I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan… (Part 1)

                         STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN part 1

   The first time I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan was on Austin City Limits.  I was hanging out with another guitarist who set up his Fender Stratocaster like SRV and the strings were too thick for me to play.  This was an example of a common obsession-chasing the guitar tone of your favorite guitar god.

     I had met quite a few guitar gods in my day-Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, Peter Green, Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, John Entwhistle, Randy California, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Alan Holdsworth.   But I was afraid to meet Stevie Ray Vaughan.

     SRV did a show at the Moonshadow Saloon in  Atlanta Georgia back in 1983, fresh off his recordings with David Bowie.  He had let the crowd know that no David Bowie tunes would be performed & a few people wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.  This all came to a head halfway into the set during his “Little Wing” solo when he called for security to have some people removed.  You can hear it go down on youtube-”      Stevie Ray Vaughan gets pissed off Atlanta 1984             

      A friend of mine taped the show and apparently approached Stevie Ray with a copy and it didn’t go well.  I never knew what was said but my friend ripped up all his Stevie Ray Vaughan posters when he returned home from the show.                 

       Stevie Ray returned a year later and opened for Hughie Lewis and the News at the Omni in Atlanta and gave the greatest guitar performance I ever saw.  Ever the six string gunslinger, he was determined to turn his guitar into a weapon of mass destruction that could transcend anything a heckler could bring. He played for less than an hour & pulled out all the stops on tunes like “Texas Flood” and “The Things That I Used to Do”, holding the guitar over his shoulder, behind his back and between his legs. 

       Just as important, his voice was integral to his performance.  He was cut from the same cloth as “Heartbreak Hotel” era Elvis, with the same power and charisma.  I’ve seen videos of guitarists playing SRV riffs note  for note in a shopping mall while shoppers walked by, barely noticing.  The complete package was what all the excitement was about.

        When his set was over, what seemed like a mass exodus took place as many spectators left the building.  They had seen enough.

        I did not pull out my acoustic guitar for a week after the show.  When I did, I knew I’d never be able to play like that-who could?  They don’t make guys like that anymore. 

        It did, however, provide the inspiration to go electric and absorb everything I could about this man.  It would be enough for me if I was able to learn “fake book” versions of his catalog and add my own improvisations (I play “Texas Flood,” “Cold Shot,” “Riviera Paradise,” “Lenny,” & “Pride & Joy.)”   I also wanted to own at least one replica of his guitars (I own replica’s of “Number 1”, “Lenny” & “Charlie”).  And I wanted to play live on a stage where he played, in front of people he played with (I sat in with TC Carr & The Catch in front of Buddy Guy at his club “Legend’s” in Chicago.)

         For my next blog, We’ll dive deeper into this obsession.