本帖*后由 Stone654 于 2016-11-5 14:07 编辑
Johnny Hiland: Chicken Pickin’技法大师
Gayla Drake，翻译Stone654
对Johnny Hiland来说，音乐不仅仅让他痴迷。自他还是缅因州Bangor的一名顽童时，音乐就已经与他生活的各个方面交织在一起。“我当时非常小，在我姑姑Brenda送给我那把传了好几代的1939年Gibson J45时，我才两岁半。这把吉他在她的阁楼里放了很多年，看起来像是殖民时代的产物。它基本散架了，但是弦钮还都完整，仍然算是一把功能健全的吉他。我被它深深地吸引，有点像Linus和他的小魔毯一样，我任何时候都离不开它。”
Hiland的弹奏如闪电般迅速，钟表般精确；除此之外出于对吉他的热爱，他的演奏还有一种感情的成分在里面，使他不落于仅仅是超凡的技匠。“Chicken Pickin’是一种欢快的音乐。即使你开始弹奏时心情不好，曲子结束前你也一定会面带微笑，这是由不得你的。它是一种极富活力的音乐风格，也是我喜欢Chicken Pickin’的原因。它并不是一个易于掌握的风格，但我尽我所能地去演奏，努力地把它弹好。希望我的音乐能丰富充实别人的一天。”
他的Shrapnel新专辑All Fired Up包含了音乐的乐趣，以及Hiland对音乐的热爱和激情，乐迷们知道这分量是多重。“我叫它’Chicken Pickin’ on Steroids’，因为我觉得我们创造了一种与纳什维尔不同的全新的声音。”他解释道。在于Steve Vai的贝斯手Stuart Hamm以及鼓手Jeremy Colson合作下，Hiland创造了一种囊括了从摇滚到R&B，甚至还有一点爵士味的Chicken Pickin’技法。
All Fired Up这张专辑由Mike Varney出品，他给Hiland提供了一个录制他一直想录的专辑的机会。Hiland说：“一个吉他手可以广泛涉猎各种风格，但一定要精通其中一种或某个技法，这样听众才能喜闻乐见。我暗示自己：很好，你是一个钻研Chicken Pickin’的家伙，但偶尔弹弹其他风格也无妨，只要不以它们为主。当我和Mike合作时，他便给我提供了这样的机会。”
校车摇滚
作为一个年轻人，Hiland和吉他的故事并不典型。“四岁的时候，我成天与校车司机粘在一起。他在我们镇子开了一间意大利餐馆，我则会在校车上唱Willie Nelson的歌给他听。我经常坐过站，他就会在开完一圈后把我带到餐馆，打电话给我妈妈说：’我已经请他吃过意大利面了，他用歌声作为交换买了单。’”
Hiland的父亲是一名鼓手，他当时并不知道标准调弦这回事，所以就把吉他调成了开放E调弦，Hiland就这样弹了几年。“我像Jeff Healey一样把吉他横放在腿上，用我的拇指去按五六弦。这样弹很有趣，但真正得到锻炼的是我的右手。我在很小的时候就熟练掌握了扫弦技巧，并且十岁之前一直以这样的方式进行演奏。”七岁的时候他第一次在电视上露面，十岁时又赢得了美国才艺大赛的奖项，正是那时他才开始学习标准调弦下的演奏。“我开始了一小段乡村蓝草音乐生涯，并乐在其中。与其他小孩不同，我不擅长足球棒球或篮球，并经常因此被嘲笑。所以我会在吉他上宣泄我的情感，吉他成了我感情的窗口，直到现在。”
长大后，*让他着迷的是乡村音乐。“小时候我想成为Roy Clark一样的演奏家。我喜欢Roy Clark, Buck Owens以及Hee Haw组合，并且会与父亲通宵观看Austin City Limits。”由于视力不佳，Hiland的听觉尤为敏锐。“当我听到一段音乐时，我会全神贯注地去欣赏。对我来说，这才是声音的奥义我喜欢听管弦乐，尤其是号声的部分，那真的可以让人醉心其中。”
但对Hiland来说，吉他才是他手中的有力武器，从他小时候起就是这样。“我们内心中存在一种激情，当有一种音乐类型吸引了你的时候，它会不时给你惊奇，你则会为之雀跃。当我拿起一把吉他，让我的音乐有上述的效果是我自童年起一直努力达到的目标。我热爱每一根弦上跳动的音符以及它们可以构成的篇章。这一直牢牢吸引着我，直到今天。”
Telecaster之梦
