The Best Paul McCartney Band Guitarists, 1970-2010

Paul McCartney is one of the greatest multi instrumentalists to have ever inhabited the world of rock. His prowess on all the main rock 'n roll instruments, from drums to bass guitar, keyboards and lead guitar - notwithstanding his all-encompassing vocal abilities - mark him down as an unusually gifted person.
For the purposes of performing in public.....well, not even McCartney could play everything under those circumstances, so he has regularly populated his touring bands with musicians of the highest calibre.
As a lead guitarist, McCartney himself is no slouch. Just check out the vicious solo break in The Beatles' Taxman (yes, that's him), the tasteful series of licks found in the earlier Ticket To Ride or the languid blues licks in On The Way, from the solo, McCartney II album.
There have been some exceptional guitarists who've plied their trade with him over the years and I would like to recall a few of them and their recorded achievements with the former Beatle.

• Jimmy McCulloch - Former guitarist with the band Thunderclap Newman, it was Jimmy who embellished that band's monster hit Something In The Air with those characteristic jangly lines. Jimmy joined Wings in 1974 and exploded over the Venus & Mars album, showing how accomplished he was on songs such as Letting Go, Theme From Crossroads and most memorably his own composition, the prophetic Medicine Jar (he died of a drug overdose in 1979)
• Henry McCulloch - He had a relatively short stint in Paul's early 70's version of Wings, after gracing Joe Cocker's Grease band, playing on the albums Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway. The solo on My Love is a fitting testament to his craft, as were his subtle, Gibson Les Paul flourishes on tracks such as One More Kiss and Big Barn Bed.
• Robbie McIntosh - Formerly of The Average White Band and The Pretenders, Robbie was the lightning fast axe-man of the 90's for Paul, his dexterity and wit shining through on the track from the album Paul Is Live, aptly called Robbie's Bit. His work on the Off The Ground album was also a model of effervescent precision.
• Rusty Anderson - Hard to choose between him and Brian Ray, both the current alternating lead guitarists in Paul's live line-up, but I'd say Rusty shades it. His mastery of the Gibson ES335 and SG models is something to behold, testament to his stellar CV which counts such luminaries as Neil Diamond, Meat Loaf and Carole King.

