“When I’m off the road, I have this love affair with ragtime guitar”: 7 questions with Wishbone Ash’s Andy Powell

Andy Powell has been in this business for more than a short while. He joined Wishbone Ash in 1969, and in that time has done as much as any player has for advancing the case of twin-guitar partnerships in rock.

But his talents with an electric guitar were not exclusive to the British rock institution. Over the years he has collaborated with former Beatles, messrs Harrison and Starr, with Stewart Copeland and more.

Here he checks in with GW for a quick chat – because can you really know an artist until they have told your their most embarrassing moment?

What was your first gig?

“I was around 12. We used to have something called Saturday-morning pictures in the U.K., at a cinema that was in the town I lived in at the time. Movies were big back then, so I was playing a matinee show between movies, like Bambi or some other Disney thing.

“I got on stage with my friends, and we stood on what was really a shelf because the screen was behind us. We had about six feet to stand on and to put our little amps on. We performed for kids, because it was in the summer holidays, and I was absolutely crapping myself, but it was my first taste of performing.”

Ever had an embarrassing moment on stage?

“We weren’t averse to being a bit high on stage sometimes. I remember this one time in Zurich where I walked out in front of the monitor speakers to take a solo. And as I stepped back and leaned back, the monitor wedge was right behind me and it got right behind my knees and I went flat on my back, but I continued playing, so I kind of made it part of the show.”

A building is burning down; what one guitar from your collection do you save?

“This happened to me. We were not in a building, though; we were in a van, and I was with my fiancée, who’s now my wife. It was before Wishbone, in a band called the Sugar Band, one of the soul bands I was in.

“We were coming back from a gig and the van caught fire, so I rescued the guitar I had, which was my homemade guitar, before I went back to help her out of the van. She never lets me forget it! But if I were in a burning building, it would be my ’67 Gibson Flying V.”

What’s the last time you practiced and what did you play?

“I’ve been touring so much of late that I’m practicing every night, as on stage we do a lot of jamming. The last time I practiced was when I watched some videos by a lady called Mary Flower, a ragtime guitar player. I was learning one of her tunes. When I’m off the road, I have this love affair with ragtime guitar, old-style. I’m a lead guitar player in a rock band, but in my downtime, I like to get out of my zone by trying to figure out ragtime pieces.”

What aspect of the guitar would you like to be better at?

“Picking. I just love that complete way of playing the guitar. I mean, lead guitar is fabulous and great fun, and you get your rocks off, and I don’t ever tire of it. But I like that whole picking thing; but I am only a dabbler at it, as I’m not doing it every night. I would love to be more of a consummate guitar player in that way.”

What’s your favorite piece of gear? 

“My 1959 Fender Bassman. I’ve always used Tweed-type Fenders for recording, so in terms of gear, that would be it, as it is a juicy, lovely amp.”