NRBQ is a legendary band and Al Anderson is one of the greatest and most versatile guitar players of all time. My band opened for them often in Providence RI where we were based but also in NJ and NYC. We had a killer guitar player at the time and Big Al cornered him in the dressing room after a show and kept poking him in the chest, saying "Who do you think you are?" over and over. The biggest compliment ever. I was playing keys at the time and Terry Adams was adamant after a show a show in NJ telling me how it important it was to bring an acoustic piano to a gig; they always brought his baby grand, unheard of in the day. That was never gonna happen for me... NRBQ and Al Anderson are exceptional musicians who brought so much joy and virtuosity to every gig. They were known among musicians as a musician's band and lived up to it in spectacular ways that kept them true to themselves and their music.
What? How long ago are you talking about? NRBQ'S peak was decades ago. The current iteration with only a couple original members is just a shadow of their former selves; I saw them a couple years ago and they were sloppy and out of time. I also saw Big Al with a band on New Years Eve about 6 or 7 years ago and it was kinda meh; i barely had anything to drink and yet the only thing I particularly remember about the show is that Big Al was playing way too loud and drowning out the rhythm guitarist and the rest of the band (I said something about it to the rhythm guitarist, Jim Chapdelaine, when the band took a break, and he agreed). Whatever spark of originality they once had is long gone, or on vacation.
when they were firing on all cylinders (between 1974-1994) NRBQ were essentially three bands in one. Bassist Joey Spampinato was the central glue, the lead singer and songwriter on most of their songs and brought Power Pop and the solid bass underpinning. Al Anderson's contributions on guitar were broad, immediate and careening magic - with his songwriting getting stronger, he brought the Country. Terry Adams brought off-the-wall folk songs and jazz piano, in addition to his Telecaster-like Clavinet playing. Those three separate but equal singer/songwriters gave NRBQ its diverse variety. When Tommy Ardolino was added on drums, he cemented the strong backbeat and the swing. The interplay between Tommy and Joey locked the groove in solidly. They could be experimental at the edges or take it down into simplicity. Because of this they had off-nights, off-performances, but they also had pretty killer magic when it all clicked, when the band fired on all cylinders. A unique, one-of-a-kind band and maybe the best bar/club band ever (meant in the best possible way).
yeah, my favorite live band. And I never saw them with Al. Turned on to them during the Al era, but didn't see them live until Scott. They are still smokin'.
@@goodun2974 Saw them at their peak. Sometimes they were drunk and it showed but it was always fun. Saw them again in June ( only Terry is still around) and they were pretty tight and we were surprised ( all of us having seen them 6 or 7 times back in the day). Your mileage may vary.
Great video.... He's really somethin'...I played and recorded with him in the Wildweeds when we were with Vanguard in '71...We met NRBQ at Electric Ladyland when working with Eddie Kramer at that time.
I saw Al play a bunch of times in the 1960's in Connecticut band "The Wildweeds". The Wildweeds was one of the top bands in CT at the time and very popular. local radio pushed them big time. In the late 60's I went to John Tirkot Music in Hartford, CT and Al was there. He grabbed a guitar and invited me to play bass with him upstairs in the "amp" room. I was 17 at the time and it was real fun and an amazing experience. A very nice guy.
Pre Al NRBQ is great. My daughter and her friends would sing along to “Kentucky Slop Song” on the way to soccer practice. Big Al came along and burnished their sound and added new capabilities and facets. Tommy Ardolino brought the drum sound that perfected what Terry Adams had striven for. That band was Trancendent!!! Terry’s new lineup is a total pleasure to experience. Scott Ligon is a great ‘keeper of the flame’ and a sensational songwriter. God Bless Terry Adams
I saw NRBQ countless times up here in Western Massachusetts during the 70's. Every band I was ever in has played at least two or three Q songs. The intro to Ridin' In My Car still instantly fills a dance floor. The song my brother and his wife danced to at their wedding was the Q's "I Love Her, She Loves Me." Thanks so much for featuring Big Al!
@@AskZac It was pretty awesome in the 70's in Western Mass. You could often catch NRBQ on, say Friday night, then see J Geils on Saturday night -- in bars.
@@StephenSpelman Stephen I am from Chatham NY where in Mass you from? You remember Woodie's House of Washington? I used to play at the Lion's Den in Stockbridge in the 70s till I moved away for awhile.
@@johnreilly9748 I'm in East Longmeadow now. Grew up in Westfield. Went to UMass, so I got to see bands like Aerosmith (at the Springfield College gym) and the Cars (at the Bell Buoy in Scituate) before they hit it big. NRBQ and J Geils played locally at least twice a month. John Pousette-Dart, too. We've seen him in Northampton at the Iron Horse over the years. He's still an incredible singer and guitar player.
@@StephenSpelman Yeah the Iron Horse great club! I am in southwest Colorado now for almost 4 yrs. Lots of great music in that area. loved the Cars as well!
I worked 2 tours with Al for Carlene Carter, he used the Squier Strat exclusively on the first tour, though the original pickups were replaced with Joe Bardens after the first couple of dates , He did not get the Sadowsky until that tour was over, then it was his main guitar for the second Carlene stint
@@AskZac I do not recall what he started with, but during rehearsal I got fender to do a deal for a Vibro King that lasted the rest of the first tour, after that it's a bit blurry... I do know there was an AC30 in the mix a few times.. I don't recall any pedals being used on either tour...
Back in the mid 80s I lived next door to him. For my fathers birthday one year, his present was to come over with his guitar and amp and just had fun. (I was pretty young and this was almost 40 years ago, so my memory of this is spotty... so I can't say he was the best guitarist I have seen in such a setting. That goes to Brooks Williams. Got to see him in a private session when I was a teenager, so I clearly remember that :D)
his guitar work on scraps, particularly the song magnet, is, coming from a guitar player, not easy to replicate!! his country licks and double stops through are like magic.
I use to be at my cousins house in Windsor, next door to Lepaks ,where The Weeds practiced and became Wildweeds.I had Andy sign a record "someday morning" ,he was drummer at that point, and still in high school with a hit record in charts ,1967. Icould write a book on this stuff.Many great memories!!!
Thank you Zac….so good to see this vid. I’ll share my Big Al tale: late 80’s spent free time at local record stores looking for anything cheap (radio promo) and cool looking….came across a promo of NRBQ’s “ Grooves in Orbit’ and kept it constant play after that….wild guys from another planet…year goes by and my neighborhood friend got accepted to a place called Kenyan College in Ohio and invited me to a weekend party…..beers and all that stuff…loud sound coming from across the lawn and we venture over and it’s NRBQ full force and not many anyone checking it out….I’m go up and right in front of them and it’s surreal…I’m watching this incredible band by myself…Al is cranking riffing madman, Joey full smile and I remember Terry standing on his keyboard playing it backwards…no shit they hand me the ? Box and I pull out ‘Green Grass and High Tides’ by the Outlaws…..I wish I had an IPhone then…..it’s about all I can really say what happened next….again Thank You.
