I sent him a scratch vocal and he said, Well, why dont you sing it? And I said, Im not a singer. He said, Well, yeah you are. Who was the lead guitarist for Steely Dan? He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Doobie Brothers in 2020. And this is not meant to be a religious trope, Im just saying that I dont think theres ever such thing as perfection. Your email address will not be published. So thats when I came up with the idea of playing The Rose, because I just thought it was such a beautiful melody and it was simple enough it wouldnt distract people from the photographs but beautiful enough that it would set the mood. He pulled up a mic that still worked and proceeded to give us all a lecture and demo on Rhythm Guitar and its function in any piece of music. Jeff Baxter. So yeah, I was relieved. I think its fair to say that as they became more successful, like anybody who is creative, they wanted more control over their art and it is true that they were hard taskmasters. I would posit at least on some level that it might be. I think I grew mine when I was eighteen and yeah, nobody seemed to have a problem with it. Jeff Baxter plays sitting down and he rocks. Its like when you read a book when youre a kid: Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. I'll sit for a short period if I'm trying to learn a piece using a slow downer, but once I get it, I have to stand to practice it. George Bush Sr called me Skunk. Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. Classical guitarists are *very* concerned about ergonomics of playing positions as repeat motion injuries are common and difficult get past. What did your parents think of the mustache? I did the whole first verse just the steel cause I wanted to showcase the beauty of the voice of the instrument. Weve heard about how tough it could be in the studio with Walter and Donald. Check out his military exploits here: Can't say for sure Found insideI was beaming at home seeing those guys do harmonies that Gene and I had come Location: Gypsy Caravan. Jeff Baxter/Age. Speaking of which, Bodhisattva: notwithstanding Steely Dan's often indiscernible subject matter, the title does actually mean something. . Always a class act! So we got to a point where it was time to roll up all the pennies. By the time I got to the end of the second verse, they had a keyboard player and a bass player and a drummer. Some years into it, I started to listen to more of my dads record collection. 10 Who was the lead guitarist for Steely Dan? Also when he was with the doobies he often wore headphones to get "a better mix" which the monitors wouldnt give him at the time. Depends on a lot of things. This is Baxter's home territory, and he covers it with a unique liveliness, precision, and sense of humor. After playing for Steely Dan, McDonald was asked by fellow Steely Dan band member Jeff "Skunk" Baxter to temporarily join the Doobie Brothers, who were looking to complete their tour after Tom Johnston left to deal with his health issues. So if you listen to what Clint Black did, hes an incredible musician and a big Steely Dan fan, when he walked into the studio and he played that opening guitar riff, it was like, okay, you get it, this is going to be totally different. Doobie Brothers drummer Michael Hossack died at his home in Dubois, Wyoming yesterday at the age of 65. What happens to atoms during chemical reaction? That is, until he made his own film in , a porno playing off his notoriety called Screeched Saved By The Smell. The best ideas sometimes come from the most unexpected places. If not, youre fired. For England in the 1960s, Beck's high pitched riffs were simply something of . 61st GRAMMY Awards. Skunks solo on How Do The Fools Survive is right up there with any guitar solo ever. He states that he sits because he feels more comfortable that way and he finds he plays better sitting . Japanese manufacturers were churning out and he thought he could do better. He was Senior Executive Vice President of J Walter Thompson, which was the largest advertising agency in the world. Two 'identical guitars except for --' will sound different amplified because they have different pickups, pots, and caps with different variation. In a lot of ways they knew what they wanted and if they didnt know what they wanted, they thought they knew what they wanted. Do you have an album that you played on where you hit the sweet spots from top to bottom? Who is Doobie signed with? Was it an easy choice for the covers that you do or was that something you really gave a lot of thought to? For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Have you been to Scotland? Jeff, of course, accepted it, but as a kind gesture, he left it in a studio for a couple of days to see if the guy will change his mind since this guitar is one of the most expensive and sought-out Stratocasters out there. I don't care what you say, I'm going to play this. this can result in this site earning a commission. I have always played/practiced the way I gig. I had the pleasure of seeing Skunk & the Band in May and I was blown away by the intensity of the concert they performed! So one day I said, Hey, Lets do Lover. I learned that when I was a kid and itd be fun to play. He said, Alright Skunk, yeah. So we played it and when I got to this part which is extremely difficult and extremely fast, I mean ridiculously fast, afterwards hes laughing and I said, Les, whats up? He said, Man, I sped that up to twice speed when I recorded it. I said, I busted my ass to learn to play this. And hes just laughing his ass off. Who are all these people?? I dont know about his hygiene, but his attitude stinks. He also has added several downloadable outreach templates and a Lead generation Tracking sheet which are very useful. Robby Krieger once told me that he thought the reason so many of the older generation feared bands like The Doors was the fact that they represented freedom, being able to do what they wanted to do during those times. I am soo fan girling right now! What was happening in the sixties is that the Vietnam War did not have the imprimatur in the minds of a young generation in the same way it did in WWII. . Thats easy. So I went out onstage and I started playing it and I got to the end of the last verse and Adrian Belew came out, who I just love and hes one of my favorite guitar players and one of my favorite people, and he plugged in and started to play. Jeffrey Allen Skunk. The words Fender, Telecaster, Stratocaster and the associated headstock designs are registered trademarks of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Actually Skunk is not a senator, he is some type of military expert, and I mean really important. Ive done a few vocals in the studio as a studio musician, background stuff, but as a studio musician Im a guitar player. He eventually left the touring band business in 1979 to continue on as a session guitarist. A bunch of guitar players that I know, they all listened to Howard Roberts when they were kids. He certainly had a military framework but he saw outside of that because he had to, to be creative and be able to do things that appealed to the greatest number of people; you had to stretch out your templet, so to speak, about how you related to people. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". You could have heard a pin drop! Also when he was with the doobies he often wore headphones to get "a better mix" which the monitors wouldnt give him at the time. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. I think that would underline the fact there is a resurgence and interest and in that interest I dont see any limitation in terms of what is being offered and what is being created for musicians, especially guitar players, to hone their craft. I think it all came around the same time cause that was in the late sixties. You know, I have my Great-Great grandfathers whole uniform, his saber and everything, and a colleague of mine who is a Civil War reenactor, he lives in Gettysburg, and about ten or so years ago, we did a horseback ride through Gettysburg and took the route that my Great-Great grandfather took on the way to Culps Hill. alot and she got into playing the guitar and singing. Jeff Skunk Baxter talks Doobies Steely Dan . So as soon as I had the opportunity, obviously, I took advantage of it. I even wrote the forward for the transcription of those two records because the man was incredible. Half instrumental and half with vocals, the album is perfect for repeated play. No, Baxter really has had some kind of involvement in missile defense, which I assume is why he wont take off that beret. We worked together on a number of occasions. I think the first song I learned was Walk Dont Run by The Ventures, which is probably the first song that 90% of all guitar players of my era learned to play when they were kids. Answer (1 of 3): As other answers here have stated, Baxter sensed the changing dynamics in Steely Dan. Jeffrey Baxter was born on December 13, 1948 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. Believe it or not, this video was shown on MTV back in the day, for at least a good month or two. Location: The DMV. Was all that there when you were conceiving that song or did that come later? her voice is SCFMG Music TSO MUSIC GROUPDoobieSCFMG The people at Woodstock thought it was an ode to anti-war, your grandpa thought it was an insult; neither of which was the truth. Anyone have his contact info? Nothing that I can recall although on this album I did a version of The Rose and I loved the voice of the pedal steel. They had to take a break mid-set because of sound issues. With three minutes left in the Cougars' rout of the Pilots, coach Mark Pope told Baxter to check into the game. More recently, he has worked as a defense consultant and chaired a Congressional Advisory Board on missile defense. He was the guitarist for two big rock 'n' roll bands -- Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers. In the meantime, we found that there were some folks who were really interested in participating. Skunk first reached a wide rock audience in 1968 as a member of the psychedelic rock band Ultimate Spinach. He eventually left the touring band business in 1979 to continue on as a session guitarist. 9 Who is the conductor with the most Grammy Awards? Were all McMillans, subclan of the McMillan clan, and my Great-Great, I think, grandfather, Charles K. Baxter, came over and immediately, you know, they were signing people up when they literally got off the boat in New York. Makes sense to me and again, Ive strived to do that with my own instruments, with the instruments Ive designed, the electronics and stuff Ive done with Fender and Gibson and DAngelico and other guitar companies that have asked me to have input on their instruments. Why Jeff "Skunk" Baxter left Steely Dan & The Doobie Brothers - Interview#SteelyDan #DoobieBrothers #JeffSkunkBaxterCheck out Jeff's new album on his website. Who was the first real rock star you ever met? This alleviates the change from one to the other and keeps things congruent. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Whitney Walker Champions Gratifying Gothic Folk-rock Sounds on A Dog Staring Into a Mirror on the Floor (ALBUM REVIEW). How did he do these day jobs and tour with these great bands and do all the incredible session work. For me it was, I dont know, a very good, exciting, wonderful, joyful chapter. I actually traded him his bad, beat up bullshit guitar for a really nice Stratocaster way back in 1963, I guess it was, when I was working on 48th Street in New York in the music stores. Best-known for his work with Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter's versatility and highly developed technique as a soloist made him a hugely in-demand session guitarist from the '70s on. Baxter certainly explores his guitar neck, conjuring up shades of Celtic, Blues, R&B, Jazz, rock, and soul rhythms. JBaxter: I felt that the direction that Steely Dan was headed was much more o. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Lazy N. Shabby: If my guitar was that big, i'd be sitting too. McDonald flew out to Louisiana, joined the band, and added piano parts to the songs as he sang. If you want to understand a little bit more about Wes Montgomery, get out the sheet music and you play it. Im reading constantly, whether its open source or classified, I have to read all the time to stay current in my job. I know you dont have a call sign but someday you will. What is Doobie real name? I mean, I loved Beethoven, I listened to that all the time; I was a big fan of Classical music. I mean, I worked for other artists in the studio that were absolute horrifying pains in the asses. By that time I think everyone was aware that the Vietnam War was probably at the very least problematic and at the most kind of a debacle, where it just became a grinding machine for cannon fodder. 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