Fuse Lead Guitarist CRAIG MYERS Interview Part One This is the first half of the interview with Fuse lead guitarist Craig Myers. As a guitarist myself I have been looking forward to this opportunity. Back in 1969-70 I was fortunate to meet Craig a couple of times, as well as see him perform with Fuse many times. As with the other members of the band, I remember being very impressed with his playing-in awe of it actually-especially considering his young age. Although at the time I was just a beginner on guitar I still recognized real talent and skill when I saw it. Besides flawless technique; amazing finger vibrato, fast and clean hammer-ons and pull-offs, string bending to precise and spot on pitch, etc., he made it appear almost effortless-that is what made it all the more impressive and the mark of a real pro. No mindless shredding or theatrical like flash here-just great and talented playing. Although today good guitarists are abound, back in the late sixties there weren’t really that many-especially young ones. It often seemed all the really good guitarists were coming out of England, guys like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, etc. Sure, we had Jimi Hendrix and some very, very good blues and country guitarists, but in the hard rock arena there didn’t seem to be that many. And seemingly from out of nowhere here comes a young SEVENTEEN year old Craig Myers in Fuse just blowing most other rock guitarists away. To this day I just cannot imagine that hard driving Fuse sound without anyone but Craig at the controls for lead guitar. One very talented blues style guitarist told me recently that he admits to this day still “borrowing” some of Craig’s riffs. I can hardly find fault with or blame him for that-that kind of skill and playing is inspiring to any guitarist, and as they say...”imitation is the highest form of compliment”. Before I met Craig I would just stand, listen and try in vain to follow his fingers as they were just a blur up and down the fretboard. It was inspiring, but at the same time intimidating to watch him thinking to myself,” how in the world can I ever expect to even approach that level of skill”? And now so many years later as I revisit those days I still find myself with those same mixed emotions. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I met Craig-would he have a huge ego and be hard to talk or relate to? When I did meet him in a very informal and casual meeting I admit to being very shy. But Craig was very down to earth with absolutely no sign of egotism whatsoever. He was very friendly and seemed just like any “regular” type guy with a love for music and guitars. In fact, that is how my first meeting with him came about. I was looking to buy a used Les Paul. I was given his number at Nielsen’s Music Store as they said he had a black Les Paul Custom he might sell. I’m not sure if Craig even remembers it. Anyway, I called, was invited and went over to see it and meet Craig. He and his mother both were very friendly and nice-despite the fact I woke Craig up! Recently I asked Craig a lot about his early years as a musician; did he come from a family of musicians as with Rick? Who were his earliest musical influences? Did he have any formal instruction? From there we went into his earlier pre-Fuse bands, etc. Craig: “I was fourth out of five brothers and sisters. My parents bought a piano before I was born and all of us were given piano lessons. As far back as I can remember my oldest sister Susan would play current Broadway musical hits and we would all harmonize with her lead vocal..” “I always had a fascination with guitar because of TV’s singing cowboys…Roy Rogers was my favorite. Of course then Elvis was the icing on the cake”. “My brother Mike went on to play bass in a band in France, and my younger sister Melissa played piano and sang in several country rock bands in her late twenties with her then husband Ben King on bass-mostly in the Tennessee area”. -Do you remember your first guitar? Craig: “After two years of piano starting age seven and eight; my parents gave me a plastic Roy Rogers toy guitar with nylon strings. I quickly learned to tune it to a chord and that day I could play three chord sons, by laying just one finger across the fretboard. When I was about ten or eleven they bought a classical guitar with nylon and gut strings for my Christmas present. Eventually I learned to tune it correctly and learned to play The Ventures, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys and early Beatles on that guitar. My hands became very strong trying to play rock on a classical guitar. I also played clarinet in the Lincoln Junior High band, but my passion became the guitar. I spent five to six hours a day when I was twelve and thirteen teaching myself”. -Obviously there