*Tone Poet

How Michael Ward Colors the Wallflowers'  Sound 

GUITAR PLAYER NOVEMBER 2000

By Adam Levy

    "I can't say, 'Man, there's this amazing moment where I went crazy and played a total freak-out guitar solo," laughs Michael Ward as he talks about the new Wallflowers' album, Breach [Interscope].  "My role in this band is to find the right parts and come up with cool tones to make the songs feel good."  

    Despite Ward's estimable instrumental prowess, full-throttle solos have never been what the Wallflowers are about.  Although Ward did throw down heartily on his previous gigs-two albums with School of Fish and a two year stint with John Hiatt-he job in theWallflowers is to hand-tint song-writer Jakob Dylan's rootsy, black-and-white character studies and lyric missives.

    As we talk via telephone, Ward is interrupted by a knock at the door-a UPS delivery of a guitar Ward bought on dBay.  "Can you hold on a sc?" he says, as I hear the sound of a shipping box being ripped open, a hardshell case being unlatched, and then Ward's gasp-a gleeful one-as he beholds his bounty: a cherry-red '65 Gibson ES-335.  A reverent pause follows, then Ward tunes the guitar and strums a few chords. "Yes!"

    Ward is clearly as excited about guitars and guitar playing today as he was when he was inspired by Kiss in his teens, and his enthusiasm is palpable as we talk about his rig and the making of Breach.

    *****

        The Wallflowers breakthrough album was produced by T-Bone Burnett, who has an organic rootsy approach.  Michael Penn was at the helm for Breach.  Did his approach shape the music differently?

    Michael is a very Beatlesque songwriter and producer.  His thing is adding parts on top of parts-which sometimes makes simple chord progressions sound complex.  It's funn-when we trid to play some of the new songs in preparation for the tour, we had to go back to the CD and ask ourselves, "What chord is that?"

    Will you try to recreate the album arrangements live?

Not really, We're letting the songs take on a life of their own.

    You've been using a Les Paul Signature guitars [a cross between an ES-335 and a gold top Les Paul-produced from 1973 to '78] since your School of Fish days.  what does it give you that you can't get from another electric?

Besides the fact that they look cool, they have low-impedance humbuckers that sound awesome.  The pickups have this weird, midrange honk-very different from standard Gibson-style humbuckers.

    Do you use Signatures exclusively?

For a long time, the Signature was my favorite guitar.  I've always liked the semi-hollow thing where you can get a little feedback, and a more open sound.  But lately I've been experimenting with other guitars.  Now I've got an old Gibson ES-330 with P-90s and that '65 ES-335 I just bought.

    Have you owned an ES-335 before?

No, but i've had a 335 jones for a while.  I borrowed on for the Breach sessions for the solo on "Birdcage."

    Is that a real leslie cabinet on that solo or a simulator?

It's the real deal.  Michael wanted something like Clapton's sound on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," so we ran the ES-335 through a Klon Centaur overdrove, and then into a Leslie.  I don't usually like to reference the past directly, but I do love the sound of a Leslie so I was happy to oblige.

    Did you use an other instruments on the album sessions?

I used a new Les Paul custom with P-90s that Gibson built for me.  That guitar is on a lot of the punchier rhythm tracks, like "Sleepwalker."  I also used a '67 Gibson SG Junior for slide.  I've been getting into thinner, raspier tones for the Wallflowers, because the band is not about big, heavy sounds.  Fat tones make guitar players happ, but they don't tend to sit in a mix very well.

I also used my '58 Gibson Double Mandolin-one of my stellar possessions.  It's a double-neck electric, with a regular 6-string setup on the bottom and a smaller 6-string neck on the top, tuned an octave above standard tuning.  The name is misleading-it doesn't have much to do with and actual mandoline.  I use it for cool, droning effects.  I'll play a rhythm part on the octave neck, but leave the pickup selector set to the bottom neck, so all you hear is this resonant drone coming through the pickups.  the sound is amazing-it's like a church organ.

    What pedals are you using?

Nothing too wild-mostly standard-issue stompboxes.  I used the Demeter Tremulator on several tracks.  It has a nice, deep tremolo, and it's more flexible-speed-and-depth-wise-the same amps I bring to just about every session I do.  The most-used one is a 3 channel Demeter TGA-3 head.  The first two channels are sort of "Marshally" and the third is similar to the classic Fender Bassman circuit.  I use the Demeter in conjunction with a variety of cabinets- 1x12, 2x12, or 4x12-depending on the application

The other amps were an old Vox AC30-the amp you have to have if you're going to show up in a studio in LA these days-and an old Rickenbacker combo that sounds awesome. I'll usually mic all three amps, and let the engineer and producer dial in whatever sounds best for the track.  Sometimes I won't even know exactly which amp-or mix of amps-the engineer featuring, but as long as it sounds cool, that's fine with me.  I also bring a Line 6 Pod Pro to most sessions.

    Do you bring all three amps on the road?

For this tour, I'm using the Demeter head and a 1x12 Speedster cabinet with a Celestion G12T-75 speaker.  I'll also bring my Line 6 Flextone 2x12 combo.  I'm hoping that such a small setup will move enough air to make me happy.

    Don't you get enough of your sound through the monitors?

In the past, I've never put my guitar in the monitors.  I hate all the highs you get through the horns-no matter what you do, it doesn't sound like a guitar amp.  But I'm starting to flirt with the idea of using monitors a little bit so that the onstage levels are more controllable.  for this tour I'll position the Speedster cab so I'm within earshot of it, and then put just a taste of the amp through the monitors.  Hopefully, I'll be able to push my amp and get a great sound, get a comfortable level onstage, and move enough air to help me get the dynamics right.

   In a '95 GP interview, you cited Ace Frehley as one of your biggest influences, yet your style is pretty different from his.

Maybe so, but getting excited about Kiss is what got me playing.  I wouldn't be a guitarist if not for Kiss Alive! Peter Criss was initially my favorite guy in the band, but my family couldn't afford to buy me a drum set.  Instead, my mom bought me a practice pad and a pair of sticks-not exactly what I had wished for!  Eventually I showed my folks that I was serious about learning to play, and a guitar was more affordable, so they bought me one.  But, who knows-if things had worked out differently, I could be talking to Modern Drummer right now instead of Guitar Player.

  Do you still find inspiration in your early influences?

I do, but when you make your living playing pop music, after a while you don't want to hear anything that has verses and choruses, and backbeats on two and four.  One way I've kept fresh and inspired is by listening to classical music and jazz.  I've really been on a John McLaughlin kick.  the Mahavishnu stuff, and the records he made with Miles Davis-In a Silent Way and bitches Brew-are so free and so intense.  Really amazing.

The other way I stay inspired is to play more experimental music.  I've started a new band called Stripsearch with [former School of Fish and current A Perfect Circle drummer] Josh Freese.  We just recorded a CD that was completely improvised in the studio.  I don't see this band climbing the charts, but it keeps my creative juices flowing and gives me a chance to do the things I can't do in the Wallflowers.