Oscar Jordan

1 week ago | vintageguitar.com | Oscar Jordan

The Real McCoy Wah is designed as a throwback to the earliest iteration of the wah sound, with a warmer vocal character. More-nasal in tone, it accentuates midrange for a more-musical flavor, accentuating articulate single-note definition. It’s the secret sauce for funk rhythm styles that require cleaner amp tones. Running between a superstrat and a Marshall combo, it offered mellower, richer sounds.

2 weeks ago | vintageguitar.com | Oscar Jordan

Drawing from the six-string legacies of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, and Pat Travers, Jones brings a modern, black urban sensibility to the proceedings, creating a distinctive POV. “Too High To Fly,” “Just Like You,” and “Always The Same” are power-packed compositions, Jones emphasizing harder melodic-rock tones steeped in traditional blues, offset by clean, funky, and precise rhythm work coupled with beautifully chorused arpeggiation.

2 weeks ago | vintageguitar.com | Oscar Jordan

Songs like “Always The Same” are blues-based but really hit home. “Always The Same” is an old song I’d redone. It’s probably 30 years old. I re-wrote it, and I think if I can relate to it, other people can relate to it. “Too High To Fly” and stuff like that are about waiting for things to happen. That never works. You have to get off your butt and do it. “Just Like You” is about traveling the world and seeing how much we all have in common – respecting other cultures and not being the ugly American.

2 weeks ago | vintageguitar.com | Oscar Jordan

How far do you and Dave Grusin go back? He goes back to the very beginning for me. I’ve known Dave since I was 18, but I knew about him before that because he was the most popular and respected TV and film scorer in Los Angeles when I was in my late teens and early 20s. I watched shows like “I Spy” and “The Name of the Game,” and loved Howard Roberts’ playing. He was a great jazz guitarist and studio musician with a phenomenal sound.

2 weeks ago | vintageguitar.com | Oscar Jordan

Heavy Soul has a wonderful synergy between your vocals, writing, and guitar playing. I love writing songs. It’s very therapeutic for me and I love playing guitar. My job at the end of the day is to play obnoxiously loud guitar and scream into a microphone about things that bother me. I’m very lucky. It’s free therapy (laughs). It’s like scream therapy. Oh, 100 percent! I call it the “Adele effect.” People think I break up with someone every time I write an album.