In this interview with Paul Ribbins, we explore his musical journey from New Orleans to Texas post-Hurricane Katrina and its impact on his solo career. He shares his unique songwriting style, influenced by riffs from his past. We delve into his transition from right-handed to left-handed guitar playing, his self-learning process, and his musical influences, particularly Jimi Hendrix. We discover the origins of his odd-timing style and the challenges and benefits of being a DIY artist. Paul also sheds light on his love for the power trio format and how he balances his IT career with his musical passion. Finally, he reveals his future plans and upcoming releases.
1. Can you tell
us more about your journey from New Orleans to Texas after Hurricane Katrina,
and how this relocation impacted your musical path?
Hurricane Katrina literally ran me and my family out of New Orleans…and we landed in Dallas. And this is when I really became a solo artist, and started fully concentrating on getting my original material together for public consumption.
When I lived in New Orleans I had various power trios over the years, and we concentrated mainly on doing Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn cover tunes…with an occasional original song of mine thrown into the mix.
2. Your songwriting style is unique in that it doesn't draw from personal experiences. Could you elaborate on your approach to writing songs and how you find inspiration for your lyrics?
At this point in time, rather than being a pure song writer,
I mainly “string together” new songs from riffs and pieces of songs that I
created many years ago; and that I had the good sense to record at the time.
That is actually the case with the four songs on my ‘Disenchantment at a
Distance’ EP. The genesis of each song on the EP goes back decades.
It’s true that my song lyrics never come from personal
experiences. The lyrics just “happen” in the moment when I’m working on a song.
But I don’t have any particular inspiration source for the lyrics I write.
3. You mentioned that you started playing guitar in 1973. What motivated you to pick up the guitar, and what were your earliest musical influences?
I was a late
bloomer to music, and started playing guitar in 1973 at age 17. My primary
inspiration to start playing guitar was the funk rock lead guitar soloing of
Omar Mesa in “Fencewalk” by the funk rock group Mandrill, and Ernie Isley’s
lead solos in “Summer Breeze” by the Isley Brothers. The guitar solos in those
two songs hit me especially hard. Interestingly though, I have never even once
attempted to play either “Fencewalk” or “Summer Breeze”. Go figure on that one!
In 1973 I started out playing guitar right-handed. I’m right-handed, so that was the natural way to go. But a couple months later I discovered Jimi Hendrix and his music. That was it! From that moment on I had to have that authentic Jimi Hendrix left-handed upside-down Fender Stratocaster look. So six months after I initially started playing guitar right-handed I bought a right-handed Fender Stratocaster, re-strung it left-handed, and then started playing guitar left-handed rather than right-handed. Fifty years later…and I still play left-handed.
I hadn’t really developed a particular playing style by the time I switched to playing guitar left-handed, so I can’t say that it was a style-affecting change for me. I will say, though, that it was harder for me to gain good control of my non-dominate hand (my left hand) as my picking/strumming hand.
5. During the first five years of your guitar-playing journey, you stayed in your own musical cocoon. Can you share more about your creative process during this time and how it shaped your music?
It’s true that for the first five years that I played guitar I always played alone in my room. I’m a naturally introverted guy; so it was natural for me to be cocooned with my music. Also, I was really insecure about my guitar playing and my music at that time, and I didn’t want anybody to hear it.
Even with my insecurities, I can say without a doubt that those first five years were a really creative time for me. All musicians are at their most creative when they are young. I wrote some of my most creative songs during that period. In fact, I wrote the title song of my EP, “Disenchantment at a Distance (in need of a good song)” in, I believe, late 1974.
6. You mentioned recording your early musical ideas and riffs on cassette tapes. Are there any specific songs or ideas from that time that you're particularly proud of and may release in the future?
I pulled all four songs that are on my ‘Disenchantment at a Distance’ EP from my “vault of songs”…which are my old cassette recordings of guitar riffs and bits of songs that I created decades ago. I transferred all these cassette recordings to digital form a few years ago.
My plan had been to release a full album of 8 or 9 songs, but I got impatient with my slow pace at completing songs for the album; so I released the 4-song EP instead.
7. How did your lack of formal training and mentorship influence your guitar-playing style and your ability to create your unique sound?
