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Mahavishnu Project/Pete McCann
Interview
The Mahavishnu Project is a band dedicated to preserving John
Mclaughlin's intense and brilliant music written for the Mahavishnu
Orchestra. The music is a lethal combination of hard-rock guitar
sounds, eastern music influence, and jazz harmony. This interview
is with Pete McCann, the current guitarist with The Mahavishnu Project.
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BUY
LIVE BOOTLEG!
Maha's latest, recorded
at The Bottom Line in N.Y.C.
LISTEN!
'The Dance of Maya'
(guitar tab below)
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History of The Mahavishnu Orchestra
Back in 1971, guitar-god John McLaughlin left both Miles
Davis' group and Tony William's Lifetime to form the groundbreaking
Mahavishnu Orchestra, melding the fire of Hendrix-drenched
rock with the groove of Coltrane's modal jazz & the ethereal
Indian ragas of Ravi Shankar. People called it "jazz
rock" (of course, it was much more) and the result was
nothing less than a musical revolution. The Mahavishnu Orchestra
has been cited as a major influence on everyone from King
Crimson to Phish, and was in many ways one of the first eclectic,
electric jam bands.
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'The Dance of Maya' Guitar Tab
This guitar riff is just amazing! The combination
of other-worldly triads (7th chords and 11th chords) and wah-wah
pedal is enough to make you hallucinate! Each group of three notes
should ring together. Listen to the audio
clip to help with the rhythm!
The Interview
AccRock: You play the Mahavishnu stuff very well!
Is it intimidating to play Mclaughlin's music?
petemccann: yes - indeed! scary every time.
AccRock: Do you feel his presence surrounding you?
:-)
petemccann: yes, it's hard not to. His music is
so strong compositionally...it is all encompassing.
AccRock: watch those big words partner..
AccRock: When did you first hear a recording of
The Mahavishnu Orchestra and what did you think of it?
petemccann: I first heard the Inner Mounting
Flame when I was in college, a teacher I studied with said,
'check this out - man'.. so I did, and it blew me away.
AccRock: Did you start checking out more of his
music or start learning his songs?
petemccann: I did not start learning his music
until January of 2001 when I joined the Mahavishnu project. Up until
then, I was just an avid listener of JM's music. I have checked
out Electric Guitarist (Mclaughlin album) many
many times!!!!
AccRock: You have played on over 30 jazz albums.
How do you think playing in the Maha Project has changed your guitar
playing?
petemccann: Since I joined the Mahavishnu project,
I think my technique has improved a great deal. Although I must
say I don't always pick every note like JM does.
AccRock: Yah - I've got another question coming
up about that!
AccRock: Did you ever play in a traditional rock
band or fusion band?
petemccann: before I joined the maha band, I played
for 3 years with bobby previte's Bitches Brew tribute
band.
AccRock: Oh, cool, for those readers who don't
know what Bitches Brew is ... It is one of Miles
Davis' experiments in jazz/rock from the '70's. So you got a good
little introduction to JM, right?
petemccann: Miles Davis is one of the all time
greats in jazz. During the late 60's and early 70's he performed
what some consider as the first jazz-rock fusion music.
AccRock: Many great jazz guitarists have cited
rock guitarists as influences. Are there any rock bands or players
that have influenced your playing?
petemccann: I really enjoy Jimmy Page, Brian May,
Jeff Beck...a lot of the greats. They changed the sound of the instrument,
and wrote great music!
AccRock: Many of the great jazz guitarists are
obsessed with tone just like rock players, right?
petemccann: You know who had the greatest tone
ever?
AccRock: who's that?
petemccann: Wes Montgomery.
AccRock: Oh, definitely! But in his case it was
that thumb and the frickin' Gibson L-5!
AccRock: What rock bands are you into now?
petemccann: I've always been a big fan of Metallica
and still am. I think they are really killing. Korn, System of a
Down. I'm not a big fan of the Dave Matthews Band, but I do admire
that instrumentation. I think that's what catches a lot of people
off guard...it's kind of a crossover thing - acoustic, folk, rock.
I think you might see some more bands like that in the future.
