Shane Parish dives deep into the roots of guitar virtuosity
Asheville guitarist Shane Parish is best known for his work in the riveting instrumental rock band Ahleuchatistas, capable of firing off astoundingly intense and nimble runs imbued with a complex eclecticism.
His solo acoustic work is easier on the ears but no less breathtaking, including his latest album Undertaker Please Drive Slow, released on saxophonist/composer John Zorn’s Tzadik label.
Undertaker uses Appalachian folk tunes as starting points for Parish’s virtuosic flights and embellishments, that at times cover classical, jazz and free improv (that is, improvising without a genre in mind) territories.
Parish answered some questions for The Pulse in advance of his Thursday night concert at Wayne-O-Rama.
The Pulse: In an interview with Bomb, you said, “I felt I had to give myself structure before I said goodbye to it.” Do you feel like musicians need to know the rules before they break them? To what degree does training matter in the free improv realm?
Shane Parish: I don’t think musical training is necessary to harness creativity. At the same time, the more tools you have in your toolbox, the more varied beautiful cathedrals you’ll be able to construct. So, why limit yourself?
In my own case, I have chosen to follow the path of advancing my technique and musical knowledge as part of the life’s work. This does not hinder the muse in any way. When it is time to create, she has absolute primacy.
So, make time for monastic study and make time for free association in the alpha state, try to harness her utterances.
TP: What is your relationship with Appalachian folk music? American Primitive Guitar?SP: I am a big fan of Appalachian folk music. I love Dock Boggs and Jean Ritchie and Roscoe Holcomb, and especially John Jacob Niles. My background in country blues guitar goes back several years to my learning of songs by Mississippi John Hurt and Elizabeth Cotton.
I think that’s partly where the American Primitive Guitar movement lifted their vocabulary from, and then streamlined and codified it so that everyone sounds like John Fahey if they study a few John Fahey licks. If that brings joy to those doing it and those listening to it, then I am very happy for them.
Though, it’s not my approach exactly. I am more rooted in Spanish and South American guitar, jazz and John Cage’s prepared piano music.
TP: How would you summarize your own musical evolution?
SP: I spent a decade writing and experimenting with no formal study, from ages 14 to 24. My first move was to just connect ideas and gestures on the guitar that I thought sounded cool, and these became “songs”. So, I was composing and improvising from the get-go, which I think everyone does.
I just had the ego to believe in and stand by any idea that fell from my fingers, which was part of my survival mechanism, growing up amidst chaos and abuse. I began performing live almost immediately, at open mic nights, and cafes in and around Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
When I moved to Asheville in 2001, I began teaching myself to read music in earnest, because I really wanted to be able to play any music I wanted, particularly John Coltrane. I also joined a punk band called Shovel Fight, and we went on tour some.
This connected me to DIY touring and building music community through hosting artists, and embracing the kindness of strangers. I also formed Ahleuchatistas around this time.
From my late twenties to the present (I’ll be 40 in January), I have been teaching guitar and studying classical guitar. Classical guitar is, for me, a meditation on effortlessness: how to pull out the most beautiful sounds in the most intuitive and natural way.
There was a turning point for me, in early 2016, where everything I was doing seemed to finally gel in a way that made sense. All of my eclectic interests merged into a distinct creative flow, and suddenly I wasn’t trying anymore. It was at this moment that I recorded the demo for Undertaker Please Drive Slow, which I did not know was a demo. I just did it in one hour.
John Zorn immediately offered to help me realize a project in this direction: playing old folk tunes in a trance. I stepped through a door, and things are just now starting to get really exciting.
TP: What’s your favorite piece of feedback you’ve received about your solo guitar direction?
SP: “I felt as if I was swimming in amniotic fluid, as if I was witnessing something being born.” A woman said this to me after a 90 minute set I played at my New York City CD release show for Undertaker at The Stone last month.