13 QUESTION METHOD: MATT BLACKETT

Matt Blackett is a guitarist, writer, and teacher currently living in Oakland, CA but on the verge of moving to Santa Barbara, CA. Matt has worked for years as an editor at Guitar Player magazine and was the editor in chief of GP's acoustic sibling, Frets magazine. He toured the US, Canada, and Mexico with the band Luce, and co-wrote and played on their latest album Neverending (although they kind of screwed him over, so don't buy it). Matt's latest endeavor is providing guitarists with better tone by working with the Seymour Duncan Company and trying to finally get good on the guitar, whatever that means.

1. Which was the first record you bought with your own money?
The first Cars record, purchased off Mike Varney at Gettin' in Tune Records in Novato, CA, with money I made from mowing lawns.

2. Which was the last record you bought with your own money?
U2 — How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Who'da thunk that after 25 years they could put out a record that's as good as anything they've ever done? I have no problem putting them on a very short list with bands like the Beatles, Stones, and Led Zeppelin.

3. What was the first solo you learned from a record — and can you still play it?
The first lead line was the keyboard part from the Cars' "You're Just What I Needed," and I can still play that. The first guitar solo was probably the fills to "Don't Fear the Reaper."

4. Which recording of your own (or as a sideman) are you most proud of, and why?
I cut a solo with my band Cream of Wee Gee on a song called "Sea of Pain" that I still really like. Eric Valentine was producing and I got it in one take. He said, "You're now officially a member of the badass club." The next time he rolled tape I totally hacked my part and he said, "I'm afraid you're out of the club."

5. What's the difference between playing live and playing in a studio?
I overthink things in the studio. The only time I'm happy with my playing in the studio is when I treat it like a gig: Stand up, turn up, and go for it. When I play live I always think it sounds great until I hear a recording of it and then I'm just as critical as ever.

6. What's the difference between a good gig and a bad gig?
Tone and the crowd. If I have a good sound I play effortlessly. If my tone's not right I struggle the entire time. Same with the crowd — if they're really into it from the first note, I can do no wrong. If they're not into it, it's a long night no matter how well I think I'm playing.

7. What's the difference between a good guitar and a bad guitar?
I guess the vibe and the personality. Some guitars just have a lot of songs in them and some don't. I asked this question to [guitar maker] Paul Reed Smith and he went through a big list of things like neck angle, finish thickness, setup, what kind of glue for the frets, etc. He says if you get one of those things wrong, you get zero vibe.

8. You play electric and acoustic. Do you approach the two differently?
I guess I gravitate to a more fingerstyle approach on the acoustic, although there is a lot of crossover between the two. I like to play heavy music on acoustic and really pretty music on electric and vice-versa, so I guess I'm all screwed up.

9. Do you sound more like yourself on acoustic or electric?
If I'm not thinking and just playing, I sound like myself on either. If I really had to pick one, I'd say electric. The bends and vibrato and tone all add up to a big chunk of my musical personality.

10. Do you sound like yourself on other people's guitars?
Yep.

11. Which living artist (music, or other arts) would you like to collaborate with?
Wow. Paul McCartney, Jeff Beck, Eddie Van Halen, Brian May, Roger Manning.

12. What dead artist (music, or other arts) would you like to have collaborated with?
John Lennon, George Harrison, Freddie Mercury, Karen Carpenter.

13. What's your latest project about?
Trying to figure out what music I'm supposed to be playing. The last thing I recorded was an acoustic piece in D, A, D, F#, A, E tuning.