It has that same interpretation and phrasing and it's really pretty.

DB II: Well he's my favorite singer. Nobody, nobody in my opinion, is at and of the level where he was.

AW: Well if you ever do a cover of "Back Together Again", I want to hear it!

DB II: Yeah!

AW: Do you have any particularly fond or special creative reflections and memories of actually growing up in Dallas, on Fitchburg Street itself, in a family that was so rich in its musical heritage and that generously hosted so many wonderful musicians such as Stevie Ray and Lightnin' Hopkins, and how all this impacted your musical development? Do you have any specific memories that really stand out and you think, influenced you later, down the road?

DB II: I have these images that have always been imprinted in my brain, like seeing Freddie King playing. I remember seeing Freddie King and he was 6' 3" or whatever he was, he was 6'3", he wore these gaudy outfits. I mean they weren't gaudy on him, but they would have been gaudy on anybody else. And he wore turquoise jewelry. And he played and his voice was just....He was one of those guys that could stand five feet away from the microphone, and his voice would carry almost like an opera singer. And just his presence. I always remembered Freddie King's presence.

AW: How old were you the first time that you saw him?

DB II: Oh, just when I was born. But probably four or five was the time that I could remember. There are so many people that all stick out in my memory. I didn't realize until I was much older that the musicians and people that I was seeing, were a part of our American Musical Culture. And I didn't realize until later on what I had been seeing, until I was sixteen or seventeen, and I realized, "Wow, I got to see all these people firsthand." Also, to have a different take on it hearing and seeing all the English bands that were coming out, like the Stones and Clapton, and all these people that were doing blues records. But they had their take on it. But I think that me being from Texas, having a sort of Texas take on it, was a little different, so it's a different sound as well.

AW: It's a well rounded sound.

DB II: Yeah! I grew up very near places that Lightnin' Hopkins grew up. I got to see a lot of the places and go explore all the different kinds of music. And a lot of the guys, when I was fifteen, were still around. All the....

AW: The blues artists.

DB II: The real blues artists. They hadn't passed away, so I got to see a lot of them firsthand.

AW: Did you ever get to actually see Donny Hathaway perform live?

DB II: No....no....no....But I got to feel him though....

AW: Will you be guesting on any of your father's national tour to promote "Fitchburg Street"? It would be nice if you two played together.

DB II: Yeah! I don’t know! If he comes out here or if I'm down there at the time when he's playing, that would be nice. Yes.

AW: You've been quite busy working on many different projects. How did you coordinate collaborating on "Fitchburg Street" while simultaneously working on your own new record?

DB II: I flew down to Austin for a couple of days to do my Dad's record. I guess you can get a lot done in a couple of days if you set your mind to it and that's how it's been for me. Like I won't be doing anything for a couple of months and then I'll get three different calls to work on three different records at the same time. I'll go in and do them, I work really hard, and then a couple weeks later, I'm not doing anything for another couple months, and then all the records come out at the same time, so it actually seems like I'm doing a lot more than I am.

AW: How much have you actually written for your new record?

DB II: I've written alot. I don't know what songs will actually make the record because I'm trying to write the highest percentage of great songs for my new record. I don't want anything to be filler on the record.

AW: You want to raise the bar on each of your records artistically.

DB II: I'm not just putting a song out to put it on the record. I want every song to be as good as the next. I want to make my greatest record this time around.

AW: How has the music of the great blues and soul artists that you covered on "Fitchburg Street" not only inspired and influenced you in your early musical development, but you've made it a point in your career, as you grow forward with each new record, to constantly evolve and show your many different eclectic musical styles. You love the blues, but you have many different musical influences. So how did these artists become not only a major influence in your early development as an artist, but also become a significant element in your ongoing evolution as a multi-styled musician and artist, where you want to grow and spread your wings?

