TONE TIPS
Make Your Move
BY PETER THORN
Your humble
author hanging
with L.A.
session legends
Tim Pierce
and Michael
Thompson
while sharing
stories about our
respective times
coming up as
u ar s s
Los Angeles.
I
recently had a telephone conversation with a friend who is a talented,
young singer/songwriter/guitarist.
She lives outside of the U.S. and has
been noticing that she’s receiving more
attention on social media for her guitar
playing skills than for her songs or singing. My friend wanted my advice about
whether a career as a session and touring
guitarist would be a good thing for her to
pursue. I gave her an enthusiastic “yes,”
but with one caveat. I recommended that
she move to a major music center such as
Los Angeles or Nashville, since these are
the places where the major tours are put
together and where sessions happen. Still,
she responded with some apprehension
and wondered why people couldn’t just
scout her online. In this month’s column,
I’ll detail why making the sacrifices and
commitment for a move to a music capital is the way to go if you want a career as
a pro musician.
Woody Allen was right. I’ve
mentioned in previous columns that if
you want to make a go at a full-time
career as a professional musician, you
must have an almost obsessive passion
for your instrument and music in
general. You also have to be physically
present. Even with the Internet and its
ability to bring us all closer, you need
to actually be there to do sessions and
audition for gigs. And in order to get
those calls for touring gig auditions and
recording sessions, you generally have
to be a part of a music scene, which
requires a considerable amount of
networking and beating the street. Like
Woody Allen said, “80 percent of success
is showing up.”
Case in point: Late one evening in
February 2007, I received an email from
a colleague alerting me to be at Center
Staging the following day if I wanted
to audition for Chris Cornell’s touring
band. I was given a list of five songs, so I
woodshedded furiously for a few hours,
got some sleep, and woke up early to go
over them all again. I played well at my
66 PREMIER GUITAR SEPTEMBER 2016
noon audition and got a callback audition
that eventually led to being offered the
gig. There’s no way any of this would
have happened had I not been physically
present in L.A. for some time, because
I needed to build the relationship that
led to me getting a call to audition. Just
as important, living in L.A. gave me the
ability to audition at a moment’s notice.
Success, hardship, and commitment.
My good pal Tim Pierce and I recently
stopped by session-great Michael
Thompson’s studio to interview him for
an upcoming episode of our web series,
Tim and Pete’s Guitar Show. And he
shared some incredible stories about his
early days in L.A. Though Michael got
his start as a working musician in the late
’70s in Boston, Massachusetts—where
he found enough paying gigs to avoid
working a day job—he knew L.A. was
where the real top-quality gigs were and
relocated to California in 1979.
A mutual friend of Michael’s from
Boston had scored a gig in Joe Cocker’s
touring band, so Michael asked his friend
to try to get him an audition. He got
the gig (within one week of moving to
L.A.), but the job didn’t last long and
he was soon looking for another one—
which didn’t materialize. Funds ran low.
Michael had to look at the help-wanted
ads for the first time in his life, and he
spent the next year driving a taxi to
make ends meet. He never forgot those
lean days where his hunger and desire
to succeed was so strong that he poured
all he had into every single session he
did get. Michael always brought his full
amp, FX rig, and multiple instruments
to sessions no matter what or who it was
for, and he was always working hard to
come up with unique parts and tones.
Word spread, and through a combination
of drive and talent, he became a first-call
session musician.
I clearly remember the lean times
during my early days in L.A. I took
whatever gigs I could get and often
played for free to gain experience and
make connections. I taught lessons when
I could and worked jobs for minimum
wage. I remember rolling my spare
change—mostly pennies and nickels—
and taking the rolls to the bank for a few
bucks to help pay rent. I remember living
for an entire week on $13 by existing
on bread, peanut butter, tuna fish, and
mayo. I just barely got by, but continued
to take every gig that came my way.
When I did start to get c alls for auditions
and occasional sessions, I poured
everything I had into trying to be the best.
My philosophy was/is simple: All I have
to do is be the best guy that shows up for
the gig, and I’ll get it.
Even in this age of social media and
devices that keep us connected 24/7,
there is still no substitute for showing
up, literally and figuratively. Sure, it’s a
sacrifice to move to a major music center,
but nothing good ever comes easy. If you
do come to L.A., just don’t take my gigs!
Until next month, I wish you good
tone ...
PETER THORN
is an L.A.-based guitarist who has
toured with Chris Cornell, Melissa
Etheridge, Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi, and
many others. He released a solo
album, Guitar Nerd, in 2011. Read
more at peterthorn.com.
premierguitar.com