Let's Talk Arts: G.E. Smith And His Telecaster

Back by popular demand and closing out the summer season at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett on Thursday, September 1, at 7 p.m. will be the “Masters of the Telecasters” with guitarists G.E. Smith and Jim Weider. The evening will feature Smith, an Amagansett resident, and Weider performing blues and rock ’n’ roll that highlights the Fender Telecaster. The revolutionary six-string guitar introduced by designer Leo Fender in 1950 holds the distinction of being the first mass-produced, solid body guitar.

Among Weider’s extensive music background is his 15-year tenure as lead guitarist for The Band, touring internationally with original members Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko.

Smith enjoyed a 10-year stint as the bandleader on “Saturday Night Live.” He was the lead guitarist for Daryl Hall and John Oates for several years and also toured extensively in the bands of Bob Dylan and Roger Waters and recorded with artists such as Mick Jagger, Tom Waits and many others. Recently, he took time to answer a few questions about his own history with the Fender Telecaster and the upcoming gig with Weider at The Talkhouse.

Q: How old were you when you got your first Fender Telecaster?

Smith: My mother took me shopping for my 11th birthday present. We found a used Fender Telecaster for $100, and she bought it for me. That was the beginning of everything.

Q: What makes the instrument unique and different from other guitars you’ve played over the years?

Smith: You can really play any kind of music on a Telecaster. From folk to jazz, country to hard rock. It’s all there.

Q: I imagine you have a fair number of Telecasters now. Is there any particular one that you currently prefer to play?

Smith: I still have the one I got when I was 11. It’s still my favorite. Coincidentally it was made the same month and year I was born, January of 1952.

Q: Can you produce sounds on the instrument that can’t be made on other types of guitars?

Smith: Yes, definitely. I think the aim of instrumental music in general is to achieve a singing, human vocal quality. The Telecaster is well suited for that.

Q: In addition to being the lead guitarist with Hall & Oates for several years, you’ve toured with some of the biggest musicians of the era —Bowie, Jagger, Dylan, Waters. You also led the SNL Band for a number of years. What musician, group or gig would you say taught you the most, musically speaking, and what were some of the most valuable lessons you picked up from them?

Smith: I learned a lot of pure music theory from the SNL Band players. They were all trained musicians and were very generous with their knowledge. Bob Dylan was kind enough to teach me a lot of great old traditional songs. He knows hundreds of them and would take the time to tell me the lyrics on the bus or at the hotel.

Q: I know you and Jim Weider go a ways back. How did the two of you first meet? Did you immediately recognize your mutual love for the Telecaster?

Smith: I think we first met at the big Bob Dylan 30th anniversary show at Madison Square Garden in ’92. I was the music director and Jim was there with The Band. With both had our Teles.

Q: How much of your Masters of the Telecaster shows with Jim are improvisation and how much well-rehearsed pieces?

Smith: Well, we’ve been doing it for a few years now so you could say that many of the songs are well rehearsed with room for improvisation built in. That said we are always bringing in new songs.

Q: What can audiences at the upcoming Talkhouse show expect to hear? Have you made up any specific set list, or will you be playing it by ear, so to speak?

Smith: We always do a set list before each show. We have quite a few songs to draw from. I think people can expect a lot of good-time music with some rocking guitar playing thrown in.

Q: After this September 1 show in Amagansett, what other sorts of gigs do you have coming up this fall?

Smith: I know we have some New England shows coming up in the fall … I can’t believe we’re already looking at fall! Where do our summers go so fast?

“Masters of The Telecasters” featuring G.E. Smith, Jim Weider and a special guest is Thursday, September 1, at 7 p.m. at the Stephen Talkhouse, 161 Main Street, Amagansett. Tickets are $60 and $75 at stephentalkhouse.com.