Gary Clark, Jr. refuses to stay in his lane. More than a blues man, he’s an artist whose latest album, JPEG RAW, explores the sweet convergence of black music from a multitude of eras. In Clark’s world, ’60s R&B falsettos collide with the fury of Freddie King, Grant Green’s sultry post-bop extrapolations, and hypnotic bars that echo Kendrick Lamar. It’s a galaxy of Octavia-drenched guitar solos finding kinship with samples from Sonny Boy Williamson, The Jackson 5, and Thelonious Monk. And, Stevie Wonder makes an appearance. Can you dig it?
Is JPEG RAW a concept album?
I don’t know what it is. I was trying to come up with a concept, so in ways, it is. I went from being in the studio to flipping around and going on tour, so I’m still trying to figure it. I’m like, “Yeah, it could be if you really want to take it there.” But to simplify it, I think the concept is about images. Most of where I was getting my information was from my feed, which was images, videos, news stories, and things people were sharing. It was all over the scale as far as tapping into each kind of emotion. There was humor, war, murder, devastation, loss of a child, and protests. I was feeding off all this information. JPEG RAW is about images and information.
Your press release describes the title as an acronym for “Jealousy, Pride, Ego & Greed/Rules, Alter Ego & Words.”
Yeah, I’m still objectively trying to make it all make sense. It’s kind of hard to explain. It’s just a thing in my mind that makes sense. Hopefully, it makes sense to others.
The range between a swamp blues like “Don’t Start” and George Clinton on “Funk Witch U” is quite a journey.
Absolutely. I grew up in the iPod shuffle age. There was all kinds of stuff going on, and I appreciated it all. Somebody told me when I was a kid, “You gotta keep the blues alive.” A lot of people told me, “Stay true to the blues!” At a certain point, when am I going to start staying true to me? I’m doing that right now. All the people who came before never stuck to doing that. What would happen if Muddy Waters and Bob Dylan didn’t go electric? You can’t go backward. I’m in my element creating things that move me.
It’s like introducing genres of music to each other, “Hello, how are you? Nice to meet you.”
Yeah (laughs). “Hi, this is your second cousin.”
Stevie Wonder sounds so fresh on “What About The Children.” How does one collaborate with Stevie Wonder?
I played on “Where Is Our Love Song,” which was released in 2020. There was a lot of stuff going on at that time with George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. It was a strange period. People were locked in the house. I got on the Internet to express my frustration, and then Stevie called me and said, “Gary! I hear you! Let’s do a song about it!” I was like, “Okay, sure.” So, he sent me a voice memo called “What About The Children,” with him singing a riff. I was like, “Man, this is on!” It was like funky, blues, but it’s Stevie Wonder, so it’s all my favorite s**t from the source (laughs).
I built the track with my guys and interpreted the vibe and communication. Then we ended up in the studio with him. He worked so hard in the studio. I thought I was working hard, but seeing him do it was so fresh – so much energy. He sang his ass off for four hours to get it right. He took a break, came back, and did more. The next day, he came back and played harmonica. Then he played clavinet. It was the most badass, professional, coolest thing I have ever seen.
This started with singing a cellphone voice memo?
Yeah. It was just him singing and mumbling the words, playing a harmonium. We had a good chunk of it and worked out what we thought he was saying, lyrically, and put a story together.
Stevie’s harp playing goes back to 1963’s “Finger Tips.”
Stevie’s harmonica playing is so genius. You hear it, but you have to pay attention to comprehend it. That’s time, passion, and soul for something otherworldly. It was a pleasure and an honor to play with him. It was so cool.
Is that an Octavia on “Maktub?”
I’ll be honest; every time I hang out with (producer) Mike Elizondo, I bring a pedalboard and three or four guitars. My board ends up disappearing and there’s a mess of pedals in front of me. Mike starts turning knobs while I play, and he’s like, “Let’s try that.” That’s what happened on “Maktub.” I would come in with my interpretation of the sounds with an Octavia dialed back so it sounds like a fuzzy sitar. Then he’d say, “Let’s go with that.” I’m not sure what the chain was, but it was powerful (laughs). I can’t remember the name of the pedal.
That sound is usually pretty over the top. You found the right level.
I honestly thought it was too much. I was going to have Mike pull it back, but if it translates in the booth, I’ll trust it.
Which guitar is on that track?
I used my Gibson 355 on that, and my signature Epiphone Blak and Blu Casino, my three-pickup P-90 SG, and a ’61 SG reissue that Pat Smear gave me. I also used it on “This Is Who We Are” and “Triumph.” I also used a Wide Sky P125 with P-90s. I had four or five guitars sitting next to me.
You also explore your clean Curtis Mayfield/Joe Pass side.
If you know, you know (laughs). That style has some of the most-beautiful playing ever. It’s what got me into guitar in the first place. I did that on the interlude, “To The Ends Of The Earth.” It’s a straight influence from that era.
