“I could have headed towards blues or shred. I chose blues… Fast-forward to 2020, I decided to become a 12 year-old learning guitar again – I went the other way and got an Ibanez with a Floyd Rose!” Gary Clark Jr. is finally unleashing his inner shredder

When Gary Clark Jr. greets Total Guitar on Zoom, it’s with a warm smile and a slight sense of amazement. After a quick scan of this writer’s music room, what grabs his attention is an unexpected “blast from the past” – the same electric guitar he cut his teeth on, in the exact same finish, on a guitar rack in the background.

The rare model in question is a late-’90s Japanese-made Ibanez Blazer in Vintage Sunburst, which is exactly what the Texan brought along to the blues jams that schooled him at the very beginning of his teenage years. These were no ordinary club nights, however, given how Antone’s – the legendary downtown Austin venue –was also where Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan started their careers, and a place that was frequented by many a guitar great.

Seeing the old favourite transports Clark Jr. back to the start of his musical journey and, as we soon learn, draws parallels to much of his work on latest album JPEG RAW. The 12 tracks eloquently stretch out the format of blues into new sonic horizons without losing the core fundamental values, travelling through the realms of gospel, jazz, soul and hip-hop while also roping in star guests including Stevie Wonder, George Clinton and Valerie June.

“What felt different about this record is that I kinda went back to my 12-year-old self,” Gary says. “There was a fork in the road where I could have headed towards blues or shred. I chose blues, and ended up being the kid at those jam nights with that same Ibanez Blazer and a 60-watt solid-state Crate amp.

“The blues guys were looking at me like I was crazy! I actually still have the Blazer and play it all the time. I bought it because I needed some versatility. I thought the coil-tap meant it would cover all the tones I’d need for the rest of my life.”

He adds with a laugh: “That didn’t quite go according to plan…”

So what exactly informed the musical direction you took on this album?

“After that Ibanez and Crate setup, I got myself a Fender DeVille, a Jimmie Vaughan Stratocaster and a Gibson ES-125, but I had a bunch of friends who were listening to Guns N’ Roses and they introduced me to Slash’s playing. The G3 thing was also huge when I started – you had Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson playing together.

“I’d read about those guys all the time in the guitar magazines. I’ll never forget seeing Eric Johnson playing Cliffs of Dover on Austin City Limits. I’d stop the tape, rewind it and watch every part closely. Eventually I realised it was too complicated for me. I knew I needed to learn more of the basics and figured I’d circle back around to it later down the line.”

Did you ever get round to it?

“Well, fast-forward to 2020, the whole world shut down and I decided to become a 12 year-old guitar player learning again. This time, however, I went the other way and got an Ibanez with a Floyd Rose! I went crazy on distortion, chorus and delay, going nuts in my studio for hours and hours every day.

“That was the approach for this album. I was being a full-on musician and not sticking to one style. I didn’t care. I didn’t know what was going on with the music business or my record. I just played for me. I didn’t care what anybody thought because I didn’t know if anybody would hear it or not!”

But we’re guessing you relied on more vintage-leaning instruments for the album sessions? There’s the 1961 Gibson Les Paul SG Standard reissue from Pat Smear you used on your last album, plus all the Gibson and Epiphone archtops you’re typically seen with.

“I mainly used my Gibson ES-355. They hooked me up with a very special one of those. I used my Epiphone Casino, that SG you mentioned which Pat Smear gave me, as well as my signature SG. There was a 1991 American-made Fender Squier Strat. What else?

“There was a Wide Sky guitar – Patch Rubin in Taos [New Mexico] has been really doing his thing with these handmade guitars. I think that’s about it. I didn’t really go too crazy. There was a Dobro on the song Don’t Start, that I completely fuzzed out and played nasty slide over – which was very disrespectful!”

Is your Fender Vibro-King still the main guitar amp?

“Yeah, I still use it a lot. I put an Ampeg on top of my 2x12 Fender cabinet and had fun with that. But there was also a 100-watt Cesar Diaz amp at Arlyn Studios that I fell in love with. I could just crank that thing up and go… It was unapologetic playing! The tones I got out of that were sick, especially with my whole pedal rig. I was experimenting a lot. We also went over to Mike Elizondo’s studio in Tennessee.

