Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 5:01 am Post subject: Guthrie Meets Landau
Guthrie is in LA for some projects he needs to work on (with GPS and with Ryo Okumoto of Spock's Beard and GPS), so I hooked up with him at the Baked Potato to see Mike Landau in action on Thanksgiving Eve (Nov 22 Wed). Guthrie had never seen Mike live, so this was the first opportunity to catch the legendary master live in the cozy confines of BP. I had been raving about Mike to Guthrie for awhile now. Guthrie had admitted to me in the past that he didn't quite get what the fuss was all about, but he said he heard the clips from the new Landau live album and that he "got it" based on what he heard. Believe me: I felt the same. I knew Landau was a great player, but didn't quite get the amount of adulation he was getting until I started seeing him live.
So I hooked up with Guthrie at the bar of BP and we took Mike's first set in. As I chatted with Guthrie, it was quite obvious that Guthrie was very much enjoying what was going on. Mike was in his normal top form. And, you know, that's the thing about Mike: the amazing consistency. He is near the very top almost every night. I've seen him enough times now to know that he has some amazing nights and other nights that are not quite as amazing, but his "off-nights" are still incredible. And I can say that Mike was "on" on Wed night. It may not have been the best night I've seen of him, but the man was flowing.
After the first set, Guthrie and I went out to the back so he can have his smoke and we chatted along with another monster fusion player from Austria named Alex Machacek. Alex is another guy I've been in contact with recently. The guy is making quite a fuss in the jazz-fusion circles and I had set him up with a set of pickups for his Steinberger-copy guitar. It's funny: I was at the bar having beer with Guthrie and Alex barges in and says: "Hey, aren't you the famous Ed Yoon?" As I had only corresponded with Alex via email, I didn't know who this guy was. I just said, "Uh... I'm sure I'm not as famous as this guy!", pointing to Guthrie. Alex is an amazing new talent in the "progressive" jazz/fusion scene and it was fun to see Guthrie and Alex converse about a bunch of things during the intermission.
And then, I finally introduced Guthrie to Mr. Mike Landau. They shook hands and exchanged greetings and there was this overwhelming feeling of mutual admiration and respect permeating through the air - so much so that I felt like walking away and letting the two "Gods" share their own little godly chit-chat and get out of their collective presence. I'm not going to divulge in the very words the two shared. Let's just say that they were quite cordial and respectful, especially Guthrie towards Mike. Mike, of course, has the 'Erotic Cakes' album that I had given him and Mike said that it was "juicy" and that he really liked it. Now, to me, that's quite a complement from Mike as he's not the one to give out superlatives easily. For Mike, it's about ideas, not chops.
The meeting was short as Mike had to prepare for the second set and Guthrie had to leave early to get ready for studio work early the next morning. It was certainly a very special moment for me as they are the two of my 4 or 5 very favorite guitar players of all time. It was also great to have Guthrie finally take in Mike live. Mike just sounded absolutely amazing and huge as usual. There is such a 3D quality to his tone that it just leaves you spinning as you take in what he unleashes. Guthrie was definitely liking what he was hearing. Ditto for Scott Kinsey on the keyboards and the legendary Jimmy Johnson on the bass.
I gave Guthrie a copy of the new Mike Landau Group Live album, which is a double-CD set and is the closest I've heard on record of what Mike sounds like live. It's very enticing to think what sort of effect Mike will have on Guthrie. It wouldn't really be about the "licks" and things like that. It'd be about tone, phrasing, vibe, atmosphere, the use of space, textures, melodic creativity, etc. Guthrie is great at all those things, too, but Mike is really the undisputed master in those areas based on being the top studio cat in LA for over two decades now and also being at the cutting edge of LA's guitar-based jazz/fusion/blues live music scene. Guthrie with a bit of Landauisms thrown in would be truly remarkable, even though I suspect the two share some common influences already: Jimi, early-Clapton, Jeff Beck, Robben Ford, to name a few...
It was great to see Guthrie again and I'll be catching him with GPS at the album release party at the Burbank Bar & Grille on Nov 28 Tue. I'll take a bunch of pics of the GPS show and share my thoughts about it afterwards. _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
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Joined: 13 Aug 2006 Posts: 64 Location: Maryland, USA
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 1:36 pm Post subject:
I'm sadly not familiar with Landau, as I've fallen short in knowing many great guitar players. However, I hope I do get a chance to hear him after those compliments you threw him.
In the meantime I'm debating whether to listen to Erotic Cakes or Joboj's "X" album as I walk out. _________________ My mind still refuses to acknowledge my existence...
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:35 pm Post subject:
NESFantasy wrote:
I'm sadly not familiar with Landau, as I've fallen short in knowing many great guitar players. However, I hope I do get a chance to hear him after those compliments you threw him.
In the meantime I'm debating whether to listen to Erotic Cakes or Joboj's "X" album as I walk out.
Get the new live album from Mike. It's a double-CD and you can get it for $14.97 or something like that at Amazon. You'll find that you need to be in a certain mood for it as most of the stuff is not up-tempo and the mood is dark, but the tones and the playing are quite exquisite - really great late night music. _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:07 am Post subject:
splatter wrote:
Is Mike Landau another Suhr devotee?