Caught the Q at the bar at Westport Playhouse in the mid70s, and Big Al, Joey and Terry were all playing through amplifiers that looked like those wonderful old Wurlitzer jukeboxes. I never saw them with those amps again. Wonder where they wound up…
It's always great to see the Q getting the recognition they deserve! They've been my favorite band forever and I don't think anyone has had more of an influence on my guitar playing than Al. The craziest thing about the band is that they were all equally as incredible and unique as Al in their own ways and it all just worked together in a way that could never be replicated. I've gotten to meet/play with a few of the members but my coolest Q story was when Al came out to a special new years eve gig my band was doing to sit in with us for a set of all classic Q tunes. After the sound check he asked me to look after the sadowsky tele until we played which was an honor. It was pretty incredible to be standing right next to him playing along and getting to watch him do his thing. Thanks for this video!
@@AskZac Hi Zac. I really enjoyed your video on Big Al Anderson and NRBQ. I didn't know a lot about their music. I checked out your Big Al and NRBQ playlist on Spotify. So many great songs.
He is such a big guy and I like to think he "mauls" the guitar and really does show his mastery by jumping back and forth with dynamics...... and meanwhile he just writes GREAT great songs. Incredible musician. I hope to be able to see him live someday. He still plays in Connecticut every now and then.
I hit like before i even heard a word--hell its Big Al and NRBQ !! I saw them many many times with Al and those are some of my favorite live music memories .
Excellent! Saw the Big Al version of the Q many times. My 80's band The Del-Lords opened for the quite a few times at the Bottom Line in NYC (we were local). Terry liked playing there 'cause they had a great piano. It was an easy gig for the Q to do coming down from various upstate locations. One part of Big Al's amp saga you missed was the Red Knob Twin era! He played one for a while just to quiet the amp nerds. It was an awesome display of "it's in the hands, folks". One of those Bottom Line shows was the first time I saw anybody do Dropped D. Big Al just dropped his low E with his amp up then launched into the song. It was an "aha moment" for sure. Thanks again for another great episode.
@@AskZac very well could have been! David Hidalgo was also known to play the Red Knob Twin game (mostly on fly dates). Somebody should start a Reverb Frenzy on those! ;)
I grew up where they did play Q on the radio, just up the road from Al's home town. I've been a fan since the 70s. I can not tell you how much I enjoyed seeing Big Al get his star turn with Ask Zac. Thanks!
Great overview Zac! Had the pleasure of playing on a record with Big Al awhile back. We tracked two tunes together, him playing a lead on one and me on the other. Below is the one he did his solo on; tracked live on the fly with four of us (drums, bass, two guitars) in the room. Was a jaw dropping moment to be playing with one of my heroes then look over and hear him peel that thing off...; borrowed tele and amp too :). His rhythm playing on the track also has that 'Big Al Bounce' of course. A great thing/what I call the 'Q Pocket'; in between a straight 8th note Chuck Berry feel and a shuffle, with your wisely aforementioned/essential 'squeeze/release' technique. Saw the Q twice with Al in the early '90's, first time with the Paisley Squier Tele and the second with the Wayne's World Strat (brown Super both times). Good to know also about the Roland Space Echo. Was lucky to pick up a killer sounding oxblood '61 exactly like Al's. The amp, and it seems brownface Fenders in general, doesn't seem to sound as good with a pedal board in the loop; either straight in or with an old delay pedal that has a preamp (Space Echo, Deluxe Memory Man, Echoplex, etc) maintains more of that 'brown bandwidth'. Keep up the good work! th-cam.com/video/_0plWiaAesI/w-d-xo.html
When I was a youngster playing in garage bands in Greenwich Connecticut in the late 1960s, the Wildweeds were the top band in the state. I remember Al from then, along with their blind bass player Bobby Dudek.
Big Al kills it on PRETTY THING. I saw them w the Whole Wheat Horns at St Lawrence University (Canton, NY) around the great 'Tiddlywinks' album. I fond memory, that show. So amusing and such a stellar level of roots improv.
I remember hearing “Next big thing “ when it came out and loving the Swagger and Grit it has. You continue to connect the dots and fill in the blanks on all this great music, thanks Zac!
Blowing my own horn department: I jammed with al Anderson when I was around 16 or 17 in new haven at a place called the exit coffee house..I'm proud to say he didn't blow me off the stage..we played a medium tempo blues..he had his roadie bring in his twin and a gold top les Paul ,I had my red plastic hagstrom..we went at it..it was fun..but he wasn't THAT welcoming..but it was cool..people in the place knew I could play a little bit after that..
I started hearing about NRBQ back in 1980, but it was several years before I finally saw them play at the Cabaret in Philly in the late 80's. They knocked me out, and I'm really sorry I never saw them play again while Al was still in the band. An old buddy of mine, the late Jay TenHove, was their sound man for several years into the early 90's I think. Thanks for this video, I've wanted to learn more about him. Though they are ALL great players. They never got the recognition they deserved, beyond their very loyal base, and the community of musicians.
Great job on this Zac! Interestingly enough after years of not using it, Al started playing his old brown Super again this year. The Roland got plugged in again too--beautiful chorus but honestly not ideal for slapback echo. I'm fortunate to be able to drum for Al when he comes to the Northeast--we'll be doing a bunch of gigs in December if anyone's interest has been piqued by Zac's video!
@@AskZac I don't think his site has them listed yet but I know we're playing at Infinity Hall in Hartford on December 16 and 17 and a few other dates too. Really thorough job on this Zac--stuff I didn't know! By the way, if anyone's interested, that half-swung boogie feel that Al does he refers to as the "wobble." I love playing that groove!
Hey Zac....Currently Al's Super has Celestion G10 Alnico Golds. He told me that they've been in the amp for about 5 years. During the NRBQ years he used an earlier model Celestion because in his words the original Fender speakers "didn't last long."
Wow, thanks for the blast from the past! Saw him with NRBQ, tiny club in Malibu, probably 1985. Awesome whackiness, serious talent and energy! I'd never seen nothing like it, nor have I since. The best bar band ever. They should have been packing stadiums, but it wouldn't have been at all the same.
Love that - controlled recklessness. He is a player's player. Don't forget to dig back for the Wildweeds things. And his live show are STILL great. Hometown respect always.
A legend. He sat in with band in NY in the 70s and made my Strat look like a ukulele. In the 80s, he came into the guitar shop where I worked. He had lost 100 pounds. I started calling him "Medium" Al.