“We’ve done some great work together musically, writing- and production-wise. Anytime I go to his studio, I’ll play through whatever he decides to rig up. I’ll bring my pedalboard and he’ll look at it saying, ‘Hmm, let’s try something else!’ He very politely pushes all my gear aside and takes responsibility for the sounds. I don’t know what I used half the time!”

You’re well-known for being a bit of a fuzz aficionado, having mainly stuck with the Analog Man Astro Tone and the Fulltone Octafuzz in the past. What are we hearing this time round?

“On this record it was an EarthQuaker Park Fuzz and the Toronzo Cannon fuzz made by Function F(x). Those are my go-to pedals. But so much got done at Mike’s studio, I can’t say for sure. He also had this crazy reverb pedal that I cannot remember the name of. It was this out of this world, psychedelic-looking thing. I know we used some Universal Audio delays and reverbs.

“There was a TC Electronic tremolo. Things keep getting rotated out. Whenever I’m not quite satisfied, the people in my band and our techs will throw stuff on my pedalboard and tell me to mess with the dials, just to see what works. I’ll try it all out for a week or two, and keep swapping stuff out.”

It was interesting to see footage of you with an Abasi Concepts Larada Space-T a few years ago. It’s definitely not the kind of guitar you’re known for playing!

“Oh yeah! That thing is a beautiful instrument. Tosin is such an incredible player and his attention to detail for his brand is crazy. When I picked up that guitar, it was so buttery. It just made sense, you know? Every single amp it hit, it resonated just right. So shout out to him. He’s been doing his thing with those funky space guitars. It’s very cool!”

It says a lot about your attitude towards gear in general.

“At a certain point, it’s not about sticking to what you know. I’ve always been open to trying stuff out because why not? You never know until you try it. Especially with music and gear – it’s cool to paint with all the colours. If you get an opportunity to try something, you never know what might happen.

“You could find a creative spark and end up being inspired to do things you never thought you’d be capable of. There’s no greater buzz for me than self-discovery and problem-solving. I love the idea of adjusting my perspective in ways I’d never considered before.”

So what are the oldest or most valuable instruments in the collection?

“I’ve got a 1937 Martin D-18… at least, I think that’s what it is! I’ve got a 1966 Gibson Casino, a 1968 Riviera that my wife got me which is in mint condition. I opened it and immediately put it back in the case because I didn’t want to get any dust on it! It’s an incredible instrument, but she always tells me, ‘You never play that guitar I got you!’ She also got me a nice late-’70s Firebird. I’ve got a 1958 ES-125. That’s a couple of them.

“I’m not too big on being a collector. I’m not too precious with my stuff – I want to beat things up and play them in. Maybe one day, when I slow down and I’ve beaten up all my guitars, I’ll sit down and appreciate them. But I’m scared!

“I remember with the first SG signature I got from Gibson, I tripped over a cord and the thing went bam! The headstock snapped off and that’s happened with too many of my guitars. I don’t want to be that guy with all the precious ones.”

One of the new songs, To the End of the Earth, is notable for your use of harmonic minor and diminished ideas alongside embellished jazz voicings. This definitely feels like new ground for you.

“If I’m being honest, I feel like I’ve been getting away with the pentatonic for a long time! Straight-up minor blues and seventh chords. It’s been fun; people love that. I love it. That’s the sound of the blues, it’s rootsy and evokes a certain feeling, but I also listen to Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian and Lonnie Johnson.

“Even B.B. King in his early days was doing some crazy jazz voicings and wild runs! I was inspired because Mike Elizondo played me this record Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane did together. It had this beautiful singing, this crooning that nobody seems to be doing anymore. I sat there with some chords and put it together. We recorded it real quick. When everyone asked if I had another verse, I said, ‘No, that’s it, all I got!’”

Other tracks like Maktub, This Is Who We Are and Hearts In Retrograde demonstrate how lyrical you can be with the humble blues scale. What pentatonic tips can you offer those of us who haven’t grown up around so much history?

“I didn’t study any music theory or scales until the pandemic. When I was the young kid at those jams, people would point at the note on my fretboard or I’d mirror what they were doing. They’d say, ‘This is the one, this is the four, this is the five.’ That’s all I knew. Everything else was just guesswork.

