As the world slowly opens up to live music once more, few people are more eager to get back on the road than Troy Redfern. With a new album, The Fire Cosmic!, in the shops and an autumn tour with fellow bluesers Robert Jon & The Wreck, plus some summer festival appearances under his belt, his enthusiasm is infectious.
Like so many musicians before him, Troy’s interest in music started early. “When I was six years old I discovered Queen through one of my older brothers and kind of became obsessed,” he tells us, as we settle down in the Guitarist studios. “I got A Night At The Opera and would listen to that incessantly, and then Sheer Heart Attack…”
But it was courtesy of Michael J Fox’s guitar-wielding exploits in Spielberg’s time-traveling fantasy, Back To The Future, and then later on an introduction to country blues by a friend, that really sealed the deal. “I would have been about nine, and I saw the famous Johnny B. Goode scene, and I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ Then a friend lent me a Son House album when I was about 13 and he was just completely different to anything I’d ever heard – just his raw, authentic approach. The thing is with those early guitar guys, you can hear that it’s them coming through the strings.”
When did you get your first guitar?
“After watching Back To The Future, I convinced my parents to get me a guitar, quite a cheap electric, an Encore I think it was, and I began teaching myself. I had maybe 10 lessons, but found it hard learning the way the guy was teaching me. So I decided to just learn from records. I think I was about 16 years old when someone showed me how to open tune a guitar and from then on I just carried on experimenting with that.”
And then you began playing with local bands?
Denne historien er fra September 2021-utgaven av Guitarist.
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Denne historien er fra September 2021-utgaven av Guitarist.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BASIC INSTINCTS
The sophisticated range of Swedish-designed guitars made by .strandberg* has lured thousands of players over to the headless side. But the company's new stripped-back Boden Essential model is its strongest play yet for the hearts and minds of mainstream players
Second String
As PRS's more affordable USA-made S2 line moves into its second decade, the series gets a revamp with - at last - USA-made pickups and electronics. What took so long?
PABLO VAN DE POEL
When a band from The Netherlands describes themselves as 'raw, psychedelic Southern rock', it may take a little cognitive processing to work out what that might mean. One listen to DeWolff, however, and you will be duly transported to the 60s for some fuzzed-out rock 'n' roll
THE BERNIE MARSDEN COLLECTION
With a fabulous collection of the late Bernie Marsden's guitars, amps and other highly collectable music gear going under the auctioneer's hammer on 11 June, we were thrilled to have the chance of a sneak preview
LENNY KRAVITZ
Some 35 years since the release of his debut LP, for his 12th record, Blue Electric Light, Lenny Kravitz is back again with equal doses of vigour and vibes, using vintage guitars and the purest valve amps
GEORGE VJESTICA
You may not know him at first glance, but the work of Stoke-on-Trent native George Vjestica has probably impacted some of your favourite albums and movies
DICKEY BETTS
Emerging from the shadow of Duane to write signature hit Ramblin' Man, the Allman Brothers guitarist was a hard-living pioneer of Southern rock
NICK GUPPY
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our highly valued amplifier guru, who died suddenly in April
Lucky Break
Alex Bishop blends old wood with new in an attempt to fix a severely damaged guitar headstock
Tones Behind The Tracks
Cedric Burnside learnt at the knee of his fabled grandfather, but his latest album is a hill country blues masterclass on his own terms