I'm sitting on an offer to play in a band whose set list will be mostly all Rolling Stones and some Black Crowes. I really dig the Stones and Keef for sure...the crowes are alright and some of their tunes are fine I guess.

There's already a guit player lined up who has the Keef stuff down, and he's got a lineup of guitars to cover all the open tunings.

I guess that makes me Ron Wood/Mick Taylor/Brian Jones? And whoever the lead player in the crowes is. That's cool by me.

My main Q is did Woody play in open tunings as well? I'm aware of Taylor's open tuning and slide prowess but I need to bone up on the actual "second" guitar stuff...leads and whatnot.

I'm planning on just plowing forward with my Dr.Z Rt66 and Tele. I'll use the Rev Jetstream some too, but I'm thinking of saving up for a LP of some type (Greco, Tokai, Orville, etc.)

I played a bit of an audition gig with the boys and the Red Snapper (thanks again Dan!) seemed to work very well for this material.

If I do this, it will be the first straight ahead rock band I've ever played in. I've really only played in country bands or soul/R&B/Blues bands. But over the years I've played tunes like these at some point.

Any pointers from all you Stones/Keef experts...or Crowes experts too? Even though I don't know them as well, I'd still like to do a respectable job on the Crowes material.

A lot of the Crowes stuff is in open E. I think Woody plays in this tuning a lot too, as well as standard tuning. I don't know about specifics on particular songs though. Then again, neither do the Stones! Woody plays a strat in a lot of the pics I've seen. You could probably cover the gig with a guitar in open D, capoed up to E if needed, one in open G, and one in standard.

Go Becka !!! you lucky basssstud.....

That was always my favorite stuff to play live in bars ....

to be honest, screw the tunings, the audience could care less - Stones stuff is party music big sloppy fun --- get as close as you can , but Stones in a bar is more about attitude and energy than tunings...... most of it can be covered in standard tunings and then you can spend your time having fun which is point anyway....

That sounds like a fun type of gig! Is it a pretty much note-for-note type of set? Or, is there some wiggle room?
Here's a couple of things that may help for both bands' material.

Both bands use similar tones and equipment. Lots of different Guitars, Amps, etc. But, I bet you will sound really good through the Dr. Z. But if you want to try and do it all, 3 or 4 different guitars might be very helpful.

A High-Strung acoustic might be nice. Although, the other guitarist may already have that covered. But yeah, you can use Standard Tuning for just about everything.

Here's a tip from a friend of mine:

From Standard Tuning, just drop your High E String down to D. This gives you the top 4 Strings of Open G, and keeps the Lower Strings all in familiar territory. Kind of an "On The Fly Open G" thing.

Keith is the one who seems to drive the Grooves. It seems like HE sets the Groove, and Charlie follows, and then Bill and Ron. This helps to give them a really unique feel.When they had Mick Taylor, they seemed to be more on edge. But, that's just me over-thinking. I think.

The Crowes seem to follow a similar method of working. Seems like Rich Robinson writes the Riffs, and Chris writes the Lyrics. They don't have the same Groove as the Stones. But, they have also gone through a few different phases. So, I would just try listening to as much of all of their CDs as possible. Just to get really familiar with them.

To hear Rich really clearly, check out "Shake Your Money Maker". My favorite Crowes CD is "Southern Harmony And Music Companion". REALLY like Marc Ford's playing on that one! When they got Audley Freed, they had kind of gone into a more laid back type of vibe. Pretty cool, also.

I'd say that a chunk of your consideration will depend upon how many (dedicated) instruments you plan to employ, and/or how much dead air you're willing to deal with as to tweaking tunings between numbers.

I'll get brow beaten to death for saying this, but 99.9% of the G stuff can be copped in standard tuning. That said, D is the 5th of G, and tunes will let you know when to drop the E or E's down a whole step. For playing "Stonesy" stuff in D, I'll drop one or both of the E strings down. For the Stones tunes or Stones covers that I'm doing at the moment on guitar ("No Expectations", Robert Johnson's "Love in Vain" and "Stop Breaking Down"), I play in standard tuning.

For "You Gotta Move" (actually a Mississippi Fred McDowell tune that the band covered), I'm playing lap steel in open D. Speaking of which, didn't you mention a while back that you had a lap? If so, this is the time to give it a whirl! Look at the keys for the material. D,C,G,E, whatever supports the tunes at hand.

"Wild Horses" was recorded with a high-strung guitar. My duo partner has been playing the tune at his solo jobs, and I've been playing a dedicated high-strung acoustic on several of our other duo job covers, so I'll likely add this one shortly.

