Seven years ago today, extreme metal music lost one of its most radiant beacons - Paul Gray of Slipknot. He brought the knowledge and the enthusiasm, and he was the most social of all the people on the metal scene. I helped start one of the biggest metal bands in the world and Im not necessarily a metalhead. as for basses, I think Paul generally used flats on his Hofner and Rick, not sure about the Jazz bass he may have used later on (and no idea about the Fender 6 stringer that John and George sometimes used) tjmicsak Member Messages 5,690 Mar 24, 2010 #4 You can hear them on the older stuff. Captain, please tell us a bit about who influenced your guitar playing? A long time ago we used to do a cover of that song 'The Humpty Dance' and I would have to tune during the song, as we're playing.". Total Guitar has not edited this interview, deciding instead to leave as . And while his technical prowess has been overshadowed by his giant personality and tucked away within the confines of excellent songs, Evil Spirits puts his cadre of guitar-borne personas on display as he chunks, clatters, burns, and jangles through the albums tracks. The great thing about those basses is that theyre so individual to how you want them to sound. Total Guitar has not edited this interview, deciding instead to leave as much of Paul's personality and character in as possible RIP Paul. Although fans knew Paul as part of the nine, he had a low public profile, rarely speaking to the media. This is the strings in Paul Simon's Guild F-30. The day after it happened, we were all over the place, and we all kind of made our way to my house, he recalled. Through gigging, they met future members of Slipknot: Shawn Crahan in Heads On The Wall, Jim Root in Atomic Opera, Joey Jordison in Modifidious. Pure Ric-into-Ampeg glory. thats corey's stone sour. The studio has an excellent Fender Stratocaster that Captain used on at least three songs, for arpeggio things or anything that we needed a clearer sound on beyond the overdriven Gibson sound hes known for. Slipknot had always seemed combustible yet invincible nine individual, larger-than-life characters who came together as a unit onstage. I was lucky enough to see them all play club venues, where you could really watch what their fingers were doing. Why hide them, anyway? Works 23; All; Songs written by Paul Gray [US1] Original songs. The 15-minute epic that closes the Knots second album showcased a very different side to Pauls playing, more '90s rock than extreme metal in feel sharing similarities with the kind of lines heard in bands like Tool and Pearl Jam. The previous day hed passed away from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, at just 38 years old. "We were on Ozzfest and I had the one Soundgear bass, which was really old, with no back-up guitar and we were playing all these shows. I havent a clue about scales and stuff. What Strings Did Freddie King Use? The 77 I have has the toaster pickup, and that one is much filthier sounding. I use real thin gauges: .040.090. Rotosound (.009.042) They received a settlement in 2018. Rock n roll needs its rough edges. Taking his place in a finalised line-up of vocalist Corey Taylor, percussionists Shawn Crahan and Chris Fehn, drummer Joey Jordison, guitarists Jim Root and Mick Thomson, sampler Craig Jones and turntablist Sid Wilson, they exploded on the brink of a new millennium, in a mass of masks and coveralls, attracting growing crowds of writhing, devoted maggots. When you play, do you prefer to play with a pick or your fingers? From triumph to tragedy, here is his story, Yesterday we lost our brother, and the world seems a little smaller because of it, began Corey Taylor. Corey called him their secret weapon. It was actually a badass guitar, it was a Gibson Flying V and it was left-handed, and it ruled. They toured All Hope Is Gone across nine gruelling legs, starting in July 2008 in Washington, taking in Download in June 2009, and finishing in Las Vegas that October. Eventually, he managed to procure a replacement. HiddenCharms said: I don't know if this is true, but I remember reading that Duane Allman and Jimi Hendrix used Fender Rock'n'Roll Strings guaged 10-38. Interview - paul gray slipknot bassist band, Interview - paul gray slipknot bassist headbang, Interview - paul gray slipknot bassist finger, Damon Albarn reveals that the beat from one of Gorillaz best-loved songs was an Omnichord loop preset, It looks like Gibson is going to start selling vintage guitars including a '59 Les Paul Burst, Deadmau5 delivers his verdict on AI music production: Its scary in the sense of how stupid music already is anyway, Confused about setting up your guitar? Although fairly light, I find the reduced-thickness picks weve moved over to hardly break any strings these days, which is good, because I hate changing guitars mid-gig. And how about you, personally? You gotta find your pocket. What gear was important to making the new album? Paul, who cofounded Slipknot in 1995 with drummer Joey Jordison and percussionist Shawn Crahan, was found dead at age 38 in an Urbandale, Iowa hotel room in May 2010. So between that and jamming along with the records is how I got my fairly unorthodox guitar technique together. When I tried out I constantly turned myself down or turned the tone knob down by accident. Im an indie dude or an alternative dude, whatever the fuck that means. Gary Moore played Gibson Les Paul guitars. A metalhead through and through, he nevertheless began listening to funk and jazz, taking a few lessons to learn slap and pop techniques. What gauge is the low E string? Yaamaha even produced a replica of Pauls guitar , the FJ681 "Paul Simon . He never returned home. But the time was right. 