Here's Jim's latest interview from a Scandinavian guitar magazine. Anyone able to translate? You may want to download the actual files from below as these aren't Hi-resolution enough.
Hi, I could translate it if there is sufficient interest / if it is of help to anyone. I used to subscribe to Fuzz. The resolution is a bit dodgy, any chance of a better quality version? Anyhow, I can make out most of it. Let me know if you need a translation.
A translation would interest me but don't knock yourself out. I'm Swedish-American but my reading level is at about the 'Pipi Longstocking' level. (It is in Swedish, right?) Cool looking magazine. Go, Jim, go!
I found the time to do it today, so here it is. I can do much better, but I think the gist comes through. The resolution was pretty bad, and some words were simply indecipherable. I have marked these with xxx.
Jim Campilongo – Tele, Twang and Silence
James “Jim” Campilongo is perhaps most famous on this side of the Atlantic Ocean for playing in the Little Willies alongside Norah Jones. However, Campilongo has had a long career with many albums of his own ever since the mid-nineties, of which three are with the band Ten Gallon Cats.
Jim Campilongo offers feeling, humour and intellect on his latest full-length record using a Telecaster, a Princeton Reverb and his ten fingers. His album Orange is in my opinion one of the most unique and xxx guitar records of the past year.
- Orange contains over a hour´s worth of music”, says Jim over the phone from NYC. “I tried to create a certain atmosphere, but got worried that it would be regarded as xxx with so much music. But Anton Fier (the producer) said that “It´s going to work”. In retrospect, I am content and it isn´t a regular guitar album, right?
No, anything but that. Orange contains aural pictures from NYC to the listener, where Backburner gives a chaotic impression whilst When You Wish Upon a Star shows a completely different side.
Campilongo grew up in San Francisco and listened to the Beatles and Hendrix. His interest for improvisation was born from listening to vinyl albums from artists such as John Coltrane and John Mclaughlin, even before he started playing guitar. Jim´s career in music began in cover bands and innumerable gigs with the cowpunkswing band 10 Gallon Cats, mainly on the West Coast.
Fast forward to the year 2002 – Jim moved to Brooklyn, NYC with his belongings: a Telecaster, a Princeton Reverb and a laptop. There he formed the band Electric Trio, and rather immediately became an attraction, with a steady gig every Monday at the Living Room.
Campilongo´s influences are many. Roy Buchanan is his greatest inspiration among guitarists, and Orange contains a blues dedicated to Roy.
- I saw Roy play live between 40-50 times and it seems like many others do not hear what I like. I am not a fan of Roy´s blues albums, but I have respect for him for doing them. On his two first albums he is an innovator, however. You can say that I channel Roy, yet I am myself on my tribute to him.
What attracted you to Buchanan´s playing?
- His wah-wah playing was unique. He retuned strings while playing. I liked his way of imitating pedal steel guitar with a jazz sound and intervals. He did it with xxx and not bends like James Burton does.
Many of Buchanan´s playing tricks are found in Campilongo´s playing, and he definitively owes to Buchanan, but he has developed his own sound where dynamics, silence and explosiveness are combined to produce exciting music.
- The contrast between the sounds in Blues For Roy and Billy Strayhorn´s Chelsea Bridge is something I work on a lot. It´s important to me to use the guitar´s tone and volume controls, and usually the amp volume is on ten and the reverb is between three to five. I play with a clean sound and use silence and dynamics but with a maxed amp. I couldn´t live without reverb. My sound has very little in common with the ordinary jazz sound with a 175 and a Polytone.
Your style and music have changed during the years.
- Creating an atmosphere is the most important thing. My goal is also to develop. Nowadays my style contains less fast blues country phrases a la Jimmy Bryant. It´s a balancing act because artists are always expected to continue in the same vein.
You play in several bands, give lessons and book several of your gigs yourself. It sounds hectic, how do you manage to do this all?
- It naturally varies. Sometimes there are a lot of things xxx. Last Saturday I played 6-7 hours all in all, divided between band practices, lessons and practicing, but yesterday it was only three hours in total. Tonight will be the Monday gig at the Living Room, but now in the afternoon I need to practice songs for an upcoming gig.
A couple years ago Fender produced a signature guitar for Jim, based on his ´59 Telecaster. How does it feel to have a signature guitar?
