Great to see Michael Gray posting his entry on Freddy. He’s one of the most individual guitar players around, and in these days of super-flash facile players, that’s really something. I loved his playing in Bob Dylan’s band, and I thought that Bob often had a secret smile on his face while watching Freddy solo. Michael’s right, I think: Freddy was the lead guitar player Bob aspires to be, always questing to take it to the next level and find something unexpected, something raw, something real.

At the time Minimal came out (buy it, you won’t be sorry) I did an email q and a with Freddy.

Here it is.

You’ve played a couple of festivals recently?
Two great festivals in intimate settings. The first was in the Vosges moutains in Alsace, in an old protestant temple, invited by a French artist, Rodolphe Burger. He is a native of Alsace too, like me. We had like 350 people. They were fantastic, very respectful. I played three tunes with my friend Joel Montemagni on upright bass. I got two encores!! And the second was in Mulhouse, my hometown, at the Jazz Festival. I played a small old venue with a balcony. Same thing there, a very nice audience. Maybe 200 people. I had a great time. Both times it was as an opening act. I played for 45 minutes. I’ll do more, for sure, maybe adding an upright and drums to play longer. It wasn’t weird at all to play solo. A little scary, of course, but for me it’s like therapy. You’re emptying your soul to all these people and when they respond, you know that you’re right. When I’m doing a solo with a singer, it’s close to that feeling. And playing with Bob certainly helped on the confidence aspect of it.

Why Minimal ?
I think that if I wouldn’t have been sick, I wouldn’t have done this CD. Very simple. I would still, probably, be playing with Bob. And that takes all your mind, for me anyway. So, the recording was something I had to do to keep my mind working and to empty my feelings. Healing process. I had to go forward and quickly. So, obviously, playing just with one guitar was the easiest. And also, it was a
challenge, because I’ve never done it before.

You recorded at home?
I was recording mostly in a small walk-in closet being constructed in the middle of our house, so I had less noise. And the sound was raw too, almost no sound reflection, which makes it closer to your ear.
I used 2 Neumann 87s, a Tube Tech stereo MicPre and a Panasonic DAT machine. That’s it. I brought the DAT tape to Gavin Lurrson at the Mastering Lab and he did the final touch. He is the guy how did O Brother, Where Art Thou and the last Ben Harper CD. He is an acoustic guitar player himself.

Which guitars did you use?
Mostly an old Martin 001 from 1895. An amazing guitar which helped me deliver. Also a Gibson J45 from 1947, a tricone National reissue on the second tune and a Gibson 125 electric from 1957 on Elastic.

And no overdubs?
Berceuse En Sol is done with a drum machine with a speaker on it. I had it on the floor running while playing the song. I think that I would have ruined the intimicy by adding stuff. I wanted it to be raw, as my soul was.

You recorded at night?
Recording at night means no child running around. I have two girls. Louise is 2 and Sophie is 7. So you can imagine the action sometimes. I did also some morning recording when Sophie was at school and Louise was at the park playing.

Next?
I’m working on promoting the best I can my CD. Writing new tunes and looking for jobs in the meantime. Thinking about putting this studio together with Rodolphe Burger in Alsace, in the mountains. Something unique where people can stay. Willy Deville probably next year, if he does an interesting record. And for sure, working on my solo project. Oh, I forgot, Finishing the tiles and plumbing in my new bathroom and
of course, putting shelves in the walk-in closet…

Finally… you’ve lived in both New Orleans and LA. Tell me three things about each place.
Three things about N.O : architecture, black heritage and humidity.
Three things about L.A : sun, diversity and skin-lifting.

Thanks to Freddy for answering my questions, and for his beautiful playing.

Most recent sighting of Freddy: backing that other well known singer-songwriter, Carla Bruni, on Later…