Ah, yes, we do have a fairly close professional relationship as John Suhr had known Mike since the early-90's when John was working at Custom Audio Electronics and Bob Bradshaw. That relationship continued through John's years at the Fender Custom Shop from '94~'97 and to this day after John left Fender and started Suhr Guitars.
Mike owns several Suhr guitars including a Classic with the SSC that we built him recently that he says is now his main guitar. The thing is Mike owns many, many guitars - mostly of the vintage variety: early-60's Fender Strats and Teles, various Gibson Les Pauls and SG's, and a bunch of others, I'm sure. He's particularly partial to his early-60's SG. a '63 Strat and a late-60's Goldtop LP. John also does fretwork and other maintenance work on his vintage gear.
Mike's main amp is also the Custom Audio OD-100 Classic which John designed recently and which Suhr Guitars manufactures and distributes. It's an update of the original OD-100 and the second channel has been updated to sound like Mike's prized '71 Marshall. John has also done mod work on Mike's Marshall amps as well. Mike has quite a collection of vintage Fender and Marshall amps as well.
Unlike Guthrie, Mike goes for that old vintage feel and specs on his guitars, including that round (7.25") fingerboard radius. That vintage radius forces you to raise the action fairly high if you don't want the strings to fret out during string bends. Mike likes his action fairly high. Guthrie likes the radius relatively flat and goes for low action. Guthrie's motto is: Why fight it? Yup, even the great ones have very different tastes and demands on how they want their guitars to look like, feel like, and sound like. I'd have to say that what Guthrie likes and what Mike likes are sort of at the opposite ends of the spectrum, but that's what's so cool about guitars. _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Cool - it's quite a testament to the quality of Suhr's stuff to have such players' players use his guitars and amps. I've never checked out any of Landau's stuff - I'll check out his latest. Thanks!
I heard the BMP ( bozzio, machacek and preinfalk) Delete and Roll...machacek is a monster!! and know that guthrie and alex had met is very cool. I'd pay for see them both jamming
I don't know very much about Landau
i know that isn't the case but.. I'M WAITING FOR THE NEXT CD GUTHRIE !
Bye
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 12:01 am Post subject:
Mike Landau is a very different breed of player from Guthrie. I guess that's why I like him so much. He covers way different sonic and stylistic territories. Landau is a bonafide legend in the guitar circles and has a sizable fanatical following all around the world. As the top studio session guy in LA, he has recorded on over 100 platinum (1 million sales or over) albums. Personally, I'm not too interested in that stuff as I don't listen to most "pop" music. His main high-profile touring gig is with James Taylor.
I highly recommend the new double-CD live album to you guys. Don't expect anything really similar to what Guthrie does, but you'll be surprised to hear that the sophisticated phrasing is at times similar to what Guthrie would play in a given passage. Personally, I hear many similarities in the way they phrase - mainly in that it often sounds "in" when it's "out" or vice versa. Creativity is the word here. And then, there's Mike's tone. Guitar players and Landau fanatics from all over the world dissect his guitar sounds on various gear forums all the time. And rightfully so... But the fact of the matter is... Yes, it's all in the hands! _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Joined: 22 Feb 2005 Posts: 570 Location: gothenburg, sweden
Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 1:21 pm Post subject:
with someone like guthrie, you can always blame your hands for not being able to keep up -- because apart from the fact that his ear and musicality is beyond anything, i believe he's a bloody mutant!
with someone like landau, there's just no explanation of how anyone can be that good.
Cool write up, I've been meaning to get Landau's new live CD ( already have Tales From The Bulge which rocks ), maybe I'll ask Santa . _________________ Cheers
Mark.
Thanks for the great write up Ed!
I was and still is a huge fan of Mike Landau since nearly 13 years ago. I remember wearing out a VHS tape of Olivia Newton John in Concert featuring Mike Landau and Buzzy Feiten on the guitars...and that was the start of me hunting down his playing...
Most of the times during studio sessions, I would be requested to cop Mike's and Steve Lukather's tone and style.
As for Guthrie...I dont think I need to elaborate.
Funny to read the title of the thread since I'm having both Erotic Cakes and Tales of the Bulge in my car! _________________
(Banner Designed at Losfer Words Records)
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 5:32 am Post subject:
You guys have to get Landau's new live CD. My two fave CD's of this year are Guthrie's 'Erotic Cakes' and this one. It's quite different from 'EC' but it's at the same level in terms of guitar playing and Mike's guitar tones are just outrageously good. It's a live recording and sounds and feels very intimate. This CD gets the closest to experiencing what Mike is like live. Nothing else is close. The production and the sounds are clear yet raw, three-dimensional with amazing depth, and full of dynamics.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Landau, he isn't a Guthrie-type monster technical player, but he's got more than enough chops. To me, Mike is like a refined Jimi/Beck with modern jazz/fusion chops and pop melodic sensibilities mixed in with the feel/tone of the most seasoned blues players. It's hard to describe his style, but it's really sophisticated and refined yet very earthy and raw at the same time. For me, Guthrie, Landau, and Scott Henderson pretty much cover all I really need in guitar-based instrumental music. I'd be happy stranded on a desert isle just listening to these 3 guys although Pat Metheny would be the icing on the cake. Landau is highly recommended for those who really want to know what cool hip phrasing and TONE is all about. _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
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As I had only corresponded with Alex via email, I didn't know who this guy was. I just said, "Uh... I'm sure I'm not as famous as 
Yup, even the great ones have 
