Interviewees: Jeff Beck, Tony Hymas, Terry Bozzio
Taped a few months before the release of Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop, this World of Rock interview with Scott Muni takes place with the album's entire trio including Tony Hamas, who had worked as a keyboardist for Jack Bruce and Jeff Beck in the past, and Terry Bozzio, who played drums for Frank Zappa and co-founded Missing Persons. As such, there are some great nuggets about the making of the album, as well as lengthy introductions to some of the cuts.
This chat is also memorable for portraying how technology and music were mixing in the late 1980's. Putting Jeff (whose collection of gear consisted of three pedals) in the same room as Tony (for whom programming synthesizers was a hobby) and Terry (who had patents for electronic drum machines) provides for a well-balanced discussion.
Lastly, check out the outtake section to hear about Jeff's earliest influences and his theory about how short-lived rock n' roll was.
00:00 - Intro for Jeff, Tony Hymas, and Terry Bozzio
00:54 - Running out of excuses to not play anymore
01:27 - Making Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop: a group effort
02:29 - (Not) using other people's material
02:55 - Intro to "Guitar Shop" / fun with samplers
04:33 - The other passion / hot rod rock and roll
06:00 - Tony's background in keyboard playing
06:40 - Rehearsals for recitals vs. programming synthesizers (Tony)
07:55 - An orchestra at one's fingertips
08:21 - Electronic vs. acoustic drum kits (Terry)
09:04 - Tony' compositional mind vs. a drummer's spontaneity
10:20 - Jeff's guitar sound / Joan Collins' closet
11:40 - Jeff's take on technological advances
12:49 - The guitar equipment at Jeff's house
13:29 - Terry's favorite moment of working with the other two
14:30 - Terry's intro to "A Day In The House" / British politics, environmental concerns
17:11 - Tony's intro to "Big Block" / a collaborative effort
18:20 - Coming back to tour America / rehearsing in the heat
19:55 - The big problem with Jeff
20:38 - Musical liberation throughout the world
21:28 - Not being able to think of a name for the band
22:30 - Outro
Outtakes
23:03 -Why Jeff won't make a retrospective compilation
24:58 - Wishes for a rockabilly album
25:28 - Jeff's theory about rock and roll (lasting from 1954 - 1959)
26:13 - What led Jeff to take up the guitar / making his first guitar from scratch
27:40 - Influential records, radio
28:17 - Radio in the UK vs. radio in the US / only being allowed to hear covers
29:49 - The variety of guitarists from rock and roll / Bo Diddley
31:17 - The Yardbirds: experimentation as a rule
32:42 - Another good-bye