Bonnie Raitt on playing music . . . . Don’s Tunes

 

Bonnie Raitt: 

Someone put it best when they said, You can't change the noodle, but you can change the sauce.” 

I play the way I play, just like I sing the way that I sing. I'm not a schooled guitar player, and I can't say I'm getting appreciably better, but I know how to do what I do. It's the songs that change. 

For me to play slide guitar over the Zimbabwean groove of "Hear Me Lord" [from 2002's Silver Lining] is a blast. It's the context that makes it fresh for me. On Souls Alike, the most adventurous thing I did was run my guitar through an Amp Farm wah-wah loop for "God Was in the Water.” 

Taking risks is how I keep moving forward—that and being open to hearing things in a different way. 

Ultimately, I know there's a safety net, and that's the fact that I trust my ears and my instincts. I'll always try something different. That's how you grow, and you also don't want to be overly influenced by an inclination to dismiss something that's new. So I may do something I'm not really into—out of respect for Tchad and the musicians—but if it's not working for me after a few days of letting it sit, then I'll go, "We gave it a try, but this song is sucking." 

Guitar Player Interview 

Don's Tunes