Things To You, the Q did it on their own too. Like seeing the Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West ep on the shelf along with the Chris Hillman bio and the Beatles Gear book.
A great episode Zac, thanks. My introduction to Big Al and the Q was the same as yours- the Jennifer Batten issue of Guitar Player and “At Yankee Stadium”. Al’s solos on I Want You Bad from that album still knock me out to this day- mind blowing! Around the same time there was an article in Rolling Stone magazine on the band. It mentioned that a lot of bands played the Woodstock festival and a lot of bands didn’t. But NRBQ are the only band to have played “near” Woodstock! Apparently they had a a gig that weekend that was about 20 miles away. Kind of sums up how they were never quite in the right place at the right time. Whatever, they are a great band and Big Al stands equal to any Telecaster master you care to mention. Thanks again for an excellent video.
Thanks Zac - another great episode. You're right about NRBQ and radio - growing up in Southern California, I only remember hearing "Me and the Boys" and possibly "Ridin' In My Car" on the radio (and probably only on college radio). Big Al has such a unique sound - I love that tuned-down-to-C with tremolo "twangy-bendy" sound that you replicated so well. Gotta dig out my copy of "At Yankee Stadium" (always loved the humor of that - they weren't playing Yankee Stadium, just sitting in it!).
This is such a great informative relaxing channel, I love coming home after a hard day and spending time with Zac!!! Love learning about all these cool people and the history of the telecaster !
I still go to hpb every week and buy old guitar books. It just feels more personal learning from a book than a video millions of other players have watched. I've actually gone to blues jam nights and heard licks i recognized from famous youtubers. I ask them and they say "hey you saw that video too." It's a small world so i try to learn licks and tricks the old fashioned way like our heroes did. That shirt is cool. Very clever.
The funniest Magic Box selection was when Al pulled "Stone Soul Picnic" and refuses to play it. Terry scolds him, "Al, it's from the Magic Box, YOU have to play it!"
Thanks so much for posting this! Love Big Al! One of the most boundary free players I've ever heard. I love the fact that he is totally irreverent in his playing.
Another great episode! Love Big Al's work on the NRBQ tunes from Hal Wilner's compilations... "Whistle While You Work" (from "Stay Awake") and "Little Rootie Tootie" (from "That's The Way I Feel Now") They also appeared on Hal Wilner's "Night Music" program. A truly versatile player and band that could cover every genre. Thanks Zac!
I have been a fan of Al Anderson since the NRBQ Scraps album came out. I met him once in New Haven in 1977 and we shook hands, but he was in a hurry to get the gig one you know. I think my favorite tune and guitar solo of his is "Who Put the Garlic in the Glue?" from Scraps. "Controlled Recklessness" is a fitting description of Big Al's playing sytle. I love that. All the guys in NRBQ are great. Don't forget about Joey Spaminato? He is a wonderful musician and creative force as well, every biyt as much as Terry an Big Al. Speaking of the Fender Super REverb amp, Hughie Thomasson (The Outlaws) used a Super Reverb amp to get his God-Like Strat tone.
Thanks for this ! Second that NRBQ is still a thing. The records with Big Al are what got me hooked on NRBQ but I never had a chance to catch them live until Scott Ligon came in on guitar. Highly recommend catching them if you get a chance. Aside, I grew up South Texas, too. I think I bought my first pedal at Clawsons.
@@AskZac some sort of chorus, can’t recall the brand. Definitely don’t have it today! This would have been in the 1980s. Bought my first electric at Sound Vibrations.
@@AskZac it would be cool to see some of the iconic guitar riffs/solos. Like get rhythm, wild weekend or 12-bar blues. Those guitar parts still slay me to this day and I’ve been a fan a concert goer of NRBQ since 1983 (grooves in orbit-era). Loved the drop-C idea and the staccato rhythm parts. SO COOL!
First album I ever bought was NRBQ and Carl Perkins- "Boppin' The Blues" from 1970. Many years later, I bought another album by them- a UK compilation which kicked off with Twelve Bar Blues- apparently, an alternative take! That was my introduction to Big Al- but not to forget the earlier Telemonster in the band- Steve Ferguson. I seem to recall on his last album with the Q- "Message For The Message" Big Al said he used a Fender Jaguar.
This is great, Zac! Your guitar sounds tremendous as usual. I remember that article, but I had no idea Webb wrote it. That must have been a year or so before I got hip to Webb. : )
Thanks, Otis! Webb, as you know, is a great all around guy, and glad he had his short stint with GP mag. Your recent travel video really got to me. We spend so much time traveling to play an hour or 2 of music.
NRBQ is my all time favorite band. I remember seeing them around Xmas in the late 80's at Stache's and Little Brothers in Columbus, Ohio. Big Al had a Cabbage Patch Kid doll attached to his guitar strap. During one song, we made eye contact and it seemed so absurd to see that big guy with that silly doll on his strap that I started laughing and Big Al cracked up too. Favorite show ever! And Joey is my favorite bass player. I love his crazy walking bass part on "Trouble in the Henhouse," great stuff.
Many years ago I got that Rhino Records NRBQ boxed set and it got me hooked on them. Still have it 😉. Geez Zac! It looks like you and me have the same collections of books and records...🤣 The bouncing left hand trick was something that Carl Perkins used to do and he demonstrated it in the old late ‘80’s special with Harrison, Clapton, Ringo, Dave Edmunds, etc. He said he was trying to get Les Paul’s sound not knowing that he was using echo.
Zac you have one of if not the best guitar centric channels for any music lover to enjoy so thank you and I love this video and always come back to watch from time to time and I wish someone would deep dive into Terry Adams’ clavinet/keys gear, I seen him run it through an old peavey combo I bet there’s a lot to learn with his playing style too anyways thanks for the big al spotlight he rules
Hello Zac, I have never even heard of NRBQ! Will definitely check them out. Regarding Tele players, Eddie Perez of the Mavericks comes to mind for his blistering guitar with this band. Coincidentally they are playing in Nashville on 22nd of January! I'd go and see them myself if I wasn't 3 thousand or so miles away! You should go. Regards. Derek
@@AskZac Would you mind doing some elaboration on that high e "sitar" sound you talked about a few episodes back? I have a 52 AVRI that is doing it but i'm not sure what you meant when you said to file down when you talked about it. Thanks!
@@skrewflanders you must remove the saddle from the guitar, take some smooth grit sandpaper or steel wool, wrap it around the saddle, and twist it around until you smooth it out. This will remove any notches made before, but I find you don't really need them unless you are having trouble with the string traveling on the string.
