Tom Karol

I’m also playing in a band again. It’s just a bunch of hacks playing, “Old Fart Rock N’ Roll,” and we only play in public once every other month or so, and we rarely get paid – usually benefits and fundraisers and that sort of thing – but it’s great fun to do the energy-exchange thing with a live audience. My son, Jason
(UConn ’10 – a fine drummer who took lessons from a Berklee grad of course), even sits in on drums sometimes, which is a real treat!
 

Q:How and when did your musical life start?
A: My involvement in music really started in 1960; I was 11, going on 12. My grandfather (a fine violinist) let me borrow his tenor banjo to mess around with. My counselor at camp let me play with his classical guitar; I found melodies. I became enamored with the sound of twangy instrumental guitar rock – Duane Eddy, The Ventures, James Burton with Ricky Nelson, etc. To this day, that's still why I play guitar: I just love the sound of it! It still just grabs at my heart! So, I started taking guitar lessons in the fall of 1960. Prior to that, I had learned on my own how to play a I-VI-IV-V chord progression in the keys of C and G, instantly being able to play about 100 Doo-Wop songs – I still love playing those old patterns today. My teacher was a journeyman musician from my parents' generation, and he schooled me in traditional techniques and the standard catalog of time tested songs and show tunes. He also would write out guitar arrangements to popular songs I requested – Ventures, Kingston Trio, The Beatles … Looking back, I am very grateful for this, as I believe that it is only by going back into the past and following the development of a musical genre that one can move it into the future with any real sense of direction. I took lessons through my high school years and started giging here and there. My focus was zeroing in on improvisation as my main impetus for playing music. But the British Invasion was in full swing, and I went along for the ride. I didn't play that much harder Rock & Roll yet. But, in the fall of 1966, it was time for college and many new musical influences – flat-top guitars, Folk Music, fingerpicking, Folk Blues, and then Electric Blues – as I became exposed to new styles and incorporated them into my own playing, my own personal style began to evolve. Though I played in some ad-hoc Folk-Rock and Jazz groups while at college, the big deal – and a major positive influence on my stylistic development – was my role as lead guitarist in a very actively gigging Soul band. We did lots of Motown hits, but also Stones, Hendrix, and Cream tunes. I was able to combine my embryonic Jazz feel with my affinity for Blues to produce some serious funk, and I began to develop my own kind of rock sensitivity as well. By the time I had graduated with a degree in Psychology, I had decided to apply to Berklee as my own version of 'Graduate School'. At Berklee I certainly improved as a guitarist - learned lots of new scales and new chords. And I listened to horn players and incorporated 'breathing' into my own phrasing. But the biggest benefit was quantum leap in ear training and knowledge of music theory, harmony, and counterpoint. This was an understanding I would end up developing continuously on my own and applying it to both my overall musical conception and my approach to my instrument.

Q:How did things develop post-Berklee?
A: In the late '70's I played in Country-Rock Bands (Eagles, Byrds, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, etc.), had the tremendous good fortune to study with Attila Zoller (see separate 'Tribute' document), and tried to break into recording studio work. I worked as assistant producer, and did some studio guitar playing with John Manchester, Didi Stewart, Darla Foster, John Lincoln Wright, Chuck McDermott & Wheatstraw, Alan Estes, and Kenny Epstein (listen to our samples from 1978). It would have been my dream career if it had worked out; it didn't. Stylistically, I got into C&W a bit (the Cambridge scene at the time) and incorporated faux pedal steel pitch bending into my electric style and bluegrass into my acoustic style. From rock and blues players, I realized that how you play a note is just as important as what note you play. So I spent a lot (I mean a lot) of time working on phrasing, string-bending, and vibrato.

Q:So, what's happening with you musically today?
A: Today I maintain a continued interest in Jazz – a bit more BeBop oriented, have a renewed interested in Roots Rock & Rockabilly (music I listened to when I first listened to music), and a new interest in progressive jazz-rock, influenced by my son! I also have a fondness for '70's singer-songwriter stuff, and I love playing reggae – I wore out my 1st copy of, "The Harder They Come," soundtrack too. And I've never forgotten the Beatles! I've always copied other players, and not just guitar players. But I've rarely copied them note-for-note. Rather, I've figured out how to play what I remember hearing – the flavor, if not the exact recipe. In this way I've adapted these influences into my own style. I view myself mostly as a musician who plays the guitar, not 'just' a guitar player. Still, there are some guitaristic tricks that don't translate to other instruments, and they sure sound cool. I still love the sound of the guitar – it just knocks me out! I play American Music; that's as much as I can narrow down my influences. When I give lessons, I try to teach music theory and improvisation concepts along with guitar technique. I think my students are benefiting from a broader approach. And I keep up with current pop material, because they request it! I still learn something new about music and my instrument every time I pick it up.

Q:Let's backtrack a bit. What are/were your main influences?
A: My early influences were 30's Jazz (from my parents' record collection), 50's Rock, and a smattering of Classical themes. I've consciously avoided listening to only guitarists, but my first set of major influences were Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery and Django Reinhardt – I literally wore out their records listening to them over and over again – along with Kenny Burrell, Barney Kessel, Johnny Smith, George Benson, Larry Coryell, Chet Atkins, and later, Joe Pass. My all time favorite guitarist is probably Howard Roberts. But I seem to sound a more like a cross between Herb Ellis and Bill Frizell! And of course, Attila Zoller (see separate 'Tribute' document) had a life-changing influence on me and my music. In terms of Pop/Rock Influences, there's Clapton, Hendrix and Beck, followed by Chuck Berry, Clarence White, George Harrison, James Burton, Jim Messina, Dickie Betts, Mark Knofler, et al. And then there's the Blues guys: all the 'Kings', Buddy Guy, Mike Bloomfield, and many others.

Q:Anything else?
A: The older I get, the more I'm into leaving spaces in between the notes I play: It's not only what you play, it's also what you leave out. I enjoy playing solo, but I particularly love the improvisational interplay between musicians in small groups. One unique aspect of my sound is my faux-fingerpicking accompaniment style, which I developed using a flat-pick (but not hybrid pick-and-fingers), because I was too lazy to actually learn how to fingerpick properly (and besides, I bite my nails). My favorite all-time piece of music is Shubert's 9th Symphony - "The Great."

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