Stevie Ray Vaughan audio interview at bottom of page!
Photo: Art Meripol
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN INTERVIEW–December 2, 1986, Poughkeepsie, NY
This interview took place in the hours before Stevie Ray’s performance at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in beautiful downtown Poughkeepsie. I arrived right around soundcheck time, 5:30, about 2 1/2 hours before the show. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Stevie has just recently survived a near-death experience; the severe drug and alcohol addiction that nearly took his life had been kept very quiet. It had been about six weeks since he’d left the London rehabilitation clinic of Dr. Victor Bloom (Dr. Bloom had previously helped Stevie’s friend Eric Clapton to quit drinking), after which he checked into the Charter Peachford Hospital, in Atlanta, for a three and a half week stay. This Poughkeepsie performance was just Stevie’s eighth “dry” show.
Understandably to me now–but confusing to me then–the backstage vibe was very tense. Stevie’s road manager was barking orders at everyone. But when I finally sat down with Stevie, he was generally in good spirits, though his energy level was low. He was quiet and thoughtful, and, at times, startlingly candid. We did, however, begin with a little ten-minute jam on a mid-tempo shuffle–just he and I through a small practice amp. It is a moment I’ll never forget.
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN: It’s one of those days, the sleepy kind. It’s cold outside.
ANDY ALEDORT: How was the Radio City show the other night [the pre-Thanksgiving shows in N.Y.C. on November 26th, 1986]?
SRV: Oh, it was fine. It was fun. Most of our equipment is falling apart. [Stevie plugs in his main guitar, “No. 1,” and starts playing.] Oo, I’m outta tune!
AA: What year is that guitar?
SRV: ’59.
AA: How long have you had it?
SRV: I’ve had it for thirteen years. I bought it in about ’73, I guess.
AA: Did it look like that when you got it, or did the previous owner treat it better than you do?
SRV: I don’t treat it bad! It’s just been around.
AA: Stevie, how did you first get started in music?
SRV: When I was real young, [country & western swing legends] the Texas Playboys hung out at our house all the time. My parents played “42,” and they’d come over and get drunk.
AA: What’s “42”?
SRV: Dominoes. “42 to 84,” “Low Boy,” “Nello”.” Those guys hung around a lot, they’d do some playing, and we’d hear their stuff. Mainly, we’d hear them talking about it. There were a lot of characters hanging around.
AA: Were [Texas Playboy guitarists] Eldon Shamblin or Junior Barnard among the guys who’d come over?
SRV: Oh, god, I don’t remember their names. I was a little beefheart. [laughs] Every once in a while, my dad would yell [in heavy rural Texas accent], “Hey, Jim, Steve, come out here and show them what you can do!” And we were little midgets, with guitars hangin’ on us that were this big!
AA: How old were you when you first picked up the guitar?
SRV: Seven. The first guitar I had was one of those Roy Rogers guitars; it had pictures of cowboys and cows on it, some rope. I had a blanket that had the same shit on it, too.
AA: Did you sleep with the guitar and the blanket together?
SRV: Yeah! [laughs] I still sleep with my guitar, when my woman ain’t around!
AA: Do you remember the first records that you listened to?
SRV: Jimmie [Vaughan, Stevie’s older brother] turned me on to a lot of different stuff. I remember several different things: I remember him bringing home Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, B.B. King.
The first record I ever bought was “Wham,” by Lonnie Mack, from 1963. I’m glad it wasn’t the Monkees. [laughs] “Wham” was a great record. I played it so many times, my dad broke it! He got mad and broke it because I played it over and over and over and over. When I didn’t think it could be any louder, I went and borrowed somebody’s Shure Vocal Master P.A., put mikes in front of the stereo speakers, and then turned the P.A. up! It was loud in my room.
AA: And there went your records.
SRV: Not long after that. Every time he broke it, I just went and got another one.
AA: What did you pick up from listening to Lonnie Mack?