Well, I’d have to say that formal training and mentorship tend to “color” the playing style of musicians. Formal training will dictate how you should play your instrument, and in many cases, what you should play. A mentor will teach you how to play what he plays, and how to sound like he does.
Since I had neither formal training, nor a mentor, I played everything that flowed from within me in free-form style; and without any boundaries in style.
8. Jimi Hendrix
has been a significant influence on your music. Could you describe the impact
he had on your guitar playing and songwriting?
For me personally, there has never been a guitarist who has played more powerfully and passionately than Jimi Hendrix. I try to play guitar with a little bit of the power and passion that Jimi played with. Jimi also was a supremely talented song writer. Most times when I’m writing a song, I’m thinking, “now what would Jimi do here?”.
9. Odd-timing is a signature element of your music. How did your early years of playing without any musical boundaries contribute to this unique aspect of your sound?
The odd-timing aspect of my music was a natural occurrence; not anything that I planned. It all came about during those first five years of playing guitar when I was cocooned in my room. At that time I wasn’t learning songs off of records, I wasn’t jamming with other musicians, and I wasn’t using a metronome. I wasn’t even really aware of time signatures. During that whole five-year period I just played whatever came out of my head…completely free form and void of any strict musical timing.
But this was my most musically creative period as well; and so whenever I wrote a song during this five-year period, it invariably came out with odd-timing or weird timing changes.
10. You've never had guitar teachers or mentors. How do you approach self-learning, and what do you think are the benefits and limitations of this approach?
I believe the benefit of self-learning is that if you are self-taught it’s easier to define a playing style that’s your own. The drawback of self-learning is that it typically takes longer to become an accomplished player.
11. Learning from artists like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn introduced you to traditional musical timing. How did this experience change your approach to music, and how do you balance it with your affinity for odd-timing?
When I started learning the songs of Hendrix and SRV and other popular artists for purposes of playing in power trios I was forced to play in standard time signatures. This was good for me. It gave more structure to my guitar playing. It didn’t change my approach to music though. Odd-timing is in my blood.
12. Can you explain how your experience of learning from Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn records helped you develop a powerful and meaningful guitar-playing style?
The biggest thing I got from learning Hendrix and SRV songs was that I learned how to project power in my guitar playing. I studied how those two guys attacked their guitars; how they made their riffs and solos have real meaning. I was a somewhat wimpy guitar player before I got into learning Hendrix and SRV songs!
13. You wear multiple hats on your albums, from songwriting to engineering. How do you manage these different roles, and what inspired you to take on so many aspects of music production?
The challenge of handling every aspect of an album from beginning to end by yourself, is that it doubles, maybe even triples, the amount of time it takes to finish the album. It’s definitely challenging, but I love it. I’ve always been a DIY kind of guy…so it’s a natural fit for me.
14. The rock-n-roll power trio is your preferred musical format. What draws you to this setup, and can you share any memorable experiences from your time with various power trios?
The rock ‘n roll power trio is definitely my thing. I like the idea of having just guitar, bass, and drums to fill up the musical spaces. Nothing hits me harder musically than a badass power trio rattling the walls with its sound & power. My most memorable power trio moments are the times when the bass player, and the drummer, and I were in lock step while we jammed on high-octane rock ‘n roll songs!
When you listen to the songs on my EP the only instrumentation you’ll hear is guitar, bass, and drums…recorded like a power trio in the studio. Straight up, no chaser…and no overdubs! This is the recording method that I’ve used on all my previous albums.
15. Despite
your passion for music, you've worked as a Network Engineer in IT. How do you
balance your musical pursuits with your professional career?
I’ve worked as an IT Network Engineer for the past sixteen years. My job pays the bills and keeps a roof over my head. I don’t really make money off my music so the job is absolutely necessary. I do my music in my spare time on nights and weekends.
16. Looking ahead, what are your future musical goals and aspirations, and what can your fans expect from you in the coming years?
I’ve already
chosen five more “nuggets” from my vault of songs that I plan to develop into
full songs; at which point, I plan to re-release ‘Disenchantment at a Distance’
as a full digital album, and also release it on vinyl. This will happen
probably within the first quarter of 2024.
https://paulbibbins.bandcamp.com/
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