Lately, my wife and I have been getting into watching Dan Rather’s “The Big Interview,” not just the new ones, but catching up with past episodes as well. A few weeks ago, we watched the Pat Benetar and Neil Giraldo interview. Wow! What a pair! Great parents and of course, super-solid and successful musicians.
At the start of the show, I shared with my wife that Neil was one of my favorite musicians. She asked me if it was because of his guitar technique. But I told her it was partially that (I love his tone and stage presence), but mostly because he was the type of guitarist who played for the song, not for the tricks and flash; something that I’ve always strived to do with my own playing.
At one point in the interview, he mentioned exactly that; that he played for the song, and he wasn’t all that interested in playing screaming solos. Back in the 80’s, I saw Pat Benetar live a few times. Neil was the rock of the band. Just a solid presence. Oh, he could rock, but he was just absolutely solid and always in the pocket. And to hear him share his ethos about guitar playing totally affirmed why I like him so much.
Even playing acoustic guitar, Neil is just solid. Here’s a video of Pat and Neil doing an NPR Tiny Desk session:
I’ve always had an immense admiration for pocket players like Neil Giraldo. Steve Cropper also comes to mind. My thought is that if you play for the song, it just makes that song much better as a whole.
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