photo by Dara Munis
America Online account so you could access Jackson Jr., those guys were huge influences Fire, Al McKay, I learned all of those songs, all
the internet to download Green Day tabs and on me. A lot of people talk about me and of those guitar parts, and they were a huge
so on. While it’s next to impossible to totally nail compare me to Nile Rodgers. I love Niles influence on my playing and writing. The way
you down, I think I can hear the influence that playing, and yes, I’ve played a lot of the songs I like to incorporate horns into what I do, that
Nile Rogers, Dave Williams, Dave Matthews, that he’s recorded and produced in my life, I’ve stuff was a real big influence.
Bernie Worrell, and Tower of Power have had played them and studied them, but he wasn’t on your music. That said, I’d love to hear first- as big of a direct influence as Prince or Dave [WM] In watching the ‘right hand technique’
hand who your influences are, past and present, Williams, Paul Jackson Jr., John Frusciante video you did for Reverb I noticed a lot of your
including some specific discs and tracks. from Red Hot Chili Peppers, those guys were patterns were based around the root being
the more direct influence. The way that it on the fifth string. I’m curious if it was the
[Cory] Growing up I was a Punk Rock kid… comes out in my playing maybe sounds a little orchestration for the songs you were playing,
I loved Green Day… I loved Red Hot Chili more like Niles, but the real source for me is or do you tend to favor playing fifth string
Peppers. The Red Hot Chili Peppers guitar wise, Prince, John Frusciante. And Earth Wind and root voicings?
had such a huge influence on me. Growing up
in Minneapolis you just can’t avoid Prince, it’s [Cory] That would be a complete coincidence,
just everywhere, and that’s not necessarily a I don’t necessarily think that way. A lot of times
bad thing. Prince had a huge influence on me the way that I will consider which voicing’s
as a guitar player, both lead and rhythm. His I’m using is the instrumentation at the time.
album Controversy, I love the guitar playing on So, if I’m playing with keyboard players who
that record, it’s just insane. like to play with thicker voicings I tend to lean
heavier on my higher voicings, to not muddy
All of the guitar playing on the Michael Jackson
record “Thriller” I love. Dave Williams, Paul
76
Cory Wong Reverb Interview //
Funky Right Hand Picking Technique
February 2019
the message.
Subscribe for Free...