There are a whole lot of good ones. Where to begin?:
Chuck Berry’s riffs like the intro to “Johnny B. Goode” cleared some of the ground that would become an expressway for rock guitarists after him.
Led Zeppelin’s looping riffs in “Black Dog” and “Rock and Roll,” gooey with groove, and impossible to keep your head from nodding when heard.
Jimi Hendrix’s swirling wah-wah riff in “Voodoo Chile” is like an ominous, marching army
AC/DC’s best and most famous guitar parts (like “Back in Black” and “You Shook Me All Night Long” are really more chordal rhythm parts than single note lines, but iconic nonetheless. “Have A Drink On Me” is a great linear riff from them.
The Beatles, who are known more for their use of chords, melody and harmony had some great riffs as well, such as in “Paperback Writer” and “Revolution”.
The riff in David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” comes in at number two in my book, with the energy it packs into that descending line, and the tenacity with which it replays in the listener’s head.
But the number one greatest Rock and Roll guitar riff, in my opinion, is the riff from “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones. It has a looping, grooving, pulsing energy as the notes ascend and then descend, and repeat– like when you were a kid on the swingset, where with each swing you pump closer to that moment of weightlessness just before the chains jerk as you fall back to earth, your adrenaline surges, and you do it again!
And what economy! Keith Richards packed all that power, groove, and melody into just THREE notes. One could make the point that Tom Morello’s riff in “Bulls On Parade” by Rage Against The Machine uses only two notes (actually the same note, but an octave apart), arguably packing more power, but it does so at the cost of melody, so I still give the trophy to Keith.
“One of these days you’re gonna find what you’ve been running from…
…and one of these days you’re gonna find it’s what you needed all along”
- “21″ , The Beggars’ Guild
The Beggars’ Guild is now T.J. Edmond & The Beggars’ Guild.
Why? ( In no particular order…)
1. Because I think The Beggars’ Guild is a good band name, with some recognition, and I don’t want to drop it altogether.
2. To eliminate confusion when playing solo gigs and consolidate branding. (Billing one guy as a “guild” is goofy, and promoting “T.J. Edmond” and “The Beggars’ Guild” separately means duplicating a lot of effort and infrastructure while achieving less brand awareness for each.
3. The band lineup has changed back and forth numerous times in the last year, and it has caused some confusion as to “Who IS The Beggars’ Guild?”.
I’ve been fortunate to have–and build friendships with– a lot of great musicians in this band. I started the band with a couple of demos I posted on Myspace, and soon found a group of like-minded musicians (Jon Chalden, Gregg Shapiro, and Will McNeill) willing to play with a green, fledgling songwriter. For the first three years, It was the same three guys and me, and I owe an enormous debt to them for how much I learned and grew from playing with them. Over the past year, with all of our various gigs, families, etc., the lineup often rotated from gig to gig (including Bret Hartley, Dave Anthony, Ryan Stephens, Jeff Beach, and Jamie Crossland) depending on who was available, but the one constant has always been me, up front. So, I suppose it’s time to call it like it is and put “T.J. Edmond &” on the front of the band name. [Ironically, a lot of bands I know have been making the opposite move lately, like (Bain Mattox &) Shot From Guns, and (Andrew Nelson & The) Shotgun Lover(s).]
The truth is, I started The Beggars’ Guild because I didn’t want to be a solo artist. But if you really boil it down, I’m a songwriter fronting a (mostly) rock & roll band. Songwriting is where my heart– and the long-term potential for my career–is. I’ve realized lately that for me to grow as a writer, as a musician, and as a performer, I need to practice all of those more. So I’m going to be playing more solo shows (as T.J. Edmond) as well as shows with the band (as T.J. Edmond & The Beggars’ Guild). I’m going to write more songs, learn more of other people songs, and just play more in general.
In reality, not much has changed. I’ll still be playing some of the same songs with many of the same musicians. But I’ll have more freedom to play more shows, and make more music even if it’s not always the same lineup behind me.
I recently got to hang out and catch up with some friends of mine, Zack Arias, who is an astounding photographer, and his wife Meghan, who is an equally astounding singer/songwriter.
In the last few years Zack has become widely-respected leader in his field and stays busy teaching his sold-out photography workshops all over the world. It was refreshing and inspiring talking to him, because Zack talks about the picture the same way I feel about the song. He’s a passionate, driven artist whose talent has brought him a good deal of success and earned him the respect of many in the world of photography. But he recently posted a video, called “Transform,” on his blog about the difficulty artists sometime face in improving, growing and measuring ourselves against others. Sometimes it’s tempting to to just give up, feeling like you’ll never be as good as others around you. At end of the video Zack offers the resolution:
“Transformation takes time… but it’s worth the wait.”
Over dinner with Zack, Meghan, and a bunch of photographers in town for his workshop, I heard many of them share how they were impacted by the Transform video, and how they were encouraged and motivated to keep taking pictures and improving by reading Zack’s blog. And I was inspired.
I’ve started this blog to share my journey as a songwriter and musician in the hope that others might be inspired and encouraged, or maybe just be entertained and learn from my mistakes. The dialogue between musicians and their listeners is usually pretty one-way: email blasts, myspace and facebook invites, posters, and static websites. With this blog I hope to open up some conversation with listeners and readers as I dig into the processes of writing and recording songs, dissect other people’s songs, try to improve as an artist and reflect on the creative (or sometimes unproductive) life. I hope you’ll find something helpful in it.
Cheers,
T.J.
Watch the whole video. It’s good for more than just photographers.
