Just before the summer kicked off, we had a chance to talk with Joey Landreth about his move from dutiful sideman in the Brothers Landreth to solo artist. We dove into what he's learned as a songwriter and a player since breaking out on his own, and how he's developed his sound since he first started playing.
After that interview, Joey was gracious enough to stop by the studio to give us a couple of lessons on key elements of his playing style.
First, Joey discussed playing guitar in open C tuning using baritone strings. Though he had been playing in open E tuning for some time, Joey jumped to open C when a friend of his, Champagne James Robertson, handed him a Telecaster that was tuned to open C with baritone strings. From that moment, Joey was in love with the guitar's sonic capabilities and has set up his guitars that way every since.
Next, Joey chatted about his approach to playing behind the slide. When he first started playing slide, he loved the sound but hated how prohibitive it was — that it gave him limited access to an important finger. Since that realization, he's been experimenting and looking for ways to make the slide more of a positive than a handicap.
Check out the video above to learn how he has adjusted to playing with a slide and how he has made it more of a melodically useful tool than a detrimental one.
By the way, that's a Collings I-35 he's playing in these videos. Take a look here to see more Collings electric guitars.