The Austin-based classical piano student turned guitarslinger uses gritty old-school tone and new tech to create the hip-hop and modern R&B; infused sound of her latest album, Joy.
Austin’s Jackie Venson fuses electric Hendrix-meets-Prince blues guitar and a panoply of synthesized voices and vibes, eagerly and fluidly passing through genres to never quite call one home. Genre-bending is à la mode today, but when orchestrated with her kind of finesse, it’s really the artist that becomes the genre. That’s even more impressive given that Venson, who is 29, only started playing guitar less than 10 years ago.
She was studying classical piano at Berklee College of Music in Boston when her passion for that instrument changed “literally overnight,” Venson says. “I was really sad and I was angry, like it was somebody else’s fault. And then I realized that it was just going to happen anyway. It just happened in a really hard way.” Three years into playing guitar, she released her debut studio album, 2014’s The Light in Me, but by then she was already blowing critics away with her snarling tone, fluid playing, and free-ranging ideas. Venson says those skills are simply a product of her lifelong devotion to her own musical education.
With her new album Joy, which was released on April 5 and follows a live album and an EP, Venson has set a new personal benchmark. Joy captures her evolved approach, modernizing the spirit of the blues while carving out its own hip-hop, R&B, and electro-pop-dappled space. She often matches her vocal line to the guitar—which is more common in jazz and stands out in Venson’s more rock-oriented context. Overall, her sound is as big and bold as her personality. In discussing the twists and turns of her life, she comments, “That’s the kind of person I am: If I don’t care about something, I will not do it. ’Cause I’m going to die one day, you know? I’m not going to do something I don’t care about.”
Her commitment to her music resonates throughout Joy, which boasts a prolific 20 tracks. She’s the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist on the recording, and Venson played synth parts and co-produced. At an early spot on the album, she includes a conversation with one of her producers, where he says, “You’re in the studio aren’t you? It’s like you spend your whole life in there.” She agrees—and that’s not an understatement.
Joy was recorded over the past few years with four different producers and six engineers—as Venson found different artists who worked behind the board that she wanted to create music with. Read on to get a glimpse into her thoughts behind that process, hear about her guitar approach and influences, and become more familiar with her singular style and voice.
It was interesting to learn that you’re a classical pianist turned blues guitarist. How did that happen?
It’s pretty weird how you get started down a road and the road just leads you somewhere. I know it seems really obvious, but you really have no idea where it will lead you. Not even an inkling. I didn’t know that that school was going to lead me to a completely different instrument. And I learned, around age 25, that you have some control, and you have some say, but you just got to put your seatbelt on and let it happen and try not to get thrown off the train. Because if you want to control everything, then you probably shouldn’t start walking down that road in the first place.
So, I knew I had a loose interest in guitar because I grew up in Austin, and guitar’s everywhere in Austin. But I never really was interested in it because I played the piano and I loved the piano. But then I lost my passion for the piano at Berklee, while simultaneously maintaining my passion for music as a whole. I didn’t want to quit music. I just didn’t want to play the piano anymore. I figured the only natural solution would be to pick up a new instrument.
Joy is your second studio album. What inspired the title?
It was actually my manager’s idea. We were getting lunch one day and just talking about a show I’d done recently, about how my fans always tell me at shows that I exude happiness when I play. That’s when he was like, “Hey, you should call your next record Joy,” and as soon as he said that, ideas exploded in my head. I took it from there.
What was the production process like?
I collaborate with producers, but I’m very much a part of it. They’re never the only ones making decisions, and neither am I. We’re a team. And the new record sounds better than anything I’ve ever released because I stopped self-producing. All of the projects before this record were produced by me. I ran the whole session, and I just had an engineer. For this project, I had the studio and the engineer, but then I’d have a separate person producing: helping me with the arrangements, maybe coming up with a better line for that guitar solo than the one that I had. Just two heads are better than one kind of stuff. I don’t think anybody can do it themselves.
TIDBIT: Venson used a variety of producers and engineers on her new 20-song album, which was made over several years but sounds entirely consistent.
How do you go about finding the right producers to collaborate with?