Ricky Skaggs给了Hiland选择Telecaster型吉他的启示。“我小时侯是Ricky Skaggs的大乐迷。有一天在电视上看到了他，我对父亲说：’爸爸，我想去现场看他的演出。’在我十岁时，父亲蹊跷知道了一场Skaggs在Bangor礼堂的演奏会。我记得他对我说：’孩子，我不敢相信我正浪费着钱来现场，他不可能听起来像唱片里那样完美！’”Hiland在回忆他目睹Skaggs抱着吉他跳上音箱时面带微笑。“在那之后，我的想法有了很大的转变。我热爱原声吉他和蓝草音乐，但电吉他有更大的音量。我尽我所能去达到音色音量的极限，不过我并不认为父母能够理解我买回来的设备到底是用来干嘛的。”
Skaggs的影响也许是Hiland今日演奏风格的根源。“在缅因州没人知道B-bender是什么东西。我对Ricky的声音如此痴迷，但我不知道他用了B-bender效果器。就这样我在没有辅助的情况下练习了Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stewart和Jimmy Olander的所有曲子。我相信只要通过反复练习，掌握准确度极高的演奏能力只是时间问题。接触了这个风格20年后，我终于感觉如鱼得水了。我喜欢Chicken Pickin’技法的全部，在向Ricky风格过渡之后，我又接触了Albert Lee 和Danny Gatlon的风格。”
录音棚中的乐趣
“在我录制的所有专辑中，这张专辑对我的意义*为重大。它让我找到了自己的位置。”Hiland在专辑All Fired Up中说道。“我想把Chicken Pickin’风格打入摇滚市场，让乐迷们了解它其实是一种非常酷的，灵活且复杂的风格。我想告诉大众它并不像你们脑海中的那样简单和土气。”
幸运的事，Hiland和Varney马上开始了合作，立即开始录制专辑。“2010年12月我第一次和Mike面谈，等到来年2月时，我已经在加州进行剪辑的工作了，因此工作量非常巨大。我不必时刻绷紧神经，但我确实非常忙。”Hiland一直以来就想和Stu Hamm进行合作，因此能和他一起工作非常地令人激动。Varney提出了让鼓手Jeremy Colson加入的建议，毕竟Hiland的目标是将Chicken Pickin’打入摇滚市场。“我*初是通过与Steve Vai演出结识Jeremy的。我想，我们合作的话一定会很酷，写出来的东西肯定和典型的纳什维尔音乐大为不同。而且观看这些老小子演奏Chicken Pickin’音乐也一定很有意思。”实际的合作也远超Hiland的预期。“与Stu和Jeremy一同演奏是我毕生难忘的经历。Jeremy十分随和，在演奏Barnyard Breakdown时我对他说：’老兄，你能来一段double-kick train的节奏吗？’他摸索了一会，很快便演奏了出来。”
Varney录制唱片的方法和Hiland设想的有些不同：“我们先彩排了两天。我纳闷：彩排？谁录音之前还要彩排啊！我本来以为只要和Stu还有Jeremy进入录音棚，按下按钮就可以开始了。但我后来很高兴能有这场彩排，因为这种录音方法棒极了。我和他们俩彩排了让曲子的结构和长度符合要求，确保一切都合适。”
这种方法极大地加快和简化了整个录音进程。“我们第一天先把节奏音轨录下来，我喜欢这样，因为这避免了过多的母带混缩。我以前采用的是另一套方法：进入录音棚，分轨录制，然后再慢慢编修。身为一名艺术家，处理整个专辑的母带真的很费神。当你过*后一遍时，这些歌基本上都听吐了。我认为这次采用的新方法保持了我们对整张专辑的新鲜感。”
玩具工具及其它
Hiland从2010年开始使用Ernie Ball Music Man吉他。他*近正用一把Silhouette型号，也是Hiland在专辑All Fired Up主音轨中唯一使用的一把吉他。“我认为他是我的收藏中弹起来*舒服的一把吉他。*近David Allen先生做了一些与Bardens拾音器相似的新款Johnny Hiland签名型号拾音器，它他们有十分独特的乡村音色。虽然是双轨拾音器，但它具有从Tele到Strat的音色特点，所以我的吉他和标准款的Silhouette还不太一样。能从David那里买到我的签名款拾音器来把你的吉他改造成和我的一模一样这一点还是挺酷的。”在过去的一年半里，Hiland还代言Godin吉他，在专辑中使用一把Acousticaster和一把Multiac来录制节奏音轨。“那把Multian是我的第一把尼龙弦吉他，它让我很着迷。我想我深深地爱上了它。”Hiland说。
