[Photographs by Tom Coates Photography]
We’ve been big fans of the Ohio-based instrumental band Spy-Fi for years now, since we first heard the first two volumes in their oeuvre of spy/detective themes performed surf guitar style, Music For Spies, Thighs and Private Eyes, and were surprised to find out this January that we’d missed the release of a new album, Black Tie Spy, somewhere along the way. Soon, we’d ordered a copy from Spy-Fi guitarist Tom Pervanje, and it garnered rave reviews here in the Mister 8 headquarters.
Just in case some of you readers out there were in the same boat, missing out on some great spy-influenced instrumentals, we wanted to spread the word about Black Tie Spy. Guitarist Tom Pervanje was kind enough to participate in a lengthy email interview, where we cover the process of songwriting, the influences behind the new album, and working with James Bond Theme guitarist Vic Flick!
I suggest that, if while reading, you get the hankering to hear more, you visit the Spy-Fi website, where albums are available for purchase….
Tom Pervanje rocks the 1962 Jazzmaster
What’s your musical background?
I grew up in a household of swing, 50s lounge music and polkas. My musical awakening came with the Beatles, Stones and Cream. Prior to that, it was the soundtracks to the Twilight Zone Series, with Bernard Hermann, and the soundtrack to Peter Gunn (although I didn’t know of Hermann or Mancini at the time, I liked what I heard).
I started out wanting to play drums because of Dave Clark of the Dave Clark Five and Ringo, but eventually went to guitar in late high school/early college. I played guitar through the 1970s and the 1980s. In the 1990s I picked up some keyboards, bass and drums.
Were you always into surf music?
No. Early on it was the British blues guys; e.g. Clapton, Beck, Page, Green, and Taylor. That led to the original blues masters and then to jazz, with Coltrane, Brubeck, Hubbard, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Eric Dolphy. Later on it was Graham Parsons and the 70s country-rock thing. Then in the early 80s I got into the whole rockabilly movement with the Stray Cats and found the Sun Records stable of stars. This led to the Blasters and other roots rock bands.
I like to say that I spent the 1970s in the 1960s, the 1980s in the 1950s and the 1990s in the 1960s. By the end of the 1980s I was looking into instrumental music and went to Los Angeles for a visit. The scene there was pretty much hair bands at the time, but I picked up a copy of BAM and saw a review of a local band with a new cassette out that was instrumental surf music. It turned out to be David Arnson’s Insect Surfers Reverb Sun. I contacted him, we swapped tapes, and we’ve been friends ever since. I finally got to meet him in 1999 and then I shared a bill with him in Los Angeles in 2000. During the mid-1990s I was drawn to the lounge and spy-detective genres.
What is it about the espionage angle that appeals to you?
My first Bond movie was Thunderball in 1965. It made a big impression on me in many ways, but I always remembered how the movie score matched the action on the screen so well. The scenes that were filmed underwater were riveting to me, and the John Barry score was perfectly matched to the bubbles rising through the water. Check out Search for Vulcan by Barry on the Thunderball soundtrack to see what I mean.
How was Spy-Fi formed originally? Was it difficult to find others who shared your interests?
I have been, and still am, a collector of vinyl albums. In 1994 I went to a record store in Clearwater, Florida called the Vinyl Museum. I picked up an original copy of Come Spy with Me by Hugo Montenegro. The album has lounge cover versions of many of the popular spy and detective themes from the golden age of espionage entertainment. One day, as I was watching the ’15 days of Bond’ on TNT and playing along with the James Bond Theme, I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be cool to have a BAND dedicated to this genre, instead of just an album?’ And that’s how it got started.
At the time I was trying to assemble a surf band and pitched the spy angle to the guys in the band. It was a hard sell at first, as they thought the music was too light weight. Once they realized that I wanted to approach it more from a rock stand-point, they came on board, and I’m glad that they did. That was in August of 1996, and our first gig was in July of 1997.
Is it difficult to get gigs, or to find an audience as a surf/instrumental group in this day and age?