Usually, the first thing that you do is listen to everything that they’ve done. If you like everything that they’ve done, you have to tell that anxiety-ridden control freak in your brain to shut up. Self-producing my stuff … it never really landed. And it’s a hard reality to accept, but the sooner you accept it, the sooner you can move on to making great music that’s timeless and is a meaningful addition to human culture. Right? And you just gotta be open to it and you gotta reference other music that’s timeless. Listen to all the music that’s been around forever—the music that you hear in grocery stores. And if somebody is out there who can take the music that’s really hot and then compare it to your music and say, “This music has this and your music has that, and if you want it to sound like this, you’re going to need this,” you just gotta trust and have faith.
Who did you work with on this project?
I used a few different producers. A couple of the producers on the record are just really great players who I heard some of their demos and I thought they were really great. Then one of the producers is also the mixing engineer, Tim Palmer, and I worked with him just for mixes—not production at all. I thought his ear was so great. He would add stuff in mixing. He would add shakers to this section but he wouldn’t say anything about it. He’d just slyly do it, and see if I noticed.
When you’re partnering with people for the creative process, what makes you feel like the song is yours?
I usually write the song. I write the chords, the lyrics, and the melody. And I come up with a loose idea of how I’d like it to sound, and then maybe I’ll throw together a demo of what I think it should be. Then that’s where the conversation with the producer starts. And sometimes the producer would be like, “Don’t you think this word would fit better than that word and still preserve the meaning of the sentence?” That’s my compromise. I’m open to better ideas, like “Instead of putting a guitar solo there, maybe we should put a bridge there.” But that means I have to go home and write the bridge, because I prefer to be the writer. However, in the future I can see myself being more open-minded with people. I just have to find somebody I’m compatible with. Because the writing process for me is really deeply personal. It’s how I meditate.
Although she loves blues and cites Buddy Guy, Derek Trucks, and Eric Gales as influences—and plays guitar with a tone and approach that’s in the genre’s camp—Venson has little patience for purists and is committed to working outside of any box. Photo by Ismael Quintanilla
Do you have specific goals that you strive for in your music?
Overall, I’d like to maybe remind people that learning how to play instruments, and also putting the time into mastering an instrument, is very valuable and we shouldn’t lose that. A lot of people don’t really do it anymore, because you can make music now without having to learn how to play an instrument. Which is cool. It’s expanded the soundscape significantly, which is rad. But I want to expand the soundscape while preserving all of the stuff that we’ve been doing as a species for, like, thousands of years. We still need to learn how to play instruments. It’s very important. And we also need to make new instruments. Like we still need to do this side of the music. Just because it’s a little bit easier to learn how to do something else and still be able to make music doesn’t mean that we should always take the easy route.
Are you afraid of that being lost?
I’m afraid of the standard being lowered. I’m afraid of people in a hundred years not being able to play as well as people a hundred years ago. If so few people do it that we really don’t have any true masters anymore, the bar just gets lower and lower, and then we don’t have any more Mozarts.
What is the songwriting process like for you?
Lately, I’ve been working with these drum machines and samplers. I’ll lay down some kind of beat, because I love music that’s driven by a beat. Some of my favorite styles of music are hip-hop and R&B, and the beat in hip-hop and R&B really drives the song. And so I used to start with chords and a melody and then put lyrics on it. That’s how I did it for years. But now I’ve been starting with a beat. And that’s been really fun. It’s been a really great time and I’m still really stoked about it. I’m going to write a whole record that’s just all about the beat.
Who are your favorite hip-hop and R&B artists?
I really love Lauryn Hill, old R&B like Donny Hathaway, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole. I’m super in love with Notorious B.I.G. I really love some of the early Kanye records.
Any specific records?
College Dropout. Homecoming was so good. I still listen to that record. I can’t let it go. I love it so much. I really love [Lamar’s] Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. I also like Section.80. And then Lauryn Hill’s Miseducation is absolutely the gospel, as far as I’m concerned, for ’90s hip-hop. I really love the Fugees—pretty much everything they did, especially “Ready or Not.” I also really love the Roots, George Clinton, and the stuff in the ’80s that Stevie Wonder did. He could be classified as R&B, if you want, but honestly I don’t think he has a genre. In my early days, I was pretty obsessed with Alanis Morissette. I love all of her music. She’s an amazing singer, and she’s got a really distinct style where she, like, flutters her voice. She always knows exactly when to do it. I used to listen to her obsessively when I was in high school. There were years where she was the only one I listened to.
Who are your guitar influences?