“如今我不再关注自己能弹多块，而是在意我能够弹的多干净。在我弹奏时我会问自己如下的问题：我想表达的究竟是什么？我的音符触及听众的灵魂了吗？”
寻找合适的吉他音箱是Hiland录制专辑面临的*大挑战。“找音箱这件事让我停滞不前。正常来说，体面的演奏者偏爱使用低功率的音箱，但我恰恰相反。我喜欢100w或更高功率的音箱，因为功率越高，声音听起来就越清晰干净。”在2011年1月参加NAMM展会的时候，Hiland发现了一款由XP Audio公司生产的新音箱Bolt。“它是2*12一体式，有三个通道，直插的清音是我听过的*好的*适合Chicken Pickin’的音色。这款音箱是如此地吸引人，以至于我买了两个放在录音棚录专辑用。”
至于效果器单元，Hiland使用一块Johnny Heiland Kilo-Wah哇音单块，一块Boss TU-3调音单块，一块Wampler Ego压缩单块，一块Brad Jetter Red Shift和一块Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive Mod失真单块。“我唯一离不开的效果器是ISP Decimator,因为它能把多余的噪音从你的音色中剔除。我的耳朵很敏感，所以我极度依赖这个单块。”他的链路中还有一块Boss tremolo和一块Digitech的延迟单块，安装在Pedaltrain2效果器板上并用Voodoo Lab电源供电。“这是一个十分简单的效果器链，但他很强大并能帮你把工作做好。”
总结
“我现在36岁了，我还记得年轻时听别人说：’哇，我等不及要听那家伙40岁时的演奏是什么样的了！’现在回过头来我终于理解了这是什么意思，因为如今我不再关注自己能弹多块，而是在意我能够弹的多干净。在我弹奏时我会问自己如下的问题：我想表达的究竟是什么？我的音符触及听众的灵魂了吗？我的旋律能够被听众们记住吗？我试图写一些内涵更丰富的曲子，而不是单纯地炫技。”Hiland早期与Steve Vai的合作对他产生了意想不到的影响。“我应该感谢Steve Vai先生，因为他在我给第一张专辑作曲时对我严格要求。（这张专辑由Steve Vai的唱片公司发行）工作完他总是开车赶回家，’少磨蹭，多作曲’是他的铭言。Steve教会我的是真正的作曲技巧，在All Fired Up里我感觉作曲和表达情感变得更得心应手了。我对这张专辑感到十分骄傲，并由衷地希望人们来购买。如果人们一直在等一张完美的Johnny Hiland专辑，这张便是。”
原文：
Interview: Johnny Hiland - Chicken Pickin’s Champion
Gayla Drake
October 10, 2011
Music isn't just an obsession for Johnny Hiland. It's been woven through every part of his life since he was a child in Bangor, Maine. “I was a very, very, very young boy—a 2 1/2-year-old—when my Aunt Brenda came over to give my father their father's 1939 J45 Gibson. It had been in her attic for a number of years and looked like something that had come over on the Mayflower. It was all beat-up, but it had all the tuning keys and was still a fully functional guitar. I just gravitated to it and it grabbed hold of me, kind of like Linus with the security blanket. I had to be with that guitar all the time.”