1970s Ampeg SVT V9 Has there ever been something that was just too far out for the Damned? While their 1999 self-titled debut would prove to be a landmark, 2001s Iowa earned them a No.1 in the UK, while 2004s Vol. Or any money to buy one. Im not just playing for Clown; Im playing for him, for his wife and daughter, his legacy, his love for the band, his love for music.. You are using an out of date browser. Recorded at Download 2009, Paul talked to TG about his solid playing style, his reason for being a bass player and his tips for making you play better. I went down and played with them. They also sound totally different. But more importantly than anything else, Paul Grays songs and performances have resonated louder and prouder with each and every passing year. For bass, he uses two main string sets: Hofner H1133B Flat Wound Nickel strings and RotoSound Tru Bass 88 Nylon Tapewound strings, both of which have a tremendous impact on his tone. I loved anything with a galloping bass line that challenged the listener beyond widdly guitar stuff or a bloke shrieking his head off. What Paul did with Slipknot was revolutionary. Punk rock has morphed, been bastardized, revitalized, and analyzed infinitely since becoming a defined movement in the late 70s. A true athlete when it comes to traversing the fretboard of a Rickenbacker bass, Grays lead bass style and the way his playing seamlessly weaves with the Captains is a massive part of Evil Spirits musical bedrock. But while other members had full-on side-projects, he considered Slipknot to be his everything. Actually, none that I can think of. I made Paul punch in a lot, but a lot of it comes with modifying parts and changing things to be something a little different without changing their overall feel or what theyre trying to say as players. Everything else has been me just experimenting.". I have to put on the heaviest string I can find to actually do it. But in the beginning, after we got our record deal, I went to Warwick actually. And that goes for the records, too! In sixth grade, aged 11, he got Suicidal Tendencies self-titled debut, which fuelled a desire to learn the guitar. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. TC Electronic Nova System That 77 has much more of a Lemmy-type sound than my 74. The two I mainly use are very different. Offstage, he couldnt have been more different. Some of it I tap out, some of it is more simple, and some of it I have to follow the guitars and do runs and leads and stuff like that. Luckily it all seems to work most of the time anyway. The blueprint Paul helped draw up for Slipknot shines through its bludgeoning riffs, and even through the energy of latest album We Are Not Your Kind. Growing up with little money, his family were living in shitty roach- infested apartments, and by age 14 Paul was out on his own, struggling with homelessness, bouncing between friends and locations. .60 mm Dunlop Tortex. But the novelty of freedom at such a young age soon wore off and he called his mum, now living in Des Moines, to see if he would able to sleep on her couch and start a new life in Iowa where, while playing in death metal bands Anal Blast and Body Pit, he would eventually meet the other original members of Slipknot. Search Ray Brown for details. Sprayed sparks all over the place. So I was like, I've moved to Iowa, I don't know anybody, so maybe I should jump in and say I play bass and try to meet some people? #22. The world would never be the same. They were a menacing presence, ready to inflict pain on themselves in the name of catharsis. The finish, too, being less thick, shows off the battle scars nicely. A fan of British blues-rock players like the Groundhogs Tony McPhee and Frees Paul Kossoff, and of Summer of Love psych-rock and the pomp of 60s orchestral pop music, the Captain has never relied merely on power chords and beeralthough those have often been a part of his recipe. Feb 11, 2014 #3. He had a difficult and itinerant childhood, and his father died by suicide. And seeing as Eventide HQ was just across the Hudson, Tony V. invited Tony Agnello to the studio, where, despite working against the clock, everything stopped while we played around with some guitar effects or talent boosters according to Pinch. "He had the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known, and he had the greatest soul I've ever . The fact that Ament was using an 12-string bass helps to explain the instrument's presence on the track, although you won't hear the extra strings ringing out individually - they simply add to the overall tone. Ernie Ball Power Slinky Bass Strings (55-110) Paul Gray was known to use the Ernie Ball Slinky Bass Strings. I think it was made in February, which was just a month or two after they stopped doing the toaster pickups. On Octobers behalf, the Gray family sued pain relief specialist Dr. Daniel Baldi and his former employers, alleging Paul hadnt been properly monitored during his drug addiction treatment. Bath two very different bands. I don't know what he used on actual recording. I used to use those gray Hercos for years, even in Thin Lizzy. After the third or fourth show I met somebody from Warwick and they sent me out a Corvette or some model and it was awesome. Some of Pauls favourite stuff was the crazy shit, yknow? Corey told us in 2014. Thanks! Lots of discussion about this all over this board. