Press | Guitar One Magazine

Channeling Jimi Hendrix and the blues is not a new idea. That said, California boss guitarist Eric Sardinas creatively filters his tunes through these influences, firing up a raging intensity rarely encountered even in this age of the wailing blues-guitar hero. Although he enlisted legendary Hendrix producer Eddie Kramer for his latest album of original material, Sardinas sidestepped the Strat, opting instead to slide and slash on his usual amplified resonator guitar.

Your ambitions have always been broader than playing country-blues.

Besides having been exposed to both of those elements, I think my ambition lies in my being honest with who I am and pushing my blues beyond -- to what is new and fresh. Anyone within the blues and blues-rock genres who really stands out, from Charlie Patton to Hendrix, has done that.

It's apparent even in your choice of guitar.

Yes, there's a relationship between the guitar I play and what I feel I'm doing musically.

Eddie Kramer would seem to be the perfect producer for this album.

He has been at the crux of several monumental recordings. He has that experience of harnessing and unleashing a live, organic fireball of energy on tape. However, the Band of Gyspy's influence, especially on the heavy tracks, is no greater than that of Blind Lemon Jefferson when I'm playing acoustically.

Have you noticed a change in the audience as your music has evolved?

No, I don't think so. I would hope that what they always get is a rock concert by a blues player -- DAVE RUBIN

GEAR BOX ALBUM Black Pearls (Favored Nations) AXES Washburn Signature ES model resonator, custom Seymour Duncan pickup, 1931 National Tricone, Gibson phosphor bronze strings (.013-.058), National fingerpicks, Dunlop thumb picks, Dunlop ED signature brass slide AMPS Custom 100W and 50W Rivera heads, Rivera x12 cab FX Dunlop Uni-Vibe and wah