From the Ed: Our resident Art Chat writer, Bridget O’Haire selected a very talented artist for her interview this month. He is a hugely talented Jazz Guitarist and also her father…

A few weeks ago, American guitarist (now living in Almuñécar) Bill O’Haire played a solo concert at the Casa de la Cultura, showcasing his mastery of styles ranging from Delta blues to modern jazz. Full disclosure: he’s my father.

Who were your heroes growing up?

My first heroes came out of the the English blues explosion: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Peter Green and Jimi Hendrix – who was American but we shouldn’t forget he came out of England. At that point it wasn’t really pop music – it was less about singing and more about the guitar solo; and that really spoke to me, that’s what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to sing, I didn’t want to write songs, I just wanted to play guitar solos.

How would you describe what kind of music you play?

I consider myself a jazz musician because I interpret melodies. I find songs that say something to me and I try to express myself in that song. It’s different every time I play it. Jazz is a verb; jazz is a way of playing something.

I know that you are extremely disciplined and practice every day. What is it that drives you?

It’s the music I listen to.  There’s a handful of people that really changed music and played at such a high level – like Miles Davis, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter – that’s who I judge myself by, these gods. What they played was so fantastic. It inspires me to be just as good as them, although I probably never will be. But you know it’s also just something I really enjoy doing. I really enjoy struggling with something and getting better at it and then hopefully eventually mastering it.

So it seems playing is a really internal process for you, but is playing music also being an entertainer?

For a lot of people it is, but for me it’s not. I don’t consider myself an entertainer. That whole aspect of playing music and show business is not appealing to me at all. I see music as an art form.

So how does the audience play a role then?

When you have a good audience you feel their energy and it becomes a dialogue. The musician puts out energy and the audience absorbs it and gives it back to you in double. It’s a constant exchange of energy when it’s at its best.

Who is your guitar god?

Django Reinhardt. Everything he played was just pure poetry and so full of joy, life and expression.

Do you have a life motto?

Yeah. Hard work. It’s 98% hard work and 2% talent. I believe you can accomplish anything if you work hard enough at it.

How did you get into music?

When I was 10 years old, I saw The Beatles on television and got so excited I asked for a guitar the next Christmas. My parents found me a guitar teacher and that was the beginning of my formal education in music. So right off the bat I was exposed to all kinds of music that I had never heard before, like classical music, Spanish guitar, light opera, Tangoes, Beguine – really a whole lot of wonderful music that you didn’t hear on the radio and that you really wouldn’t have known about unless you were reading it from a book. So that was a really good start. As time went on, I wanted to emulate my heroes.

Did you always know you wanted to be a musician?

Yeah, as soon as I got my hands on a guitar I knew that that was going to be my path in life.

If you could go back and give young Billy O’Haire advice, what would you say?

I would say to be true to yourself and to  believe in yourself. to realize that you are unique, that there’s nobody else on the planet that is you.

Doesn’t that sound kind of pretentious?

But it’s really true – because no matter how hard you try to imitate somebody, they’re always going to want to hear the original. There are so many examples of that in modern music. So just believe in yourself and find your own sound ‘cause that’s the most important thing.

Can you remember some great advice you got that really affected you?

Yeah. I mean the things that come to mind aren’t really profound; they’re like philosophical things. When I first started making money, an older guy in the band said, “Always count your money in front of the guy that just paid you,” and I remembered that, and that’s good advice.
And the drummer for the Jefferson Airplane told me, “When you’re really broke, always wear your best clothes.”

Did you want the same fame as the musicians you were around?

I don’t know. In some ways I thought I did. In certain ways, had I gotten that amount of fame and money in my 20’s I wouldn’t have developed into the musician that I am now. And I also would have probably self destructed, quite frankly.

What are you expressing when you play?

It’s hard to describe it because I think words fall short. It’s a really complicated set of feelings and emotions. It’s very much like painting. Certain colors create a certain mood and then you explore that mood and see how it feels to you. It’s always about going as deep into yourself as you can; and I think the deeper you go into yourself the deeper you go into a universal consciousness. You arrive at certain truths, which has nothing to do with popular music. [laughs]

It doesn’t seem like you ever get stuck. Do you? It sounds like you’re just always playing and coasting on this road towards something. It doesn’t ever seem like you get discouraged. Like I go into my studio and I wonder what the hell did I just make.

Yeah but you’re young. When I was in my 20’s I had those feelings too. But it was because I was trying to be something that I wasn’t, to fit into somebody else’s idea of what I should be.  And that’s the thing about getting older and having lived a lot, you just realize who you are and what your strengths and weaknesses are. But most of all what your sound is, what you can do with that sound, and not having any commercial consideration is also a big part of that, too.

Is there a cultural difference playing for a Spanish audience?

Yeah, definitely. I think the Spanish really relate to music on a heart level. You can tell you’re reaching people on a deep level. I think because of the way this culture is, they put a lot of value on true deep expression.

What would you like to see for yourself in the future?

Just to get better on my instrument and to play the music I hear in my head, you know – and to try to overcome the technical and physical limitations. I’m always looking for new ways to express myself, new songs. I think I’m going to focus on writing new songs.