Joe in Guitarist Magazine March 2008

Cathy, I'll type it all up and post it tomorrow for you.

Geoff

OK, herewith the Guitarist magazine 10 questions....especially for you

#1 Q: What and when was your first guitar? A: "It was called a Chiquita. It was my first elecric guitar- like a short-scale, little electric guitar that was for a four-year-old to play. and then I got a Gibson SG at six."

#2 Q: When was the last time you changed your own strings? A: "Probably four years ago. I've forgotten how. I tried to do it the other day and I just got horribly messed up. I don't know how to wind them anymore"

#3 Q: The building's burning down- which guitar would you save? A: "I'd definitely grab the Lucille that BB King signed for me."

#4 Q: What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you on stage? A: "I fell through it one time. It was such a s***** stage and at the end of one song I felt the floor give way beneath me. I'm not an overly heavy person but needless to say I went on a diet because I blamed myself and not the crappy stage. I was visibly lower and where I was standing there was a big dip in it."

#5 Q: You get to have dinner with any musician alive or dead - who? A: " Jeff Beck. Absolutley. He's just the most intriguing to me, how he's managed to reinvent himself for four different decades and still be the top guitar player of his generation for each of those decades."

#6 Q: If you could have any vintage guitar to own - not just to sell on - what would it be? A: Paul Kossoff's stripped 1959 Les Paul. The one that was completely mangled and wood-coloured, because if you put on the Free DVD and listen to him play that thing there's such a magical sound. That guitar has such a human voice quality to the notes, and the chords are so well defined, the articulation....That would be the one guitar I'd kill to own."

#7 Q: What's the oldest guitar you have? A: "I have an 1865 or '66 Stauffer-style Martin. It's very very old. I played it a couple of times but I only tuned it up to low C# 'cos it's more of a historical relic than a practical guitar."

#8 Q: And the newest? A: "Not to plug away, but the newest guitar is the Gibson Limited Edition Joe Bonamassa double signature Les Paul Goldtop. I've had that about three weeks. It's a really aged early '57 Goldtop, kind of in the same school as Snowy Whites guitar."

#9 Q: Name a song that changed your life, and why? A: " Let Me Love You Baby by the Jeff Beck Group. I've never heard the blues played with such power, and I've never heard such a take on the blues that made you stop in your tracks and say, I can't believe what I'm hearing! And that song is probably tied with How Many More Times by Led Zeppelin - the sound of a room exploding recorded on tape."

#10 Q: Is there a myth or belief about you or your playing that you'd like to dispell? A: I've played the Strat for such a small percentage of my career and the Les Paul such a high percentage - but for some reason I got known as the Strat guy! I've always been a Les Paul guy, and yet it's hard to be known as anything other than the kid with the gold sparkle Strat."

There's also a competition to win an Epihone LP Std signed by your friend and mine ....MR....JOE...... BONAMASSA!!!!!.....and some other stuff to win too.

#11 Q: How do you rate Geoff as a guitarist? A: " He taught me everything he know's.....but I already knew it"

Geoff

"On Jan 26th 1961 I walked into a nondescript dancehall on the outskirts of Liverpool, looking for a new band to feature in my clubs in the City Centre. I'd come to see The Beatles for the first time.

Completely bowled over by their music and charisma, I immediately gave them 12 bookings. That first night I told Paul and John that one day 'they'd be as big as Elvis'.

I got that same feeling of excitement when I first saw Joe Bonamassa and his Band in De Kalb Illinois last Summer. Now I have all his albums and the DVD, and state categorically: Joe is the premier Blues/Rock artiste on the Planet. And within two years everyone's going to know it."

-- Sam Leach. Liverpool England. FEB 15th 2004.

Looks like Sam's two for two...

Guitarist mag also say: " On the eve of his current UK tour Joe reflected on his success over here (in the UK). "I'm so looking forward to coming back to the UK. When we started there a couple of years ago we were playing to 200 people, maybe on a good day and now we're selling out Shepherds Bush Empire. It's an awsome honour....it'll be the first proper UK tour for me where I have my new band and my new album and I think the fans are just going to really love it." Joe goes on to thank the readers of Guitarist magazine for their support.

Yep, was at The Borderline gig and I gotta say that I'm not at all surprised how things are working out for Joe.

Jeff, it was only 3 minutes

Great interview- thanks gsj!

And my new favorite JB quote (now my signature ) is:

Q: What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you on stage? A: "I fell through it one time. It was such a s***** stage and at the end of one song I felt the floor give way beneath me. I'm not an overly heavy person but needless to say I went on a diet because I blamed myself and not the crappy stage. I was visibly lower and where I was standing there was a big dip in it."

haha- i just love how he tells that!