Spot on. These days Al is using a Stapleton Princeton exactly like yours, he and Chris wrote an album together a couple years back. He’ll mix it with a 68 custom deluxe on bigger stages. He’s also using a Boss BD2 (with all the knobs around 9 o’clock), Dunlop echoplex delay, and of course a waza VB2. Great video!
Hello from South Texas! I am 72 years old - been playing in bands in Texas since the '60's. Did you ever run in to Dave McNair from Corpus and the "Little Ducks From Mars" ?
Al came to a few of our recording sessions in Nashville. It was kinda wild tracking and looking through the control room window and have Big Al watch everything you play. A great memory.
Saw the Wild Weeds many times as a teen then NRBQ and in recent years big Al Anderson and the Floor Models which includes his son and daughter who are excellent musicians
I've seen NRBQ a couple of times when the toured in Europe in the 80s. Such joy. Brownfaced Princetons are great. I have a '61 that I play combined with a blackface one. Harmonic marriage. Sound good enough for me.
Zac Once again thank you for such a great educational presentation on Al Anderson. I knew of him as a songwriter but did not realize what an outstanding guitar player he is. I immediately went to TH-cam and listen to several songs and thoroughly enjoyed each one of them. Thank you for sharing so much of your knowledge. The Esquire sounds great through that Brown Face Princeton !!!!
NRBQ was based in and around my hometown. in the Hudson Valley ,Upstate N.Y. ..from the mid 70's to the mid 90's ,probably their "golden age" Terry, Tommy, Joey and Big Al . saw them many times and crossed paths a few times with them.. Al is the Tele Master.! Good video with a brief history of the band..
Spoke with Joey Spampinato right after one off their gigs. I asked him about the day macca showed up at his house and he pulled his dano bass out of its gig bag and showed me where Macca signed it , "to Giaseppe".
This is so cool, thank you, Zac! Huge Q and Al fan here, also a picker. I think Al might be thought of as a Tele guy but man, through all the 70s and probably 1000s of shows he tore that gold top w/ P90s (and a twin), apart! The more I listen to live Q-boots, more I really think of Al as a P90 guy who made his way to Tele's. Fact is I guess, Al always sounds like Al regardless the guit-box! Personally my fav era guitar tones from Al were w/ the 52' re-issue into the Super which he had a pair of JBL D110s in. A super revealing and unforgiving speaker that when I've used (w/ anything besides pedal steel) I've always sounded like ass through! Btw the Sadowski did show up during his late Q years and THAT guitar he also really made sing. And yeah!? Is there a greasier rhythm guitarist?! Thank you again for this, Zac.
Another great episode! Since I’m from the West Coast, I didn’t get to hear NRBQ until long after I’d heard of them-I don’t think they got out here much in the early days. I finally saw them in maybe 1990 or ‘91, opening for Bonnie Raitt at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA. Not the best kind of venue to hear NRBQ-I’d love to have heard them in a club. Big Al’s a monster player! Now I might have to get me a vibrato pedal...I’ll probably wind up getting some sort of multi-effect that has that function, as I need tremolo too, and some kind of Leslie simulator. (In the mid-‘70s I had a real one, a Fender Vibratone and a Music Man 410-HD amp.)
My dream - never to come true - was to have NRBQ host an after-hours "Forbidden pleasures" session at Ottawa Bluesfest, where any of the performers at the festival could come up and perform a song they loved but had always been either embarrassed to admit, or else were coached to avoid it as potentially damaging their image. And quite frankly, Al, Terry and the boys could have handled it, whether it was a Stooges tune, "Last Train to Clarksville", or "Climb Every Mountain". The great thing about musicians as superbly flexible and versatile as Al and Terry is that they simply erase the borders between music genres. It's all just...music. As an aside, when our eldest, now 35, was a preschooler one of his favorite tunes was NRBQ's "Captain Lou".
The Carpenters use to play "And When She Smiles" live. Joey played one of Clapton's blue shows in England. Paul McCartney sent a limo to pick up Joey and Skeeter to take them to his house. They ended up jamming.
![NRBQ - Crazy Like a Fox + I Want You to Feel Good Too [1988]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/p-6qGgL7kyk/mqdefault.jpg)
NRBQ is a legendary band and Al Anderson is one of the greatest and most versatile guitar players of all time. My band opened for them often in Providence RI where we were based but also in NJ and NYC. We had a killer guitar player at the time and Big Al cornered him in the dressing room after a show and kept poking him in the chest, saying "Who do you think you are?" over and over. The biggest compliment ever. I was playing keys at the time and Terry Adams was adamant after a show a show in NJ telling me how it important it was to bring an acoustic piano to a gig; they always brought his baby grand, unheard of in the day. That was never gonna happen for me... NRBQ and Al Anderson are exceptional musicians who brought so much joy and virtuosity to every gig. They were known among musicians as a musician's band and lived up to it in spectacular ways that kept them true to themselves and their music.
Thanks for sharing, Rich!
NRBQ is the tightest band I've ever seen. They literally levitate the room
What? How long ago are you talking about? NRBQ'S peak was decades ago. The current iteration with only a couple original members is just a shadow of their former selves; I saw them a couple years ago and they were sloppy and out of time. I also saw Big Al with a band on New Years Eve about 6 or 7 years ago and it was kinda meh; i barely had anything to drink and yet the only thing I particularly remember about the show is that Big Al was playing way too loud and drowning out the rhythm guitarist and the rest of the band (I said something about it to the rhythm guitarist, Jim Chapdelaine, when the band took a break, and he agreed). Whatever spark of originality they once had is long gone, or on vacation.
when they were firing on all cylinders (between 1974-1994) NRBQ were essentially three bands in one. Bassist Joey Spampinato was the central glue, the lead singer and songwriter on most of their songs and brought Power Pop and the solid bass underpinning. Al Anderson's contributions on guitar were broad, immediate and careening magic - with his songwriting getting stronger, he brought the Country. Terry Adams brought off-the-wall folk songs and jazz piano, in addition to his Telecaster-like Clavinet playing. Those three separate but equal singer/songwriters gave NRBQ its diverse variety.
When Tommy Ardolino was added on drums, he cemented the strong backbeat and the swing. The interplay between Tommy and Joey locked the groove in solidly.
They could be experimental at the edges or take it down into simplicity. Because of this they had off-nights, off-performances, but they also had pretty killer magic when it all clicked, when the band fired on all cylinders.
A unique, one-of-a-kind band and maybe the best bar/club band ever (meant in the best possible way).
yeah, my favorite live band. And I never saw them with Al. Turned on to them during the Al era, but didn't see them live until Scott. They are still smokin'.
@@goodun2974 Saw them at their peak. Sometimes they were drunk and it showed but it was always fun. Saw them again in June ( only Terry is still around) and they were pretty tight and we were surprised ( all of us having seen them 6 or 7 times back in the day). Your mileage may vary.