Yes, it is difficult to get gigs, especially in a classic rock town such as Cleveland, Ohio. First, you have to explain what ‘spy-detective’ is; then you have to explain that there are no vocals. The best was when some young woman came up to me during a gig and asked, “Can you play something with vocals, so we can dance to it?”
I saw in the interview you did with Wes that you opened for the Red Elvises, who I adore. Who else have you performed with?
At various times through the years, we have performed with The Cocktail Preachers, The AmpFibians, The X-Chromatones, The Vultures, Big Red Rocket, Billy and the Bullets, The Cowslingers, Squid Vicious, Destination Earth, The Insect Surfers, Pollo del Mar, The Torquays, The Neptunas, The Boardwalkers, and Davie Allan and the Arrows. I’m sure there are others, but I’m forgetting them at the moment. In 2000 we played two festivals in Los Angeles at the request of David Arson of the Insect Surfers and Pam Moore of the Neptunas. Those were Acid Beach Party 2 and Surfer’s Stomp 2000.
How did you connect with Vic Flick, who appears on your new album?
In late 2000 I discovered his website, bought his album, emailed him and we became pen pals. Eventually we met up in 2005 and decided to try a recording together. He wrote the basis for the song Black Tie Spy and we were off and running. Vic is a consummate professional and a wonderful person. Having heard much of his recorded work, and learning about his career has been truly inspirational.
The most striking thing about the new album, Black Tie Spy, is that it feels more mature, if you don’t mind my saying so. You’re venturing out into…if you’ll excuse the unavoidable pun…different waters than you have previously–you’ve included a number of jazz, classical, and bossanova pieces (and even a little electronica, I think, on Fast Indian) whereas your sound before was fairly consistently twang and reverb. There seems to be just as much of a George Benson influence as a Ventures influence here. How did this new take on the genre come about?
Thanks, I believe that it’s more mature than the earlier work as well. It is so because it is a forward progression with song writing, recording, arranging and the performances. It is a testimony to all of the players on the album. In my opinion, the strength is in the variety of songs and the variety of players, for whom I have the utmost respect. As a side note, I do all of the engineering, mixing, graphics and producing on all of the work Spy-Fi has done.
As you know, I’ve always loved jazz, and have studied jazz guitar from my beginnings on the instrument. I studied, and still refer to, Mickey Baker’s Jazz Guitar Book #1. It’s so old, that it has a price printed on it for $1.50! It really helped me appreciate how to approach jazz.
Since jazz has always been a part of my history, I had a number of these newer jazzier compositions that were waiting to be arranged and completed, and Black Tie Spy provided the opportunity. I was taking jazz guitar lessons in 2007 and Brian Setzer put out an album of swing arrangements of classical tunes. To me, that is the ultimate in music: bringing the intellectual sophistication of classical music together with the raw emotion and technical expertise of swing. So in my humble little way, I attempted a quick take of Anitra’s Dance by Edvard Grieg.
Regarding George Benson, yes, he is a great guitarist. Others in that vein are Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Tal Farlow, Barney Kessell, and Kenny Burrell – all of which I enjoy listening to and admire very much.
Regarding the Ventures – what can I say? This past year I acquired EVERY vinyl album they released between 1960 and 1971 – over 42 vinyl albums in a 10 year period. At one point they released 5 albums a year! They are just amazing and I love their work.
So the new album was a great opportunity to explore all of this wonderful music I’ve experienced through the years.
Another change with this album: less covers, and more originals, which I think are the strongest songs on the album. Was this a conscious effort?
Absolutely. Our first CD release, Music for Spies, Thighs and Private Eyes, Volumes 1 and 2 [MSTPE] was a double set with many familiar classic spy-detective themes. Prior to that, we had a couple of cassettes of live performances which are no longer available. MSTPE documents where the band was musically from 1999 to 2004. There were 7 originals on MSTPE, and those songs hinted at what was yet to come from Spy-Fi. Black Tie Spy [BTS] was the next step in the progression.
What was it like actually working with Vic Flick on the title song, and co-writing others, like Soul Booker? Does his presence sort of validate the album? It does connect a straight line from the origin of spy music to the present….