was a great amount of dedication and practice involved, but is there anyone whom you do credit as your teacher(s)? Craig; “I was totally self-taught, I understood music enough to teach myself. For instance I taught myself how to bar chord by watching George Harrison on Ed Sullivan. My blues technique comes primarily from learning The John Mayall’s Bluesbreaker album with Eric Clapton-especially bending to pitch and finger vibrato. I learned how to play along with Clapton, note for note, on that album. I was introduced to power rock by The Who. I learned from Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix how important the right hand is to the eventual sound; the angle of the pick, etc…” -I could hear a fair amount of Jeff Beck in your playing-British Blues and such, but were there any other specific influences and inspirations? Craig; “Other than those specified above, my wife swears that in a parallel universe I would be David Gilmore, even though I wasn’t listening to Pink Floyd at the time. I listen now to David Gilmore and I hear the similarities. Maybe we had the same influences. If you look at his hand on the neck the appearance and the movement are strikingly similar. -Was Toast N Jam your first band? Craig; “No, my first band was The Nomads when I was thirteen years old, and believe it or not I was the lead singer. Three weeks after learning how to tune and play the guitar the right way, I was better than the current guitarist and my brother Mike and I formed The Bol Weevils. Mike went from bass in The Nomads to drums in The Bol Weevils.This is where I met Tom Peterson and we would go on to be best friends until the break-up of Fuse. Then came Toast N Jam. -How did Toast N Jam come about? Craig; “Tom Peterson and I formed Toast N Jam, wanting to go in a blues direction. This is where Tom went from rhythm guitar to bass. -What, or whose music were you doing then? Craig; “As I stated we were a blues band, with lead guitar, bass, Curtis Wright on keyboard, Ron Holm on acoustic guitar, harmonica and lead vocals…and our new drummer, Chip Greenman. In addition to blues, Tom and I had finally become good enough to attempt some Jimi Hendrix songs, and heaven knows we had the perfect drummer for that. -The three of you must have “clicked” together musically and got along well together since you later merged into The Grim Reapers. Craig; “Once we had Chip we were able to practice all the time, whether we had a band or not. So previous to forming Toast N Jam, Chip, Tom and I rehearsed often in Tom’s parent’s basement. It was at this time that we went from getting better to just exploding. Chip could pick a tempo, and I could name a key and we could jam for a half hour. We had really learned how to predict each other, we were in total sync.” -How did that merge with Rick come about? Craig; “Rick asked Tom, Chip and I if we wanted to start a band with Joe Sundberg from The Grim Reapers, try to write music, and go from cover band to original act”. -How much of an influence was Rick on you as a musician and as a guitarist? Craig; “His influence came in the vast array of lp’s and new music he exposed me to. Tom also played a pivotal role in that department. Rick was the catalyst for whatever Fuse was doing. He was a true leader...and the eldest---ha ha!” -Back then you seemed to me to be mostly a Les Paul player, and you certainly played a very large role in making me into one. In fact, even yet today several of my family and friends consider me a Les Paul-aholic, and to a degree blame you. Just kidding. But seriously, it seems that way with guitarists-a guy tends to be influenced by whatever their own influence(s) play, would you agree-at least initially? For instance weren’t Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton Les Paul players back then before switching to Strat’s? Craig; “Yes” -That early British based blues-played usually with a Gibson or a Strat and thru a Brit made amp-created a sound that it seemed everybody wanted to emulate, and formed the foundation for many big names to come. Even yet today it continues with guys like Gary Moore, Joe Bonamassa and others, too many to even try to count. Was that the sound you guys were after when you started with The Grim Reapers? Craig; “Yes, all of our biggest influences were British. We were after that heavy rock Brit sound-not to be confused with metal…that came later. As a matter of fact when we signed with CBS, a Mr. Cohen representing CBS (Epic), said we were the most British sounding American band he had heard, and that I was America’s answer to Jeff Beck. That night I remember having difficulty squeezing my head into the car for the ride home”.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 03:40:33 +0000
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