DB II: Well I think because my Dad, my Mom, and Stevie, and Jimmie, and all those guys were listening to different kinds of music. What we most had on, early on in the house was a lot of blues and that's what my Dad was playing. So I basically got schooled in the blues and that's what I listened to and played. I tried to emulate all these guitar players and I think that you can tell that in my guitar playing, I have most of that. That blues influence comes out in my guitar playing. More so in lead than anything else. But I think that because they were going through this whole hippie movement in the late 60's, that we were also listening to The Beatles, The Stones and a lot of the solo artists. But back then, it was a lot different because listening to Sly Stone.... Sly Stone was digging The Beatles, The Stones, and Dylan. And Hendrix was the same. There wasn't this huge gap between R&B and rock and jazz because it was.... Everybody was taking from all forms of music at that time. And I think that that's why the music from the 60's and 70's was so good. It's because everybody was sharing and being influenced by all forms of music.

AW: Yeah! There was none of this labeling and pigeonholing like you hear now. Everybody listened to every kind of music, and to everybody else.

DB II: You could listen to pop radio and hear "Everyday People". That's an amazing song and the musicianship is just otherworldly.

AW: Go treat yourself! They just put out a remastered "The Essential Sly & The Family Stone" on Epic/Legacy Records.

DB II: Oh really!? Wow! So I was listening to soul, and I was listening to R&B, and funk, and whatever. And the musicians back then, I mean what were you going to label Stevie Wonder? He wasn't an R&B artist by today's standards. He was just a great artist.

AW: He also made a lot of songs about social consciousness and raising social awareness, the signs of the times.

DB II: Which a lot of artists back then were doing anyway.

AW: And a lot more artists need to do nowadays.

DBII: Yeah! So there wasn't this huge gap between genres.

AW: I hear it in your vocals. Like what I was saying about your phrasing and when you were discussing how you were influenced by Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder. My favorite song on the Arc Angels album, "Sent By Angels". The very end of the song, the last phrase when you're just improvising and you're not even singing the written lyrics, you sing, "Isn't She Lovely", and it's the way that you phrase it. It sounds like Stevie Wonder's song.

DB II: I was intentionally doing that at the time.

AW: Were you!

DB II: Yes!

AW: But it doesn't sound like you're trying to cop him or imitate him. It sounds like you. But it's gorgeous! That's my favorite part of the song! That's the best part of the song!

DB II: I didn't know anybody noticed....

AW: Well, it's fading out at the end, so you have to turn it up to hear it, and then where you're scat singing, wonderfully and beautifully, at the end, which very few people know how to do well which is the jazz, bop influence. And you're scatting at the end, afterwards, like Stevie Wonder does! And I'm like God! You've got to do that more! People label you as a guitar player, but you are just something as a singer/songwriter.

DB II: Thank you.

AW: You are! I mean you're a great guitar player too. But you're a wonderful singer, songwriter, and musician and I've always thought of you that way.

DB II: That's why I also took a lot of all these other influences later on. I was playing blues all the time, but I wasn't writing blues songs. Everything that was coming out of me was just completely new. And the songs have been influenced by.... I love the way The Beatles wrote songs, The Stones. And so I put that into my writing as well as the overall musicianship of my songs.

AW: And look how The Beatles constantly evolved. Look at their first albums with "She Loves You Yeah, Yeah" pop, and then they're going into World Music and eastern Indian influenced music like "Norwegian Wood". How far 180 is that in another artistic direction, or songs like "Revolution"?

DB II: Now it would be a different thing because nobody could get away with that because they have to label you and The Beatles would be like.... What? They're doing their eastern Indian influenced song!

AW: I know. I was going to say that, because so many artists keep trying to evolve and stretch artistically and then the next album flops not because it's not good, but because everybody says, "How come it doesn't sound like the last album? You're known as a blues singer or whatever?"

DB II: And artists run into that all the time.

AW: I know. And it's wrong. I follow the music industry and it's just terrible. And a lot of artists are revolting right now and I don't blame them. They've had it with this whole thing.

DB II: No more McDonalds! (laughing)

AW: Really! (laughing) Assembly line stuff. Well, let me know when the new album is ready because I'd love to cover it!

DB II: Yeah!

AW: And I'm sure it's going to be wonderful.

DB II: Thank you.

AW: That's about it I guess.

DB II: Well alright. I will let you know when I finish my new record.

© Copyright July 23, 2003 By Arlene R. Weiss-All Rights Reserved
© Copyright October 30, 2006 By Arlene R. Weiss-All Rights Reserved

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