AccRock: In the Maha' Project, there are as many
meter changes as there are potholes in New York City! Have you ever
played in any band that comes close to it?
petemccann: Not at all! That's why I wanted to
join the group. Hearing that music and trying to play it.. I really
practiced hard before I went to the first rehearsal. The leader
of the group gave me a full month to check out the music.
AccRock: I guess there is Zappa, also.
petemccann: Yah, and there is some great Jan Hammer
music that is post Mahavishnu which has some incredible odd-time
structure. There is a record he did with Jerry goodman who was also
in the Mahavishnu band. I think a lot of rock bands got into odd-meters
as a result of checking out Mclaughlin. Groups like Yes and The
Dixie Dregs w/ Steve Morse. Adll of that music from Inner Mounting
Flame to Birds of Fire had arpeggiated chords and alberti bass lines
under it.
AccRock: I saw your picture with Steve Morse on
the Mahavishnu
web site.
petemccann: It was a dream come true opening up
for his band.. It was like Mike Myers "We're not worthy"!
(laughs)
AccRock: How have you modified your gear choice
to fit the needs of the Maha Project?
petemccann: This is the first band that I've played
in where I've felt like I needed more than one amp to compete with
the volume level on stage. We play rock clubs so it really helps
to have a louder stage sound. I brought a reverb pedal to split
the signal into stereo and run two amps at the same time.
AccRock: Are you using amp distortion?
petemccann: The amps are pretty loud. (Pete has
a Bogner 1x12 combo amp which has a master volume, and an Ampeg
1x12 combo which has a distortion channel that he leaves on. both
are around 50 watts). The tubes are hot so the sound is 'breaking
up' naturally.
AccRock: Do you have distortion pedals also?
petemccann: Tube Screamer, Ratt Pedal, and the
Boss DS-1 pedal. I use the Tube Screamer for the low level, the
Ratt for the middle level, and the DS-1 for any 'over the top' sounds.
AccRock: Let's talk about your playing style.
You've got some killer slurring technique goin' on. What kind of
things did you practice to develop this?
petemccann: Since I was trying to play like Mclaughlin
and I couldn't pick that fast, I have to slur a lot of things. I
know a lot of guys who can pick really fast, but I have never been
able to do that. I use hammer-ons,
pull-offs, slides.
A lot of Mclaughlin's music is triadic
so you have to do some pretty large leaps and crossing over strings.
AccRock: I remember seeing him on a late night
show and he was just incredible to watch...playing the guitar looks
effortless for him. Have you seen him play live?
petemccann: Yah, it looks like he's not even playing.
I've talked to people who know him a little bit, and they say he'll
sit there before a show for 3 hours practicing scales. He starts
really slowly, then by the end of the 3 hours, he's just burning.
It's funny thinking of one of the world's greatest guitar players
running Major scales slowly!
AccRock: That's an awesome thing for students
to hear - practice slowly!!
petemccann: One of my teachers, Jack Petersen
at North Texas State, sat me down with 3-octave Major Scales. Right
away you have to deal with shifting between positions. The idea
is to make it sound really smooth and effortless, and try to pick
all of the notes. One of our tests was to play the Major scales
at 16th notes = 120 beats per minute.
AccRock: What John Mclaughlin album would you
put at the top of your list?
petemccann: I think the record that started it
all is one of the records that still measures up today - Inner
Mounting Flame. It's one of those really great guitar albums
that opened the door to jazz-rock fusion. He was coming right out
of Miles Davis Bitches Brew into Inner
Mounting Flame. He did this in only a couple of years time.
He went to India to study Indian music and came back 'ripping' and
full of knowledge. He really played fast with Miles, but after he
came back from studying with the Indian cats, he was just burning!
(laughs)
AccRock: What was the line up on that album?
petemccann: That was the original Mahavishnu Quintet:
Billy Cobham, Jerry Goodman, Jan Hammer, and Rick Laird.
AccRock: Do those guys give the Mahavishnu Project
their blessing?
petemccann: All of these original members don't
mind, but we are not sure what Mclaughlin thinks since no one has
really talked to him about it.
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