SRV: A lot of inspiration, I can tell you that. Between listening to that guy’s feeling in his music and watching my brother, and how much feeling he had with it, I mainly just picked up big time inspiration. What I was getting out of it wasn’t so much technical or anything; just the thought of them playing made me want to jump up and play.
AA: The spirit of it is what affected you the most?
SRV: Yeah.
AA: What were the bands Jimmie was playing in back in those early days?
SRV: He had several bands, such as the Swingin’ Pendulums, and he was with Sammy Laurie and the Pentrations. You know the song, “Penetration?” It was pretty cool. I can’t remember how it went. I’m a little cleaner nowadays than I was for a few years. My memory kind of went pffft!
[Guitarist] Johnny Peoples was on “Penetration,” too. He played in the Chessmen with Jimmie.
AA: What kind of music did these bands play?
SRV: It was rock’n’roll, rhythm and blues. He was always interested in all of that stuff. In the Penetrations, they did Sammy Laurie tunes. Obviously, they were into girls.
AA: How did you end up playing drums on “Empty Arms” [Soul To Soul]?
SRV: I wanted to!
AA: You said, “It’s my record, so I’m playing drums?”
SRV: No! [laughs] Me and the bass player [Tommy Shannon] were in the studio by ourselves, and he and I like to play bass and drums together. We were just messin’ around. When we started it off, that song was real slow, slow enough where it’s hard to keep going at the same speed. Then, we sped it up 13 1/2 % with the Varispeed and recorded the rest of the song to it. When we laid it down, it was like [sings very slowly], “DA…da DA…da DA…” Try to keep that tempo going without speeding up or slowing down. It’s hard!
AA: Besides Lonnie Mack, what were some of the other records you first played along with?
SRV: [The Yardbirds’] “Jeff’s Boogie,” of course. “Over Under Sideways Down.”
AA: “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” and “Psycho Daisies”?
SRV: Yeah. Lots of Hendrix, of course. Clapton stuff with Mayall. Get your Rickenbacker bass and go crazy playing “Lady Madonna,” just like everybody. Did you do that, too?
AA: Yeah. The bass part was the whole song!
SRV: How many hours did you spend on it?
AA: Not enough.
SRV: I got it right a couple of times, and then I ‘d start it over and screw it up!
AA: Did you listen to much T-Bone Walker?
SRV: Yeah. “T-Bone Shuffle,” “Stormy Monday,” “Cold, Cold Feeling.” A lot of ’em I don’t remember the names of; I just know the way they go. I had a bunch of his records.
AA: Were you listening to T-Bone before you heard Hendrix?
SRV: No, it was after, mostly. I listened to Hendrix first. See, I still listen to Hendrix, all the time–I doubt I’ll ever quit.
T-Bone was the first guy to play behind his head, and on his back, on the floor. Those were all T-Bone tricks. And Guitar Slim.
AA: Did you listen to jazz guitarists, like Kenny Burrell or Wes Montgomery?
SRV: Yeah, Kenny Burrell.
AA: “Gone Home,” from Soul To Soul, is in that west coast, Kenny Burrell style.
SRV: Yes, it is. We play “Chitlins Con Carne” by Kenny Burrell.
AA: What other jazz guitar players did you listen to?
SRV: Wes Montgomery, a lot. Django [Reinhardt]. Grant Green. He’s got some tone, man! Jackie King. Fred Walters. The Wes stuff is his recordings with trios and quartets. My favorite Wes record, for some reason, had an orchestra on it; it’s called In The Wee Small Hours. God! Sometimes it sounds like Muzak, but what he played on it…Kenny Burrell played rhythm guitar on it.
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Really cool to hear this! I love hearing speak about Jimmie and how “it all goes back to Jimmie”..,which is so true! Over and above everyone else, that’s for sure. So many people don’t understand this, even to this day!
Thx man–yes i love these audio interviews with Stevie and with Jimmie too..
Andy
Thanks so much for posting this interview. It’s uplifting to hear Stevie’s voice. Read your book Texas flood early this year. Didn’t want to put it down.
