Preparing A Stylistic Stew

Jon Stickley on Eclectic Flat-top

- Michael Ross

If you think instrumental records featuring acoustic guitar are limited to smooth jazz riffing, new age noodling, or country cornpone, check out the Jon Stickley Trio. It’s not your father’s acoustic-guitar music—although Stickley’s pop showed him his first chords when he was 12 years old. Instead, Stickley’s Martin churns out a mixture of bluegrass, Chuck Berry, metal, prog, grunge, and assorted other genres—all thoroughly integrated into a personal style.

“When I started playing, I couldn’t wait to get home and practice those three chords my dad showed me,” he recalls. “I got a white Squier Stratocaster and a little Crate practice amp for Christmas, and I learned all of Nirvana’s songs.”

He soon left Nirvana’s music behind— along with his electric guitar—but the Jon Stickley Trio retains some of that band’s reckless attitude. On their latest outing, Maybe Believe, Stickley, violinist Lyndsay Pruett, and drummer Patrick Armitage produce a wall of sound without electronics, overdubs, or guests.

When did you decide to focus on the acoustic guitar?

I learned some classical and folk guitar in high school. Then, I borrowed a mandolin and learned some David Grisman tunes. Through Grisman, I discovered guitarist Tony Rice, who became my biggest musical hero. When I wanted to play with a bluegrass band that already had a mandolin player, I said, “I can be your lead guitarist.” From that moment on, I completely dedicated myself to flat picking guitar.

Did playing mandolin help you develop your picking hand?