Conference napalm::guitar

    yeah, I was there and the guy really is sick.

    who is Danny Gatton ????
    
    

    just think, buck, the guy can pick that fast and he doesen't even
    have to attach his picks to an electric drill to do it :-)
    

    re .-2
    
    Danny was recently named "the best unknown guitarist in the
    world" (by GP). He'd rather hang out on his farm and play
    at local bars in the Washington DC area than go out and be
    famous. He played behind Robert Gordon for a while. He used
    to hang around with Roy Buchanan; in fact, he sounded a lot
    like Roy on some of the blues he did.
    
    -dave

    Well, ya Dave, his did have a fiendish right hand, but show up at
    Wurly's for PG and you'll see he also doesn't need a drill.
    
    PG (still) rooooooooooooooolz

    Sorry I missed, what's this about it being on ManicTV?  Please confirm
    time etc.  Like so many of us I just got a taste of his playing
    in GP and I want to hear more.
    
    
    Joe

    They didn't say what time it was going to be on. Maybe WZLX would
    know, one of their DJ's was the MC of the show.
    
    -Dave

    Saw the piece on MTV news.  It reminded me of the peice on Jeff
    Healey, real short and stuck over the closing credits...  It appeared
    that it was taped in NY.
    
    Thanks for alerting me.
    
    Joe

    I saw it.  You know, had I not seen the band two days earlier I would
    have shut the thing off.  It seemed to me that Danny was playing `to
    the rock audience'.  He was amazing when I saw him, but I thought he
    was playing only mediocre on the show.  I thought he could have
    done a lot more...I wasn't impressed.  It was like chuck berry licks.
    
    PS - they need some new clothes, they were wearing the same thing! 

    Danny Gatton has an instructional video out, fyi
    
    /rick

	Hey all,

	I noticed there wasn't a note here for Danny Gatton.  Just
	wondering if anyone else has heard anything by him.  I have
	the new "88 Elmira St" CD and I'm really enjoying it.  Quite
	the relief from the acoustic schmaltz from Carlton and Rit,
	the fusion/jazz of Scofield and Gambale, and the screaming
	stuff from Vai, etc..  

	Not that I don't like those guys, it's just that Danny Gatton
	is a refreshing relief from them.

	It's definitely old time rock'n'roll / rhythm & blues with
	him RIPPING over the changes.  While he may not execute as
	cleanly as the others, he sure does rip!!  And his playing
	often makes me laugh!!  

	So, if you like cookin' old time tunes (horns and all),
	and want some relief from all the new players, and want
	to go back to a clean screamin' Telecaster... give Danny
	Gatton a shot.

	Anyone else out there hear his stuff?

	Tom

    
    Ooh, ooh, ooh! Yes, yes, yes! Danny Gatton! I want to hear more.
    (I've only heard that little floppy sampler that came in a GP
    magazine.) Maybe I'll buy his new album while it's still in the racks.

    Along those same line, any Al Anderson fans out there? NRBQ?
    

    yeah, Danny screams. Just be sure to bring ear protection if you
    ever see him live!

Yeah !!

I have not bought any of his albums but I got his 90 minute teaching video 
"TELEMASTER"

Geez !! that guy can play. All from the ear too, he doesn't seem to know too 
much theory...he just has buckets of God-given talent....stand on his fingers 
someone!!

He certainly has a good sense of humour.

I bought the video to learn from.....I think I got the bit where he tuned up 
and said goodbye...but the bit in the middle....has someone stood on his 
fingers yet ??

Dave

    I have the "Elmira" album (his major-label debut) on loan and am
    enjoying it.

    My real reason for replying, though, is to alert Danny Gatton fans to
    his first Blindfold Test -- identifying players & cuts without any
    advance information -- in the current (maybe Sept.?) issue of Downbeat
    magazine.
    
    Gatton pretty much smokes it -- correctly identifies guitarists from
    George Benson to Lonnie Mack to Les Paul to Al DiMeola.  Some of the
    reasoning he uses to arrive at his answers is great to follow; guitar
    detective at work.  Recommended.    - Jay

    Didn't Danny Gatton polay with the Radiators for a while? In fact,
    	didn't he open for the Rad last time thay were at the channel?
    
