Michael Hedges Interview

[shiner421]

I have only recently discovered Michael Hedges, and after watching this video, it confirms how special he is (was) to the human race.

[SuperJesuslover666]

music for musicians

[Trolleymoose]

What's with this? Everytime a musical genius appears her/she gets snuffed out! Bummer Man!

[SomethingReal1119]

There is nothing like the MAGIC of alternate tunings. With them, I am like a kid in a candy store when I write songs.... endless possibilities of the most eargasmic chords imaginable.....

[ZOMBIELANDakaUSA]

Don't flag or thumb down statements such as 'HeyStupidFlanders',he doesn't have a clue of what true art is,or he's just semi retarded.

Hedges is probably the greatest acoustic guitarist not because of any polls,but for what he's done,he has re-invented the damn thing...in every way.Theres no question he's a genius,this should be obvious

BUt he has cemented himself as the creator of a new style with an extremely difficult instrument.

Hedges is worthy of nothing but praise

[sglp9000]

@HeyStupidFlanders

simply put. GO DIE!

not simply put: I'm a guitarist, been at it a long time, i play in standard and mess with alternate tunings, how the hell can you be so closed minded and pretend to call yourself a musician? michael hedges wrote music that has the power to move you in your soul. we should all be so lucky to be "Phuckin' hippies" clearly there is a brain malfunction here. you are a troll and a terrible person for disrespecting Michael. in short. kill yourself immediately.

[PaulsDigitalSelf]

Thanks very much for posting this video.

[Jewelrydude]

Great Post-Thanks

[insaneguitarfreak]

I heard Tommy Emmanuel said something similiar in an interview, he says he tries to tell stories without words". I find it amusing that they both arrived to the same concept, and the result is totally different and brilliant in both guitarists.

[dannyhood66]

These type of guys did just enough acid to open the right doors and become smarter as individuals..Of course that is good ole fashioned lsd..Under clinical supervision of a doctor and only as subscribed.. Some individuals may not be allowed able to participate such as the lower class minorities and sexual deviants.

[musicalcoffeedreams]

Guitar has been through many phases in a short time.

And throughout it there have been players that have been credited with the turning tides, and taking to the next level for the world to feed off and expand as it will.

I fear time will almost forget Michael Hedges amidst the McKees and Mayers in the realm of acoustic guitar. Whoever controls his estate should really consider re-releasing some material . . "Artist Profile" and such . . I'll be first in line to buy a copy and share the joy.

[Brawls05]

@musicalcoffeedreams I don't think anyone will forget Hedges because of the McKees and Mayers; on the contrary, these new players will bring renewed interest to acoustic music, at least that's how it was for me.  I started out with a song called Elm which was covered by a person who did McKee, who had a tribute song named after Isato Nakagawa, which brought me to Hedges and many other wonderful musicians. These new stars, their popularity is well deserved.

[ehhhhhhhhhh]

Was he into psychedelics?

[catamaranman333]

Awesome video! Thanks to the uploader!

[yoohoo909]

I listen to tunes/songs that I already have, here from ppl who post his various sessions/renditions and almost without fail, I have to stop to listen again.

Tragic. To have lost such dynamic talent and ability.

[Screens09]

man, i always get so sad seing this wonderful person. sometimes you miss somebody without knowing him.

[Cavin8r]

HolyHolyHOLYFUCK. 4:10.  An electric guitar bass harp. My god, I want one, NOW.

[Lokr12]

I love the guy during the sister soul performance who is rocking the air guitar in the crowd. haha. what an influence Michael was. WOW

[RobertGuitarDJ]

Hello type3secretion,

Thank you so much for posting this....

I saw Michael back in 1987 or so...... I have been playing for 36 years now, and he is still the coolest guitarist I have ever seen in history of the world. Blew me away then, and seeing the video today... blew me away again.

I don't personal use alternate tunings, I'm kind of totally opposite that way... but I appreciate his ideas, and open thought process. Inspirational. Check out his "Hat/Headset Mic Rig".

RobertGuitarDJ

[Niallphillips]

@HeyStupidFlanders thats literally the stupidest fucking comment i'v seen on youtube, the kind of ignorant cocky shit that could only spill from the brain of a modern american, I'm not even gonna look at your page, I can actually tell just from that comment!..have some respect you fucking douche bag, you could be him if you had a loop pedal?! in your dreams you useless fucking jealous hack

[BillyJoeVegas]

@HeyStupidFlanders "you should play chords that have EXPECTED RELATIONSHIPS" are you deaf as well as dumb ? (!). (very likely...as evidenced by your highly refined statement...always an attention grabber opening with something like Phuckin'... lol )

Only in your fantastically ignorant WET DREAMS, could you ever hope to EVEN APPROACH the creative genius that was Micheal Hedges.

