In
the hands of musicians like Pete Townshend or Jimi Hendrix the guitar
can be a weapon, ready to cut you down at every turn or, in the hands
of Mark Knopfler or Hank Marvin, the guitar can be a surgical instrument
of sublime relaxation. The latter comparison may be more appropriate
in the case of Necessity, the 2012 CD from Toronto,
Canada guitar hero Jamie Bonk. Necessity is Bonks
seventh album and on the 12 track CD the focus is on his electric
guitar work. The all instrumental album kind of echoes some of Knopflers
soundtrack and more Shadows-esque type rockers. When I say rock, I
mean it in the most relaxing way possible. The album will literally
transport you to a kinder, gentler world. Is there a term called New
Age Rock? Well if so, put Jamie Bonks Necessity right
into the bin. Jamie cites Metheny and Frisell among his guitar big
influences but theres hardly any overt jazz stylings on hand
and you can cross off the term daredevil pyrotechnics too. Bonks
band is first rate throughout. You wont find a more peaceful,
toe-tapping instrumental guitar album then Necessity, even
if you try. www.JamieBonk.com
mwe3.com presents an interview with
JAMIE BONK
mwe3: Your new album Necessity is a masterpiece. I read
that you returned back to the electric guitar for this all instrumental
album. Is there a story behind your returning to the electric guitar
for the making of this new album? Did you have some special musical
/ sonic parameters that you set out to achieve on Necessity?
JAMIE
BONK: Thank you so much for the terrific compliment on Necessity!
Yes, I absolutely had an overall idea for the album. I've been listening
to a huge amount of 70s music over the last few years. Sonya,
my wife (and keyboardist for Necessity) is an enormous 70s
music fan and we listen to a lot of 70s music here at home.
There have a been quite a few nights we put on her 700-plus-song,
70s-music-playlist, have a few drinks and dance the night away!
I have to say I was more of an 80s music fan in the past - lots
of The Police, Yaz, The English Beat, etc. But listening to so much
Jackson Browne, Seals and Crofts, 10cc and Fleetwood Mac has definitely
expanded my tastes.
So for Necessity I was looking for more of a 70's style production
- drier drums, less layering of instruments, few or no loops, and
a more organic sounding mix. I also wanted to back off on compression/limiting
for this record and make the album a little more dynamic and open
sounding.
The move to the electric guitar for this record was a combination
of a lot of things. One of my favorite artists is Miles Davis and
I've always admired how he continually pushed himself. I've tried
to, in my own way, follow his example. So that was part of the reason
for the shift to the electric. The other part of the reason was that
way I recorded for the last 15 years or so was, for lack of a better
term, threatened. I live in downtown Toronto right in the middle of
biggest building boom that the city has ever seen. Across the street
from me I have three 30 to 50 story condos being built - six days
a week of noise. So basically I cant record acoustic leads here
in the day. That was a huge, and very practical, reason for me moving
to the electric for this record.
mwe3: Can you give a brief story about the other musicians
that worked with you on Necessity and can you compare Necessity
to some of your earlier albums? Why do you call it Necessity and
what was the chemistry between you and the other players on the Necessity
CD?
JAMIE
BONK: First off the reason the album is called Necessity
relates to your first question it was an absolute necessity
for me to use the electric guitar to get the album recorded! And also,
more nebulous music is just necessary in my life.
So besides myself, the players on Necessity were: Sonya Mitlewski
(keyboards), Dave Patel (drums) and Henrik Bridger (bass). Sonya and
I are married (we've been together for 28 years) so I like to think
the chemistry between us is good! That said, Sonya played on some
of my earlier records (A Perfect Tomorrow and My World)
and then said she had had enough. Enough of my overly picky production
style that is. I like to think I've learned how to be a better producer
and I think she had a far easier time recording Necessity.
To be fair, my studio also has some better keyboard gear making it
a little easier for a classically trained pianist, like Sonya, to
record.
I'm trying to think of how long Dave and I have known one another.
It must be approaching 10 years. We've done lots and lots of gigs
together and he's played on two of my records Necessity
and St. Joseph Street. Dave and I also founded (along with
singer/keyboardist Wendy Irvine) Sixteen Different Minds, a folk inspired
band. SDM put out a record in 2011 called Dancing Castles and
we're working on a new one right now. And I'm not the only one who
think Dave is a kickin' drummer he's played on over 60 albums!
What to say about renaissance man Henrik? He's an absolutely first
rate bass player and composer and he has his own project Barbara Jones
& Henrik Bridger. I was fortunate enough to get to play on their
debut album, This Side Up. He's also a bass builder and (if
that wasn't enough) the project manager for Antares Auto-Tine for
Guitar. I owe a big thanks to Boston-based, solo guitarist Peter Janson
for introducing me to Henrik.
mwe3:
I was very happy to hear a kind of influence from guitar legends such
as Hank Marvin and Mark Knopfler on Necessity. As far as the
guitar goes, who are some of your biggest influences, both from a
playing perspective and a composing perspective, both then and now?
Also can you remember your first exposure to the guitar and what was
it that made you want to pursue music as a recording artist?
JAMIE BONK: I'm so happy you brought up those two players,
and in particular, Mark Knopfler! There is so much I like about Knopfler's
playing and his records. Dire Straits is obviously amazing (who doesn't
like Sultans Of Swing?), but I also love the record he
did with Emmylou Harris, All The Roadrunning. Such a great
vibe!
