Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you Ted Orr, one funky guitar cat, who’s played with funk legend George Clintion and others. Breaking barriers of what the guitar should sound like and how it should be played, Ted Orr utilizes midi and other modern tools & techniques to get the sounds he hears inside his head out into the music he plays. Keep reading to learn more about this diverse guitar player…

For the readers who may be unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your music? Who are your main influences?

Hello, and thank you for doing this interview. I play Guitar, MIDI Guitar and Tablas, and live in Woodstock, NY. I currently play with the P-Funk offshoot band, 420 Funk Mob (featuring George Clinton), my world beat band, Futu Futu, my experimental psychedelic jam band, BLOB and tablas with the Dharma Bums.

My main musical menu consists of free jazz, funk, blues and world music, in a psychedelic rock sauce. These are all styles that allow for very direct, naked emotional expression, which is resonant with my Sicilian/Scorpio nature. In free jazz some of my influences are Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, Sonny Sharrock, Eric Dolphy, Cecil Taylor, Miles Davis, and James Blood Ulmer.

In funk, it’s Pee Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker (the JB’s), Sly Stone, and George Clinton/ P’Funk (all of whom I’ve performed or recorded with). In blues it’s John Lee Hooker, Rev Gary Davis, the Kings (Albert, BB, & Freddie) and the British guys Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. And of course Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan!

World Music is something I discovered in 1979 at the Creative Music Studio (C.M.S.), a school for free jazz and world music started by Ornette Coleman, and run by Karl Berger, in the 70’s and early 80’s in Woodstock. There were exceptional musicians from all over the globe. What struck me most was the stark realization of the universality of music.

I mean we’d have ensembles playing this incredible amalgam, and yet we’d only have like 10 words that we could say to each other. The heavy cats were Ismet Siral ( Turkey), Foday Musa Suso (Gambia), Nana Vasconcelos (Brazil), Ayib Dieng (Mali), and Trilok Gurtu (India)

So how did you get started playing the guitar?

I banged around on a cheap acoustic that belonged to my aunt when I was 9 or 10. My sister’s friends were into Bob Dylan and the Beatles so I learned my first position chords with those tunes and some guitar lessons. My best friend’s dad, Ron Van Der Graef, turned me on to blues and jazz when I was 11, and I was hooked!

Then I heard Jimi and that turned my world on it’s ear. I made a deal with the guy down the block that I’d mow his lawn all summer if he gave me $30 so I could get an electric guitar at a neighborhood department store. I would spend endless hours figuring out the guitar parts on Are You Experienced, completely oblivious to the concept of overdubbing. In high school I also listened to a lot of the prog rock of the day: King Crimson, ELP, Gentle Giant and Yes.

Then in 12th grade I heard Mahavishnu Orchestra; those guys were making use of all the stuff I was studying…modes and odd time signatures, all with scorching energy, to me it was irresistible. In 1975 I went to Berklee College of Music where I was placed in top level theory and harmony classes and rudimentary ensembles because my sight reading was poor. I got my first exposure to free jazz there though. After hearing about C.M.S. I knew I had to go there.

What is one influential event that helped shape your playing style, or take it to the next level?

Definitely my 5 years at C.M.S. There was a real wealth of knowledge and players. The year would start with a 1 month winter intensive with teachers like The Art Ensemble Of Chicago or The Cecil Taylor Unit. The spring and fall had 10 week courses that covered rhythm training, improvisation, etc. with teachers like Wadada Leo Smith, George Lewis, Jack DeJohnette, and Karl Berger. In the summer there were two 5 week world music sessions.

How do you approach your song-writing?

I maintain a parallel career as a recording engineer/producer, so I’m used to listening “under the microscope”. So I’d have to say my approach is to use what is needed, without cluttering the main idea. I am not a songwriter, per se, but rather, I see my roll more in terms of the rhythm section. On the other hand, with BLOB, it’s totally improvised, so the approach is to bring my ears and leave my ego at home. It’s all about sonic exploration and not musical gymnastics, or competition.

What kind of gear are you using?

I have a customshop PRS 513 given to me for playing the 2005 Superbowl with 420. It is the best guitar I have ever touched. I also have a custom shop Guitarman strat made in the 80’s on 48th St. Dr Know, from Bad Brains, has one just like it, and so does Sid McGuiness form Letterman’s band. The bridge has been replaced with the Ghost MIDI saddles from GraphTech. My rack has a Terratec Axon Ax100 mkII Midi Guitar controller, which is absolutely brilliant for tracking. For sound sources I use the Axon’s internal sound card, V-Samp on my G4 iBook, and an Oberheim Matrix 1000. It all runs into a Lexicon MPC G2 (with Rx Foot Controller), then into an ADA 800 watt stereo power amp, and out to 2 Mesa Boogie 4×12 cabs.

Describe a normal day for you. How much time do you spend practicing and playing, talking to fans, networking, etc. ?

Well, my guitar is rarely more than an arms length away when I’m home, so I will play 12 hours some days. On weekdays I usually do guitar yoga, or practice tablas, before breakfast. After, I’ll check my BLOB podcast page; http://blobusa.podomatic.com and my various myspace sites (see end of article for links)

Around 11am I head to the studio to work with a client or whatever project du jour there is until dinner, then it’s chillin’ with my wife or off to a gig.

Do you have any advice for aspiring young guitarists who want to pursue a career in music or just better themselves as players?

First of all, it needs to be your total focus and passion otherwise you would have to be insane to choose this lifestyle. Work is not always easy to come by so it’s helpful to be diverse. And if you really pay attention, the music itself, and your ear will teach you everything you need.

What are you most proud of musically?

I am blessed to have played with THE masters of funk. In terms of gigs, playing Woodstock ’94 in front of 400,000 people was really dope. I am proud of BLOB, too, cuz I think we are forging new ground. And last, but not least, I am proud of my children, both fine musicians- my son James, a guitarist who learned the entire Hendix catalog by age 18 and my bassist daughter, Alana (the “Duchess Of Funk). She’s already had an impressive go at it, touring the world with Van Hunt .

Any other thoughts or words of inspiration?

Most importantly, when you are actually playing, be in the moment and listen. If you rely on licks and stuff you practice your music may end up shallow. Practice and understand the theory and physics of music, at home. All the practicing refines your ear into an antenna for what is right and wrong for you. Don’t confuse the tools with the real music. Mean what you play.

BLOBSPACE

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Ted Orr http://myspace.com/tedorr
Ted Orr Audio http://myspace.com/tedorraudio
BLOB http://myspace.com/blobusa
Sertso Studio http://myspace.com/sertsostudio
W Funk http://myspace.com/dubyafunk
CMS archive http://myspace.com/cmsarchive
Dharma Bums http://myspace.com/dharmabumsusa
Scrub Productions http://myspace.com/scrubproductions
Futu Futu http://myspace.com/futufutu
And my charity work, Team Tibet http://myspace.com/teamtibet2008

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