After five decades with superstar Elton John, Davey Johnstone has valuable advice to help you reach the top of your game.
BY JOE BOSSO
IN THE LATE1960s, Davey Johnstone was a 17-year-old folk-based guitarist when he left his hometown of Edinburgh to try his hand at the London rock and roll session scene. What he lacked in experience, he made up for in confidence and tenacity. “I was entering a whole new world, but I was convinced that I belonged there,” he says. “If I walked into a recording studio and somebody asked me if I could play something, I immediately said, ‘Of course I can.’ I didn’t say no to anything.”
Give the man his due: The 72-year-old guitarist knows a thing or two about getting — and keeping — a gig. Last year, he wrapped Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, bringing an end to his tenure in the singer’s band that lasted more than half a century. “None of it would have happened if I doubted myself,” Johnstone says. “When I went to my first meeting with Elton, back when he was recording Madman Across the Water, I immediately started hitting him with ideas. Elton saw my willingness to put myself out there. He saw that I wanted to be a part of what he was doing. Another guy my age might have been too timid to say anything, but that person wouldn’t have gotten the gig.
“Fear can stop you from doing most anything in life,” he continues. “But it’s an absolute killer if you want to be in the music business. I’ve seen guitarists audition for a gig or session, and say, ‘I can’t do that.’ Right then and there, their chances of getting hired have gone right out the window. You have to walk into a room like you belong there. Never say that you can’t do something — chances are you can do it, but you just haven’t tried.”
Johnstone admits self-belief is only part of the picture. “If you’re going to have a real career in this business, you still have to back it up. You’ve got to have the goods,” he says. “The key to that is by being a versatile, well-rounded guitarist who is curious and likes to explore all that music has to offer.” To that end, he has a few pointers.
1 CONSIDER A VOLUME PEDAL
“I’ve always loved the effect you can get from using one. I fell in love with the sound the first time I heard George Harrison using one on ‘I Need You.’ Once I knew what it was and I had a bit of money t