Enough time and words wasted on you and your diminutive closed mind.

[caughtinacadence]

@HeyStupidFlanders wow you got some pretty harsh replies.

i think the point of the whole "make up the chords" and the personalized tunings were to break free from (what can seem like) the rigidity of musical theory. i don't know much about hedges other than the sounds he made, but it seems like it's an exploratory way to keep music/expression fresh, which is, to me, quintessential. also the energy and innovation he apparently sought after in his compositions are reflective in his fanbase. peace

[Electrice]

@caughtinacadence I knew Micheal ..My heart hurts with my personal friendship with him since he past .Car accident 1999 ..He talked highly of me and that is such an honor ,We inspired each other . Hammers and original tuning Micheal was truly very brilliant and a hell of a nice guy to boot . No big Ego Trip !!!! Very Humble talented man . R..I.P. Micheal . August would have never been without Micheal . Its the magic working through thew music touching our eternal side ..Our souls and spirits

[jazzpsalti]

@caughtinacadence actually, I don't think he meant that in this interview. He is speaking that he, like many guitarists, can get wrapped up in the existing geometry of standard tuning. By changing, you literally are pulling that geometric foundation out from under your fingers, forcing you to use your compositional mind to build new big sonorities etc. He changed tuning (e.g. Breakfast..) specifically to enhance a 20th c music theory based composition.

[AnalogSignalPath]

@HeyStupidFlanders eh... Hedges didn't use loopers. You might consider using those 'couple thousand dollars' to buy a much needed clue.

Good luck.

[TheShawnbean]

"I don't know where this is from amazingly." Type3, if anyone else had said that, it would have sounded pretentious; you know this, right? ;-)

@hiddenpunk: the song is Rootwitch; type3 has uploaded a full length version of it. Check it out; it's well worth your time.

[hiddenpunk291]

whats the song at 1:33 ?

[cooliscool]

ANYTHING BUT STANDARD is maybe one of the best ways to describe him..pun intended.

[whouston33wh]

AURU MUUNTA!!!! I've been looking for a live version of him playing this!

[smotpoker86]

wow, this dude is a musical genius..found him through looking up David Harbour, then found Michael Manring..through that found "the book of living and dying" dedicated to this guy..all 3 great =D

[bobwight1]

I was a Md. musician for 30 years, and played a lot of clubs Michael played. So I knew him, and was SO gratified when he finally got the attention his genuis deserved before he left us. I miss you, man. Thanks for the music,(and for showing me the right chords to "old man' back in '87.

[puffinonindo]

what a fuckin freak ahhaha. hunter gather. so sick

[EllyMcCormack]

This guy is so likeable and intense that its making my heart ache knowing he was taken from us so prematurely.

[MyAfroShow]

Beautiful.

[gitardoofus]

Thanks, type3 - what a joy to have all this available to remember and relive the great music and spirit of Michael.

[Shawnathen]

Dude this guy is awesome 4 sure but Vertical Slits, thats an interesting characteristic.

No Hate.

[Thorreth]

RIP

[savagemyth]

This sure reminds me of the performance i saw in Milwaukee at Shank Hall.... can anyone confirm this???

[BloodyTinfoil]

Andy Mckee plays at Shank Hall, you might have seen him

[themachinist1000]

Anyone know what tuning he's playing in right at the end? Can't work out if it's DADGAD, or maybe open C - would love to know as it sounds like a great one to fiddle around in

[Callaxes]

Taproot > Aerial Boundaries.

Yeah, I know it doesn't matter. I just wanted to throw that out for no reason.

[Striderj25]

Phenomenal !

[jasoncasper16]

Oh man... I miss him. His music was just brilliant. And what a character!!

[drewjovi]

the adios all in the right speaker

[evelskunny]

crazy how he doesn't use standard tuning,

[YouLikeBosch]

Anyone know what kind of guitar he used most often? It looks like the same one in most of his videos. ( Not the Harp-Guitar :P )

[Anth0nyGiuliani]

its a 1971 martin HD-28 (herringbone dreadnought) which he nicknamed barbara. You can find newer versions of that guitar and even ones made in the 70's but i've had a hard time finding that model in the same year.

[AdrianoInacio]

Actually it was a plain Standard D-28 with no herringbone trim...

