INTERVIEW: Grammy winner Paul Nelson knows how to rock
Photo: Paul Nelson’s recent album is called Badass Generation. Photo courtesy of the musician / Provided by Lappen Enterprises with permission.
Paul Nelson, the Grammy-winning guitarist who was the righthand man of blues legend Johnny Winter, has built a career of expert musicianship and acclaimed collaboration. As evidenced by his latest album, Badass Generation, Nelson has always appreciated the value of partnership. Whether it was his time with Winter or his years playing alongside the likes of Eric Clapton, Slash, Buddy Guy and Warren Haynes, Nelson is a musician’s musician — a dependable, creative, all-around rocker.
Badass Generation, which came out a couple years ago, came during those difficult years after Winter died.
“When I was playing over in Japan with Johnny, Sony took interest, and when Johnny unfortunately passed, they said that they’d be interested in signing me and that I should do a release,” Nelson said in a recent phone interview. “So I got together musicians that I had known from the road and recording and friends of mine, and I got some great players.”
He recruited Morten Fredheim, a contestant on The Voice in Europe, as the vocalist. That connection sprung from Nelson helping Fredheim’s band with a recording in Oslo a few years ago, so the singer repaid the favor.
“I said, ‘Boy, I got to get a hold of this singer if he’s ever free,'” Nelson said. “And he was, so I flew him over. I got Chris Alexander on bass from Samantha Fish, and I got Chris Reddan, the drummer for Poppa Chubby. And it was just a lockdown. We really liked that ’70s recording sound, and as a producer, I really wanted to delve into that along with the blues. I knew Johnny for many, many years, and I didn’t want to put out another Johnny record because that would have been too predictable. And Johnny’s Johnny, so I have to be me.”
After two weeks of recording sessions, Nelson had the nuts and bolts of his new album, a mixture of songs influenced by everyone from ZZ Top to Queen to Tom Petty.
“I wanted to mix it up on this album and actually bring out a lead singer,” he said. “There’s a serious lack of lead singers now with bands. It could be the economy. I don’t what it is, or they just don’t exist because every guitar player is singing. But Morten is one of my favorite singers.”
Since the album’s release, the phone has kept ringing for Nelson to bring his music around on tour. That’s exactly what he is doing, and he currently has gigs lined up in Maine and Florida. Past dates have taken him to Connecticut, Texas and everywhere in between.
When Nelson was recording Badass Generation, he knew that he didn’t want the sound to come off as overly perfect because then, when he took the songs on the road, it would sound as if something was missing from the setlist.
“So I really thought about that,” he said. “I don’t want to do too many parts and layer on stuff, but at the same time, when you record, the music is forever. And there you are with every available guitar and effect and player in the world, and it’s like, do I create the next Bohemian Rhapsody? And then if I go out and play, I have to hire a choir. Or do I keep it real rockin’ blues? And that’s what I did.”
He added: “As a player learning my craft, whenever I would learn from other bands, I would always learn both parts — the rhythm parts, the lead parts, whatever was on there. If ever I was called on do things, I would say, ‘Hey, I can do both parts.’ So I’ve learned to incorporate playing rhythm and lead when I feel that it might be too thin for the audience.”
Because of this expertise, when Nelson can tour with either three or four people in the band. The adaptable sound allows for freedom in a concert hall.
“So I found that all the songs that I recorded worked live, and I was able to play all the parts so that nothing was really missing,” he said. “The message and the feel and the sound were still there because there’s nothing worse than someone coming to see the band, they’ve listened to the recording, and then they go, ‘Well, it wasn’t as good as the recording.’ So you have to either add something, which I do, in the solo sections, or do it exactly [like the album]. The blues aspect of it that adds to what I do allows you to use the songs as a sounding board for improvisation, and that’s where the fun is. And that’s where supporting live music and going to live music is so important because when you see a show, that’s the first and last time you’re going to see that specific show happen that way. Whereas if you’re in the studio, that’s the way it is. There’s a lot of cool stuff that happens in live performance, and so that’s the blues end of it, improvising. I’m always aware of that.”
No matter the triumph or challenge that comes Nelson’s way, he will always appreciate his time working alongside Winter. The guitarist won a Grammy Award for performing on and producing Winter’s Step Back album, and he was there for so many gigs on the road. He could not have been paired with a more legendary musician.
“Every guitar player starting out has to learn a little Johnny Winter, has to learn a little [Jimi] Hendrix, has to learn a little Clapton, and then you go from there,” Nelson said. “Johnny’s one of those, you’ve got to do it. Johnny is the best. He made the best players shake in their boots.”
Nelson is still shaking in those boots.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Paul Nelson’s recent album is Badass Generation. Click here for more information on his music and current tour.