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. He was loved around that scene.. Gray: I used the 1980 Ric that I used on TheBlack Album, but the one that ended up on most of the tracks was my very early 74. I went into the local music store and heard some guys talking about needing a bass player for their band, they did covers of Slayer and Metallica songs, So, not knowing anybody and wanting to meet people, I told them I could play bass even though I had never played one in my life. He wrote that whole song, and there was such an essence about it that was so odd; the way his eyes were looking at his guitar, and the way he was writing it when we were playing together, it was almost scary, he told Revolver in 2010. Eventide H9, Strings and Picks "Finger stretches? This prompted Jim to write the opening line of Til We Die: My friends are all hurting., There was a real fear that he wasnt doing well, said Shawn. But my favorite was Tony McPhee of the Groundhogs. Tone tips: Grab a 12-string of your choice and dig in! Joey also recalls laying down the drums for All Hope Is Gones Gehenna, while Paul wrote instinctively. Aug 24, 2009. There had been a headline-generating arrest for drugs and drink-driving in 2003, sobriety, relapses and recent treatment for addiction. I was on my way to being like Andy Warhol or something!, Over the years, Pauls $1.75 pig mask morphed into a Hannibal Lecter-style serial killer face. Their string of hits included Stimulation and I Could Make You Love Me. He turned up to rehearsal with a right-handed bass borrowed from his brothers friend, Frankensteind into a left-handed one, and played the regular guitar parts on it. "Oh yeah, of course. They are EADGBD for songs in A and EADGAD for D. Paul, what basses did you use on Evil Spirits? Which is a hard thing to do with nine people in the band!". Paul had previously dabbled in a band in Minneapolis called F.O.R., toured with Kyuss offshoot Unida, recorded with rockers Reggie And The Full Effect, and was poised to go out with metal super- group Hail!. I was going to donate my Epi Viola, but after putting LaBella flats on it, I liked it too much. No tricks, no pedals, no nothing. . While the Damned are fronted by a crooning vampire-poet of a man in Dave Vanian, much of the groups sweeping sonic vision has hinged upon the guitar work, songcraft, and imagination of founding member Captain Sensible (born Raymond Burns). JavaScript is disabled. The words Fender, Telecaster, Stratocaster and the associated headstock designs are registered trademarks of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Yet again, he moved. How long have you been playing bass guitar for, Paul, and why did you choose bass as your main instrument? It suits the Damned material better and cleans up nicer with the volume knob than a straight SG Standard, for some reason. Premier Guitar sought an audience with Sensible and Gray to discuss the making of the Damneds triumphant return to studio recording, their philosophies and roots as players, the symbiosis that exists within their playing relationship, and even a bit of gear geekery. Gray: I used the 1980 Ric that I used on TheBlack Album, but the one that ended up on most of the tracks was my very early '74. Bath Gibson SG 60s Tribute models with EverTune bridges I'm trying to figure out what type of strings he was using in around '64. The 1980s were yet another decade that brought massive changes in music. Brenna called her the best gift anybody could have ever left me. Slipknot is more dangerous now than ever and I have the fuel known as Paul Dedrick Gray in my blood, he said, even more fired up than usual. An autopsy revealed he had. Not I; thats for sure. Cliff Burton was awesome and since we were doing Metallica covers, I really had to sit down and learn Cliff's parts because he was all over the place. Which isnt the end of the world, of course, but there seems to be no fix, according to chatter on gear forums anyway. What strings did Paul McCartney use during his time in the Beatles, in particualr the strings he used on 'Come Together' Apr 26, 2001 #2 Ari Schor Mar 3, 2000 Montreal I have been told by many people that he used Pyramid Flatwounds ($!!!! Incredibly, he was welcomed into the band, Vexx. When asked, three albums in, if this is what he imagined being a rock star would be like, he humbly replied, I dont really consider myself a rock star, but obviously I guess I am. I was speechless watching him write this song. 1990s British-made handwired Vox AC30 reissue 19 years ago Wow, I'm getting old! BA1 1UA. 1990s Vox 4x10 cab Im not a control freak and I want them to express themselves, and I wouldnt work with them if they werent great musiciansthats my criteria. Fans held t-shirts aloft, while Shawn and Corey stood at the back of the stage, arms around each others shoulders, faces crumpled with emotion. In December 2010, they announced they would headline 2011s Sonisphere to honour the legacy of their fallen friend. It took me 15 years to figure out that all they were really playing was the pentatonic scale with some extra notes chucked in! Did McCartney use flatwound strings on his Hofner bass from the very begnning or did use round wound on it at some point? The K! Who