    							/Bill
    

        Saw this  guy  in  the  NBC  news  this morning.  Apparently,
        Chrysallis (sp) records  have signed Danny for a seven record
        deal and Fender has  named their `top of the line' Tele after
        him.  I didn't get  a  chance to catch the whole thing though
        so I don't know anything more  than  that.    But from what I
        heard  him playing, he's definitely `up and  coming'  in  the
        industry !
        
        JMHO,  cause  this  Bass  player  doesn't normally like doing
        reviews on guitarists.  .  . :^)
        
        Matt B

re: "Danny Gatton"  Telecaster

         I wouldn't go so far as to say that Fender has named their top
of the line Tele after Danny Gatton.  What Fender offers, is simply
a "Danny Gatton"  model Telecaster. It's basically a repro of his
old Telecaster. I dunno what the features are, except it has
Barden pickups.

       Fender also offers at least 2 other "name" teles. One is a 
(James?)Burton Model and the other one I forget. 

-T

    There's an interview with Danny in the latest Fender propoganda
    magazine "Frontline".  
    
    gh

    RE .18

    >       Fender also offers at least 2 other "name" teles. One is a 
    >(James?)Burton Model and the other one I forget. 

    Albert Collins I think.

    
    Danny's got a video (tutorial, not MTV) titled something like
    "Telemaster".  I don't know him by ear - is he a new guy, or has he
    been playing with people we might have heard of?
    

I picked up a "Jamez Hetfield Tele"...

:)

    Danny's been a regional guitar hero in the Washington DC area for at
    least 15 years...I first saw him in Annapolis in '76 when he knocked me 
    against the back wall of a club down there with his blistering solos.
    My main impression: the guy is technically skilled in a wide variety
    of settings.
    
    I always wondered what kept him from being nationally recognized in the
    same way we respect Vai, Johnson, and other guitar slingers.  Maybe
    he's 'breaking out' like they supposedly say in the music business.

    I wanna pick up a Paul Gilbert model "Telesavalas"!

    It's a good question as to why Danny Gatton is still the
    best "unknown" guitarist in the business.  As I recall, he
    played a blues festival at Great Woods last year, and didn't
    impress too many people.  I didn't see this show myself, but
    did catch him at Johnny D's a while back and he blew my head
    off.  Perhaps his sound, real high and piercing, turns a lot
    of people off.  I thing Buck, Dave Clark, and I all lost a few
    db's in the high frequencies that night.

    personally I think the guys is a living testimonial to the
    high-frequency loss which results from too much loud music.
    His tone probably sounds about 'right' to him!
    
    - Dave

    Hey, there's a new Gatton album out.  I forget the title but they
    played a cut from it on a local jazz show, and it's a real jazz record
    with real jazz horn players, etc.  Label is Blue Note, a real jazz
    label.
    
    Wonder if they made Danny play in the basement so as not to deafen the
    other guys in the band  8^)  8^)
    
                                             Elvis Wobble

    re: -1 
    
    The Album alluded to is a new release on Blue Note called  "New York
    Stories" and is a pretty traditional jazz album featuring Danny.
    The ensemble includes Piano, sax, horns, bass. Danny holds his own
    in this environment. He also does not overpower the rest of the 
    musicians. Solos are traded as folks emerge and fade in/out of the
    background. There are a few cuts when Danny's licks become obvious
    and you really know its him. A few notes slightly out of tune here
    and there but all in all a good job.
    
    This is a jazz album to be sure. Its interesting to hear jazz played
    on a tele and its respectable. There is one cut which the guitar has
    a distinctively deeper tone, so I suspect he used something else but
    there is no indication what. 
    
    jim

    On his "Unfinished Business" album, Danny plays an ES-335 (I think) on
    the two "jazzier" tracks.
    
    Dave

    For more jazz-Tele action, check out Duke Robillard's "Swing",
    done almost entirely with a Japanese Tele copy.  Quote the
    Duke "the best jazz guitar I ever owned" (it was since stolen).

    re: .29
    
    I checked the album last night and he plays an ES295 and an L5, along
    with his usual '53 Tele.  He also favors a '63 Vibrolux, FWIW.
    
