Mike Dawes is no stranger to taking percussive fingerstyle technique to new heights, having previously pushed the boundaries of acoustic guitar playing with a catalog of covers and original material.
Through virtuosic fingerstyle renditions of tracks such as Bob Dylan/Jimi Hendrix’s All Along the Watchtower and Van Halen’s Jump – all arranged for one guitar – Dawes has demonstrated his spellbinding chops, which combine elite dynamics and technicality with ingenious fretboard phrasing and percussive elements.
Now, the UK-based guitarist has returned with another mind-melting reimagining of another classic rock track, this time directing his attention to Foo Fighters’ Everlong – one of the first songs he ever learned on guitar.
It’s another Dawes masterclass, with the UK-based virtuoso wielding his Andreas Cuntz acoustic (wired up to a stacked rig, featuring a Neural DSP Quad Cortex) for a faithful yet boundary-bending take on the track, which sees Dawes tackle all the parts on one guitar.
The melodies are all there, naturally, conducted by way of some slinky upper-string melodies, and supported by anthemic open-string chords. This is all propped up by the percussive elements of the arrangement – elements that really steal the spotlight in the charged pre-chorus and momentous chorus sections.
As Dawes explains to Guitar World, the seeds for the cover were first sown when he was on tour in the US, when one of the guitar techs put the idea of Everlong into the guitarist’s head. Then, it was just a case of finding the right tuning (DADGAD) and working out how far his fingers would need to stretch.
As you can imagine, the percussive parts of the cover proved to be especially difficult to pin down – not just because of the technical skill required to juggle guitar with de facto drum duties, but because of actual parts in the track, which were originally recorded by Dave Grohl.
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“The chorus is a good example of this as I did my best to make his fills work,” Dawes says. “I think I did a good job, but man it was hard to squeeze it in there without sounding like a salad.
“Acoustic guitars are beasts with all sorts of problems,” he goes on. “Regarding the guitar, that's the easy bit because we have so many different ways to get the same pitch across the neck. One hand can always get the note you want somewhere!”
Notably, the cover is also a display of Dawes’ ever-changing and maturing approach to arranging songs for solo percussive fingerstyle.
“My first album had everything including the kitchen sink thrown at the arrangements but now I try to think more like a producer,” Dawes reflects. “‘OK, so we have three very similar verses? What would Max Martin do to the arrangement?’
“Sometimes doing something technically simpler makes for a better listening experience, because you can focus on consistency, which is comforting. You don't want to hammer the listener all the time.”
Having said that, Dawes’ cover isn’t what the average guitar player would dub ‘technically simple’. In fact, it’s what many would consider the pinnacle of acoustic technique.
Everlong is also a demonstration of Dawes’ evolving approach to utilizing effects in his signal chain. Sure, there are some post-performance production elements, but the Quad Cortex – and his “crown jewel” Boss OC-3 – also contribute to the heavenly 'verbs and soundscapes that embellish the otherwordly cover.
Dawes will be taking his technique – and his cover of Everlong – on the road later this month, when he sets out on a tour of Italy and the Netherlands.
To find out more, head over to Mike Dawes’ Instagram page.
