Back
in 2009, just after the release of One Way Ticket, by Harvey
Band, guitarist and Harvey Band founder Harvey Possemato was
threatening (both his neighbors and the music world) to unleash a
fully blown all electric CD next time around. Well, with the 2013
CD release of Living On Six Strings, Harvey’s
promise is well kept. In a word, Living On Six Strings is a
solid, ten track, all-instrumental rock album that not only features
Harvey’s unique, one of a kind guitar approach but also features
several self-styled tributes to his guitar heroes, however surreptitious
they may seem. For instance, track ten, “Tribute To George”
is a slide filled, Harvey band original instrumental that George Harrison
would appreciate, while the CD closing “Last Guitar Solo”
is very Hendrix influenced. Throughout, the album features Harvey’s
diverse guitar sounds and he even plays drums and keyboards making
the tracks sound very much like a full band at times. Some tracks
feature Harvey’s acoustic guitars intertwined with his electric
guitars, giving the album a multi-textured, guitar-centric effect.
Borrowing from jazz-rock, prog-fusion, rock instrumental, Americana
folk-jazz and much more, Living On Six Strings is another wildly
diverse and completely enjoyable CD from the multitalented, guitar-driven
mind of Harvey Possemato and the Harvey Band. www.HarveyBand.com
mwe3.com
presents an interview with
Harvey Possemato of Harvey Band
mwe3:
Where are you from originally and where are you living now and what
do you like best about it?
Harvey Possemato: I am originally from Hancock, New York which
is a small town in the Catskills with one red light and one caution
light. Very beautiful geography but a little quiet for playing music.
Now I live near Rochester, NY which is a musically rich small city
which includes the Eastman School of Music and the Rochester International
Jazz festival to name a few things.
mwe3: Your 2013 album with Harvey Band is called Living
On Six Strings. How did you come up with the title and how would
you compare your new album with your other album releases? I know
you were promising to get back to your rock roots on this album. Can
you explain what you set out to do with this new album?
Harvey Possemato: Recently I realized that my first CD, Crossfire
which was more of a rock album, was released 20 years ago. Green
Flats Road, 2002, and Tracks, 2006, were acoustic CDs and
One-Way Ticket, 2009, was a film score to an imaginary movie.
I wanted to make an album that was rock at its core but very lyrical
and melodic, where every song has a theme. I am living my life with
guitar in hand or “living on six strings” so to speak.
mwe3: You recorded the Living On Six Strings CD mostly
on your own. What was the recording process like, where and when was
the music written and recorded and who would you credit as far as
assisting you with the album including co-writing, production assistance,
mastering, design, etc.
Harvey Possemato: The album was recorded and mastered in my
own studio where I record other artists 
and
their projects as well. Most of the writing takes place with guitar
in hand and recording gear turned on. I usually get an idea and work
out a recorded verse or two to get the right feel and choose the right
instrument colors... guitars, amps, etc. Then I will work the piece
into a full song. As for recording most parts myself; A lot of people
don't know that aside from playing guitar, I have played drums since
I was a kid. I was a percussion major as a college undergrad and still
occasionally perform as a drummer. I keep a mic'ed drum set in my
studio at all times. I do a “circular” recording process
of recording one part. Then add drums and bass and then rerecord guitars,
etc. so eventually “the band member(s)” seem to be listening
to each other. Also performing on the album are Gary Vincelli on Ricko
12 string—a very talented and inspiring band leader who I worked
for many years ago and Jerry O'Dell on bass—a great bass player
who I played with for many years in the East Rochester All Star Band).
Track 3 “The Rose Is Gone”, was co-written by Richard Price/
I set Richard’s lyrics for this song years ago and although this
is an instrumental version, the melody and harmony evolved from the
original lyric.
mwe3: On the last Harvey Band CD, One Way Ticket you
featured lot of acoustic guitars while the Living On Six Strings
CD sounds more electric and rock based. What guitars did you use
on the new CD as well as amps, strings, effects and microphones to
help capture your sound this time around?
Harvey Possemato: When recording music, I believe that it is
very important to choose both interesting and appropriate colors of
sound which means playing the right part on the right guitar and amplifier
combination. As guitarists, this is really how we orchestrate! This
is one of the reasons guitar players care so much about the gear they
use. I am also a bit old school in this way—plugging into the
right amp and using the guitar's volume control and fingers to vary
the sounds. Then the guitar speakers are picked up my microphones.