“Don’t Start” is a filthy stomp. Where does that come from?
I already had the music, but the lyrics were inspired by a fight in a parking lot. It didn’t involve me; I just heard about it. I knew a guy who knew a guy (laughs). It was a tough time – tense for sure. But I harnessed it into a song and transferred that energy. It’s got some of that Son House, Howlin’ Wolf, and Lead Belly in there. I found a 1941 National Dobro in this shop in Nashville. It was all busted up, had a broken bridge. I pulled that thing out, miked it up, and played. I used a fuzz and an open wah sound. Mike tweaked it, added EQ, and used an old ribbon mic and a Green Bullet mic on it.
We took a beautiful guitar, messed up the tone, squashed it, and made it sound nasty. I wanted to do something with an old-school blues, stompy, swamp thing, but in the now, using modern sounds – big amps and weird fuzzed out synths and stuff like that – sub-bass with a mix of synthesizer bass and a Fender Jazz bass. There’s something cool about that. I used Toronzo Cannon’s Cannon Dual Fuzz by Function Fx and a Park Fuzz. I also love the Universal Audio reverb and delay pedals. A lot of times when I’m just playing to get new sounds, I’ll go into the Universal Audio Apollo Interface plug-ins console and mess around with that just to trip out and try things I wouldn’t normally try.
Are you a Tube Screamer guy?
I like the sound of a Tube Screamer. I like that boost. Sometimes, during outdoor shows, my clean tone doesn’t push or bite as much as I need, and it saves me every time. I can get that little kick I need. I find myself struggling with the midrange with hollowbody guitars. I’ve also been using the Maestro Ranger Overdrive and the Discoverer Delay for a few things.
The production on JPEG RAW is earthy but clear.
I like a nice dive-bar sound – bark, character, and grit. It has to have character, flaws, and a story. I’ve had an internal battle with technology. Being able to do multiple takes of a guitar solo, after a certain point I’m beating my head up against the wall, “No! It’s not right!” Jacob Sciba, my right-hand man, tells me, “Man, you got it in the third take (laughs).” I’m going, “Yeah, it was alright, but it could be this.” Then you go back and hear the energy and the intention of it, and there may be some subtle flaw, flub, or mistake, but the intention and the emotion behind it is much more effective and powerful than a flawless, technically careful take. I battle with that all the time. Jacob is like, “That’s enough already! You got it (laughs)!” He’ll play it back, and I’ll say, “It’s good, but… (laughs).” 78 takes later, we go back to the third take. He’s like, “See, I told you, dude!” “Yeah, you’re right (laughs).”
Do you have a number one amp?
I’m still trying to figure that out, trying to find my tone. Some days I get it, other days I don’t. I’m always trying different things. I’m like a mad scientist, “It’s there! It’s in here! It’s me! It’s the room! It’s the temperature! It’s the speaker! It’s the microphone! It’s the distance!” It’s all right here. It’s about me solving this puzzle.
I stick to my Vibro-King and my Ampeg that I can switch between 30 and 60 watts, running through a 2×10 Fender cab. I was at Arlyn Studios, in Austin, where they have this 100-watt Cesar Diaz beast of an amp. This was where I did most of the guitar solos. Every time in that place, that amp is alright. I’m trying to get them to sell it to me. It’s my not-so-secret weapon. It’s like a Dumble.
Ordinarily, I’m a Vibro-King guy. Through and through, I’m a Fender guy. I like the vintage Princetons and the reissues. I have them around the house and on the bus. I like the sound of the tubes. I was bullied into liking them from being in blues clubs (laughs). I had a 60-watt solid-state Crate combo and an Ibanez Blazer, and they were like, “What are you doing, kid!? You can’t play Freddie King on that (laughs)!”
Because you play hollowbodies, do you have an issue with feedback on stage?
I’ve been fighting the battle of tone versus stage volume, because with hollowbodies you’re gonna be fighting feedback every time. I’ve been trying quieter stage volume, but I’ve been disappointed with the lack of midrange and the bottom-end. It really bites onstage, and I have to deal with it.
It feels out of our control.
I’ll tell you a story: I was in London for the Jeff Beck tribute, playing my 355. I did “Because We’ve Ended As Lovers” – one of my favorite songs. At rehearsal, the whole band is there – Clapton, Nathan East, Doyle Bramhall, II, and Rod Stewart is there with his shirt half unbuttoned, strutting around and just being a badass. Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi are there – Ronnie Wood… Everybody’s there!
I’m trying to play this song, and my Bigsby pops off (laughs). The guitar goes boing, boing! Everybody stops to look, and I’m just like, “Damn!” So, my tech gave me my backup. Thirty seconds into it, same thing happens. Boing! I have no more guitars. I have to take a break. I’m standing there guitar-less. Before that, I was messing with my tuning pegs. I’m blaming the plane, the weather, the altitude, and coming up with every excuse in the book.
