Guitarist Roger McGuinn might be old, but he’s a guitar hero. Remember: As a key Byrd, he fashioned pop timelessness in “Eight Miles High” (dig McGuinn’s guitar emulation of a Coltrane sax solo) and on so many other songs. McGuinn says a Smithsonian Folkways recording of Woody Guthrie inspired his Web site dedicated to the preservation of folk standards, folkden.com. Here are McGuinn’s monomanias:
5. Ballad of Easy Rider: I love touring with my wife Camilla. It’s like an endless honeymoon. We drive across the United States finding back roads and small towns that we’ve never seen before.
4. What royalties? My first deal with Columbia I got .0007 cents per album. [1990’s comeback] Back from Rio sold half a million and they never paid me any royalties. [Last year’s self-released] Limited Edition CD broke even the first month. It’s actually the only time I’ve ever made money on a CD.
3. Spill guts: Blogs and Podcasting are making it easier for unknown people to impact the world with their thoughts, art and music. You can find my blog at http://roger-mcguinn.blogspot.com.
2. D-I-Y, dude: Technology has made it possible for musicians to record professional quality CDs using home computers. This levels the playing field and negates the need for them to “sell their souls to the company.”
1. God on our side: It really bothers me that there’s a segment of the American population who are actively trying to take God out of our daily lives. We need God more than ever now.
McGuinn’s 4-CD, 120-song boxed set drops Nov. 27. Go to McGuinn.com.
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