Only the bass is recorded direct.
For guitar
players who may be interested:
Track 1 Stratocaster and 64 Fender Bassman (older style with presence
control)
Track 2 Gibson 335 and Marshall 900 series
Track 3 Strat and Traynor Bassmaster (known as poor man's plexi)
Track 4 Gibson SG and Nau Engineering AC30 (independent builder in
Rochester, NY) Slide parts are Strat and Traynor
Track 5 Gibson SG and Nau AC30. Bridge include Strat and Telecaster
Track 6 Strat and 64 Bassman, Taylor Nylon String
Track 7 Strat and 64 Fender Bassman
Track 8 Slide parts are Strat and Traynor, Fingered parts are Telecaster
Track 9 Slide parts are Tiesco Del Ray open tuned and Bridge Wa is
Gibson SG. (I don't remember which amps were used)
Track 10 is Start and 64 Fender Bassman
I use mostly GHS Boomers .010 gauge
mwe3: Several of the Living On Six Strings tracks sound
very influenced by George Harrison including the great track called
“Melody For Slide”. Can you say something about that track
as well as the “Tribute To George” track which is an out
right tribute to the late Beatle. Sounds like George was on your mind
a lot as far as this album goes. Overall where do you get the inspiration
for your song writing?
Harvey Possemato: I was one of those millions of kids that
picked up a guitar after experiencing The Beatles and I just never
stopped playing. George was “the guitar player”. In time
I started listening more into Clapton, Hendrix and then Jeff Beck.
Decades later, when learning slide, I just realized that my slide
playing kind of sounded like the style of George and decided to push
some songs over the edge into Beatle land. Often influences just sneak
up on you. Those songs that you a referring to are both played in
standard tuning which I get used to from playing slide off and on
a live shows. Slide in standard tuning requires clean single note
playing which may contribute to that Harrison type sound also.
mwe3: There’s a video for the Living On Six Strings
CD called “Where Was Paradise” which is somewhat acoustic
and a little different from the other album tracks. Can you say something
about “Where Was Paradise” and what inspired that track?
It sounds very symphonic and even elegant in a way with its mix of
acoustic / electric guitars and synth keyboards.
Harvey Possemato: I was on a photography trip with my wife
in the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. I had an electric guitar plugged into
an iPad with Garage Band at our hotel room. I started recording the
parts of this piece after hiking in the mountains looking up to such
grand snow capped peaks. When we returned home, I transferred the
tracks to Digital Performer and finished the piece. The symphonic
style seemed appropriate. The orchestration was done with a Roland
guitar synth triggering orchestral samples.
mwe3:
What’s new in the guitar world for you these days? Are there
other players catching your ears these days? Are we in some kind of
sonic lull waiting for the next big thing, what ever that will be?
Where do you see the state of the art as far as independent music
goes? Feels like it’s the best and worst of times rolled into
one.
Harvey Possemato: I would have to agree with your statement
“Feels like the best and the worst of times rolled into one.”
With the internet, we all have world distribution for our music. Yes,
here I am at Harvey Band Central, International and I can sell a song
or an album to someone on the other side of the planet in a moment's
notice. On the other hand, we are all needles in a haystack hoping
that someone will notice. It is also ironic that we have accepted
a downgrade in sound quality (the mp3) for the convenience of being
able to download music. Most young people no longer have CD players
so I am not sure how I will market my next album. I do like being
able to control the visual presentation and liner notes, etc. of my
music, which is difficult when selling by downloading. So now we have
a resurgence on vinyl! I would love to see this take off but really,
what about the inconveniences? It sure is a wonderful medium for the
artwork. Remember staring at those big square jackets while listening
to the record for the first time!. Now there is YouTube but video
is a whole other medium to master. This is a large-scale discussion
for another article. In any case I am sure that we will all keep making
and sharing new and refreshing music for years to come.
mwe3: Looking ahead, what have you got planned for 2014 which
is right around the corner?
Harvey Possemato: By the time one of my CDs is released, I
am already part way through the recording process of the next one.
The pieces seem to write themselves one by one and at some point I
have to start mixing and matching to decide which way to go with the
overall feel of the next release.
{The picture is Harvey playing with vocal talent
Alysia Groth at the Canandaigua Arts Festival}
Thanks to Harvey Possemato @ www.HarveyBand.com