A big one is Buddy Guy. Another is Jeff Beck. I also used to listen to a lot of Derek Trucks when I was just learning how to play. I was trying to listen to people to see what I could learn about everything that the instrument was capable of when it came to tone. Like, how far do I bend the strings? That kind of stuff. Get all the information you can get from listening to other people play. So I listened to a lot of Jeff Beck, a lot of Buddy Guy, a lot of Black Keys—their rhythm parts are really groovy. Lately I’ve been listening to Eric Gales, ’cause he’s just the best guitar player in the world. Trying to steal some of his licks … you know how it is [laughs]. When he shreds, it’s like Eddie Van Halen meets George Benson meets Yngwie Malmsteen, and then add 10 to the BPM and that’s him. But a musician’s work isn’t all in how much they can shred, honestly. If he just wants to break your heart with a melody, he can do that too. He’s so tasteful. Eric Gales knows how to do both and can also do both better than everybody. [Laughs.]
What’s your main guitar?
A Fender Stratocaster Elite. It’s the only guitar I play if I have any control over it.
Guitars
Fender American Elite Stratocaster
Amps
Kemper Profiler
Effects
Eventide H3000 Ultra-Harmonizer
Electro-Harmonix SYNTH9
Strings and Picks
Ernie Ball Paradigm (.010–.046)
Various picks
Why do you love it?
I’m used to it, but also I acquired it in a really special way. I felt like it almost spoke to me in the store, and I feel it still does speak to me. It has songs in it. Every time I start playing it, within, like, three minutes I’m already playing something. I don’t know where the songs come from, so the only thing I can deduce from it is that there’s songs in that guitar.
Is there any other gear you use that you feel passionately about?
I use a Kemper profiling amp. It’s the greatest thing ever. It allows me to have access to 15 different amps and pedal rigs all in one little box. And because it’s a profiling amp, it’s not working with amp samples. It’s working with amp algorithms. If you were to blindfold somebody, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a Fender Blues Junior and a Kemper profile of a Fender Blues Junior. I guarantee it.And it also profiles effects pedals. I have vocal wah, Vox wah, vowel wah, phaser wah—where like this blues wah pedal will switch on and off phase. It’s crazy. It sounds like a spaceship taking off. And I have a classic Cry Baby wah. So I don’t have to have a pedalboard anymore. I don’t have to have an amp anymore. All I need is this little poster-sized Kemper, and it comes with a foot controller.
I plug an expression pedal in, to sometimes control the feedback of the delay. You can tell the expression pedal to do a ton of different things. You can use it to turn up the gain on a distortion pedal. You can use it as a volume pedal. And [the Kemper] has three or four different inputs for expression pedals, so it just depends on how many you want to buy. I’ve been doing really freaky shit with that Kemper, man. It’s awesome. It’s like the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.
On the last track of the album, “When It’s Right,” there’s a really cool guitar and synthesizer transition. How did you do that?
That song was recorded live in the studio, with seven of us in a room. I played the piano for the first entire half of the song, all the way through to the horn breakdown section where they play the whole melody together. Then there’s that synthesizer being held, right? And I have a little [Novation] MiniNova [synthesizer], and I turn on the latch button, and I hold these chords out and do a filter effect, and then I finally bring it down and then I fade it out. And the keyboard player, who’s been playing the organ the entire time, starts playing the acoustic piano part while I put the guitar on my body and start playing the guitar. And then from there, through the remainder of the song, I play the guitar.
What’s your favorite track on the album?
I would say “Afterglow.” It’s poppy and weird and I love it. It’s like my middle finger to all the people who call me a blues band. It’s like, “Hey check out this blues artist.” [Laughs.] Have fun calling me a blues artist after this one. I know that there’s blues on the record. That’s because there’s blues in everything. There’s blues in hip-hop. Blues is the source of all modern music. I’m not a blues artist. I’m just an artist. I’m an American music artist. I make American music. I basically play all of the styles that have been influenced by blues, that I’m capable of writing. That’s what I do.
Jackie Venson’s live solo performance of “I Will Find a Way,” a song from her new album, Joy, displays her unique blend of raw blues-influenced guitar shredding with electronic beats—an approach that allows her to handily incorporate hip-hop and R&B elements into her sound.
Guest picker Mei Semones joins reader Jin J X and PGstaff in delving into the backgrounds behind their picking styles.
Question: What picking style have you devoted yourself to the most, and why does it work for you?