Growing up I liked all kinds of music and players. Everyone from Jeff
Beck to Pat Metheny to John Scofield to Michael Hedges to Andy Summers
to John Williams to George Benson to The Edge. Really the list could
go on for a very long time. I suppose the one thing that really defines
whether or not a guitarist connects with me is: Do they have their
own thing? Can you only find that sound in one place, with that one
artist? Right now Bill Frisell is a huge influence. I like pretty
much everything he does and I really can't get enough of his playing.
I actually do remember my first exposure to the guitar. In the late
60s, early 70s Johnny Cash had a TV show. I thought he
was the absolutely coolest guy maybe it was the guitar, maybe
it was just his look. But either way I asked my parents for a guitar
and they got me a Framus nylon string with strings about a mile off
the fretboard. So at six I made the shift from piano (which I started
at 4) to the much cooler guitar!
mwe3: You mentioned your return to playing the electric guitar
on Necessity. What guitars are you featuring on the new CD
and can you speak about some of the other favorite guitars in your
guitar collection? Also what amps and effects are you featuring on
the Necessity CD and what strings and picks do you prefer for
your different guitars?
JAMIE
BONK: I only used two guitars on Necessity. All of the
acoustic parts were done with my Seagull Artist Studio CW and the
electrics (leads and rhythm) were done with a Godin Freeway SA. All
of the electric parts were recorded through a Line 6 HD300 straight
into an Apogee Duet and then finally into Logic. I absolutely love
the tones I can get with the combination of the Freeway and the HD300.
I've been on a pick quest for most of my life, but since I found Blue
Chip picks I've really stopped looking for the next best pick. I use
the TD-40 on electric and acoustic guitars and the TP-1R 40 and the
CT-55 on mandolin.
For strings, on the electric I use Elixir Nanoweb Light (.010 - .046),
on the acoustic I use Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze Custom Light
(.011 - .052), on the mandolin I'm currently using Elixir Nanoweb
Light (.010 - .034) and on my nylon string guitars I use D'Addario
Pro-Arté EJ45 (Normal Tension).
mwe3: Can you say something about where and when Necessity
was recorded and something about the way Necessity was
recorded? Do you prefer recording live in the studio with other musicians?
The reason I ask is that so many recording artists and producers send
files half way around the world and things are so sophisticated you
can hardly detect the differences. How has all this new recording
technology influenced your approach to writing and recording? Seems
like a mixed blessing to have all this technical stuff impacting something
like guitar music which is a pretty timeless thing.
JAMIE
BONK: All of this new technology really is a mixed blessing. On
the one hand I don't think I could have recorded Necessity
any other way than I did with everyone doing their parts in different
studios. Sonya and I recorded here in my studio starting in late 2011/early
2012; then Dave recorded his drums in his own studio (DaWG Studios),
and Henrik recorded his bass parts in his studio (Château Juliet)
later in 2012. My preference would definitely to have had everyone
all together in one studio at the same time, but that just wasn't
possible due to scheduling, location (Henrik lives in California)
and cost. On the other hand, the ability to record in different studios
and share files via the net allowed me to work with the players I
wanted to, keep within the budget, and to make what I feel is one
of my strongest albums so far.
Certainly modern technology has affected the way I record, but it's
more difficult for me to say what impact it's had on my writing. For
a while I was writing everything directly into the computer, but over
the last few years I've gone back to writing my first ideas on paper.
It just seems to work better for me when I'm in a creative state and
concentrating on melodies, harmonies and rhythms. I don't know if
this helps me write better music or not, but it does feel more natural
to me.
mwe3: Where do you get the inspiration for writing and composing
music? Can you say something about where you live and how that influences
your music? Also do you find time for any other activities outside
of the music world and how do you relax when youre not busy
with music? How about other causes or things you promote outside of
music?
JAMIE BONK: For me, inspiration can come from just about anywhere.
The origin of "Mind Your Step, for example, came from the
time when I was stuck in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport for a number
of hours the main melody and title come directly from the moving
sidewalks they had there (go and check it out!!).
Overall, I try to stay as open as I can to musical ideas and not approach
writing with any specific agenda. That said, being open to ideas is
great, but being able to actually act on those ideas is really the
tough thing. So I try to write something just about every day and
try to keep my writing chops as finely tuned as possible.
As an indie artist, I'm pretty much going all of the time. If I'm
not doing my own music, I'm teaching or running my label. I never,
ever, ever seem to be able to catch up on all of the business stuff
I have to do. To relax, Sonya and I generally watch films or go out
to some nice restaurants with friends. I'm not an overtly political
person, but I do support and have played benefit events both as a
solo artist and with SDM for charities like The Sunshine Foundation,
Epilepsy Toronto, Canadian Cancer Society (Relay For Life) and Make
Music Matter.
mwe3: What plans do you have for Necessity moving forward
and how about plans for your next music, writing and recording and
performing? Things worked out so well with this electric guitar based
album, I hope youll keep it on your next album too.
JAMIE
BONK: I'm definitely sticking with the electric (as I'm not planning
to move any time soon!). I'm working on a whole bunch of new music
right now including a Christmas album. I've wanted to do a Christmas
album for years, but never seemed to find the time. Not sure if the
album will come out this year or in 2014, but I'm happy the project
is underway. I'm also hoping to do a video for one of the tracks on
Necessity, with my brother Randy directing, this spring. It's
going to be a busy next few months!
Thanks to Jamie Bonk @ www.JamieBonk.com