13 QUESTION METHOD: JASON LOUGHLIN

Aside from composing and performing music with his own group, Jason Loughlin has performed with many talented artists, including Amos Lee, Rachael Yamagata, James Burton, Lesley Gore, Mike Viola, Marshall Crenshaw, Sara Bareilies, Nellie McKay, Ben Arnold, and John Francis. His most recent solo record, Peach Crate, is set for release in April 2011. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn.

1. Which was the first record you bought with your own money?
I think it was a rockabilly cassette—something like Classic Rockabilly, Volume One. It had Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Frankie Ford, and Johnny Burnette tunes on it. The first real record I bought was Wings Over America. The bass was 4db louder than the rest of the band. Jimmy McCulloch was so great on that recording too. 

2. Which was the last record you bought with your own money?
Bill Black Combo. I starting collecting these records recently after hearing Danny Gatton talk about them. Very underrated group. 

3. What was the first solo you learned from a record — and can you still play it?
I think it was “All Your Love” from John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton. It could have been something from Led Zeppelin II. Those were the first solos I taught myself. A friend’s dad showed me the old “stacking coins on the record to slow it down” trick. I’d have to listen to them again but I’m sure they would come back quickly. 

4. Which recording of your own (or as a sideman) are you most proud of, and why?
I’ve been a sideman for awhile. I feel very blessed to have recorded with some great musicians, but finally getting around to making my own record has been extremely satisfying. 

5. What's the difference between playing live and playing in a studio?
In the studio, everything gets magnified—your tone, a part, your feel, the amp’s strengths and weaknesses—usually under the pressure of a clock ticking. You have to negotiate all the details and set the stage for a good performance. Live, hopefully, all those details have been worked out and you can just play. No one cares if the screws on the back panel of your Deluxe aren’t tight enough. Your only job is to connect to the rest of the band and the audience. 

6. What's the difference between a good gig and a bad gig?
How much fun you’re having on stage. Who cares about pay or the venue size. If you’re not having a blast and neither is anyone around you, then that gig sucks. 

7. What's the difference between a good guitar and a bad guitar?
I think a good guitar gets you to play outside of your comfort zone. It has had a set of experiences outside of knowing you. I feel the same about holding a bad guitar as I do about holding a lamp. No musical connection at all. It’s like Bishop from Aliens. He looks human but he bleeds a milky goo. 

8. You play electric and acoustic. Do you approach the two differently?
I do. Especially within the last several years. I love the way bluegrass and gypsy players attack and how much volume and tone they draw out of an acoustic guitar. Acoustic guitar is such a different animal. 

9. Do you sound more like yourself on acoustic or electric?
I sure do like them electric guitars. All the tone, all the violence...

10. Do you sound like yourself on other people's guitars?
I always sound like me, for better or worse, on whatever I play. 

11. Which living artist would you like to collaborate with, and why?
Neil Finn. God damn, he’s the coolest songwriter ever. Great guitar player too. Yeah, I want to play guitar in Crowded House and sing harmonies with that dude. Jamming with Duke Levine would be pretty rad too. I love his playing.

12. Which dead artist (music, or other arts) would you like to have collaborated with, and why?
Danny Gatton. He’s just my favorite, hands down. It deeply bums me out that I never saw him play live.

13. What's your latest project about?
It’s an instrumental record called Peach Crate. Kinda country-is, but with the sense of humor of the guitar records of the ‘50s that I love. I’m really proud of it.