Acoustic ... On the Edge

Jonathan Maness is a very talented musician who started playing guitar at the age of 10. His family was very musical, so it was not by chance that he became very successful. His success came through years of practice in his free time after his family moved to Stuttgart, Germany. He had no real way of interacting with the American kids on the military bases there, so he devoted his time to playing his guitar.

When he left Europe in 1995, he was a well on his way to becoming a decent fingerpicker and a competent flatpicker. The United States afforded him the opportunity to explore more avenues for success and he has become very committed to his trade.

Jonathan has had the opportunity to play with some great artists like Sam Bush, Doc Watson, David Holt, Riders in the Sky, and Wayne Henderson. He has even played with a band from Virginia called The Dixie Beeliners. He now spends his time touring with the Contemporary Christian Country group, Young Harmony; working on a record with his good friend Clint Alphin, and finishing up the tracking of a progressive bluegrass solo project. This debut album will showcase his versatile guitar playing, his tasteful mandolin licks and his smooth baritone voice–all in a musical package that is sure to surprise, impress, and touch you, the listener.

CrankIt Magazine found this talent in Boone, North Carolina and decided to introduce him to the Upstate. This is an exceptional artist and one that is very devoted to his music. Here’s what he had to say in our interview with him and how he became the talent he is today.

CrankIt: Who influenced you at the start of your playing career?

Maness: My dad played banjo, and enough guitar to teach me to play my first song, “Wildwood Flower.” I grew up hearing Flatt and Scruggs, traditional southern Gospel, and country music artists like Ronnie Milsap, Ricky Skaggs, and Randy Travis. In the first couple years I was attempting to play, someone dubbed us a cassette of Doc and Merle Watson: On Stage, and that cassette sitsin my closet, worn out and well beyond its effective life span, but I can’t bring myself to throw it away, even though I have copies now on CD and my iPod.

CrankIt: When did you first start playing, and can you remember the excitement of getting your first guitar?

Maness: I got my first guitar from a store in Clarksville, TN. I believe it was Collins Music. I remember being excited, but the strongest feeling I recall was that I was being entrusted with the responsibility of the care of the instrument, and therefore something bigger than my self. My dad also impressed upon me as I picked the instrument out, that I was expected to practice enough to make it worth the investment. I believe we paid $125 for it, but the nicer instruments did not escape my notice that day, and I feel like I was made suddenly aware of the economies of scale, and the financial and personal sacrifice involved in the journey I was taking the first step of.

The guitar was a shortscale, small bodied instrument of the Lotus brand. We bought it for my tenth birthday sometime in late June of ‘89. My birthday wasn’t until July 11th, but my dad’s job was moving us to Germany. I believe it was on the same day that we put the guitar in a box, and put it in storage to be shipped to the hangar dad was to work in, at the airport in Stuttgart, Germany. I didn’t get to play it till we got settled in overseas a couple weeks later. Somewhere in transit, they had dropped it on the body end and broken the sides near the endpin where they join. If I had to guess how we packed it, I should probably be amazed that guitar made it to Germany at all. It still worked fine and I played it that way for three or four years until we sold it and I got a black Fender Dreadnought, as a later birthday present.

CrankIt: Who was your finest teacher?

Maness: Well, my dad didn’t play much guitar, but as a mentor he was always available to answer questions growing up. My only formal lessons were in college at Appalachian State, where I studied with Dr. Douglas James, who is a great player and teacher.

CrankIt: Who have you played with that has influenced you the most so far in your career?

Maness: I think it’s important here to make a distinction between “sitting in” with, and “working” with, someone. I’ve been lucky enough to sit in, on an informal basis, like the jam at the end of a show or backstage with the following musical influences: Sam Bush, Doc Watson, the current Dan Tyminski band (Dan, Adam Steffey, Barry Bales, Ron Stewart, Justin Moses), Ron Block, and Andy Leftwich. But I cannot thank the people I have worked with enough for their patience, mentorship, and guidance, both musical and personal. Some people just naturally reach deeper to pull the best out of you, and most notably relevant here are Johnathan Bond of Young Harmony, Daniel Kimbro of Mountain Soul, and, recently, the Watkins Family.

CrankIt: If you could pick any one artist to play with on stage, who would that be, and why?

Maness: I’d love to work with John Cowan. He has an inimitable ability to reach people with his voice. He’s also at the forefront of the further development of newgrass, which is close to my heart. He’s also a groove machine, and I feel my timing would greatly benefit from playing with someone who plays so well across many genres and grooves.

CrankIt: Do you fingerpick or flatpick? Which one do you prefer?

Maness: I have spent time studying both. I started with a flatpick, but by the time I got to high school, I was working on a lot of Chet Atkins and other fingerstyle material and only maintaining my flatpicking. This led naturally to studying classical guitar for my undergraduate. Of course, when I was required to play classical, this made me want to be flatpicking. So while I was finishing my degree, I got my bluegrass fix playing with a band called “WiseApple” in the clubs in Western North Carolina. They are still active and based out of Asheville. I’m now primarily a flatpicker, but playing a lot of mandolin these days with the Watkins Family. I also do my best to keep my chops up on dobro and banjo, so I can lay down parts as necessary in my studio at home. To me, it’s all music. I love it, and have no preference–it’s just different tools for the toolbox.