Diana Rogers

Diana in Savannah
Savannah. The setting of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The events that unravelled around the fascinating characters in 'The Book' happened 30 years ago. But Savannah still revels in larger than life people.
In the heart of the Victorian District is the Gingerbread House, home to the marvellous musician Diana Rogers. Lavender's Blue arrived over one sultry Sunday afternoon to meet Diana in her kitchen. Exquisitely clad in oyster pink - hat, long gloves and real shell earrings to boot - she firstly entertained us with her witticisms, homemade sugared scones and a glass or two of bubbly.
Her house is a collectors' paradise. Tables overflowing with vintage finds glisten in the scorching sunlight. Diana's originally from Oklahoma. "All they do there is watch TV and go to church!" she howls with laughter.
Rural life wasn't for her. A classically trained pianist and singer, her wonderfully intoxicating voice, not to mention her superlative keyboard skills, ensured that she was an instant Blues hit in New Orleans. Soon she outgrew even the jazz capital and it was off to the Big Apple.
In New York Diana deftly launched herself on the music scene. She played and sang at all the top hotels and clubs: the Waldorf Astoria, Harry's Bar, One Fifth Avenue, Windows on the World...
Hot in demand, Diana enjoyed a long engagement at Nino's in New York throughout the Nineties. She performed at the Madison Arms in East Hampton during the summer months. Diana was flown over to London and Cornwall to perform at private parties. She released an album of hits at the end of the Nineties featuring 'I Know Him So Well', 'La Vie en Rose' and her own composition 'Middle Class Princess'.
In 2003 she decided it was time for a new phase of her life to begin so it was off to the Deep South. She bought a restored timber Victorian home on the pink azalea-lined East Gaston Street in Savannah.
"I still return to New York every couple of months," she confesses. "Last time I was there I spent $2,000 on a hat. But it's a real nice hat. My wardrobe takes up the whole top floor of the house."
Diana has fully established herself as a firm fixture on Savannah's music circuit. She's performed in more than a dozen venues and can currently be heard in the basement piano bar of The Olde Pink House. In fact that's where Lavender's Blue first came across her. Descending the stairs from the classy restaurant above, we heard 'Moon River' in dulcet tones floating across the heavy evening air. Fast forward 48 hours and we are in her house.
"Come on through to the parlour," Diana waves. Keeping her gloves on - natch - she embarks on a one woman cabaret show, jauntily weaving her way through the music of Cole Porter and George Gershwin before celebrating the present day with Andrew Lloyd Weber and John Kander.
Diana reveals, "Imelda Marcos' daughter lives next door. And Jerry Spence, the hairdresser mentioned in The Book is a frequent visitor. 'Honey, you can find me on page 47!' he tells everyone he meets!"
Another neighbour, Patricia, arrives. "She was big in Washington!" Diana confides in a stage whisper. Diana plays a medley of Johnny Mercer songs. Outside, a clap of thunder resounds across the gunpowder grey sky. Rain beats down heavily on the veranda. But it doesn't dampen the decadent party spirit indoors.
Leopold, a grand tortoiseshell cat appears at the parlour door. "She guards the house!" exclaims Diana. The cat got her name before her gender was determined at the vets. "My workman Mr Tiles is built like Tarzan! He was upstairs doing work when I was away and he rang me sayin', 'I can't get down the stairs! Your cat won't let me past!' Anyway, he had to jump out the bedroom window and slide down the porch roof!"
As we say our goodbyes late afternoon, Diana's phone rings. More guests arrive. The party is just getting started. A competitive cacophony of church bells and thunder erupts but it goes unnoticed, drowned out by the echo of laughter, clinking of glasses and Diana upping the tempo with 'All That Jazz'.

An Acoustic Drum Kit Versus an Electronic Drum Kit

Many purists debate the worth of an electronic drum kit when compared to an acoustic one but in todays technological advances, the types of drum sounds and the feel of an electronic drum kit are on par with their acoustic cousins. This coupled with the societal shift of people living in more compact dwellings and in apartments, it's easy to see why an electronic drum kit is gaining momentum as a must have for any serious drummer.
Electronic drums have a number of benefits over their louder counterparts. The most important for many drummers is the benefit that the player has in not creating a huge noise when playing their drums. This allows the player to play their kit at any hour of the day and as loud as they want (within reason). The hitting of the pads does make some residual sound however it's a drop in the ocean compared to an acoustic kit. Just put on your headphones and away you go. Even if you have the kit plugged into some speakers, just adjust the volume down during those quieter times of the day.
One thing which has been important for myself as a player and my own transition from an acoustic to an electronic kit is the fact that my ears have been given a well deserved rest from the massive sounds that come from an acoustic kit especially when your playing a live gig. Live drum kits can produced sound up to 120 decibels and this kind of sound of the long-term can produce ear damage. And when you're constantly forgetting your earplugs, the ear damage can set in rapidly. An electronic drum kit like a Yamaha dtxplorer with a good set of headphones, even though these can still be loud, can be volume controlled with ease thanks to either your external volume controller or the volume control on the back of the dtxplorer trigger module.
Another fantastic thing and for a lot of drummers the best part about electronic drums is the ability of most kits to accept an mp3 player or any sound input into the trigger module so you can play along with your favorite songs or write drums on top of your fellow band mates demo tracks. Personally I plug my iphone in which has thousands of songs and I set the volume loud enough to get into the music but still not too loud to drown out my own drums. I'll then select the appropriate preset kit on the dtxplorer trigger module so that the drum sounds closely match the style of the song.
Finally, the transport of an electronic drum set is the icing on the cake for why I think these types of drum kits are the way of the future. If you've ever packed up an acoustic drum kit at 4am in a drunken bar, you'll understand how beneficial it is to be able to literally fold your drum kit up and walk out the door with it.

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