Well the interesting thing is that we never physically sat next to each other to record the music. Although I would have loved to do that, but my studio is located in Cleveland, and Vic was on the West Coast at the time. The distance made it prohibitive. So I recorded everything analog in Cleveland and then sent digital files to him so that he could add his contributions on the song Black Tie Spy. For Soul Booker, Vic provided musical ideas and input via the internet; but did not actually perform on the track.
Working with him was an honor and a pleasure. As you can imagine, his years of studio experience was a great contribution to the effort and to have his insight, humor and comments was delightful. I can’t say enough good things about him.
Regarding connecting a line from the origins of spy-music to the present? I’m not sure about that, but Vic is the consummate session musician. He recorded during the golden age of music, i.e. the late 1950s to the 1980s. He worked with everyone from Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Bing Crosby, Nancy Sinatra, Lulu, Shirley Bassey, Petula Clark, Paul McCartney and many others. If you don’t know who Vic Flick is, then you know his guitar sound. He was on many of the hits of the 1960s. He was on Peter and Gordon’s World Without Love; he was the guitarist who played Ringo’s Theme (This Boy) on Hard Day’s Night. He worked with John Barry and George Martin. Need I say more? Get his book: Guitarman: From James Bond to the Beatles and Beyond. Go to his website and check him out. I still can’t believe he is on a Spy-Fi album! Thanks Vic!
Can you share technical details of guitars / amps used in the recording of the album?
Yes. This will get a bit technical, but you asked!
The original basic tracks were recorded on a TASCAM MSR-16, 16-track analog tape recorder on 1/2” x 10-1/2” reels of tape. Additional basic recording devices included the TASCAM 238 8-track cassette, and for two songs, Spies in Space and Then Play Down II, a Marantz mono-cassette recorder with a built-in area microphone was used for a ‘lo-fi’ sound.
The individual tracks, i.e. ‘stems’, were transferred to Steinberg’s Cubase software, through E-MU A/D converters. Additional tracks were added directly to Cubase. Later these were edited and mixed to two-track masters. These were then Mastered by Adam Boose of Cauliflower Audio in Cleveland.
Instruments included:
Fender Guitars:
- 1966 and 1994 Fender Stratocasters
- 1959 and 1962 Fender Jazzmasters
- 1963 Fender Jaguar
- 1966 Fender Mustang
- 1966 Fender Electric 12
- 2000 Fender Telecaster
- 1978 Fender Jazz Bass – all bass tracks recorded directly through a DI box.
Gibson guitars:
- 1960 Gibson ES-125
- 1968 Gibson ES-175
- 1990 Epiphone Sheraton II
- 1990s Epiphone Casino
- 2000 Gibson ES-137
Others:
- 1990s Jerry Jones Sitar/Guitar
- 1968 Harmony Lap Steel
Amplifiers:
- 1966 Fender Vibrolux
- 1966 Fender Super Reverb
- 1967 Fender Princeton Reverb
Guitar pedal effects:
- Boss: various distortion, overdrive, flange, phaser, chorus, vibrato and modulation effects.
- Fulltone: various overdrive and distortion effects.
- Others not noted here.
Keyboards:
- 1980s Roland Electric Piano & Synth
- 1990s Yamaha Synth
- Various computer based plug-ins
Guitar Synthesizer:
- Roland GR-33 for specific trumpet and horn sounds, i.e. So What’s Up and Two Miles.
Drums:
- 1960’s round-badge Gretsch maple shell 4-piece kit
- Zildjian K cymbals
- Remo Ambassador Heads
Percussion:
Congas, claves, gong, guiro, cabasa, vibra-slap, chimes, etc. All performed by the incredible Hank Levine. Hank also played drums on many songs.
How do you approach production on a multi-faceted album like this? I especially love the smooth tone you achieve on Jobim’s “Wave.” It reminds me of someone like Wes Montgomery or maybe Kenny Burrell, who both play the guitar so that it sounds almost like a piano. I’d appreciate if you could share how you got that sound.
Regarding the guitar sound – as I mentioned above, I love Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell. So I have previously experimented with various jazz sounds. Incredibly, some of the best jazz sounds, in my opinion, that I can achieve for recording is not with the vintage ES-125 or ES175 that I have, but with the ES-135 Classic.
