Like
the best music of bands like The Byrds and The Eagles, the music of
Jim Hitchcock is heartfelt jingle-jangle pop-rock with a solid beat.
Hitchcock comes alive with the 2008 release of Grateful. On
his CD Baby site Hitchcock openly espouses his love of The Byrds and
specifically the guitar sound of Roger McGuinn. On Grateful Hitchcock
makes loving pop a worthwhile experience. Hitchcock also cites guitarist
The Edge of U2 as another big influence and you can hear that as well
on Grateful. With Hitchcock handling the vocals, acoustic,
electric and 12 string guitars, Grateful also features engineer
/ producer Richard Bredice (keyboards) Frank Cotinola (drums)
throughout the ten track CD. The CD features great studio sound and
the lyric sheet that accompanies the release. With Grateful Jim
Hitchcock brings the classic 60s pop sound of the Byrds up to
date with a fine set of memorable, heartfelt toe-tapping melodies
and driving pop rockers.
MUSIC WEB EXPRESS 3000 presents
Guitars Center Stage
Guitarists making waves in the music world, their new recordings and
gear!
an interview with
JIM HITCHCOCK
Musical Background
I've been playing guitar for over 30 years ever since my mother
bought me a Fender Telecaster and Reverb Delux Amp for X-Mas in my
early teens. I played in bands in high school in and around Newport
Beach, California, at the University of San Diego where I went to
college and then at various clubs in L.A. like the 32nd Street Cafe
and Saloon near U.S.C. I recorded my first demo at Riff Raff Recording
Studios in S. Central L.A. where Chris Isaac did some early recordings.
New CD
My new CD is called Grateful and was recorded both
at my home studio in South Orange County, California and at Woodland
Bredice Studios in Irvine, California. I did my guitar, bass and vocal
work on Pro-Tools at my home studio within my external Seagate hard
drive, took that in to my co-producer's much more expansive studio
where we then tracked the drums, performed by the great Frank Cotinola,
keyboards, performed by Richard Bredice along with vocal and guitar
adjustments. Richard then mixed the songs and Pat Woodland mastered
them. Richard, also one of the finest guitarists in Orange County,
did a mean guitar solo on the second track. It took about 9 months
to complete. We wanted a "California Sound" - sort of a
60's Byrds jangly rhythm guitar feel with strong Eagles-esque vocal
harmonies. We wanted to layer the result with digital guitar riffs
for a U.K modern mix reminiscent of The Edge of U2. I've been a "digital-delayer"
guitarist for many years and wanted to blend that effect with more
traditional chordal structures.
Favorite Guitars
My favorite guitars are the ones that I used on the CD. First
and foremost is the crown jewel: my 2006 Rickenbacker 360 Blue-Burst
12 string electric for many of the rhythm chords - a pronounced Byrds
"lushness" is what I was after. I love Roger McGuinn's majestic
12 string Rick guitar sound on "Turn,Turn, Turn," "Mr.
Tambourine Man", etc. and wanted to replicate that to the hilt.
I also used a Fender Strat for power chords and digital delay parts,
my Ovation for acoustic and Yamaha bass. I did other bass parts on
Richard's Peavy in his studio. My 6 string 360 Rickenbacker was used
for one track as was my producer's Fender Telecaster for a Pretender's
"Back on the Chain Gang" feel on another track. I ran the
12 and 6 string Rick's thru my Orange AD30 Twin Channel amp for that
bright "Manchester" feel. My Fender Deluxe amp handled all
power and digital guitar for that warm tube distortion. Electric strings
used were Black Beauties and D'Addarios while acoustic were Martin
Marquis. My effects were all Boss: Distortion, Super Chorus, Compression
Sustainer, Digital Reverb and Digital Delay pedals.
Musical Influences
My musical influences are The Byrds, U2, The Eagles, Chris
Isaac, The Stones, Santana, The Who, Cold Play, The Editors, Angels
and Airwaves, Tom Petty, Luke Ducet and The Pretenders. My favorite
guitarists are Roger McGuinn, The Edge, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana
and Pete Townshend. My favorite albums are U2 War, Santana
Abraxas, Chris Isaac's self titled debut and greatest hits
packages from The Stones, The Who, The Pretenders and Tom Petty.
Web Site
My Web sites are: www.myspace/jimhitchcock.com
and www.cdbaby.com/jimhitchcock
My email contact info is: jhitch20@cox.net