- Fantastic, the new one is easier to play. The ´59 is a real workhorse but almost worn out. You would be surprised if you saw the original at close. The Fender Custom Shop did an exact copy of the neck profile and how it had worn, but not the divots in the fretboard. The new one has a jumbo frets and more space between the nut and the tuning machines, because I do a lot of behind-the-nut bending. The bridge is a toploader and has no edges. The pickups have more bass than the originals and sound warmer than many older Telecasters I have tried.
Orange begins with the song Backburner that contains a raw and aggressive riff, where Jim truly manhandles his Tele. Arpeggios with open strings are blended together with normal playing techniques, distorted chords a la The Who, bends behind the nut are a few of the ingredients.
- I played with a Thinline Tele that was in the studio and the amp was built by a guy who works there. xxxx (Note from the translator: No idea how the original sentence reads)
Do you play exclusively with Fender amps?
- Yes, I own many, but prefer the Princeton for its sound, portability and weight. I have two from ´66, three from the Seventies, two reissues, plus two older Vibroluxes and a Seventies Vibrochamp with a fantastic vibrato effect.
What amp did you use on Blues for Roy?
- I played with my Blackface Princeton Reverb with Jensen C10 speakers. I always use NOS tubes that sound much better than Russian or Chinese ones to my ears.
What is the difference between playing in an instrumental trio, as opposed to playing with a singer like Norah Jones or Martha Wainwright.
- Norah is great to work with and I really like her. She was one of the first contacts I got in New York. When we play together, she lets do as I please. With Martha, it was important to find the same sound I had on her record, so I used some effects.
Your version of No Expectations is another example of you using effects?
- Yes, but normally I use very little effects, but on that song I use all the effects I own! Overdrive pedals, a Klon Centaur and a Fulltone OCD and a Demeter Compulator compressor.
... and a cool xxx
- Yes, in fact, several looping effects. A Boomerang, a Boss RC-20 Loop Station and a Line6 DL4 echo. I have thought about it and sometimes it´s nice to have a chord to play on. With the trio I only use a Klon Centaur sparingly in order to keep the sound of the guitar, without lots of things between the guitar and the amp.
You are going to tour in Europe during the summer!
- Yes, we are going to play in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium with the Golden Palominos. I hope I will see you there!
Hi - Your phrasing is gorgeous by the way as well as your tone. Couple questions re gear (what else) I know you like 009- 042s but do you like so called "pure nickel" wound or nickel plated/steel types? Does the 7.25 radius hinder bends or is your action quite high enough to alleviate those bends that fret out. Ever considered 9.5 radius? Last of two questions( :-) ) What does (.780" 1st fret - .970" 12th fret) means as listed by Fender on your Jim Campilongo Artist Series Telecaster neck. Thanks! Joe
Hey TeleJoe, I may be wrong but then again I could be right. I'm thinkin .780" 1st fret is the neck thickness measured from the fingerboard to the back of the neck and .970" is the same thing at the 12th fret.
Comments
Best,
Jani
A translation would interest me but don't knock yourself out. I'm Swedish-American but my reading level is at about the 'Pipi Longstocking' level. (It is in Swedish, right?) Cool looking magazine. Go, Jim, go!
- Mz DeVille
Jim Campilongo – Tele, Twang and Silence
James “Jim” Campilongo is perhaps most famous on this side of the Atlantic Ocean for playing in the Little Willies alongside Norah Jones. However, Campilongo has had a long career with many albums of his own ever since the mid-nineties, of which three are with the band Ten Gallon Cats.
Jim Campilongo offers feeling, humour and intellect on his latest full-length record using a Telecaster, a Princeton Reverb and his ten fingers. His album Orange is in my opinion one of the most unique and xxx guitar records of the past year.
- Orange contains over a hour´s worth of music”, says Jim over the phone from NYC. “I tried to create a certain atmosphere, but got worried that it would be regarded as xxx with so much music. But Anton Fier (the producer) said that “It´s going to work”. In retrospect, I am content and it isn´t a regular guitar album, right?
No, anything but that. Orange contains aural pictures from NYC to the listener, where Backburner gives a chaotic impression whilst When You Wish Upon a Star shows a completely different side.
Campilongo grew up in San Francisco and listened to the Beatles and Hendrix. His interest for improvisation was born from listening to vinyl albums from artists such as John Coltrane and John Mclaughlin, even before he started playing guitar. Jim´s career in music began in cover bands and innumerable gigs with the cowpunkswing band 10 Gallon Cats, mainly on the West Coast.
Fast forward to the year 2002 – Jim moved to Brooklyn, NYC with his belongings: a Telecaster, a Princeton Reverb and a laptop. There he formed the band Electric Trio, and rather immediately became an attraction, with a steady gig every Monday at the Living Room.