Hiland's licks may be lightning-fast and accurate as clockwork, but because of his life-long love of the guitar, there's an emotional component to his playing that makes him far more than just a superb technician. “Chicken pickin' is fun music. If you go out there in a bad mood, you're gonna have a smile on before you’re done, 'cuz it'll do that to you whether you want it to or not. It's such an invigorating style to play—that's why I love chicken pickin'. It’s complicated and not an easy genre to play, but I just go out there and try to be myself, allowing the music to reach out there as best I can. Hopefully it’ll brighten somebody’s day.”
His new record for Shrapnel, All Fired Up, contains all the fun, love, and excitement that Hiland can muster, and his fans know that's considerable. “I call it ‘chicken pickin' on steroids’ because I really think we created a new kind of chicken pickin' and a whole different sound that even Nashville's not used to,” he explains. With a killer rhythm-section comprised of Steve Vai’s bassist, Stuart “Stu” Hamm, and Jeremy Colson on drums, he's crafted a chicken pickin' smorgasbord that crosses from country to rock to R&B—and even brushes up against jazz.
All Fired Up was produced by Mike Varney, who provided Hiland the opportunity to make the record he always wanted to make. “I think you can stretch as a guitar player and reach out to a lot of different styles, but there is one main element or genre where you cut your teeth that everybody loves to hear you play. I just had to find it in myself to say, OK, I'm a chicken picker, but it's okay for me to stick some other styles in there—just not making them the dominant thing. So when I did this album with Mike, it was a chance for me to do just that.”
School Bus Rock
Hiland's relationship with the guitar as a youngster was not exactly typical. “By 4-years-old, I would stay on the school bus with the guy who drove it. He ran a small Italian restaurant in our town and I would sing Willie Nelson songs to him on the bus. I often forget to get off at my stop, so he would finish his route and take me back to his restaurant where he'd call my mom and say, 'I'm feeding the boy spaghetti and he's playing for his dinner.'”
Hiland’s father, a drummer, didn't know standard tuning for the guitar at the time, so he tuned it to an open-E, which was how Hiland played for several years. “I kinda played like Jeff Healey with the guitar flat on my lap, and I used my thumb to walk the bass line. It was an interesting way to play, but what it really did was develop my right hand. I learned to strum well at an early age and I played that way until I was 10-years-old.” As a 7-year-old, he appeared on television for the first time, and then went on to win the Talent America contest at the age of 10. It was then he began learning his first chords in standard tuning. “I started a small folkie/bluegrass career, and it was a fun for me. Since I wasn't able to play kickball, baseball, or basketball like the other kids in school—and of course was made fun of—I would take out my emotions on the guitar. It really became my emotional outlet and it remains so to this day.”
Growing up, his musical addiction was country music. “I wanted to be Roy Clark when I was a little boy. I loved Roy Clark, Buck Owens, and the whole Hee Haw gang. I'd also stay up at night with my dad and watch Austin City Limits.” Being visually impaired, sound moved Hiland in deeper ways. “When I hear a piece, I just try to wrap myself in it. For me, it's how sonic waves and sound move— I love hearing orchestras and horn sections. It really can engulf you.”