Thx so much Sarah–so glad you dug the book and yes it’s great to hear Stevie in conversation and playing guitar. He was the greatest guy and it was and is a true blessing that I got to spend some time with him. All the best!
Great interview with SRV!!! His music is what made follow the blues as long as I have. Its why I put the effort into “Undercover Blues” that I do.
Thx so much Tom–I will be posting more SRV stuff–interviews and audio of my conversations with him–along with the many other artists I’ve interviewed over the years. Very glad you are diggin the website!
Andy
Stevie was such a brilliant guitar player. Beyond belief could play rock and blues stuff. I try to sound like him when I play guitar.
Stevie was a beautiful person too–a true blessing to get to know him and he will forever be inspiring…
Thanks Andy man! Good stuff! Makes me want to pick up my guitar. I appreciate the years of inspiration!
Thank you Pedro–yes pick up that guitar! So glad this interview is inspiring to you–getting to know Stevie is one of the absolute pure joys of my life and I am very blessed for the opportunity. Love eternally to Stevie!
Hello Andy ~ in a podcast interview regarding the book you co-authored “Texas Flood”, you mentioned there are early recordings of Jimmie Vaughan playing really fast and similar to Stevie. I am unable to find any examples of this on the internet and I want to prove to some people that he once played fast, but made a departure from that style to pursue his more bluesy approach. Do you know where I can find any of his early fast recordings? By the way, I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Texas Flood”.
Hey Colleen—
Thanks and great to hear from you. Unfortunately it does seem impossible to find clips on the web of Jimmie from the late 60s/early 70s but I have heard a few where he is blazing in the style his brother is known for. Stevie and many others often talked abt how Jimmie had that style down & then, after seeing Muddy Waters live, decided to play what he thought of as the “real blues.” Jimmie talks abt this in the book as you know. If I can find an example of this I will post it…
Andy
Hey Andy, during your interviews with Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, did either of them have anything positive to say about Stevie’s relationship with Janna Lapidus? I read the comments from other friends and associates of Stevie’s, but didn’t see any comments from Tommy or Chris. By the way, my wife and I love your latest release “Light of Love”.
Hey there—
Great to hear from you & so glad you dig “Light of Love.” I have new album that will be available in the next few weeks—very excited about it & can’t wait to get it out there.
Tommy & Chris both liked Janna & said that Stevie was very happy when they were together, & she helped Stevie tremendously when he was getting sober. But she was very young, just 17 and he was 32. Every relationship has problems so, in our interviews, we heard different sides, but by all accounts they did have a good, solid relationship. In our book, we chose not to go too in depth into the relationship other than to say that is was most definitely a serious relationship & they primarily lived together for the last three years of his life.
All the best to you & chk out the new record, “In A Dream,” when it comes out—hopefully very soon! I will post it on the website.
Andy
Hey Andy, I have 2 questions:
1) Can you tell me where I can find the interview you conducted with both Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan together?
2) I see on Facebook you have advance orders available for “In a Dream”. The online order form appears as euros. Will euros automatically be converted to US dollars for those of us who are ordering a CD (I’m old school) from the US?
Hey Annette–
Great to hear from you. The complete Stevie and Jimmie interview was never published, because Stevie passed away so soon after the interview. There is also an extensive follow-up i did with Jimmie about two weeks before the accident. I’d planned to do a similar follow-up with Stevie. We did include a lot of the interview with the brothers in the “Texas Flood” book, but not all. It would be nice to publish it one of these days, maybe in Guitar World or Guitar Player.
As to your second question, I imagine the currency will be converted because people can order from anywhere in the world (I think but truthfully I don’t really know). I’d be glad to send you a personalized CD if you like; it would make things easier too.
Thanks and all the very best!
Andy
Great Interview,.. I enjoyed his early childhood exposure and his tenacity to stay his course and sponge all that he could and in the end shape his own artistic expression,..