HD´s were released by Martin in ´76.

[Anth0nyGiuliani]

nope, actually theyve had herringbone since '32

[methodinsane]

Maybe so but it's a D28

[Bass5el]

Is that a Klein Harp-Guitar at 4:02???

[iamjezuzchrist]

Wow thats weird. Sister soul into Aura Muunta. That was cool.

[StKittsDave]

Moll!!!!!!

Ha I love Hedges!

[Joshreece]

Some popular tunings : DADGAD pegleg speed king ragamuffin DADGAC jitterboogie BADGAD funky avocado AADGBD 2nd law DGDDAD Arrowhead BbFBbCFBb B'aal T Shuvah

[springing]

I remember reading an interview where he said that Joni Mitchell was a big influence in regard to exploring alternate tunings.

Thanks for this great interview!

[lespaulcustomplus]

que pena que ya no esté mas :(

[Volv093t]

does anyone know what Michael Hedges most used Tunings were?

[guitarslim56]

They were all different.

[ruckerd2324]

Having met and talked with Hedges at several concerts,his inspiration for me as a musician was incredible and his inspiration for me as a person was life changing. When I pass over ,he will be the first I look up. These videos help keep me and him alive. Thank you---RuckerD

[eguy777]

thank you, this is why YT is so great, I have watched all you posts, type3. I have been a fan for 20 years, and it is sooooooooo great to be able to surf and see such golden footage of the man who RE-INVENTED the guitar. Will Ackerman was right. thanks again, type3.

[schuey999]

I've been a fan since 1987, so don't flame me. Most of Michaels songs with lyrics don't interest me. The instrumentals seem to be more intricate and deep. Woman of the World is amazing, but the others I don't care for. I even like the tunes with the flute, but the singing seemed to distract the composition.

[121jigawatts]

I agree. Some of his most profound stuff is on Aerial Boundaries.

[phub467]

first heard of hedges from dweezil zappa's cd "Automic" Secret Hedges....Good, Cool Stuff

[jazzpsalti]

This was probably done before the 90's, because he started writing a lot of stuff in standard, especially with the transtrem

[Belindasmile]

Hi type3, this is a wonderful interview! Thanks for posting it!

[horthyfaw]

Michael Hedges was a genius. Thanks for the upload.

[banjojambo9]

modern day jimi hendrix

[mikemoseley]

dammit just discovered this videos. thanks so much for posting these man truly golden. I need to get hold of these bits of footage. Theyre all out there and why do i not see them anywhere. Its breaking my heart that i cant go out and buy this stuff

[Johnny6666]

Absolutely! Here in Austrlia, all of the Hedges albums are out of of print. Terrible!

[zenfreestyler]

Today, I looked in a very good music shop with excellent music such as Mike here, when I asked the man behind the counter & he said, "Aerial Boundaries is the only album we have a record of" :( How depressing...

[darrenhigh]

thanks for posting all these great videos of Michael. I was lucky enough to see him twice in 86 and these videos take me back...

[pinky0926]

Hahaha, he is a quintissential hippie. Really great music and playing regardless. And what a voice he had at times! Underrated in that fact I think, he had some powerful lungs when he wanted to use them.

[zacharron]

Great interview! Nice to see him performing some stuff you don't usually see here on YouTube. Thanks for sharing!

[drewjovi]

the last song sounds reminds me off tangerine by led zeppelin alloy.what a guitarist

[taproots85]

THANK YOU!!!

[seanwillw]

Great! Do you know if tabs of Jitterboogie an Ritual Dance can be bought? I cannot find them anywhere in the webstores.

Thanks a lot!

[type3secretion]

w w w Rootwitch . com whenever its back up.

[seanwillw]

Ok, thank you!

[capo420420]

man SUPER THANKs for posting this .. and michael is right .. there is a new conciousness .. beyond typical .. i've been there .. its wonderful .. i owe michael DEARLY for christening my maiden voyage into the unknown .. i wish he was still with us .. i REALLY DO :( .. thank god for fan vids .. he's the most under-recorded guitarist ever .. :( .. 5 stars from me .. your friend jeff

Jeff Williams NiNja ALeiN RoBoT GuiTaRiST :) hehe

[prabin25]

Jeff I checked your music...brillant!! Keep it on!!

[Emirikolthechaotic2]

Thank you... I miss this man, and his power..... An insight into a geniuses mind..... Wonderful...

[saffronboots]

Yay! I finally get a *look* at Sister Soul - which I've been working on.