One day, I decided to get some ideas down, straight into the computer. I didn’t have time to setup a tape deck, a microphone and an amp; so I just decided to plug straight into the A/D converter. BUT, I didn’t like the sound of doing that. I also have a Pro Co CB-1 direct box that I use for bass. I decided to plug through that…. wow, what a difference. I didn’t even need to apply equalization to the sound – what you hear is straight-in, with a little reverb plug-in added. The following songs use this approach: So What’s Up, Wave, Anitra’s Dance, Then Play Down I, and Illya’s Theme.
Regarding the production process, I have to admit that I didn’t have any idea of what I was doing at the time I was doing it! Sorry, that’s not the most professional answer, but it’s honest. Most of the songs on the album were recorded during the period of 2005 through 2007. They were not recorded with an album concept in mind.
My approach to recording is to keep the feeling of the song as ‘live’ as possible. Then produce the song so that it brings out the best in everyone. My motto is: “The song is King”. It was only later that I realized the diversity of the tracks that I had in the can. The critical decision and the most important part of the process; was picking the order of the songs on the album to create mood, flow and contrast. Once the song is in context, further production decisions may be required; then again, maybe not. This then suggested additional production elements to certain songs if they required it.
For example, Rumble was recorded live in two takes – just guitar, bass and drums. And it worked as it stood. It provided the necessary contrast and relief for that stage of the album, following Fast Indian and preceding Two Miles. Other songs, such as Bass Case, were labors of production from the start. It was intended to be our ‘movie theme’ song in which various moods were reflected in the parts of the song as it flows in real time. I remember working with Hank Levine on that song and the myriad of percussion instruments he brought into the studio. There were over 30 separate recorded tracks on that particular song. I even got a chance to use my sitar and lap steel!
So it all depends on the song, and then how the song sits in context with the overall work.
Let’s talk about the songs for a bit. This theme for Black Tie Spy is more subdued than the themes we’re used to hearing from instrumental bands. You said that the structure of the album, with dialogue appearing between songs, was inspired by the soundtrack to the IPCRESS File. I wonder if perhaps some of the IPCRESS theme, or others from the less sci-fi, more “adult” spy films like Quiller Memorandum or Spy Who Came in From the Cold, rubbed off a bit on this track as well. What was the inspiration?
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The concept for the BTS theme was originally written by Vic Flick. Additional work from me and Scott Anderson, our keyboardist, made the final piece a collaborative effort. I have mentioned elsewhere that the overall concept for the album, after having recording BTS with Vic, was influenced by the organization of the soundtrack album from The IPCRESS File. Since 2004, I have listened to a variety of soundtracks, including additional works of John Barry, the soundtracks to I-Spy, Bullitt, Man from U.N.C.L.E. and others. BTS, the album, was guided in that direction.
Bill Capuano
You’ve got numerous folks playing on the Perry Mason track…some of whom I gather are from other Ohio-based bands. What can you tell us about Bill Capuano, who plays guitar on this track (and on Fast Indian, Memory Burn, Soul Booker and La Tavola Da Surf, getting writing credit on the first two)? Who is he, and where do we hear him in this song and the others? Also, can you tell us about his late brother, Bob, who plays drums on your version of Apache?
Bill Capuano is a very talented guitarist and friend from Cleveland, Ohio. He’s been playing professionally for about 30 years and has been a member of a number of groups. He’s mostly renowned for his blues band, Blue Taxi, and more recently his rockabilly effort, Billy and the Bullets. His brother, Bob, was also in those bands and was a great drummer and outstanding person. Sadly, Bob passed away in 2007. You can learn more about Blue Taxi at their MySpace site.
Bill’s most recent band effort is The Extremes which is comprised of members from Blue Taxi and the drummer from a well-known Ohio group, Wild Horses.
Perry Mason was actually a work left-over from the 2004 MSTPE sessions. The raw tracks were revisited and supplemented with a solo (the first, after the piano break) by Bill Capuano.
