John Mayer helped Doug Pettibone sharpen his pedal steel chops
John Mayer could be seen as greater than only a modern-day guitar hero. In current months, he is showcased his skills as a de facto pedal reviewerand now he may also add guitar instructor to that checklist, having come to assistance from Doug Pettibone when he wanted to up his recreation on the pedal steel.
The chameleon-like session participant, who got the Lucinda Williams gig after lending her musicianship to Tracy Chapman’s live bandyou will have additionally recorded with Mark KnopflerMarianne Faithfull, and a wealthy array of various artists throughout genres.
By the time producer Don Was and pedal steel participant Greg Leisz approached Pettibone with a view of hiring him for John Mayer’s Born and Raised tour in 2012, he was effectively versed within the country-coded instrument. But there have been nonetheless gaps in his talent set.
Article continues beneath
“I could learn stuff off the record and could do more atmospheric playing, but I’d never really lonely too much,” he says in dialog with Guitar World. “I’m not really a traditional country player, and I’m not virtuosic by any means on pedal steel.
“But I can fake it,” he admits. “And at the time, we were rehearsing, and Chuck Leavell, the keyboard player, was taking solos, along with everyone else in the band. He goes, ‘Hey, Doug, why don’t you sit down at that steel, and let’s see what you got?'”
Pettibone’s response was, “Oh, shit.” Not eager to give up, he muddled his means by a jam, however accepted his abilities have been “limited” of their scope. Cue Mayer, the instructor.
“He said, ‘I guess the only way you can get better is by playing more…’ After that, instead of firing me and getting someone who could really play, he would throw me solos every night on the steel.”
It’s an admirable flip from Mayer, selecting to nurture Pettibone somewhat than forged him apart in favor of a fast repair.
“That was when he had his sights set on that Grateful Dead thing [Dead & Company]”,” Pettibone adds. “We’d get messages every night, you know, emails, saying, ‘Okay, let’s work on this song tomorrow at soundcheck.'”
Mayer recently discussed the insecurities he faced in his early days in Dead & Company as he learned to share stages with his hero, Bob Weir. But his getting his dream gig was perhaps fate. Like he showed patience and care with Pettibone, Weir, in turn, “took a chance” on the guitaristand collectively they shaped a stunning, cross-generational partnership.
Guitar World‘s full interview with Pettibone will probably be revealed within the coming weeks.