But it was the guitar that spoke clearest and loudest to Hiland, even as a child. “There's a passion that lives inside of us, and when a form of music grabs ahold, it'll throw you around a little bit and make your soul jump. That's what I always tried to do when I played guitar, even as a little kid. I loved the sonic values of every guitar string and what they were capable of doing. To to this day, I still find it so intriguing.”
Telecaster Dreams
Ricky Skaggs provided the inspiration for Hiland to pick up a Telecaster. “I was a big Ricky Skaggs fan as a kid. I saw him on TV one day and I said, 'Dad, I wanna go see him live.' When I was 10-years-old, my dad found out he was playing at the Bangor Auditorium and I remember him saying to me, 'Kid, I can't believe I'm wasting the money to see Ricky Skaggs 'cuz he'll never sound as good as he does on a record!’” Hiland laughs as he recalls that seeing Skaggs jumping up on top of a PA speaker with his Telecaster initially provided the spark. “From then on, I was a changed kid. I loved the acoustic guitar and I loved the bluegrass thing, but there was something about the electric guitar that had a bigger sound. I tried everything I could to push more volume, more tone, more everything. I don’t think my mom and dad knew what they were getting themselves into with all the pedals, effects, and all that good stuff.”
The Skaggs influence may be the root of Hiland's style today. “Nobody in Maine knew what a B-bender was. I was so hooked on Ricky's sound—and not realizing that he used a B-bender—I basically learned all the Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stewart, and Jimmy Olander licks without one. I think with repetition, one can slowly develop such preciseness over time. After playing that style for twenty years, I finally feel like I'm comfortable in doing that. I love the whole chicken pickin'-style, and after being turned on to Ricky, I learned about Albert Lee and Danny Gatton.”
Fun in the Studio
“Of all the records I've done so far, this album means the most to me. It really allowed me to find where I'm the most comfortable,” says Hiland of All Fired Up. “I wanted to take chicken-pickin' guitar to the rock market and show rockers that chicken pickin' is cool and a very adept, complex style. I wanted to show that it’s not as easy and hillbilly as some people think it is.”
Luckily, Hiland and Varney hit it off right away, and the whirlwind recording project was almost immediately set in motion. “I talked to Mike for the first time in December 2010, and by February, I was out in California cuttin'—so it was a massive frenzy of writing for me. I wasn’t necessarily in panic mode, but I was real busy.” Hiland had wanted to work with Stu Hamm for a long time, so the prospect of working with him was thrilling. And Varney made the suggestion of getting Jeremy Colson on drums since Hiland's goal was to take chicken pickin' to a rock market. “I first met Jeremy through playing with Steve Vai. I thought, man, this is going to be a cool and different thing—not something typical that Nashville is used to hearing. I also thought it would be really interesting to see how these boys pull off the chicken pickin' stuff.” The experience more than lived up to his hopes. “I had some of the best times of my life playing with Stu and Jeremy. There's no fear with Jeremy. In 'Barnyard Breakdown' I said, 'Man, can you do a double-kick train beat?' He just started messin' with it for a minute, and next thing you know, he's got it.”
Varney approached the recording a little differently than what Hiland was expecting. “We started with two days of rehearsal, and I'm thinking, 'Rehearsal? Who rehearses for a record?' I thought, man, you get in here with Stu and Jeremy, hit the record button, and away you go! But I'm so glad because it was really an awesome way of doing a record. I got into a room with the guys, and we spent two full days making sure my charts were correct, the song was structured the way it should be, and that it was the length it should be.”
The approach greatly accelerated and simplified the entire process. “We tracked the rhythm section the first day we went in. I loved it because it really helped eliminate the whole pre-production thing. I've done it the other way in the past by going into the studio, recording all these songs, and trying to get them right. It wears you out as an artist when you go and cut the whole album as demos, and then have to go back and restructure things and make changes. When you go to cut the final record, you're already kind of sick of the songs. I think our approach is what really brought about the freshness of this album.”