Fast Indian was an original jam between Bob Yeager (drummer) and me. Originally the jam morphed into a version of Apache, which is why it’s entitled Fast Indian. Bill appears playing guitar in both the left and right channels. In my opinion, his contributions gave the song the right complement to the featured rhythmic undertone.
Memory Burn began a Bill Capuano original, and it became a collaborative effort once I added the middle bridge and produced the song to be more in the surf style.
Soul Booker was an idea I originally had and worked on further with Vic Flick and Scott Anderson during its schematic phase. It was intended to pay homage to Booker T and the MGs, hence the name. When Bill came in to do the solo the song was complete. I have a very different version of the song, stripped down with no horns or keyboards with just Bill playing guitars the entire track. I am thinking of including that version in a possible future work.
La Tavola da Surf, (surfboard in Italian), was something that I was inspired to write after working with a guitar pedal one night. Bill’s contribution comes at the very end with the guitar over the fade out. We played the song at our recent gig, and it works very well as a showcase for Bill’s talent.
Spies in Space has a Spartan sort of ambient sound, like the Moonraker soundtrack being performed by Brian Eno. What was the approach to writing and playing this track?
Again, similar to La Tavola da Surf, inspiration comes in the most unexpected of ways. I was working with my guitar hooked up to my guitar synthesizer one evening. I began experimenting and recorded that track just as it’s heard, live through the guitar amp and the synth. I’m sure many musicians have lots of snippets of song ideas they’ve created through the years. Upon reflection, I really liked this one just the way it was with no further musical embellishments. Once the overall concept for the BTS album was solidified, I realized that short segments such as Spies in Space were perfect segues, used similarly as in the soundtrack to The IPCRESS File.
So What’s Up? reminds me of those jazz songs where everyone goes around in circles and plays around a basic groove. That sort of tune seems to depend a lot on the live dynamic, but on this track, you’re playing bass, guitar and keyboards yourself. How do you build a track like this, playing most of the instruments yourself?
So What’s Up pays homage to Miles Davis, and one of his most famous of compositions, So What. I’ve always had a great appreciation for Miles and his work, and tried my hand at playing trumpet on this song, which is actually performed on guitar, through the Roland guitar synthesizer. Regarding the live dynamic, a lot of credit must go to Hank Levine, the drummer. Hank has a great jazz sensibility and understood what the song might be. He and I recorded just rhythm guitar and drums and I built the song from there.
So What – of course, how silly of me! The song that it reminded me of most for some reason was Jean-Pierre.
Drummer Hank Levine appears on Then Play Down, as well as the previous track. The jazz influence seems to me to be most apparent on songs where he joins you on drums / percussion. Was it a matter of you saying, “Hey, this is a jazz track,” or was it something that he brought to the table?
For the most part, yes. You also need to know a little history. Hank was the original drummer for Spy-Fi, back in 1996 through 1998. Bob Yeager joined up in 1999, and then relocated from Cleveland to Austin circa 2006. So my approach to this album was more of a Steely Dan production whereby I invited various people to join in. It really was quite liberating, because I could then match musicians with various songs throughout the entire work. Personally, I think this is one of the reasons the album is a stronger work.
Bass Case isn’t quite a funk tune, but I think it would work as the theme to a 70s-era blaxploitation flick. Part of that sound is the melody of the bass, but I think it’s partially because of the…is that a sitar?
Ha-ha, that’s great! Super Bass! As you may have realized by reading the credits, I love to play bass as well as guitar. Bass Case was an idea that I wrote in 1998 on a 5-string bass. It languished for years until Scott Anderson took the idea and shaped it into its current layout. Additional percussion contributions from Hank Levine and my production ideas resulted in the current track. The title plays on the detective theme or could refer to an instrument case, but did not necessarily reference the 1970s. I did perform the melody, first verse on a Fender 12-string and the second on a Jerry Jones Sitar guitar. You’re correct in placing that sitar sound from around that time period. It was featured on many hits of the era such as, Cry Like a Baby, by the Boxtops, Games People Play, by Joe South and even Elvis’ Stranger in My Own Hometown with James Burton.