    Dave

    
    	I picked up his new CD - forgot the name - but it's really
    	good!  Once again, everything under the sun but, to me, a
    	much better sounding CD.  Plus, he's added funk and a few
    	vocals.  GP says it's his best because it captures what he
    	and his band sound like live.  
    
    	Just wish he'd use the neck pickup more...
    
    	Tom
    

    Hey, I should mention that I saw a book of Tablature for Danny Gatton
    at Rockit Records in Nashua this week.
    
    If you wanna try learning some of his stuff - there you go.

    Danny's new release is called "Cruisin Deuces"; it's been seeing heavy
    use on my CD player for a couple of weeks now.  There are a couple of 
    retreads of tunes that were on previous releases, including Sky King
    (which is okay with me cause it's a great tune).  Not radically
    different Danny, but yeah maybe a little more user friendly.
    
    Did you see the Danny Gatton lesson in recent GP???  Not too much
    white space left on that page!
    
    /rick

    Danny appeared at the Cotton Club in Atlanta last Tuesday PM. 
    Absolutely blew me away! How does he do that??? Also Bill Holliman
    who plays a really mean sax. Did alot of stuff off the Cruisin
    Deuces CD (Harlem Nocturne, Fun House) plus some unrecorded stuff
    like Mustang Sally.
    
    He played his prototype Fender Gatton Tele through what appeared to
    be a well worn bassman and some sort of fender tube head through a 
    Leslie. I had to chuckle, the house soundmen asked him to "turn it
    up" after the first number. I never thought he'd be accused of not
    playing loud enough. All in all a great evening. Well worth the
    eight bucks admission. (Its nice to be able to hear some great music
    without paying megabucks to ticketmaster).
    
    jim

    
    	I've had a problem listening to this on the way to work in the
    	morning.  The dilema is that the tempo makes me drive really
    	fast and I get to work way too soon and don't get to hear much
    	of the CD.  So, I've decided to go from Marlboro to Maynard
    	via 495 to the North Shore, come down 128 and take 117 in...
    

    Pardon my ignorance......
    
    What 'kind' of music does this guy play (jazz, fusion)?  I have never heard
    him.  Is it all instrumental?  My fav all instrumental stuff is by far Steve
    Morse.....would I 'like' Danny Gatton?
    
    
    dawg (always looking for a new sound)

    Mr. Gatton is a pretty versatile player. He has roots in 50's rock 'n
    roll (he's the right age), rockabilly, & country. He toured with Roger
    Miller for some time and used to hang with Roy Buchannan. He also is
    quite an accomplished Jazz musician as evidenced by his recent
    recording on Blue Note entitled "New York Stories". I would describe
    him definitely as a "picker" with some pretty hot licks. I can 
    definitely see how listening to "Crusin deuces" in the car could lead
    to suspension of license.

    The best description of Danny's music I've heard is his own (and used
    to be the name of his band): "Redneck Jazz".
    
    Dave

    although Danny's solo stuff till now has been all instrumental,
    there are several guest vocalists on his new one (Delbert Mclinton
    among others).
    
    Think of a cross between Albert Lee and Les Paul (if that helps :-)

Steve:

Danny Gatton's a D.C. area dude.  You can go see him live yourself.

That said, I'm going to don my flameproof suit and say that I'm not
real wild about Danny Gatton.  To me he's all flash and little substance
(although it *was* amusing the first time I saw him play slide guitar
with a full beer bottle).  I'm not necessarily against flash, mind you,
but Danny's playing just doesn't talk to me.  Give me Bill Kirchen any
day.

-Hal

    I heard that Gatton and Joey DeFrancesco made an album. I think I heard
    a piece used as a backdrop in a radio ad. I have Cruisin' Dueces but
    thought it was a little thin on inspiration. I'd like to see what he
    does with DeFrancesco on his tail. Could be pretty interesting.

    So anyone heard this thing? 

    RE: .42
    
    Not me!
    The first track on "Crusin' Dueces" works for me!
    