Campilongo´s influences are many. Roy Buchanan is his greatest inspiration among guitarists, and Orange contains a blues dedicated to Roy.
- I saw Roy play live between 40-50 times and it seems like many others do not hear what I like. I am not a fan of Roy´s blues albums, but I have respect for him for doing them. On his two first albums he is an innovator, however. You can say that I channel Roy, yet I am myself on my tribute to him.
What attracted you to Buchanan´s playing?
- His wah-wah playing was unique. He retuned strings while playing. I liked his way of imitating pedal steel guitar with a jazz sound and intervals. He did it with xxx and not bends like James Burton does.
Many of Buchanan´s playing tricks are found in Campilongo´s playing, and he definitively owes to Buchanan, but he has developed his own sound where dynamics, silence and explosiveness are combined to produce exciting music.
- The contrast between the sounds in Blues For Roy and Billy Strayhorn´s Chelsea Bridge is something I work on a lot. It´s important to me to use the guitar´s tone and volume controls, and usually the amp volume is on ten and the reverb is between three to five. I play with a clean sound and use silence and dynamics but with a maxed amp. I couldn´t live without reverb. My sound has very little in common with the ordinary jazz sound with a 175 and a Polytone.
Your style and music have changed during the years.
- Creating an atmosphere is the most important thing. My goal is also to develop. Nowadays my style contains less fast blues country phrases a la Jimmy Bryant. It´s a balancing act because artists are always expected to continue in the same vein.
You play in several bands, give lessons and book several of your gigs yourself. It sounds hectic, how do you manage to do this all?
- It naturally varies. Sometimes there are a lot of things xxx. Last Saturday I played 6-7 hours all in all, divided between band practices, lessons and practicing, but yesterday it was only three hours in total. Tonight will be the Monday gig at the Living Room, but now in the afternoon I need to practice songs for an upcoming gig.
A couple years ago Fender produced a signature guitar for Jim, based on his ´59 Telecaster. How does it feel to have a signature guitar?
- Fantastic, the new one is easier to play. The ´59 is a real workhorse but almost worn out. You would be surprised if you saw the original at close. The Fender Custom Shop did an exact copy of the neck profile and how it had worn, but not the divots in the fretboard. The new one has a jumbo frets and more space between the nut and the tuning machines, because I do a lot of behind-the-nut bending. The bridge is a toploader and has no edges. The pickups have more bass than the originals and sound warmer than many older Telecasters I have tried.
Orange begins with the song Backburner that contains a raw and aggressive riff, where Jim truly manhandles his Tele. Arpeggios with open strings are blended together with normal playing techniques, distorted chords a la The Who, bends behind the nut are a few of the ingredients.
- I played with a Thinline Tele that was in the studio and the amp was built by a guy who works there. xxxx (Note from the translator: No idea how the original sentence reads)
Do you play exclusively with Fender amps?
- Yes, I own many, but prefer the Princeton for its sound, portability and weight. I have two from ´66, three from the Seventies, two reissues, plus two older Vibroluxes and a Seventies Vibrochamp with a fantastic vibrato effect.
What amp did you use on Blues for Roy?
- I played with my Blackface Princeton Reverb with Jensen C10 speakers. I always use NOS tubes that sound much better than Russian or Chinese ones to my ears.
What is the difference between playing in an instrumental trio, as opposed to playing with a singer like Norah Jones or Martha Wainwright.
- Norah is great to work with and I really like her. She was one of the first contacts I got in New York. When we play together, she lets do as I please. With Martha, it was important to find the same sound I had on her record, so I used some effects.
Your version of No Expectations is another example of you using effects?
- Yes, but normally I use very little effects, but on that song I use all the effects I own! Overdrive pedals, a Klon Centaur and a Fulltone OCD and a Demeter Compulator compressor.
... and a cool xxx
- Yes, in fact, several looping effects. A Boomerang, a Boss RC-20 Loop Station and a Line6 DL4 echo. I have thought about it and sometimes it´s nice to have a chord to play on. With the trio I only use a Klon Centaur sparingly in order to keep the sound of the guitar, without lots of things between the guitar and the amp.
You are going to tour in Europe during the summer!
- Yes, we are going to play in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium with the Golden Palominos. I hope I will see you there!
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My translation is a bit clumsy, and the nuances of the original article aren´t probably there.
I hope somebody found this useful. I need to practice guitar. Have a fun weekend!