Fast Indian features the first electronica drum track that I think we’ve heard on a Spy-Fi track (correct me if I’m wrong!), and it’s really interesting to hear when paired with what is actually one of the more traditional surf sounding riffs on the album. Were these programmed, or played on electronic drum pads? And how did you decide on this particular sound for the song?
I mentioned a little about Fast Indian in a prior response where Bob Yeager and I were jamming one day and generated the basis for the song. Bob was using (playing live) my Roland TD-7 electronic kit; which includes a setting for the famous Roland TR-808, one of the first programmable drum machines. We have always liked that sound and from time to time would use it on various things. In fact, Bob used that kit to play live for a few years when we had restaurant gigs. At any rate, the TR-808 sound also appears on the first half of Sunset Beach, also on BTS. In answer to your question, no, it’s not the first time we used the electronic kit! It first appeared on our version of Reid’s Situation a song we covered by Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. This song was included on Deep Eddy Record’s compilation Better Than The Average Weekend, a tribute to the Shadowy Ones.
Link Wray’s Rumble is one of those standards that seems impossible to screw up. Is it daunting to play a classic like this, or Pipeline, or Walk Don’t Run, which you’ve played on previous albums? Do you worry about bringing something new to the song, or do you just go with it?
Rumble was part of Spy-Fi’s live set from 1996 on through 2004. We always liked the song, it was a great way to get a quick sound check and became part of what we did. This version was the other left-over track from the 2001 sessions. It was never intended to be included on the original MSTPE project. One evening, Mick Zofcin (bass player), Bob Yeager and I were trying to get down some backing tracks on which Scott could overlay his parts at a later date. We were getting frustrated, and I suggested that we change it up and just jam on something. We chose Rumble and thank God I hit the ‘record’ button! It was down in two takes! The version you hear is just as it was recorded live, no overdubs. You can hear the frustration of the evening.
Two Miles is another that I think would work in a blaxploitation film. There’s such a variety of weird tones coming out of both speakers — what are we hearing here, and with the synth at your disposal, how do you decide what voices to include, and which to avoid?
Bill Capuano would agree with you! When he first heard it, that’s pretty much what he said! Two Miles began as a riff that I wrote years ago. The song is extremely challenging to play since it’s in 7/8 timing. Thankfully, there are fairly realistic programmable drum sounds these days. I created the basis of the song and then I could jam and add parts. During the time I was developing the song, I was taking jazz guitar lessons from Bob Rericha, mandolinist on To J.B. Bob explained a little bit about voicing horns and I took a chance at doing so on this track. The main riff is played simultaneously on guitar and it’s routed through MIDI to a synth module sound. The additional horns you hear were recorded on keyboard – a very simple background melody, but it’s voiced at 9ths, 11ths and 13ths above the background melody. Then I omitted the background melody and left the result. I had a blast playing trumpet on guitar through the Roland GR-33. Again, the title is a reference TO MILES Davis.
Memory Burn is my favorite track on this album, I think…and it’s not actually because of the surf influence. I really like the production on this song, with the ultra-reverbed guitar coming at me from the left, and the super clean guitar coming at me from the right. Where did you pick up this technique? How much do you think through the stereophonic aspects of recording as you’re writing and recording?
Thanks, I’m sure Bill will be honored. Memory Burn, as I described earlier, is essentially a Bill Capuano song, with contributions from me. The original idea started out in a much different format and feel, and I suggested to Bill that it might make for a good surf song. Having a basic appreciation for the surf sound, I knew what I wanted to achieve when I started the process. I recorded the basic track with Bob Yeager on drums and me on the guitar with a Fender Reverb tank in one evening. I then added bass and the additional Fender Jaguar vibrato guitar track later that night. The next day Bill came over and added the Mustang guitar part and the solo over the bridge. His verse melody part doubled my reverb guitar part and added a clean sound with no effects. The result is the melody line benefits from both the attack and definition of the clean note with the spaciousness and wetness of the reverb part. Separating the two parts in the stereo field not only emphasizes this effect, but also adds to the ‘live performance’ feel of the work. Having two different guitarists playing the same part will never be exactly on time, and I really like the phased sound this creates. Sometime this is not a good thing, but here I believe it worked very well. I guess this is a SIVLE studios (my home studio) technique – it’s just a result of trial and error and knowing what I like as an engineer. Having the right tools at one’s disposal is critical, and knowing how to use them is also very important. I guess the point is you don’t need a ton of plug-ins just a good guitar, amp and microphone.