CrankIt: Do you write any music?

Maness: I have a drawer at the house full of lyrical bits and pieces. I’m planning to hammer them into something usable one of these days. The ideas are coming easier now than they used to. I’m hoping it’s a process I can step into in a big way very soon. I also have four or five instrumental themes in my head, just waiting to be fleshed out and finalized. But I don’t have anything written in stone just yet.

CrankIt: Have you ever thought of releasing an album of just acoustic?

Maness: I am in the process of doing a newgrass release that’s mostly on acoustic instruments. I feel like I’m primarily an acoustic artist, but even Ricky Skaggs’ bluegrass records have some electric baritone on them to fill out the mix. I would love to do a record with just vocal and guitar, kind of as a nod to the “Unplugged” shows from the 90s. But you have to be pretty established to risk going all the way back to the way you had to start. Also, it’s in my mind to do a solo fingerstyle guitar record in the future, too.

CrankIt: Who do you play with if you are not doing solo gigs?

Maness: My main gig right now is as the mandolin/guitar player for the contemporary bluegrass Gospel band, The Watkins Family from Toccoa, GA. When not on the road with them, I spend my time at home playing with a local newgrass band, Mountain Soul, who are doing a record in my studio to be released this fall. I also get fairly regular calls to be a pit musician in musical theatre shows in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.

CrankIt: How have they influenced you as an artist?

Maness: The Watkins Family make great musical choices. They work with the best players, producers and engineers to get a competitive sound on their records. I try my best to meet the quality level of their recorded work when we hit the stage. Daniel Kimbro, of Mountain Soul, is one of the most technically accomplished musicians I’ve ever gotten to play with on a regular basis, and he pushes me outside my comfort zone every time I get to play with him. The musical theatre work is a chance to keep my reading chops up.

CrankIt: Have you ever given thought to electric guitar?

Maness: I play electric regularly when laying down parts in the studio. Mountain Soul needs me to play electric a lot as well. I love electric blues, a la SRV, and many of the musicals I play for require electric guitar as well. I’d love to put a band/show together that allows me to switch between them seamlessly.

CrankIt: Talk about your guitar and gear.

Maness: I primarily play a Santa Cruz acoustic, with an L.R. Baggs Dual Source pickup system. I have a Weber mandolin, also through an L.R. Baggs pickup, the new Radius. Both instruments run into Baggs Para DI’s, out the FX loops and through a stereo volume pedal for rhythm and lead volumes. From there they go back to the DI’s and onto the mixer. On electric, I have a G&L ASAT Classic, modeled after the Fender Telecaster, that I run into a Line6 PodXT. On stage, that goes to a Fender backline. In the studio, I’ll run it through a stereo tube pre and then into the recording software.

CrankIt: Do you think there’s a peak level to learning to play guitar?

Maness: There may be a peak level to learning the guitar, but if it exists, it’s so far above my head that I’m not qualified to comment. Guys like Jimmy Bruno, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Bryan Sutton have forgotten more than I’ll ever learn.

I mic most acoustic instruments in stereo. For guitar that means a microphone pointed towards the 12th fret of the fingerboard and another aimed at the soundhole, either from above or directly in front, depending on the instrument. On mandolin, I typically mic both f-holes from 6 to 12 inches away. I use either stereo matched Shure KSM141’s or Rode NT-5’s. Occasionally on guitar, I’ll put a large diaphragm condenser on the body, and when I do, it’s an AT4040.

CrankIt: If I’ve been saving my nickels and dimes for a 12-string, or any guitar, what you recommend?

Maness: Alvarez, Blueridge, and Yamaha make good entry level instruments. Martin, Taylor, and Gibson are the large scale manufacturers to go with for professional acoustic instruments. If you want something at that level from a smaller shop, Santa Cruz and Collings are great. And then there are scores of guys making great instruments from a shop behind their house.

CrankIt: Any projects in the works or just on the road doing what you love to do?

Maness: I’m working on my record and Mountain Soul’s record. Both should be out by Thanksgiving. For details on progress, visit jonathanmaness.com and mountainsoul.net.

CrankIt: Speaking of the road, tell me one crazy thing that has happened to you during your travels.

Maness: On our first day on tour in Germany with Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike in 2006, I tried to ask a lady where we could find a place to eat with the first German I had spoken in 12 years. I must have said something wrong or looked just like her ex-boyfriend, because she started cussing me in English. I guess I should have used it to begin with, but I really don’t think it would have helped. By the end of the tour three weeks later, I didn’t seem to be having any trouble communicating with folks. Not really sure what her problem was... Other than the usual problems like bus trouble, my travels have been fairly uneventful.

CrankIt: Last thoughts?

Maness: Thanks!

If you’d like to follow or check up on Jonathan you can find him at a lot of places on the web. Look him up on his main site at www.jonathanmaness.com, myspace.com/jonathanmaness or on facebook.