![]() ![]() The instrumental tracks, "Flat Top" and "Ants," are wonderfully virtuosic performances imbued with warmth and drama in equal measure. Vocals are present on all but two of the 11 cuts, which are dotted with a pair of oddball covers: Kottke's dark-hued reading of the Byrds' "Eight Miles High" is a highlight, though Gordon's breezy folk-funk take on Prince's "Alphabet Street" never quite gets off the ground. The playing, of course, is spectacular throughout, as befitting these two instrumental giants Kottke's distinctive picking patterns sound as bold as ever and Gordon weaves them together with his own jaunty dexterity. Like their two previous albums, 2020's Noon is laced with complex musical figures, offbeat lyrics, and a spring-like funkiness, though it also takes more ruminative turns, thanks in part to the existential gravity of some of Kottke's songwriting contributions. While Gordon has remained active as ever with Phish business and a pleasing assortment of solo and side projects, Kottke all but disappeared after 2005's Sixty Six Steps, the pair's previous collaboration, and didn't issue any music for 15 years. tinpanrva.Reuniting under the auspices of proven musical chemistry and a shared sense of whimsy, acoustic guitar hero Leo Kottke and Phish bassist Mike Gordon offer up Noon, their third outing as a duo. Leo Kottke appears at The Tin Pan on Sept. If you're in it for the twang, you'll be alright. Kottke: If you're in it for the job, you'll be miserable. RM: What is the one key bit of advice you would offer to budding guitarists? When we played together we had to agree on that stuff a priori … I left Keller out in the breeze a couple times. Kottke: Keller had a set list, but he'd ignore it half the time. ![]() He's got a different playing style what was that experience like? RM: You toured recently with Virginia guitarist Keller Williams. Performance is following some curve that's in the air: You can't improve on the curve, but you can definitely screw it up with a set list. What you need next is usually something you played 10 minutes ago. The set list is always wrong, by the way. ![]() I don't need to see that, and I don't want to do it. What's terrifying is someone alone on stage following some map. RM: Do you still make up your onstage set list on the spot? Isn't that terrifying? Mike Gordon and I have some more ideas, for example. Who knows where records go these days? I've got a lot of new stuff and some recording approaches that are working themselves out. RM: You haven't released an album in more than 10 years. Ry Cooder called playing with picks “taking a bath with your clothes on.” I'm grateful to be rid of the damn things. And it's much more fun to actually feel the strings rather than the picks that screwed me up in the first place. I had to relearn the right hand but learn it right. It took a while to shake, but it had a salutary effect on my playing. RM: Does tendonitis still affect your playing, or have you worked out ways around it? I know Bob likes a pretty loose approach. It wasn't registered mail we were sitting in an airport somewhere. His brother was managing Bob at the time, and the invitation came from him. RM: Is it true that you declined a spot on Bob Dylan’s legendary Rolling Thunder Revue tour in the 1970s? Also it's really rude NOT to talk to the crowd, so you could call it a courtesy. When I open my mouth I really don't care where I wind up, as long as it's a guitar. It isn't banter or stories or jokes, it's what I have to do to follow the guitar. I talk to the crowd until I know what to play next. Has that changed in the current heated political environment? RM: You are known for your lively stage banter. And I love the playing more than I ever have. Leo Kottke: It felt more like 50 years in the beginning. Richmond Magazine: You've been at this for more than 50 years. 28. Even after five decades of music making, the self-taught virtuoso says that he "can't let go" of the guitar. Kottke will bring his expansive repertoire - and trademark stage musings - to The Tin Pan on Sept. The legendary folk musician has been called one of the greatest guitarists of the modern age a blues master, a country picker, a jazz explorer and someone who can take the oddest cover (like the Byrds' "Eight Miles High" or Buck Owens' "Buckaroo") and make it his own. "I'm typing on a phone with my thumbs, which is sort of like typing on a fish," he says. Leo Kottke is sitting in a restaurant in his hometown of Minneapolis, trying to eat some seafood while having an online conversation with a reporter.
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