Guest Picker - Mei Semones
Mei’s latest album, Kabutomushi.
A: The picking style I’ve practiced the most is alternate picking, but the picking style I usually end up using is economy picking. Alternate feels like a dependable way to achieve evenness when practicing scales and arpeggios, but when really playing, it doesn’t make sense to articulate every note in that way, and obviously it’s not always the fastest.
Obsession: My current music-related obsession is my guitar, my PRS McCarty 594 Hollowbody II. I think it will always be an obsession for me. It’s so comfortable and light, has a lovely, warm, dynamic tone, and helps me play faster and cleaner. This guitar feels like my best friend and soulmate.
Reader of the Month - Jin J X
Photo by Ryan Fannin
A: For decades, the Eric Johnson-style “hybrid picking” with a Jazz III for “pianistic” voicings. Great for electric, though not so much acoustic. I’ve been recently learning to use a flatpick, à la Brian Sutton, by driving the pick “into” the string at an angle—which makes me think of Pat Metheny and George Benson, without irony.
Obsession: I’m still focused on understanding the concepts of jazz, neo-classical, and beyond, though I’m also becoming obsessed with George Van Eps’ 7-string playing, flatpicking, hip-hop beats, the Hybrid Guitars Universal 6 guitar, and the secret life of the banjo.
Editorial Director - Ted Drozdowski
A: Decades ago, under the sway of Mississippi blues artists R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and Jessie Mae Hemphill, I switched from plectrum to fingerstyle, developing my own non-traditional approach. It’s technically wrong, but watching R.L., in particular, freestyle, I learned there is no such thing as wrong if it works.
Obsession: Busting out of my songwriting patterns. With my band Coyote Motel, and earlier groups, I’ve always encouraged my talented bandmates to play what they want in context, but brought in complete, mapped-out songs. Now, I’m bringing in sketches and we’re jamming and hammering out the arrangements and melodies together. It takes more time, but feels rewarding and fun, and is opening new territory for me.
Managing Editor - Kate Koenig
A: I have always been drawn to fingerpicking on acoustic guitar, starting with classical music and prog-rock pieces (“Mood for a Day” by Steve Howe), and moving on to ’70s baroque-folk styles, basic Travis picking, and songs like “Back to the Old House” by the Smiths. I love the intricacy of those styles, and the challenge of learning to play different rhythms across different fingers at the same time. This is definitely influenced by my classical training on piano, which came before guitar.
Obsession: Writing and producing my fifth and sixth albums. My fifth album, Creature Comforts, was recorded over the past couple months, and features a bunch of songs I wrote in 2022 that I had previously sworn to never record or release. Turns out, upon revisiting, they’re not half bad! While that one’s being wrapped, I’m trying to get music written for my sixth, for which I already have four songs done. And yes, this is a flex. 💪😎
Guitarist, songwriter and bandleader Grace Bowers will independently release her highly anticipated debut album, Wine On Venus, August 9.
The new album adds to a breakout year for Bowers, who was recently selected as a U.S. Global Music Ambassador as part of the U.S Department of State and YouTube’s Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, is nominated for Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2024 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards and will make her debut performance on the legendary Grand Ole Opry on her eighteenth birthday, July 30, 2024. Other performances this year include shows supporting Slash, The Red Clay Strays and Brothers Osborne as well as stops at Levitate Music & Arts Festival, Floyd Fest, Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, Bourbon & Beyond, XPoNential Music Festival and Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival. See below for complete tour itinerary.
Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge - Tell Me Why U Do That (Official Video)
Produced by John Osborne (Brothers Osborne), Wine On Venus captures the electric energy of Bowers’ live performances with The Hodge Podge. The record consists of nine soul-infused tracks including a new version of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Dance to the Music” as well as previously release single, “Tell Me Why U Do That,” of which Forbes praises, “an infectious, joyous party and a worthy introduction to Bowers.” Additionally, The Bluegrass Situation declares, “an exceptional breakout talent who seems primed for a long career to come,” while RIFF Magazine calls her “The next generation’s star of American rock, blues and funk guitar.”
Of the record, Bowers shares, “I’m so excited to share my first album with the world in August! It’s been a long time coming, and I’m proud of what was created with the incredible Hodge Podge and John Osborne producing. We recorded everything live, as it should be, for this sonic journey. I hope you love it as much as I do.”
