He really looked down on the guitar as an instrument, but he felt that if I wanted to take up an instrument I should be trained and do it right. I took em for about a month because my dad insisted, as he was a trained musician. Was playing guitar an obsessive kind of thing for you and did you take lessons? DF: I have a great story for you about 'formal' lessons. It was a great sound, and yet you have to be incredibly sensitive to put those type of chops in a tune and not get in the way of the song. While Gordon was singing and playing a basic Travis picking pattern, Red was playing these beautiful little lines that seemed inseparable from Lightfoot. The guy was so tasty with his work with Lightfoot. His picking was instrumental to what I do as far as when I’m layering guitar parts while recording.
In the liner notes to 'The Innocent Age' double album you point out folk artists like Gordon Lightfoot as influences, did you study his twelve string playing? DF: Oh sure, and Red Shea (Lightfoots lead guitarist) was a big influence, and even played on 'The Innocent Age'. I took that band into more of an ' acoustic folk-rock' kind of place, performing Buffalo Springfield material and Beatles songs like 'You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away'. In my second band I put my Strat away, and played an Eko twelve string acoustic, getting into fingerpicking styles, and Travis picking which I had gotten from the Peter, Paul and Mary, and Paul Simon. I learned initially on acoustic but jumped right into electric for playing in bands and stuff when I was about twelve or thirteen years old. About a year later I realized the way that guitar was to be played and talked my dad into getting me an electric guitar. After I got over the hand injuries (laughs) I developed pretty strong hands because of that guitar. I started to develop calluses really fast, and not knowing the difference I was trying to play Buddy Holly and Beatles songs, as well as basic and minor chords, which I was able to do. It was made for slide with action about a half an inch off the neck and was supposed to be played with a sit-down slide, which I didn’t know about. This guitar was black with hula dancers, palm trees, and the moon painted on it. When did you start with the acoustic guitar?ĭF: Well, I started playing when my grandfather gave me an old Hawaiian steel guitar when I was about eleven years old. I found him to be very excited to talk about his love of guitar playing, songwriting and the accident which he now views as a blessing in disguise.
When I showed up at his hotel room the next day for our interview Fogelberg was busy fingerpicking on his trusty Martin D-45 and playing bottleneck with a metal slide. His summer ‘97 tour, a solo acoustic affair in support of the generous 4 CD career retrospective box set 'Portrait', found him filling the large and prestigious Greek Theater in Hollywood.
While many folk/pop artists dating back to the seventies are lucky to have careers given the always changing musical landscape that is pop music, Fogelberg’s audience has been constant. Picking out instrumentals on his nylon string to help rehabilitate his finger had the side effect of dramatically rehabilitating his love of playing the instrument which had waned over a couple of decades on the road. While sailing a couple of years ago Fogelberg severely injured, in fact almost severed the little finger on his playing hand, creating concern about his future as a guitarist. 8 product ratings.ĭAN FOGELBERG Interview by James Jensen PART OF THE PLAN Dan Fogelberg’s accidental journey back to the acoustic guitar In her classic song 'Big Yellow Taxi' Joni Mitchell sings 'Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you got till its gone', and that sentiment certainly pertains to the acoustic guitar playing of well known singer songwriter Dan Fogelberg. DAN FOGELBERG Portrait 4 CD BOX SET 62 SONGS 70 PAGE BOOK. Find great deals on eBay for dan fogelberg box set.
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Discography Dan Fogelberg Solo studio albums: 1972 Home Free 1974 Souvenirs 1975 Captured Angel 1977 Nether Lands 1979 Phoenix 1981 The Innocent Age 1984 Windows and Walls 1985 High Country Snows.