“See, it wasn’t cool to know music theory when I was growing up – it was about the feeling. I’d ask all the other players and they’d say, ‘All you need is three chords and the truth!’ So that’s just what I lived by – the pentatonic scale with a little bit of soul. I’d hit some bum notes that sounded kinda off but weren’t, and I wouldn’t know what they were called.”

In 2017, you and Eric Gales teamed up in the studio to reproduce Freddie King’s version of Boogie Man. That felt like a big moment for modern blues.

“Eric Gales is one of my favourites, if not the favourite guitar player of mine. The way he can be so soulful, funky and free with it, but his attack and intention is so clean and precise. He’s like the Beethoven of guitar – that guy will take you to church! His level of talent is so crazy. Working with him was such an honour – it was amazing and I felt so inspired. I’m not going to lie, I definitely tried to steal a couple of licks!”

Eric Clapton once sent you a letter thanking you for making him want to play again. That’s pretty powerful. How many other people can say that?

“I’m not sure, but I can’t be the only one! It was definitely an honour. I think back to the 12 year-old sitting around in the living room, whose sisters were complaining as he kept watching the Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute concert. Hearing Eric Clapton on Ain’t Gone ‘N’ Give Up On Love was magical. I loved the sound of that Strat and that vibrato. I’d listen to that solo over and over again.

“I remember my dad handing over Clapton and Santana records and saying to me, ‘If you want to learn how to play guitar, this is how you do it!’ That was my homework! So to have Eric Clapton call me up and say such nice things meant a lot. There are no words that can fully capture it, almost like it was a dream. You want to be called up by the big dogs and then they do! I have to remember, ‘This really happened!’”

Which other blues players did you learn from the most? 

“My biggest tricks came from people like Buddy Guy, who would overbend his strings and exaggerate the hell out of it – it’s ridiculous how far that guy can bend a string! I learned how to do things like that in order to evoke emotion. Put a fuzz pedal on top and your eyes will roll into the back of your head! I’ve also been trying to play with more intention – being more musical instead of getting too excited.”

How exactly does one achieve that?

“When I first started, it was three-piece band stuff and I only had a few songs. All I had was long guitar solos to fill up the time. That’s where I learned how to start slow, build it up, introduce more excitement and bring it down before a final climax going back into the final chorus or verse. My songs would end up being 12 minutes long!

“These days I’m more precise about it. I kinda get grossed out by these long, ridiculous, noisy solos. I want to be more creative in terms of orchestrating and arranging music… because I love music. Sometimes it’s a little disrespectful to put a loud, obnoxious solo on a beautiful arrangement.”

Speaking of beautiful arrangements, in contrast to a lot of your peers, you mix the blues with other genres to produce more contemporary sounds. You might have one foot in the past, but it seems like you’re only ever looking forward…

“All the guys that came before me were pioneers in terms of moving it forward. Robert Johnson. Muddy Waters. Son House. All these guys put their own flavour into this music and evolved it. We sometimes look at it as this thing to preserve, but the guys who were making it weren’t preserving it. They were trying to push the boundaries. If you’re trying to do Muddy Waters, that’s some big shoes to fill, and I don’t really want to spend my time trying to be that guy.

“People used to tell me all the time, ‘Just play the blues, you gotta preserve the blues!’ And I’d think, ‘Yeah, but look at Buddy Guy with a record like Sweet Tea – what the hell is that?’ Why would people want me to sound like Buddy Guy’s old records when even Buddy Guy doesn’t sound like that anymore? What the hell kinda sense does that make?”

It’s easy to forget the blues had to evolve to get where it is now.

“Hubert Sumlin was an electric guitar pioneer. He didn’t play it like Charlie Christian or Wes Montgomery. The guys who ended up listening to him, like Keith Richards and Eric Clapton, then took it forward in their own way.

“I’m not going to just do the one-four-five thing just because people want some sense of nostalgia. That’s not my role. Blues keeps on going. It’s inspired by everything around it. Why would I not put my own filter on that? I like playing and experimenting. I just love making noise – my own noise. Why not?!”

• JPEG RAW is out now via Warner.