The genius behind Bridge of Sighs talks flaming amps, favorite Strats and why he still practices every day – even if he didn't do it all that much when he was younger
(Image credit: Richard McCaffrey/ Michael Ochs Archive/ Getty Images)
Robin Trower is one of the great players to have created reference quality guitar tone, to have harnessed the power of tube amps pushed hard into the red zone in search of enriching harmonic content, and maybe – what the heck – adding a Uni-Vibe in front for kicks.
As he joins GW for a quick chat about first songs learned, first gigs played – and of course his most embarrassing moments onstage (this is the Inquirer section, after all), we have to say that we were not surprised one bit to learn that the English Stratocaster master’s amp blew up aflame onstage – not after what Buzz Osborne of the Melvins told us about Trower being the loudest player he had ever seen.
What was your first guitar?
“A Rosetti cello F-hole guitar. My dad bought it for me for Christmas when I was 14. It cost him seven pounds, 10 shillings. Eventually I got a pickup for it, so I plugged it into the back of the radio and started to play through it. So that radio was my first amp.”
What was the first song you learned to play?
“I think it might've been an Everly Brothers song that I tried to work out, but I don't think I ever got it. My mind never ran in that way, where I was learning other people's songs. I was just fooling around on the instrument until I was 16. That’s when I started to get songs off and play them through completely, together with a friend of mine, Chris Copping.”
What was your first gig like?
“Chris and I did a tiny little gig to about 10 people with my brother Mick singing. I think it was maybe in some sort of bar or something. It was a long, long time ago. The first proper gig, though, was when I had my band, the Paramounts, in the early '60s with Gary Brooker, Chris Copping and Mick Brownlee.”
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I've had the custom shop at Fender make my signature model, and it’s got everything I like about Strats – all in one guitar
Ever had an embarrassing moment on stage?
“Not sure if it was embarrassing, but it was certainly one of the weirdest. I was playing a gig with Jack Bruce and one of my amps suddenly burst into flames! I think I was driving it a bit too hard. A stagehand who was part of the crew ran out with a fire extinguisher. Luckily enough, my guitar tech stopped him from spraying it, which would've completely ruined it. I did get it repaired later and started to use it again.”
What's your favorite piece of gear?
“My Strat. I've had the custom shop at Fender make my signature model, and it’s got everything I like about Strats – all in one guitar. It's got a '50s reissue pickup in the neck position, the middle pickup is a '60s reissue, and in the bridge position, it’s got a Texas Special, which is slightly higher gain than the others.”
I don't think of myself as practicing to get better. I'm practicing to work things out
The building is burning down; what one guitar from your collection would you save?
“It’s the one I call Mr. Cream, which has been my favorite guitar for many, many years. There are definitely two or three others that I really like as well, but I tend to always go back to the cream guitar. It is a cream-colored Strat signature model, and like all my signature models, it has the larger headstock because I thought a bit more wood might give the guitar more resonance.”
When was the last time you practiced, and what did you play?
“I practice every day. Though I wouldn’t actually call it practice, because usually it involves working on new songs – but that encapsulates a bit of practicing as well, because when I'm working on new songs, I'm working on the lead parts and the backing parts.”
What aspect of the guitar would you like to be better at?
“I'm pretty happy with what I do, actually. I don't think of myself as practicing to get better. I'm practicing to work things out. For instance, if I'm working on a new song, I'm working on the lead to try and find what the best melodies are. So I am always reaching, so to speak…”
What guitar-centric advice would you give your younger self if you had the chance?
“To practice. [Laughs] The thing is, when I was younger, I never used to practice at all. I used to just play for fun and then pick it up. For instance, when I was in Procol Harum, I'd only pick it up for a gig or in the studio. I never used to play the guitar in between because at that time, I didn't know you had to practice.”
Joe Matera is an Australian guitarist and music journalist who has spent the past two decades interviewing a who's who of the rock and metal world and written for Guitar World, Total Guitar, Rolling Stone, Goldmine, Sound On Sound, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and many others. He is also a recording and performing musician and solo artist who has toured Europe on a regular basis and released several well-received albums including instrumental guitar rock outings through various European labels. Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera has called him, "... a great guitarist who knows what an electric guitar should sound like and plays a fluid pleasing style of rock." He's the author of Backstage Pass: The Grit and the Glamour.