Additionally, of the title track, she reflects, “My nana was 100 years old when she passed away last year. She would always tell me that when she died, she would be drinking wine on Venus. She was a little eccentric but thought that was just something so cool. When she passed, I wrote a song about it.”
In addition to Bowers (guitar), the record features Joshua Blaylock (keys), Brandon Combs (drums), Eric Fortaleza (bass), Esther Okai-Tetteh (vocals) and Prince Parker (guitar) as well as songwriting collaborations with respected artists such as Ben Chapman, Meg McRee, Maggie Rose and Lucie Silvas.
Originally from the Bay Area and now calling Nashville home, Bowers began garnering attention after sharing videos of herself playing guitar on social media during the pandemic. In the years since, she’s been featured on “CBS Mornings” in a piece focused on a new wave of young female guitarists, performed alongside Dolly Parton as part of her Pet Gala special on CBS, joined Lainey Wilson as part of CBS’ New Year’s Eve Live celebration, performed as part of the “Men’s Final Four Tip-Off Tailgate Presented by Nissan” and been sought after by everyone from Devon Allman to Tyler Childers and Susan Tedeshi to Kingfish. Of her 2023 Newport Folk Festival debut, Rolling Stone declared, “Her 20-minute performance gave the distinct sense that everyone lucky enough to have attended was witnessing a star in the making,” while The Tennessean calls her “a 17 year old Blues guitar prodigy,” with a, “heart as big as her talent is vast.”
Most recently this summer, Bowers performed alongside Billy Idol at the Fired Up For Summer benefit concert and raised $30,000 for MusiCares and Voices for a Safer Tennesseewith her 2nd Annual “Grace Bowers & Friends: An Evening Supporting Love, Life & Music” benefit show. With the release of Wine On Venus (distributed by The Orchard), Bowers will further establish herself as one of music’s most intriguing new artists.
For more information, please visit gracebowers.com.
Johnny Cash on the front porch of the Cash Cabin in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Cash initially shelved the album in 1993, but now his son, John Carter Cash, has spearheaded a project to revamp and release the recordings, with the help of Marty Stuart, Dan Auerbach, Vince Gill, and other notables. Read on to get the details and see a gallery of vintage instruments and other artifacts from the Cash Cabin studio.
“The Man Comes Around” is a much-played song from the final album Johnny Cash recorded before his death in 2003, American IV: The Man Comes Around. Now, the Man in Black himself has come around again, as the voice and soul of a just-released album he initially cut in 1993, titled Songwriter.
For fans who know Cash only through his much-loved American Recordings series, this is a very different artist—healthy, vital, his signature baritone booming, his acoustic playing lively, percussive, and focused. This is the muscular Johnny Cash heard on his career-defining recordings, from his early Sun Records sides like “Cry! Cry! Cry!” and “Folsom Prison Blues” to “Ring of Fire” and “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” to later, less familiar hits like “The Baron” and “That Old Wheel.” In short, classic Cash—the performer who became an international icon and remains one 21 years after his death.
In addition to theSongwriter album, it’s also worth noting that there is a new documentary, June, that puts June Carter Cash’s life and under-sung cultural legacy in perspective. Johnny wasn’t the only giant in this family. Just the biggest one.
“I think it’s important to support my father’s legacy in the world in which we live,” says John Carter Cash, who, in addition to his own work as an artist, is the primary caretaker of his family’s estimable body of work.
I recently visited the Cash Cabin—a log cabin recording studio on the Cash family property in Hendersonville, Tennessee, that was originally built as a sanctuary where Johnny wrote songs and poetry—with PG’s video team of Chris Kies and Perry Bean—to talk about Songwriter with John Carter Cash, the son of Johnny and June Carter Cash. [Go to premierguitar.com for the full video.] In this shrine of American music, Johnny Cash recorded most of the American Recordings series, and many others, from Loretta Lynn to Jamey Johnson, have tracked here. It’s also where John Carter Cash and co-producer David “Fergie” Ferguson took apart the original Songwriter sessions and put them back together, stronger, with musical contributions by Marty Stuart, Dan Auerbach, Vince Gill, a blue ribbon rhythm team of the late bassist Dave Roe and drummer Pete Abbott, backing vocalists Ana Christina Cash and Harry Stinson, percussionist Sam Bacco, guitarists Russ Pahl, Kerry Marx, and Wesley Orbison, keyboardist Mike Rojas, and John Carter himself. Johnny’s vocals and acoustic rhythm guitar, and guest vocals by Waylon Jennings on two songs, are all that was saved from the 1993 sessions, cut at LSI studios in Nashville.
