With Clapton, guitarist Bramhall just plays
By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News
July 22, 2004

Doyle Bramhall II is trying to explain how he ended up onstage with Eric Clapton this tour, except he can't keep the timeline straight.

Had he finished with Roger Waters' tour before recording Reptile with Clapton? What about the new unreleased Clapton album? His own solo sessions? Where did that tour with Sheryl Crow fit in?

"It's confusing because I've played with so many different people," Bramhall says apologetically.

No kidding. Most people would be overwhelmed just with his two main projects: Taking Dave Gilmour's role in Waters' solo tour and an ongoing collaboration with Clapton that includes Clapton's latest disc, Me and Mr. Johnson, as well as being the only other guitarist onstage with Clapton on this tour.

"If I had to juggle those two styles and two different kinds of shows, I'd probably be lost," Bramhall says. "The Roger experience was completely different from anything I've done in my life. Up till that time, I just got up onstage and played. With Roger it's more like being in a play. You have to get into a character. With Eric, it's so great. You just get onstage and play."

In recent years, Clapton always has had guitarist Andy Fairweather Low onstage with him. This time it all falls on Bramhall to keep up with the guitarist that many consider the best ever.

And it came to him as a surprise. Low dropped off of the tour just before rehearsals started.

Even before that, "I was really worried about it because I knew I had a lot of songs to learn for the tour. Eric said 'Take it easy, don't worry too much, we'll deal with it in rehearsals. We have three guitar players, no problem.' Then a couple of days before the tour, he said 'Andy can't do it.' I just started freaking out a little bit," Bramhall says via phone from New York City.

"That completely changed it for me because I knew I'd have to take up a lot of slack on the foundation rather than just adding things here or there. It was actually really good for me because I had to work really hard," Bramhall says. "I was riding to rehearsal in a van with headphones on in the back, trying to learn as much as possible."

Part of it was second nature; Bramhall had spent months in the studio with Clapton, recording Robert Johnson songs for Me and Mr. Johnson as well as another unreleased album of Clapton originals, likely due out next year.

He and Clapton had formed a musical understanding that made the collaboration work.

"I think we have sort of this connection because it has just been really easy to play with him. When I play with him, I never do what he does, but I'll play something inspired by what he's doing. I'll do a completely different melody or counter-rhythm to what he's doing. I give him space to come up with as many counter-melodies.

"He just understands the way I play. He knows that I get him musically on a lot of levels. I always listen to him instead of being a rhythm guitar player that's just trying to hold up. He likes playing off of me, which I do as well with him. I can't speak for him, but it feels that way. Each night is a totally different journey for us."

They're pulling out older songs such as the Derek and the Dominos cut Got To Get Better in a Little While and revamping Clapton classics such as Cocaine.

"Songs like Cocaine have really taken on a new life. I can't speak for Eric, but it must be nice because it gets old. It gets old playing songs for a really long time. How to make those songs have a real life to them and keep them feeling inspired. That's the great thing about this tour. All the songs have that."

The highlight, however, is the sit-down set in the middle where the Johnson material is performed, first acoustic, then electric.

In approaching the legendary bluesman's songs for the new album, "he didn't want to copy it. He knows it's an unattainable style of playing. He just wanted to keep the integrity to the Robert Johnson material. He knows as well as anybody that it can't be copied."

nice.

Thanks for posting! Fun read!

doyle is soo dreamy..his pictures do him no justice..

live?

sosgemini said:

Isn't he though? I'll never forget Catalina when his shirt blew open during his solo. NICE BODY!

EverlastingNow said:

Geeks.

EverlastingNow said:

what's this Catalina show you keep talking 'bout???

oh, and
How u doin?????

gooeythehamster said:

you betta!!!