Clapton is looking at me, shaking his head. He goes, “Gezer… Can I call you Gezer?” I say, “Sure.” He says, “How many times have you seen me touch my tuning pegs in all the years you’ve known me and seen me play guitar?” I said, “Never.” He says, “How many times have you seen me fumble with a whammy bar?” I said, “Never.” He looks at me, looks around the room, then looks dead in my eyes and says, “Strat!” I was like, “Ohhhhh!” That was it (laughs). After that, I broke a string. It was not my day.
That being said, I am not converted. I’ll be a Gibson/Epiphone guy until the day I leave this planet!
Even Clapton can’t get you to switch?
It ain’t gonna happen. I love them. I own them. However, the thing I’m going for is that snarly, P-90, hollowbody, humbucker thing with hair on it. That’s the instrument I want to play most of the time.
You should write a book about guitar catastrophes.
I did “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots. I was looking at my hands… You can’t be ashy on television, so I go to hair and make-up and ask, “Can I get some moisturizer?” They give me the good moisturizer! I’m playing slide and holding a pick. We go for the first live take, and I notice my slide is slipping off my finger, and my pick is slipping out of my hand. I was like, “Oh, no!” I was struggling for dear life the whole time. Note to guitar players: Don’t over-moisturize!
So, you’re saying it’s better to be ashy on live TV?
I’m saying I’ll be ashy on TV if I can do what I need to do with this guitar – absolutely (laughs)! Funnily enough, I was playing a Bill Asher Custom S90 (laughs).
You sound like you, regardless of the guitar.
I got a chance to hang around with folks like Derek O’Brien and Hubert Sumlin in Austin, and they’d always say, [old-man voice] “It’s about the feel! It’s about your hands!”
Discuss the intent behind “This Is Who We Are,” which was co-written by Naala, a singer/songwriter/producer from London.
The lyrics came down to being saved by Naala. I was writing lyrics and about to throw them in the garbage. I loved the music and was working on the solo but I didn’t know what to do with it. It was the last thing we recorded and I backed myself into a corner. It was circulating for about a year with me trying to figure it out. Naala came in, and I was telling her, “I’ve always heard this song as if it were a dragon flame, medieval times, knight-through-the-forest thing.”
She came up with part of the first verse. I was like, “Okay, yeah! Fighting a dragon! Slaying the demons!” We started to get somewhere with a different perspective. She saved it, and then it started flowing once we were in the studio. She laid down a vocal demo, and I was like, “You just gotta sing on this thing! It’s a collaboration now. Thanks for coming in and helping with the lyrics, but now you’re on the song with me, so let’s go (laughs)!”
How about “Alone Together?”
The trumpet player is my guy, Keyon Harrold, out of St. Louis. He has worked on a couple of projects with me, so I knew he could add the thing needed to take it to the next level as far as evoking that emotion. “Alone Together” was another one of those things where I’m just sitting around with a beat machine and my guitar, trying to play like Grant Green and Wes Montgomery. I was sampling myself trying to play like that. So, I was like, “What would it be like to have all these other elements? Like have a backbeat thing meets swing?” I was experimenting. How could I do jazz, hip-hop, and blues as one thing? I turned it into a funky experiment. I was trying different rhythms. The next thing I knew, I was in the studio singing, “Why do we feel so alone together.” It just kind of happened.
Sometimes, the best art comes from trusting your instincts.
Absolutely. You have to stay open, be receptive. Sometimes, I battle with forcing things. You try so hard, and you get so close. Then you have to take a step back, go for a walk, come back, and then… There it is! Creativity is a subtle, delicate thing. I let the guitar playing evolve. I realized I was frustrated with what I was doing as far as my playing. I was stuck, like, “Well, that’s on you, big dawg! Get into it!” (laughs) So, I started listening to everything, doing music-theory research, and understanding modes. It was a thing that I never paid attention to before. Different guitars inspired me to play different things. It went from me getting my Gibson 175 and playing along to Johnny Hartman or John Coltrane. Any record I put on, I would play along. I’d pick up an Ibanez RG with the Floyd Rose and play along, just trying stuff (laughs)! Trying a different approach, to open my mind; “What would happen if I didn’t stomp on a fuzz and stay in this pentatonic thing?”
It’s difficult to imagine you onstage with a hot-pink Ibanez superstrat.
I felt nothing when you said that. What is that (laughs)? I think about image a lot, not because I want to, but because it’s talked about. As you evolve, your image will change. You see the world differently, so you express yourself differently – whether it’s a haircut, the shoes you wear, or type of pants. The size of the brim on your hat will change depending on how you feel. Part of the fun of it is being able to grow and evolve artistically, mentally, and physically – expressing yourself through clothing, song, or art. It’s great to see elements of growth in an artist – or not (laughs).
You’re touring North America this summer?
I’m going to be all over. I might be somewhere with a pink Ibanez and a Floyd Rose, so watch out!
This article originally appeared in VG’s January 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