wants to go onstage with an unblemished guitar slung round their neck? Summary is that he used Guts until around '59. The Kerrang! We both also share a love of melody and those three chords at the start of Louie Louie and all of the American garage-rock from the 60s. He will never be forgotten. Slipknots first gig was on April 4, 1996. Its a drag to repeat yourself, and thats why no two Damned albums sound alike. So I switched the strings on it and it kind of looked OK, like a left-handed bass if they'd put the knobs on the top. Summary of Gary Moore's Gear What guitar did Gary Moore play? How would you describe your playing style? We had to kick everything up a notch, and that required the Captain playing a bunch of different guitars in the studio. Given an exclusive listen to the second full-length in the months ahead of release, Kerrang! Repeat: the secret debut album that launched the legend, The definitive history of every Slipknot mask, The 10 best new metal songs you need to hear this week, Watch this metal frontman teach terrified daytime TV hosts black metal growls on live TV, James Hetfield has been cast in a 'dark western' film with Juliette Lewis and Game Of Thrones' Peter Dinklage, Watch grannies rip through some gnarly death metal and shoot fireworks from their backsides in this hilarious advert for Liquid Death iced tea, Watch Mike Shinoda & Ice Nine Kills' Spencer Charnas star in Demi Lovato's new Scream-inspired video, Every issue delivered direct to your door. A big chunk of foam being used on this tune (1:51.) Other guitars at the studio were a StratI never got on with them as the volume knob is too close to bridge; a Rickenbacker 12-string, which I found to be lovely; and the studio acoustic, which had an almost unplayably high action. "It was weird because when I started practising these songs on bass, I didn't know any of them. But life was still difficult, so he contacted his mum, who by this time had managed to secure a house in Iowa. But it was seeing a nascent Slayer touring the merciless Hell Awaits that made the biggest impact on the young Paul Gray. Ampeg was also really great to me and I can't say anything bad about them. Paul Dedrick Gray was born in LA on April 8, 1972. Genre politics and hyperbole aside, the Damned have always been the musicians band among the classic punks, and the group has always operated with a policy of lawlessness when it comes to the music they make. But the first bass I used to try out for this band, because I didn't have a bass and I'm left-handed, was some no-name bass but kind of like a double cutaway so it kind of looked like an SG maybe? Title Written by Originally by Original date Covered by ; Before I Forget . Steve is an idol of mine and I actually got to meet him - I listened to him a lot because he's all over the bass when he plays.". Originally titled Lust Disease on an early demo, Iowas lead single might not be one of Slipknots fastest or heaviest, but its riff is certainly one of their busiest from the earlier years of their career using double notes, slides and chromatics that snake their way around the fretboard. You must log in or register to reply here. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), 2004), in a heartfelt tribute to his old bandmate, The inside story of Vol. As the date drew near, it was clear Shawn was ready to go all out. There was just something huge coming through him.. 1980 Rickenbacker 4001 Gray: I wish I could analyze it, but its one of those musical relationships thats just worked from the get-go! Slipknot had arrived. Ive been there from the beginning, when Paul recognised my ability as an artist and said, Just do it, man! Unmasked, heads bowed and choked with emotion, they paid tribute to their friend and bandmate, Paul Gray. Hed listen to Cliff Burtons bass fills repeatedly, rewinding his tapes until he had figured them out. You dont often get that, and I struggle to think of any other guitarist that Ive worked with that Ive had that relationship with. Marc Bolan wouldve loved that! Being back in New York brought that whole Damned relationship back to all of us, honestly. I imagine you must use Rotosound strings, based on your influences and the tones youve gone for over the years? When Macca's Rickie was sent for an overhaul to Rickenbacker, they found that the bridge pickup was dead and had been dead for a long time, turns out that when Macca stripped his Rickie, he tried to get rid of the cover for the bridge pickup, so he sawed it open, which in a horse shoe is a big mistake, since that cover he wanted to get rid of is part of the pickup. He could listen to something and de-construct it in his head and go, You know what? Apart from a regular open-G blues tuning [Editors note: Check out Silly Kids Games on The Black Album for an example. Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. Reviews. I really like the growl Tonys got on it and it really suits the songs perfectly. I think it was made in February, which was just a month or two after they stopped doing the toaster pickups. Although Slipknot's Paul Gray was known to many simply as . Not being able to predict what kind of music wed deliver mustve pissed off the record labels, because things never lasted long before us being shown the door. Based on the Ibanez ATK series, it features a massive 5-piece maple/walnut neck, light ash body and an ultra-powerful tripl Show More. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. His eyebrows would go down, his brain would switch off, and the music sang through him. We recorded at Atomic Sound in Brooklyn, which is a beautiful studio with a lovely, big wooden live room. Tragically after writing, recording and touring four albums in the greatest metal band of a generation Paul passed away on May 24, 2010. Stay up to date with in depth music reviews, exclusive interviews and widespread coverage of whats happening from your favourite music genre. When he pulled on a guitar, a transformation kicked in. Tony McPhees Groundhogs performance of Cherry Red on Top of the Pops departed radically from the shows usual fare, and that was the moment I decided to get a guitar and only a Gibson SG would do. Theyre just magnificent! It was the first time the whole band had been in my house together and it was a very surreal moment There was this wall of anguish and silence just sitting on top of us and it was fucking gnarly., The band knew their friend had been suffering. Matrix VB800 1977 Rickenbacker 4001 Paul was there from the very, very beginning. String gauge. With the emergence of Eddie Van Halen as a phenomenon in the late 1970s and 1980s . He was the sort of person who, when he got his meagre paycheck from working at the gas station, would go down to the bar and spend it all buying people drinks. Captain, what was it like working with Visconti from a guitarists perspective? MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. And that goes for the records, too!Captain Sensible, We have built up a collection of Marshall EL84 20/20 20-watt stereo power amps, which might even have warmed up Mrs. Thatchers cold heart if someone had thought of it! Captain Sensible, You can coax many different sounds out of a Rickenbacker depending on your fingering technique, what gauge pick you use, what year it is. I locked myself in me bedroom after schoola real Johnny-no-matesand I plucked away until I figured what they were playing. Never having had a lesson, I play completely by ear and I often overstretch myself. We've got songs on the albums that are in our normal drop B tuning, and we do a drop A tuning, and I do another tuning where I'm actually in octaves - it's weird! Instead of sticking with the drop B tuning used on its other tracks, Paul used a drop A tuning with this thickest string another octave down - which he described as a super low, almost. It dealt with depression and survivors guilt, but also the strong love Corey had spoken about in the press conference. When we started the band I felt it, right when we started it, and it still feels the same. Do you remember what your first bass guitar was? So many things set him apart from the rest: his attention to detail; his ear for hooks; his approach to a riff; his ability to hear several variations on a riff so it never felt repetitive; his vision for songs or passages; his single-mindedness when it came to fighting for what was best in a song I could go on and on here.. We used that with an 8x10 and had everything up full blast and thats the sound on the record. How did the Australian singer die? Sensible: I didnt think there was any chance my colleagues would go for a 14-minute krautrock wig-out (Dark Asteroid) last time out, but I was wrong. It required the heaviest gauge top string he could find in order to hold the notes well enough to record. Grays recorded output with the Damned includes two of the bands most revered and musically fibrous albums, Strawberries (1982) and The Black Album (1980). What gear was integral to creating the guitar tones on the album? People say they eat into frets, but Ive never found that to be the case, and I change them every night when Im on tour. Most of the guys you cited developed their sounds around a Rickenbacker bass, and thats been your instrument of choice over the years. Basses Im a dreadful singer, but Ive got all of these melodies in my head and I kind of approach the bass as a tool for countermelody, and I weave between what the Captains playing and what Daves singing. While Paul tragically left us too soon, his creative influence remains. Whats the writing process in the band today?Sensible: We write as individuals, then throw our stuff into the Damned pot and see what it sounds like. I loved guys like Jim Lea from Slade, who was doing more like lead bass and drove all those fantastic Slade songs. Theres a reason why the low-end on the debut album closer feels extra rumbly, even ghostly, at points. That evening, the eight remaining members of the Knot, aided by early bandmember/stand-in bassist Donnie Steele, provided their own loud tribute. What was your philosophy about shaping the tones for this album? The lead guitar breaks on Evil Spirits sound very in-the-moment, but also precisely mapped.Sensible: They are pretty much first takes. What Guitar Strings Does Paul Simon Use? It's weird but I love the bassline in Van Halen's 'Running With The Devil' in open fucking E. Now, I appreciate any player who can lay down a solid bass groove, like Cliff Williams from AC/DC. I was cutting myself with a razor, bleeding all over the place. How do you get A Slipknot guitar tone? Things like that made a big difference, and on some tracks, youre hearing five to six guitar takes all at once. In tribute to Paul's indelible legacy and legend, we're going to look at a side of the man that was rarely seen, let alone written about.
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