The thing to remember about getting the vibe of this stuff (and I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here) - just make it sound greasy. Tunings are definitely a thing, but chicken grease is what's paramount.

Almost forgot, "It's All Over Now" is a cover that's been recently added. It's a tune that Bobby and Shirley Womack wrote that the Faces and Stones covered. Actually, it was the Stones' first #1 hit in 1964. Anyway, my partner plays it on a pie plate resonator guitar in open D, and I play it on a double dropped D guitar. If I'm not mistaken, the aforementioned Fred McDowell tune was recorded by the Stones in the key of C. Again, I'm not really concerned with trying to ape anybody's thing per se, as the whole thing about covers is to put your own spin on it. Bobby Womack was pissed upon learning that the Rolling Stones would be covering his tune, until he started receiving the royalty checks.

Thanks for the advice, guys. Yeah, going for the greasy, loosey goosey rhythm is probably what I'm after. I'll have to start playing around with some of those tunings. I've got three guitars I can use...the tele, rev, and an ibanez artist (which needs a little tlc).

Tim, I've heard a live version of Mick Taylor doing You Gotta Move that just kills. I'm not sure what the entire set list is yet for this band, but if called for I'll start breaking out the supro lap steel.

I'm gonna second the you lucky bastard sentiment...this does sound like a cool gig...I would agree that with a few exceptions, depending on the setlist...you'll probably be cool with standard or slightly altered standard tuning ( especially if the "other guy" is handling the Keef/Rich Robinson stuff) ...the lab steel could definitely get some work! and with both bands your country background will come in real handy...slide stuff in the crowes and stones ...I would concentrate ( were it me in yer place) on really meshing with the other guitar player and keepin' it greasy...it's live rock AND roll...so don't forget the roll - the new Crowes album is a fav of mine right now and I just scored tix to see them in a VERY SMALL theater/club here in the fall - I lie thier southern/gospel-y take on the rock and roll they do...kinda meshes in with Stones circa Exile on Main Street nicely...shizit I'm jelous ( again )

oh yeah, and you should probably buy some scarves...

Don't know about the tunings, but I have to recommend "Like a Rolling Stone", an awesome book about a Rolling Stones impersonator band that covers the economics of the live music biz, band politics, and a lot of other funny stuff.

Just be careful that you don't turn in to this:

http://www.thefhoneystones.com/NewFiles/hometwo.html

quote:

Originally posted by *Atomic*Richey*:
Just be careful that you don't turn in to this:

http://www.thefhoneystones.com/NewFiles/hometwo.html

No worries about that! Pretty cheeezy.

quote:

Originally posted by Beckanon:
I'm thinking of saving up for a LP of some type (Greco, Tokai, Orville, etc.)

If I was in a buying mode I'd consider these myself. Plus it's from Toyz. Quite interesting models in the LP style

new issue of Guitar Player came today with feature article on the Black Crowes...might help...

I'm not sure about all his stuff, but I'm pretty sure a lot of Mick Taylor's great slide work with the Stones was in standard tuning - Love in Vain from get yer yayas out, etc...

Hey,

that sounds like a dream gig.

For the Black Crowes (in particular the live DVD) the lead guitarist (Marc Ford) seems to be in standard tuning for the bulk of the material, whilst the rhythm guitar (songwriter - Rich Robinson) is generally in a version of Open G - lots of capo going on.
In an old Guitar World, the Crowes were even using Open G dropped down to F!!!

Can't help too much with the Stones.

I think the blend of one standard tuning and one altered is really rich and gives the sound more clarity/depth than two open tuned guitars.

Enjoy the gig.

P.S. I really love the TIM for a keef/BC style overdrive.

quote:

I think the blend of one standard tuning and one altered is really rich and gives the sound more clarity/depth than two open tuned guitars.

That's my thinking too for now. I think I'm being looked at to cover all the leads, so I'll mostly be in standard. I sometimes can't tell when Keith or Woody is playing on certain tunes, which tells me Woody plays an open tuning sometimes...but I think I can cope in standard tuning for awhile.

Mick plays a LOT of rhythm guitar, nowadays. Has for years. He also uses the Richards' "5 String Open G" Tuning. No Low "E" String, just the "A through High E" Strings. Tuned (Low to High) G D G B D.

Woody works a lot from Standard Tuning, I think.

The coolest solo? Maybe the KILLIN' Saxophone Break in "Waiting On A Friend"! Sonny Freakin' Rollins! C Major Pentatonic. OOOOOOOH YEAH!

I love that tune. Everytime I start playing that Main Riff on a Strat, people comment. A Crowd Favorite, for sure.

SCORE!

Just for you:

http://jptrol2.free.fr/rs/#orr