Toys, Tools, and the Essential Stuff
Hiland began playing Ernie Ball Music Man guitars in 2010, and has recently been using a Silhouette model—the only guitar Hiland used on the lead-guitar tracks for All Fired Up. “I find it to be the most comfortable-playing guitar I've ever owned. Recently, a gentleman named David Allen created some new Johnny Hiland signature pickups that are similar to Bardens, but have a really unique country-tone. They’re dual-blade pickups, yet they offer a range from Tele-style to Strat-style tones, so my guitar is a bit different than a standard Silhouette. But, it's cool because people can buy Johnny Hiland pickups from David and transform their guitar into exactly the same guitar I'm using.” Highland has also been endorsing Godin Guitars for the last year and a half and played rhythm on the record with an Acousticaster and a Multiac. “The Multiac is the first nylon-string guitar I've ever owned and that guitar has just captured me. I'm in love with the thing,” says Highland.
"Nowadays I'm not concerned with how fast can I play, I'm always concerned with how clean I can play. What am I saying when I play? Are my notes reaching people souls?"
Hiland had far more difficulty finding an amp to match his goals for the album. “The amplifier thing was just stumping me. The boutique world has kind of been the main thing going on and players have been going to very low-wattage amps, but I'm just the opposite. I like a 100-watt amp or higher because the more power you have, the cleaner your tone will stay.” While attending the 2011 NAMM show in January, Hiland ran into a company called XP Audio and tried their new amp line called the Bolt. “They had this 2x12 combo with three channels, and the clean tone was literally the best, chicken-pickin' tone I've ever heard—and I'm talking just guitar going straight in. The amp is just mesmerizing and I actually had two 2x12 Bolt combos at the studio for the album."
For effects, Hiland uses a Johnny Hiland Kilo-Wah, a Boss TU-3 tuner, a Wampler Ego Compressor, and a Brad Jetter Red Shift and Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive Mod for distortion. “My main pedal that I can't live without is the ISP Decimator, 'cuz it takes all your excess noise out from your complete sound. With my ears being so sensitive, I rely on that pedal a lot.” He also has a Boss tremolo and a Hardwire delay from Digitech in his setup, all housed on his Pedaltrain 2 with a Voodoo Lab power-supply. “It's a pretty simple little rig, but it's powerful and will get the job done.”
Everything Comes Together
“I'm 36-years-old now, and I remember being a youngster and hearing people say, 'Wow, I can't wait to hear that guy when he's 40.' And now I look back and understand what people meant by that, because nowadays I'm not concerned with how fast can I play, I'm always concerned with how clean I can play. What am I saying when I play? Are my notes reaching people souls? Am I making a melody that's gonna stick with you? I'm trying to write songs that mean more, rather than just songs that are technical.” Hiland's early work with Vai has paid off in unexpected ways. “I have to thank Mr. Steve Vai because he was so hard on me with the first album [released on Vai's label] when it came to writing material. He always kept driving home 'less noodling, more melody!' What Steve really did for me was teaching me how to craft a song. I feel I was more comfortable in my writing and more comfortable with what I really wanted to convey to my audience with this album. I really am proud of this record, and I sincerely hope that people go out and get it. If people have been waiting for the right Johnny Hiland record, to me, this is the best I have to offer.”
附：Johnny Hiland的装备：
Guitars
Ernie Ball Music Man Silhouette
Godin Acousticaster
Godin Multiac
Amps
Bolt BTC-100
Pickups
D. Allen JohnnyBlades single-coils
D. Allen JohnnyBuckers humbuckers
Effects
Wampler Ego Compressor
Boss TU-3
Brad Jetter Red Shift
Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive Mod
ISP Decimator
Boss tremolo
Digitech Hardwire delay
Pedaltrain 2 pedalboard
Voodoo Lab power supply
Gig-fx Johnny Hiland Kilo-Wah
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