Great video.... He's really somethin'...I played and recorded with him in the Wildweeds when we were with Vanguard in '71...We met NRBQ at Electric Ladyland when working with Eddie Kramer at that time.
I saw Al play a bunch of times in the 1960's in Connecticut band "The Wildweeds". The Wildweeds was one of the top bands in CT at the time and very popular. local radio pushed them big time. In the late 60's I went to John Tirkot Music in Hartford, CT and Al was there. He grabbed a guitar and invited me to play bass with him upstairs in the "amp" room. I was 17 at the time and it was real fun and an amazing experience. A very nice guy.
Pre Al NRBQ is great. My daughter and her friends would sing along to “Kentucky Slop Song” on the way to soccer practice.
Big Al came along and burnished their sound and added new capabilities and facets.
Tommy Ardolino brought the drum sound that perfected what Terry Adams had striven for.
That band was Trancendent!!!
Terry’s new lineup is a total pleasure to experience. Scott Ligon is a great ‘keeper of the flame’ and a sensational songwriter.
God Bless Terry Adams
I saw NRBQ countless times up here in Western Massachusetts during the 70's. Every band I was ever in has played at least two or three Q songs. The intro to Ridin' In My Car still instantly fills a dance floor. The song my brother and his wife danced to at their wedding was the Q's "I Love Her, She Loves Me." Thanks so much for featuring Big Al!
That is awesome! I wish I had grown up there.
@@AskZac It was pretty awesome in the 70's in Western Mass. You could often catch NRBQ on, say Friday night, then see J Geils on Saturday night -- in bars.
@@StephenSpelman Stephen I am from Chatham NY where in Mass you from? You remember Woodie's House of Washington? I used to play at the Lion's Den in Stockbridge in the 70s till I moved away for awhile.
@@johnreilly9748 I'm in East Longmeadow now. Grew up in Westfield. Went to UMass, so I got to see bands like Aerosmith (at the Springfield College gym) and the Cars (at the Bell Buoy in Scituate) before they hit it big. NRBQ and J Geils played locally at least twice a month. John Pousette-Dart, too. We've seen him in Northampton at the Iron Horse over the years. He's still an incredible singer and guitar player.
@@StephenSpelman Yeah the Iron Horse great club! I am in southwest Colorado now for almost 4 yrs. Lots of great music in that area. loved the Cars as well!
Steve Ferguson is amazing as well. Shared the bill with him in Louisville.
The thing about Al’s rhythm that makes it so hard to replicate is that it is somehow right between a straight 4/4 and a shuffle
I worked 2 tours with Al for Carlene Carter, he used the Squier Strat exclusively on the first tour, though the original pickups were replaced with Joe Bardens after the first couple of dates , He did not get the Sadowsky until that tour was over, then it was his main guitar for the second Carlene stint
Thank you for sharing!
Which amp did he use, and effects?
@@AskZac I do not recall what he started with, but during rehearsal I got fender to do a deal for a Vibro King that lasted the rest of the first tour, after that it's a bit blurry... I do know there was an AC30 in the mix a few times.. I don't recall any pedals being used on either tour...
Back in the mid 80s I lived next door to him. For my fathers birthday one year, his present was to come over with his guitar and amp and just had fun. (I was pretty young and this was almost 40 years ago, so my memory of this is spotty... so I can't say he was the best guitarist I have seen in such a setting. That goes to Brooks Williams. Got to see him in a private session when I was a teenager, so I clearly remember that :D)
his guitar work on scraps, particularly the song magnet, is, coming from a guitar player, not easy to replicate!! his country licks and double stops through are like magic.
I use to be at my cousins house in Windsor, next door to Lepaks ,where The Weeds practiced and became Wildweeds.I had Andy sign a record "someday morning" ,he was drummer at that point, and still in high school with a hit record in charts ,1967. Icould write a book on this stuff.Many great memories!!!
Thank you Zac….so good to see this vid. I’ll share my Big Al tale: late 80’s spent free time at local record stores looking for anything cheap (radio promo) and cool looking….came across a promo of NRBQ’s “ Grooves in Orbit’ and kept it constant play after that….wild guys from another planet…year goes by and my neighborhood friend got accepted to a place called Kenyan College in Ohio and invited me to a weekend party…..beers and all that stuff…loud sound coming from across the lawn and we venture over and it’s NRBQ full force and not many anyone checking it out….I’m go up and right in front of them and it’s surreal…I’m watching this incredible band by myself…Al is cranking riffing madman, Joey full smile and I remember Terry standing on his keyboard playing it backwards…no shit they hand me the ? Box and I pull out ‘Green Grass and High Tides’ by the Outlaws…..I wish I had an IPhone then…..it’s about all I can really say what happened next….again Thank You.
Toads Place New Haven CT early mid 80's good times.
Caught the Q at the bar at Westport Playhouse in the mid70s, and Big Al, Joey and Terry were all playing through amplifiers that looked like those wonderful old Wurlitzer jukeboxes. I never saw them with those amps again. Wonder where they wound up…
It's always great to see the Q getting the recognition they deserve! They've been my favorite band forever and I don't think anyone has had more of an influence on my guitar playing than Al. The craziest thing about the band is that they were all equally as incredible and unique as Al in their own ways and it all just worked together in a way that could never be replicated. I've gotten to meet/play with a few of the members but my coolest Q story was when Al came out to a special new years eve gig my band was doing to sit in with us for a set of all classic Q tunes. After the sound check he asked me to look after the sadowsky tele until we played which was an honor. It was pretty incredible to be standing right next to him playing along and getting to watch him do his thing. Thanks for this video!
What an experience!
@@AskZac Hi Zac. I really enjoyed your video on Big Al Anderson and NRBQ. I didn't know a lot about their music. I checked out your Big Al and NRBQ playlist on Spotify. So many great songs.
He is such a big guy and I like to think he "mauls" the guitar and really does show his mastery by jumping back and forth with dynamics...... and meanwhile he just writes GREAT great songs. Incredible musician. I hope to be able to see him live someday. He still plays in Connecticut every now and then.
Al Anderson is such an inspiration, my guitar teacher and I are currently working on three of his songs. His phrasing is impeccable.
I hit like before i even heard a word--hell its Big Al and NRBQ !! I saw them many many times with Al and those are some of my favorite live music memories .
From SPFLD MA . I love NRBQ .as a kid it seemed like they were playing near by every year.
NRBQ used do a day-after-Thanksgiving show at Toad's Place in New Haven.
Amazing!