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Anitra’s Dance is a piece by the Romantic composer Grieg, but it doesn’t seem a bit out of place on the album. How do you pick out a song like this, and say, “Hey, this seems so juxtaposed to what we’re doing, but it will work?”
I had recorded this work as an exercise for my jazz guitar teacher, as part of the lesson I was taking. The song is just a 37 second capture of what I was working on at that time. I had grand visions of turning it into something else at a later date, but liked it’s feel and the brevity and kept coming back to it. Once I determined BTS was a series of works separated by short segues, Anitra’s Dance became a perfect choice.
Next up is another classic, Apache. I saw you mentioned to Wes Britton that you’d like to do a spaghetti western type thing as well sometime. I’ve been giving this some thought myself lately (maybe we should do a split EP!). What is it about these two genres — spy and spaghetti — that appeal to guitarists? Is it just the fact that we’re glad to be highlighted in any sort of film score?
I’d love to pursue your idea, let’s talk more about that sometime! Regarding the genres, I think great music is great music. I really love instrumental music. It really doesn’t matter what the style is, spy or spaghetti. The thing I originally liked about pursuing spy-detective was that it was not confining in terms of a genre. BTS is an affirmation of that – there are many styles on it and I enjoy them all. Hopefully the listener will as well.
Mick Zofcin
Mick Zofcin, Spy-Fi bassist, appears on Eldorado playing guitar, while you play bass. What inspired this switcharoo?
Mick is a fantastic rhythm guitar player. He plays with reckless abandon and lots of heart. Eldorado is essentially a quiet song that morphs into a ‘metal’ sounding work. I played the keys, bass and the first guitar melody. Mick comes in behind Bill Capuano as Bill is playing those screaming leads. It seemed to work, and gave everyone a chance to play different roles instead of the usual.
Illya’s Theme features mandolin work by Bob Rericha, and I love the idea, because the mandolin sounds so close to those Russian traditional instruments that the Red Elvises play. Was that the thinking here, a salute to Mr. Kurayakin’s homeland?
That’s a great observation, and I truly wish that I could claim that I had thought of that! Illya’s Theme was my salute to The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’s Illya Kuryakin. I wanted to create something that focused on his character, in a hypothetical situation. Oddly enough, I never made the connection between the mandolin and Russian music. During production, I asked my guitar teacher, Bob Rericha to come up with something. It seemed to fit, and now I know why! Thank you.
Then Play Down II has a more psychedelic sound than its prequel. Why two versions, so radically different, of the tune?
Then Play Down II was actually a live recording with Yeager, Anderson and me from circa 2000 in the basement practice space we had below my old office. It was a practice session to flush out the idea and was recorded in mono on a Marantz single channel tape deck with an area microphone. I added bass guitar later for BTS. The actual track is about 7 minutes long, and I chose what I thought might be an interesting part to segue between songs. It’s the same basic progression as Then Play Down but has more of what Spy-Fi’s live sound would make it. Conversely, Then Play Down (Part I) has added harmony which changes the feel of the song. It really is two different takes on the same idea. The title is derived from one of my favorite albums, Fleetwood Mac’s Then Play On.
I read that the J.B. in To J.B. stands as much for Jeff Beck as it does for James Bond. What other non-surf, non-jazz guitarists influence your playing?
The original First Wave of electric blues guitarists, e.g. Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Hubert Sumlin; the Second Wave of British Blues guitarists, e.g. Beck, Clapton, Page, Taylor and Green, the rockabilly guys, e.g. Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy, Johnny Burnette, Brian Setzer and anything with a great guitar melody, for example, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison is just classic. And don’t forget The Colonel, Steve Cropper!