In addition to getting the lowdown on Songwriter from John Carter Cash, he showed us some of the iconic guitars—including original Johnny Cash lead guitarist Luther Perkins’ 1953 Fender Esquire and a Martin that was favored by the Man himself—that dwell at the busy private studio. [Go to the video at premierguitar.com for an eyeful.]
Only 44 of these Rosanne Cash signature model OM-28s were made by Martin. John Carter Cash says it’s his favorite guitar to play, and he and house engineer Trey Call attest that it’s probably the most frequently chosen instrument by guests recording in the studio.
Photos by Perry Bean
Only Johnny Cash’s original vocal and guitar tracks, and Waylon Jennings’ performances, were kept from the 1993 sessions. Marty Stuart, Vince Gill, Dave Roe, Dan Auerbach, and others contributed new tracks.
Speaking about Songwriter, John explains, “In some ways, these recordings fell through the cracks. I was in some of the sessions and can hear my guitar on some of the original recordings.” Dave Roe was also on those initial sessions, but he’d just started to play upright bass and didn’t have the finesse he lends to the revamped album.
The idea with Songwriter, John Carter relates, wasn’t to do anything more with the music than make it stronger. His dad was initially unhappy with the overall playing on the LCI recordings. “We didn’t add elements to make it about the ‘now’ or more ‘Americana’ or whatever,” he says.
The amp room at the Cash Cabin studio has some small but potent combo treasures.
Photos by Perry Bean
Nonetheless, Songwriter does take the Cash legacy to some new places, including the realm of psychedelia. Although the song “Drive On,” about a trucker who survived the Vietnam war with internal and exterior scars, was written for the 1993 sessions, it debuted in 1994 as part of the American Recordings album. The Songwriter treatment is radically different, from the panned amp, beating with tremolo, that opens the song to the concluding lysergic odyssey of 6-string provided by John Carter and Roy Orbison’s son, Wesley. It might well appeal to Johnny, who was a musical maverick—insisting that then-controversial figures like Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger, as well as a just-emerging Joni Mitchell and Linda Ronstadt, appear on the ABC network’s The Johnny Cash Show, which aired from 1969 through 1971.
This is June Carter Cash’s piano—an antique Steinway upright that still earns its keep as one of the studio’s active instruments. Nothing in the Cabin is a museum piece.
Photos by Perry Bean
John Carter, who is a singer-songwriter and producer, and is currently at work on his own fourth solo album, notes that the sonically spacious Songwriter opener “Hello Out There” resonates with him most, emotionally, as its lyrics balance the possible end of humanity with a message of hope. But every song on the album brims with empathy and kindness in strong measure. “Like a Soldier,” which blends Johnny’s patented guitar thrum with an introspective story about his battles with addiction, and “She Sang Sweet Baby James,” about a struggling single mother singing the James Taylor song to comfort her infant, are two more examples. And the guitars are always prominent, whether they’re Russ Pahl’s steel providing ambient textures or Marty Stuart’s hard-charging country licks, which breathe fire into the album.
A stained-glass portrait of Mother Maybelle Carter with her autoharp. Mother Maybelle invented a style of guitar playing, where melody was executed on the bass strings and rhythm on the high strings, that influenced Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, and a host of other famed pickers.
Photos by Perry Bean
For Stuart, who toured with Johnny Cash for six years and played on many of the Man in Black’s recordings, the experience of working on the retooled Songwriter, as well as his time with the senior Cash, was “mystical—everything about him was mystical. Even after I left his band, anytime the chief called, I was available. To the day he passed away, he was the boss. So when John Carter called and said he needed guitar on some of his dad’s tracks, I went over there. It’s so natural to hear that voice in the headphones. What I always loved about playing against him is that his voice is like an oak tree. You can put anything you want next to it, and it still stands out.”
From father to son: On his 10th birthday, Johnny Cash drew John Carter Cash this chord diagram for “I Walk the Line.”
Photos by Perry Bean
The exterior of the Cash Cabin—one of the sacred places of American music and still a busy working studio.