Excellent! Saw the Big Al version of the Q many times. My 80's band The Del-Lords opened for the quite a few times at the Bottom Line in NYC (we were local). Terry liked playing there 'cause they had a great piano. It was an easy gig for the Q to do coming down from various upstate locations. One part of Big Al's amp saga you missed was the Red Knob Twin era! He played one for a while just to quiet the amp nerds. It was an awesome display of "it's in the hands, folks". One of those Bottom Line shows was the first time I saw anybody do Dropped D. Big Al just dropped his low E with his amp up then launched into the song. It was an "aha moment" for sure. Thanks again for another great episode.
Was that during the Squier Strat time?
@@AskZac very well could have been! David Hidalgo was also known to play the Red Knob Twin game (mostly on fly dates). Somebody should start a Reverb Frenzy on those! ;)
I grew up where they did play Q on the radio, just up the road from Al's home town. I've been a fan since the 70s. I can not tell you how much I enjoyed seeing Big Al get his star turn with Ask Zac. Thanks!
This is your best episode yet! Thank you for shining a light on this super important master of the telecaster
Great overview Zac! Had the pleasure of playing on a record with Big Al awhile back. We tracked two tunes together, him playing a lead on one and me on the other. Below is the one he did his solo on; tracked live on the fly with four of us (drums, bass, two guitars) in the room. Was a jaw dropping moment to be playing with one of my heroes then look over and hear him peel that thing off...; borrowed tele and amp too :). His rhythm playing on the track also has that 'Big Al Bounce' of course. A great thing/what I call the 'Q Pocket'; in between a straight 8th note Chuck Berry feel and a shuffle, with your wisely aforementioned/essential 'squeeze/release' technique. Saw the Q twice with Al in the early '90's, first time with the Paisley Squier Tele and the second with the Wayne's World Strat (brown Super both times). Good to know also about the Roland Space Echo. Was lucky to pick up a killer sounding oxblood '61 exactly like Al's. The amp, and it seems brownface Fenders in general, doesn't seem to sound as good with a pedal board in the loop; either straight in or with an old delay pedal that has a preamp (Space Echo, Deluxe Memory Man, Echoplex, etc) maintains more of that 'brown bandwidth'. Keep up the good work!
th-cam.com/video/_0plWiaAesI/w-d-xo.html
Love big Al and his writing and his band truly one of the finest ever
Saw Al and his band play last month in Connecticut. I first saw Al with NRBQ in the ,mid-70's and saw them dozens of times. An amazing player!
NRBQ at the Shaboo Inn oh ya! The 70s!
Yep, saw Big Al and the Floor Models playing at The Kate. GREAT show.
When I was a youngster playing in garage bands in Greenwich Connecticut in the late 1960s, the Wildweeds were the top band in the state. I remember Al from then, along with their blind bass player Bobby Dudek.
Ferguson-Big Al-Johnny Spampinato-Scott Ligon. Lot of greats have sat in that chair.
BTW : if you like NRBQ check out The Incredible Casuals. You won’t be disappointed.
th-cam.com/video/sskGcNE9UOE/w-d-xo.html
@@imnotfishingand the Chandler Travis Philharmonic. He’s the king of the world.
One of the best bands in rock and roll history.
Big Al kills it on PRETTY THING. I saw them w the Whole Wheat Horns at St Lawrence University (Canton, NY) around the great 'Tiddlywinks' album. I fond memory, that show. So amusing and such a stellar level of roots improv.
Al was a mentor of mine, this guy is pretty spot on
I remember hearing “Next big thing “ when it came out and loving the Swagger and Grit it has. You continue to connect the dots and fill in the blanks on all this great music, thanks Zac!
Blowing my own horn department:
I jammed with al Anderson when I was around 16 or 17 in new haven at a place called the exit coffee house..I'm proud to say he didn't blow me off the stage..we played a medium tempo blues..he had his roadie bring in his twin and a gold top les Paul ,I had my red plastic hagstrom..we went at it..it was fun..but he wasn't THAT welcoming..but it was cool..people in the place knew I could play a little bit after that..
I started hearing about NRBQ back in 1980, but it was several years before I finally saw them play at the Cabaret in Philly in the late 80's. They knocked me out, and I'm really sorry I never saw them play again while Al was still in the band. An old buddy of mine, the late Jay TenHove, was their sound man for several years into the early 90's I think. Thanks for this video, I've wanted to learn more about him. Though they are ALL great players. They never got the recognition they deserved, beyond their very loyal base, and the community of musicians.
Great job on this Zac! Interestingly enough after years of not using it, Al started playing his old brown Super again this year. The Roland got plugged in again too--beautiful chorus but honestly not ideal for slapback echo. I'm fortunate to be able to drum for Al when he comes to the Northeast--we'll be doing a bunch of gigs in December if anyone's interest has been piqued by Zac's video!
Wow! Love your work with Duke and others. I am guessing the dates will be on Al's site?
@@AskZac I don't think his site has them listed yet but I know we're playing at Infinity Hall in Hartford on December 16 and 17 and a few other dates too. Really thorough job on this Zac--stuff I didn't know! By the way, if anyone's interested, that half-swung boogie feel that Al does he refers to as the "wobble." I love playing that groove!
@@lorneentress2251 if you don't mind me asking, what speakers does he have in his Brown Super? Always been curious.
@@AskZac I'd be happy to look and take a photo the next time we rehearse.
Hey Zac....Currently Al's Super has Celestion G10 Alnico Golds. He told me that they've been in the amp for about 5 years. During the NRBQ years he used an earlier model Celestion because in his words the original Fender speakers "didn't last long."
Wow, thanks for the blast from the past! Saw him with NRBQ, tiny club in Malibu, probably 1985. Awesome whackiness, serious talent and energy! I'd never seen nothing like it, nor have I since. The best bar band ever. They should have been packing stadiums, but it wouldn't have been at all the same.
Love that - controlled recklessness. He is a player's player. Don't forget to dig back for the Wildweeds things. And his live show are STILL great. Hometown respect always.
A legend. He sat in with band in NY in the 70s and made my Strat look like a ukulele. In the 80s, he came into the guitar shop where I worked. He had lost 100 pounds. I started calling him "Medium" Al.
Jealous of your NYC experiences!
@@AskZac As I am of some of your Nashville ones ;-)
Things To You, the Q did it on their own too. Like seeing the Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West ep on the shelf along with the Chris Hillman bio and the Beatles Gear book.
A great episode Zac, thanks. My introduction to Big Al and the Q was the same as yours- the Jennifer Batten issue of Guitar Player and “At Yankee Stadium”. Al’s solos on I Want You Bad from that album still knock me out to this day- mind blowing! Around the same time there was an article in Rolling Stone magazine on the band. It mentioned that a lot of bands played the Woodstock festival and a lot of bands didn’t. But NRBQ are the only band to have played “near” Woodstock! Apparently they had a a gig that weekend that was about 20 miles away. Kind of sums up how they were never quite in the right place at the right time. Whatever, they are a great band and Big Al stands equal to any Telecaster master you care to mention. Thanks again for an excellent video.