Denny Melreit
La Tavola Da Surf features drums by Denny Melreit, which is about the most perfect name for a surf drummer I think one could dream up. What can you tell us about Denny, and why you brought him in on this track?
Denny is a great guy and a great drummer. His ability to assess a song and get it down to tape is commendable. We recorded LTDS in less than a half an hour, and that included three takes! We used the first two to learn the song, and the third take was it. I added the guitars and bass after, and then Bill came in to finish it off.
You mentioned before that the Booker in Soul Booker is Booker T. Jones, leader of the MGs. What inspired you, Vic Flick, and keyboardist Scott Anderson to make this r&b influenced track?
The inspiration came from my love of Steve Cropper and the fact that I received a three CD boxed set of Booker T and the MGs as a gift. They are the Ventures of R&B. Nuff’ said.
I’m a huge fan of Jobim, and you do a great job with the bossanova track Wave. Where’d you first hear this song, and what led to it’s inclusion on the album?
I can’t remember when I first heard it, but I learned it in April of 2006 as Scott Anderson and I performed it as a duo at his son’s school function. I loved it, and we always talked about recording it. Scott moved to Naples, Florida before we could ever get to it, so I took a stab at it myself.
Sunset Beach is a great way to end the album, starting with the laid back smoothness, and then kicking, literally, into overdrive. You don’t actually have a writing credit yourself on this one — it’s listed to Zofcin and Anderson. How’d you choose this to be the closer?
Mick is has written a number of songs that just seem to come out of nowhere. This is a great example. The middle section was written by Scott Anderson, as the song needed a bridge, but it’s pretty much the way Mick originally envisioned it, if I may speak on his behalf. He wanted it screaming at the end, and who better than the great Bill Capuano? David Arson, from the Insect Surfers, wrote to me and said that he wants to play guitar like that when he grows up and I’m right there with him! I tracked Bill on three separate leads, in deference to Cream’s version of Howlin’ Wolf’s Sitting on Top of the World, from Wheels of Fire. We blended the tracks to what you hear on BTS. After I added the sea sounds, it just became obvious that this would be the closer to the album.
With an album like this that’s recorded over a few years, with a handful of musicians, how do you decide what goes on the album? Or the order? Or when to stop recording and release an album in the first place?
I could have included another 6 or 7 songs, plus others that are still in their nascent stages, but I believe it’s critical to document where one is at and then move on. To me it’s okay to include stuff from past recording sessions – hey, look at the Rolling Stones – but it’s important to define a theme for a record, pick from the best of what you have, and then assemble it and then move on.
Are there any classic spy themes, or surf standards that you’re still hankering to record?
Yes, so many it’s almost pointless to get into it. Currently I’m looking at I-Spy and a couple of others, but who knows? Bill and I are writing new material at the moment, and he has some great concepts; which will bring a new direction and influence to the Spy-Fi concept. I look forward to it.
Could you provide any advice for folks out there (myself included) who are looking to start a spy-themed guitar-driven instrumental band?
Well, that’s a topic on which I could ramble for hours. But here’s what I would recommend, regardless of what genre from which one would start: define the parameters of the band concept first. We chose surf and spy-detective, and found a setlist of covers that we enjoyed playing. This set kept a core sound to the band and allowed for the addition of material on the edges of the concept, and originals. I can’t emphasize how important originals are to the success of defining the band. The challenge, especially in a band format like Spy-Fi, is how do you write a song as good as Mission Impossible? That’s a daunting task, but we all have to start from somewhere, so, to quote someone way smarter than I: “Shut up and Play Your Guitar!”
What’s up next for Spy-Fi?
Currently I’m working with Bill Capuano on a series of originals and trying to find time to get down in the studio! I’ve been very busy with work, and really miss playing.
Thanks again, for your time Tom! Once again, those interested in purchasing Black Tie Spy, or past Spy-Fi albums, can do so through the Spy-Fi website!
To finish off, as a treat for you readers, I’d like to offer a song not on the new album, but my favorite Spy-Fi cover of all time, The Munsters Theme / Hawaii 5-0, from Music For Spies, Thighs and Private Eyes Vol. II: Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang:
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