Spontaneous combustion with Mary-Chapin Carpenter
John Jennings: Jingles To Folk/Rockdom
| I always try to do what's appropriate for the song," says John Jennings, axman
and co-producer for country-folk diva Mary-Chapin Carpenter. "I used to do lots of
jingles and sessions-playing everything from country and hard rock to legit classical. You
learn to finesse your way through and convince people that you know what you're
doing." John's fiery picking and superb musical sense is key in coloring the soundscapes on Mary's latest Columbia release, Come On Come On. "I don't have one particular focus, but I feel like I play songs well," says the guitarist, who also doubles on piano. "I've stamped out enough stuff for one lifetime." Jennings' equipment lineup is basic. 'The guitars that I take on the road are workhorses," he explains. "I've got a couple of old Schecters--a Tele and a Strat type. The Strat has a solid koa body and both have Barden pickups. My acoustics are a Lowden SE-2 and |
a Taylor 912 C. I tend to use the Lowden a little more live because its pickup
is so sensitive. The Taylor's Fishman Natural system sounds really good, but I prefer the
Lowden because it's a bit more expressive." For live work, John runs his Schecters through a new Vox AC3O and a Roland JC12O. A Korg A-3 effects processor between the guitar and amps provides stereo split, reverb, and compression. "Once in a while I use a little pitch-shifting and a couple of the stock shred-o-rama presets," he adds. Jennings speaks highly of his band's spontaneity, saying. "Musicians who play stuff just like the record are probably underestimating the tolerance of their audience. People come to get close to the performer and to hear the song--if it's a little different, that's okay." -- Art Thompson |
Spontaneous combustion with Mary-Chapin Carpenter