The Replacements sent me here!
Excellent homage to a very deserving talent; thanks again for all your hard work, Zac.
Thanks for covering Big Al! Have listened since getting NRBQ live at Yankee Stadium years ago. His parlor session on YT is great.
Cool!
It’s always amazing to wait for intro with this transparent sound and nice ideas
Thanks Zac - another great episode. You're right about NRBQ and radio - growing up in Southern California, I only remember hearing "Me and the Boys" and possibly "Ridin' In My Car" on the radio (and probably only on college radio). Big Al has such a unique sound - I love that tuned-down-to-C with tremolo "twangy-bendy" sound that you replicated so well. Gotta dig out my copy of "At Yankee Stadium" (always loved the humor of that - they weren't playing Yankee Stadium, just sitting in it!).
Thanks, John.
I just recently discovered Big Al and he's da bom!
This is such a great informative relaxing channel, I love coming home after a hard day and spending time with Zac!!! Love learning about all these cool people and the history of the telecaster !
Thanks, Frankie!
Thanks for the fantastic playlist!
Glad you like it!
Just recently came across NRBQ on TH-cam. Love them.
Saw those guys in Saugerties NY in the 80s but they played lots of small joints in the Hudson Valley area of NY. Definitely an interesting live act.
I still go to hpb every week and buy old guitar books. It just feels more personal learning from a book than a video millions of other players have watched. I've actually gone to blues jam nights and heard licks i recognized from famous youtubers. I ask them and they say "hey you saw that video too." It's a small world so i try to learn licks and tricks the old fashioned way like our heroes did. That shirt is cool. Very clever.
I was at the last show Big Al played with NRBQ in New Paltz, NY . I used to see them at Bearsville theatre as well. Always a good time seeing the Q!
I too discovered Big Al in the early 90’s. Been hooked ever since. Great content as always.
Awesome! Thank you!
I was told Al contacted the manager of my (by then disbanded) band to be his backing band after hearing a live tape. Was never able to verify it.
The funniest Magic Box selection was when Al pulled "Stone Soul Picnic" and refuses to play it. Terry scolds him, "Al, it's from the Magic Box, YOU have to play it!"
Thanks so much for posting this! Love Big Al! One of the most boundary free players I've ever heard. I love the fact that he is totally irreverent in his playing.
Another great episode! Love Big Al's work on the NRBQ tunes from Hal Wilner's compilations... "Whistle While You Work" (from "Stay Awake") and "Little Rootie Tootie" (from "That's The Way I Feel Now") They also appeared on Hal Wilner's "Night Music" program. A truly versatile player and band that could cover every genre. Thanks Zac!
Your channel is so interesting. You lead me to so much great music. This was one of your best videos yet.
So glad!
I have been a fan of Al Anderson since the NRBQ Scraps album came out.
I met him once in New Haven in 1977 and we shook hands, but he was in a hurry to get the gig one you know.
I think my favorite tune and guitar solo of his is "Who Put the Garlic in the Glue?" from Scraps.
"Controlled Recklessness" is a fitting description of Big Al's playing sytle. I love that.
All the guys in NRBQ are great. Don't forget about Joey Spaminato? He is a wonderful musician and creative force as well, every biyt as much as Terry an Big Al.
Speaking of the Fender Super REverb amp, Hughie Thomasson (The Outlaws) used a Super Reverb amp to get his God-Like Strat tone.
That rig sounds outrageous!
I saw Big Al in NRBQ in New Haven Ct. They opened for Billy Preston who opened for Deep Purple.
Thanks for this ! Second that NRBQ is still a thing. The records with Big Al are what got me hooked on NRBQ but I never had a chance to catch them live until Scott Ligon came in on guitar. Highly recommend catching them if you get a chance.
Aside, I grew up South Texas, too. I think I bought my first pedal at Clawsons.
What pedal was it?
@@AskZac some sort of chorus, can’t recall the brand. Definitely don’t have it today! This would have been in the 1980s. Bought my first electric at Sound Vibrations.
Love the Big Al and NRBQ history. Great job!
Thanks a bunch!
Love Big Al, and NRBQ. Great stuff Zac!
One of those heard of them but don't remember them things.
Thanks for the history lesson, Zac.
NRBQ RULEZ. Saw them every time they passed through town. Big Al is an amazing axesmith. Great 👍 video.
Very cool!
@@AskZac it would be cool to see some of the iconic guitar riffs/solos. Like get rhythm, wild weekend or 12-bar blues. Those guitar parts still slay me to this day and I’ve been a fan a concert goer of NRBQ since 1983 (grooves in orbit-era). Loved the drop-C idea and the staccato rhythm parts. SO COOL!
NRBQ!!! Ive been following the Q since 67 in miami. Pre Al
First album I ever bought was NRBQ and Carl Perkins- "Boppin' The Blues" from 1970. Many years later, I bought another album by them- a UK compilation which kicked off with Twelve Bar Blues- apparently, an alternative take! That was my introduction to Big Al- but not to forget the earlier Telemonster in the band- Steve Ferguson. I seem to recall on his last album with the Q- "Message For The Message" Big Al said he used a Fender Jaguar.
This is great, Zac! Your guitar sounds tremendous as usual.
I remember that article, but I had no idea Webb wrote it. That must have been a year or so before I got hip to Webb. : )
Thanks, Otis! Webb, as you know, is a great all around guy, and glad he had his short stint with GP mag. Your recent travel video really got to me. We spend so much time traveling to play an hour or 2 of music.
NRBQ is my all time favorite band. I remember seeing them around Xmas in the late 80's at Stache's and Little Brothers in Columbus, Ohio. Big Al had a Cabbage Patch Kid doll attached to his guitar strap. During one song, we made eye contact and it seemed so absurd to see that big guy with that silly doll on his strap that I started laughing and Big Al cracked up too. Favorite show ever! And Joey is my favorite bass player. I love his crazy walking bass part on "Trouble in the Henhouse," great stuff.
Thanks for grabbing the Stapleton Princeton! Looking forward to the review.
Many years ago I got that Rhino Records NRBQ boxed set and it got me hooked on them. Still have it 😉. Geez Zac! It looks like you and me have the same collections of books and records...🤣
The bouncing left hand trick was something that Carl Perkins used to do and he demonstrated it in the old late ‘80’s special with Harrison, Clapton, Ringo, Dave Edmunds, etc. He said he was trying to get Les Paul’s sound not knowing that he was using echo.