Photos by Perry Bean
This 1953 Fender Esquire belonged to Luther Perkins, who was a member of Cash’s first recording bands and played on all of the Man in Black’s foundational recordings for Sun Records—likely with this guitar.
Photos by Perry Bean
Stuart’s instruments of choice for Songwriter were a ’50s Telecaster owned by Clarence White that bears the first B-bender, a 1939 Martin D-45 that Cash used on his ’60s/early ’70s TV show and gifted to Stuart, and a silver-panel Fender Deluxe, in addition to John Carter’s ’59 Les Paul, another of Johnny’s old Martins, and a baritone that resides at the Cabin. And Stuart’s focus was getting back to the template of Cash’s original Tennesse Two and Tennessee Three bands, and the guitar style created by Luther Perkins, Stuart’s first guitar hero. “They had their own language, and it’s a foundational sound inside of me,” he says. “With Johnny’s voice and the thumb of his right hand on the guitar as a guide, that architecture was all there. I heard the album the other day for the first time, and I thought, ‘Man, John Carter and David Ferguson worked their hearts out to honor the real sound.’”
John Carter Cash bought this 1959 Gibson Les Paul at Gruhn’s in Nashville. It has a neck that is atypically slim for its vintage and appears as part of the psychedelic guitar interplay on the Songwriter song “Drive On.”
Photos by Perry Bean
John Carter Cash remembers this Martin 40 H from his childhood as the guitar Johnny kept around the house to play on a whim or when he was chasing a song idea. The year is unknown, but as a guitar that Johnny Cash played, it is priceless.
Photos by Perry Bean
Here’s the headstock of the Stromberg that Mother Maybelle Carter used on the road while touring with Johnny Cash and her daughters. Her main guitar, dating back to the first recordings of country music, which she made as part of the Carter Family, was a Gibson L-5, but she judged this instrument hardier for travel.
Photos by Perry Bean
Fishing was a favorite pastime of the Cash family. This is June Carter Cash’s fishing reel and tackle box—one of the many personal and historic items in the cabin.
Photos by Perry Bean
When Johnny Cash completed his novel about the apostle Paul, titled Man in White, he commemorated the occasion by scratching his initials and the day into the arm of the studio’s rocking chair—his favorite place to sit.
“In so many ways,” John Carter allows, “my father is always with me. People everywhere still love my father’s music. For instance, a 15-year-old kid wrote saying that without the strength through hardship my father expressed in his songs, he would not be alive. So, I think it’s important to support my father’s legacy in the world in which we live.
“My father made a distinction between the business of Johnny Cash and himself,” John Carter notes. “It’s almost like I’ve studied Johnny Cash my whole life, and so I can tie the two together somehow and still go through the healing process of losing a father while embracing him and his work on a level that spreads his music’s joy and brilliance to the world. I believe that his goal for his music and his life was to share with other people out there who connect on a level of the heart.” And that echoes, boldly, throughoutSongwriter.The new destination on Reverb will feature an always-changing collection of new and like-new music gear from top brands for at least 20% off retail prices.
“Outlet music gear is a fantastic value for music makers. Often, it’s brand new overstock or clearance music gear that retailers or brands are simply looking to clear out. Other times, it’s gear that’s been opened, used for a demo, or simply doesn’t have its original box, but is otherwise in like-new condition,” said Jim Tuerk, Reverb’s Director of Business Development. “With the launch of the Reverb Outlet, we’re making it easy to access your favorite brands for less.”
The Reverb Outlet will feature high-quality discounted music gear from Reverb’s community of authorized sellers, ranging from retailers like ProAudioStar and Alto Music to brands like Focusrite and Korg selling discounted items directly to music makers. All of the new and like-new music gear in The Reverb Outlet:
- Is at least 20% off retail prices—but often more
- Is sold by authorized retailers and brands
- Comes with free shipping, and
- Has a minimum 7-day return window.
“With economic pressures making it harder for music makers to invest in music gear, it’s more important than ever that the music-making community has access to affordable musical instruments. We launched the Reverb Outlet to make it easier for music makers to find the best deals on the instruments that will inspire them,” said Reverb CEO David Mandelbrot. “Now that players can shop discounted outlet music gear alongside our huge range of affordable used music gear, it’s easier than ever to find the perfect instrument for your budget.”
Visit the Reverb Outlet today and check back often, as new deals will be added regularly. Please note that as of now, this is available to those in the US only.
For more information, please visit reverb.com.