    "Tickets please...  HEY YOU SITDOWN...  "  and the sax solo in that
    tune? If I played sax, I'd want to play just like that! Cool, real cool!
    
    
    	Different strokes I guess! And that's OK! 
    
    
    		Fred (who wants more rock-a-billy and surf music)   ;^)

    This thing's gotta be out. On All Things Considered today I heard about
    thirty seconds of something that had to be from the Gatton/DeFrancesco
    CD. Couldn't have been anything else. Sounded good, too.

    I heard that Danny died yesterday!
    
    Can anyone confirm this???
    
    
    		Fred (who's bummin' just hearing the rumor)

    Just got a message from Brian Rost.  He says that Danny Gatton
    committed suicide Tuesday.  RIP
    
    /rick
    

    The report I heard on the radio was that Gatton committed suicide on
    Oct 5, but they did not state the cause of death.  He was 49 years old.
    
    I just "discovered" him this year (thanks to Fred Abatelli) and I have
    become a BIG fan of his.
    
    What a loss....
    
    	WW

The Baltimore Sun reported today that his body was found on Tuesday, and
that it was a suicide.  If anyone wants I can try to remember to save the
article and type it in.

-Hal

    This is really sad news.
    
    I have a weekly one-hour radio on a local radio station, dedicated to
    blues, R&B, soul and the like. Well, I've already decided that tomorrow
    I shall play at least a couple of tracks by Danny Gatton as a tribute.
    
    Dom

    I ordered "Relentless" from Big Mo Records and got it in the mail
    yesterday. This was Danny's last recording and features Joey 
    DeFrancesco on B-3 and Danny's usual bass/drums. I listened
    to the whole thing last night. Absolutely stunning!!! Most
    of the music has a swing/blues/bop feel to it. Danny and Joey
    do a lot of trading solos and both of them smoke. Danny plays
    a lot of blues stuff but seamlessly inserts real outside
    phrases that make things really refreshing. There's one
    long slow blues where Danny does the Roy Buchanan thing. 
    Danny has a much cleaner tone than he did on the other
    2 recordings I have (Redneck Jazz and Unfinished Business).
    I would place this one right up there with Duke Robillard's
    "Swing" CD as my one of my favorites in this genre.

    Whoa!  Dave C let me borrow a copy of "Relentless".   If you're
    a Danny Gatton fan, this is must!  Probably the best Danny I've
    heard on record to date.  One thing that seems to make this work
    so well is that it's a true partnership; there's as much DeFrancesco
    as Danny on here; he doesn't get "all the space" like on his solo
    records, so he really makes every note count.  Me, I'm a sucker
    for great B-3 and this record is chock full of it.  Danny's tone
    is less shrill than on some of his other recordings, and he provides
    still more evidence for the the case that the Tele is indeed a great
    jazz axe.  (to paraphrase Telemeister Jim Wieder: "a Tele and toothbrush;
    what more do ya really need?")
    
    The playing on this date comes the closest I've heard to conveying
    what a true genius Danny Gatton was on the 6-string.  It makes it
    all the more sad to realize he's gone.
    
    /rick

    
    That sounds like a great disc.  I've listened to 
    Unfinished Business, and on one of the "jazz" cuts
    (I can't remember the name), it sounds like he's 
    playing with that front position teley setting
    that has the highs rolled off.  
    
    To me, its amazing that his articulation is
    so clear even with such a dark tone. 
    
    I'm wondering if that's what he does on "Relentless". . .
    
    Dave
                                           

    The tone on Relentless is just a straight Tele/Fender Amp tone;
    I thought on some of his previous stuff there was too much
    distortion and the amp was set up to sound too bright. This
    one's 'just right'.
    
    - Dave

    
    Is Relentless available in any record stores or only mail order. 
    I have not seen it in any of the musice store around S. NH. 
    
    Shaw 

    Saw a couple of copies at Newbury Comics Shrewsbury, so it is available
    in stores.
    
    /rick

    
    Thanks Rick,  I'll check the Newbur Comics here in Salem where I 
    work, I have a two hour drive this evening and it be nice to listen
    to something new. 
    