I have seen Burton do that trick too
Zac you have one of if not the best guitar centric channels for any music lover to enjoy so thank you and I love this video and always come back to watch from time to time and I wish someone would deep dive into Terry Adams’ clavinet/keys gear, I seen him run it through an old peavey combo I bet there’s a lot to learn with his playing style too anyways thanks for the big al spotlight he rules
Hello Zac, I have never even heard of NRBQ! Will definitely check them out. Regarding Tele players, Eddie Perez of the Mavericks comes to mind for his blistering guitar with this band. Coincidentally they are playing in Nashville on 22nd of January! I'd go and see them myself if I wasn't 3 thousand or so miles away! You should go. Regards. Derek
Very nic. Thanks!
Love discovering new music, thank you for turning me onto their stuff!
Welcome!
@@AskZac Would you mind doing some elaboration on that high e "sitar" sound you talked about a few episodes back? I have a 52 AVRI that is doing it but i'm not sure what you meant when you said to file down when you talked about it. Thanks!
@@skrewflanders you must remove the saddle from the guitar, take some smooth grit sandpaper or steel wool, wrap it around the saddle, and twist it around until you smooth it out. This will remove any notches made before, but I find you don't really need them unless you are having trouble with the string traveling on the string.
@@AskZac Thank you so much I will give that a try!
Spot on. These days Al is using a Stapleton Princeton exactly like yours, he and Chris wrote an album together a couple years back. He’ll mix it with a 68 custom deluxe on bigger stages. He’s also using a Boss BD2 (with all the knobs around 9 o’clock), Dunlop echoplex delay, and of course a waza VB2. Great video!
Thanks for the info! Seems I am on the right trail!
Hello from South Texas! I am 72 years old - been playing in bands in Texas since the '60's. Did you ever run in to Dave McNair from Corpus and the "Little Ducks From Mars" ?
I did not. Cool name!
Great artist! One of the funniest guys I ever met. So glad to see this.
Al came to a few of our recording sessions in Nashville. It was kinda wild tracking and looking through the control room window and have Big Al watch everything you play. A great memory.
Joey and my bass player Billy Fritzius were friends. Seeing them and hanging out was a riot. Their humor rock solid playing was quite entertaining.
Love Big Al!!! Thanks Zac! Scraps was a life changer for me musically. Jimmy Eppard told me to go and get it back in 1990
⚓️ Thanks Zac 😎
Saw the Wild Weeds many times as a teen then NRBQ and in recent years big Al Anderson and the Floor Models which includes his son and daughter who are excellent musicians
I've seen NRBQ a couple of times when the toured in Europe in the 80s. Such joy.
Brownfaced Princetons are great. I have a '61 that I play combined with a blackface one. Harmonic marriage. Sound good enough for me.
I still think “No Time to Cry” is the best single to ever come out of Connecticut. Not sayin’ much, but I love it!
No Good To Cry
Don’t you be dissin’ CT.
@@maureenreagan9544 Ok. I love Jon Brian, too. That’s about it.
Zac
Once again thank you for such a great educational presentation on Al Anderson. I knew of him as a songwriter but did not realize what an outstanding guitar player he is. I immediately went to TH-cam and listen to several songs and thoroughly enjoyed each one of them. Thank you for sharing so much of your knowledge. The Esquire sounds great through that Brown Face Princeton !!!!
Thank you so much, Lonnie!
NRBQ was based in and around my hometown. in the Hudson Valley ,Upstate N.Y. ..from the mid 70's to the mid 90's ,probably their "golden age" Terry, Tommy, Joey and Big Al . saw them many times and crossed paths a few times with them.. Al is the Tele Master.! Good video with a brief history of the band..
Basically from Hartford County all of them.
AL is from Windsor,ct.
Spoke with Joey Spampinato right after one off their gigs. I asked him about the day macca showed up at his house and he pulled his dano bass out of its gig bag and showed me where Macca signed it , "to Giaseppe".
Episode 99, and rollin' along mighty fine.
Thanks, Dennis!
This is so cool, thank you, Zac! Huge Q and Al fan here, also a picker. I think Al might be thought of as a Tele guy but man, through all the 70s and probably 1000s of shows he tore that gold top w/ P90s (and a twin), apart! The more I listen to live Q-boots, more I really think of Al as a P90 guy who made his way to Tele's. Fact is I guess, Al always sounds like Al regardless the guit-box! Personally my fav era guitar tones from Al were w/ the 52' re-issue into the Super which he had a pair of JBL D110s in. A super revealing and unforgiving speaker that when I've used (w/ anything besides pedal steel) I've always sounded like ass through! Btw the Sadowski did show up during his late Q years and THAT guitar he also really made sing. And yeah!? Is there a greasier rhythm guitarist?! Thank you again for this, Zac.
I come here for the Tele info and knowledge and I leave having discovered all sorts of other great things. Always really interesting and informative.
Thanks!
Another great episode! Since I’m from the West Coast, I didn’t get to hear NRBQ until long after I’d heard of them-I don’t think they got out here much in the early days. I finally saw them in maybe 1990 or ‘91, opening for Bonnie Raitt at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA. Not the best kind of venue to hear NRBQ-I’d love to have heard them in a club. Big Al’s a monster player! Now I might have to get me a vibrato pedal...I’ll probably wind up getting some sort of multi-effect that has that function, as I need tremolo too, and some kind of Leslie simulator. (In the mid-‘70s I had a real one, a Fender Vibratone and a Music Man 410-HD amp.)
I used to see advertisements for NRBQ listed in the providence area back in the late 70s. Never did I see a show.
Telemeister 4 sure! Loved your Vibrato riff. Need more Tele! Thanks for sharing Zac.
You got it!
My dream - never to come true - was to have NRBQ host an after-hours "Forbidden pleasures" session at Ottawa Bluesfest, where any of the performers at the festival could come up and perform a song they loved but had always been either embarrassed to admit, or else were coached to avoid it as potentially damaging their image. And quite frankly, Al, Terry and the boys could have handled it, whether it was a Stooges tune, "Last Train to Clarksville", or "Climb Every Mountain".
The great thing about musicians as superbly flexible and versatile as Al and Terry is that they simply erase the borders between music genres. It's all just...music.
As an aside, when our eldest, now 35, was a preschooler one of his favorite tunes was NRBQ's "Captain Lou".
Very cool, Mark. Love Captain Lou too!
used to see NRBQ at the Nick here in RI
Commenting for the algorithm in case it helps this time…but I’m sure I’ll have a question soon! Good stuff.
Beautiful 62 Princeton
The Carpenters use to play "And When She Smiles" live. Joey played one of Clapton's blue shows in England. Paul McCartney sent a limo to pick up Joey and Skeeter to take them to his house. They ended up jamming.