    Shaw

    You'll be glad to now that Danny Gatton got the largest column in the
    Newsweek "Transition" (deaths, births, illnesses, marriages, divorces,
    etc.) column.

    I gather it wasn't the same week that Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford
    split up
    
    half :-)

    Cindy Crawfish, yawn...

From the rec.music.makers.bass Usenet newsgroup:

----------

Article: 6584 of rec.music.makers.bass
From: [email protected] (George Dibos)
Subject: Interesting Danny Gatton Item
Date: 4 Jan 1995 16:29:18 GMT

I spoke at length last night with one of Danny's best friends about the
tragedy (Evan Johns of H-Bombs fame), and was assured that though Danny
did take his own life, it wasn't because of a trifling "marital dispute"
as stated in the press...  The real reason was because Danny had suffered
two back-to-back strokes which left one side of his body paralyzed, and
since he'd seen older family members succumb to the same thing (repeated
strokes of increasing severity) while he was growing up, did not wish to
go through such an ordeal--or put his family through one--himself.

Whether such a decision was medically sound or necessary is a moot point,
of course, but it makes a difference to me knowing the truth.  That he did 
not take his life in anger, but in sadness.

Evan then went on to recount how Danny's death had rekindled the musical
energies of a number of famous musicians...  That there was wide agreement
in the musical world that Danny probably had as much raw talent as anyone
born in this century, and if *he* had it simply snatched away by fate, the
rest of us had better get cracking.

Interesting food for thought, as well as a case of dark clouds having a
silver lining, however thin.

George

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    Extracted from the alt.guitar newsgroup:
    
    Subject: Thanks to Net from Norma Gatton
    From: [email protected] (George Dibos)

    I am passing on this message from Danny Gatton's mother Norma.  Please 
    direct all e-mail replies/comments/etc. to me, or contact her directly 
    by writing to P.O. Box 100, Alphretta, GA 30201; or by telephone at 
    (404) 442-5214.

    Norma says:

    The people who have contacted me as the result of the Net are numerous, and
    their expressions of support have been overwhelming.  Please let them know
    that we are proceeding with a series of wonderful projects.  First is the
    petition for the Danny Gatton Memorial Highway on Highway 301 in Southern
    Maryland.  Second is the Guitar Heroes Postage Stamp campaign, which will
    include numerous other guitar heroes also.  Third, we anticipate a June 
    release of a CD entitled, "The Redneck Jazz Explosion live at the Cellar
    Door, Washington, D.C., New Year's Eve 1978," featuring Buddy Emmons and
    Dick Hienze, on the NRG label.  Fourth and most important is the Danny 
    Gatton memorial that we have commissioned world famous sculptor Ralph 
    Helmick to create.  Mr. Helmick is best known for the Stevie Ray Vaughn 
    Memorial in Austin, Texas.  The family has chosen a beautiful site at 
    Solomon's Island in Danny's beloved Southern Maryland.  Once again, our 
    sincerest thanks.

      Norma

    Well, we're just over a year on from the passing of Danny Gatton, and I
    must say I'm surprised at the relative lack of attention that he's had
    from the media and the guitar world in general. Even in this notesfile,
    only about 15 notes have been added. It's almost as though people are
    making a conscious effort to ensure that he's remembered as "The
    World's Greatest Unknown Guitar Player" ;-)
    
    I don't like *everything* I've heard from him (probably understandable,
    given that he changed from one style to another at the drop of a hat),
    but some of his playing was nothing short of breathtaking. I relistened 
    to my "Cruisin' Deuces" CD about a week ago and even had a bash at 
    playing along with Harlem Nocturne, using a transcription that was
    featured in "Guitar Player" a couple of years back (very faithful
    transcription, btw). Needless to say, I was pretty much bamboozled
    after about 8 bars!
    
    His playing on Thirteen Women is also dazzling. Any bloke that can take
    a song done by artists as far apart as Bill Haley & the Comets and the
    Fuzztones, and then slip in jazz and bluegrass solos has got my vote!
    And when he gets into a more traditional rockabilly groove (the Sun
    Records medley), he takes some beating too.
    
    Check out his page on the www if you're a fan (sorry...I haven't got
    the address offhand).
    
    Dom