Back in 2001, California-born guitarist Rusty Anderson got the gig of a lifetime when he became a member of Paul McCartney’s band. And as he tells MusicRadar, his deep connection with McCartney’s music goes all the way back to his early childhood – when he was first inspired to pick up a guitar.
“At five years old, I heard my 11-year-old sister playing Beatles records,” Anderson recalls. “I was in awe of their mind-blowing music and their joyful vibe.
“My older brother had just passed away, so for me, real life was horrifying, yet music was magical and infinitely inspiring. At that point, music and guitar playing were all I cared about.”
As far as life goals go, it was music or bust for Anderson. “I guess I’m one of those insane people who put all of my eggs in the music business basket,” he laughs.
There were various missteps in Anderson’s career – a number of failed bands – before he developed into a top session player.
“I was just always tunnel-visioned about it,” he says. “I had lots of encouraging experiences, but also tons of rejections and times when I thought I and/or the band could have done better.”
But he feels as if it was all meant to be.
“Looking back, getting asked to play on other people’s records was a huge break,” he says. “It became a way for me to create, always attempting to add guitar hooks to the music, as well as survive financially.
“And eventually, after playing with many artists in the studio and on stage, like Elton John, The New Radicals, Lana Del Rey, Ricky Martin, Dido, Animal Logic et cetera, it led to playing with Paul McCartney in the recording studio.”
He explains: “The events went like this. In 2001, David Kahne invited me to play on the upcoming Paul McCartney album he was producing. I was thoroughly excited as you could imagine.”
The album in question was Driving Rain.
“There wasn’t exactly an audition,” Anderson says. “We just started recording, and it felt good. Paul seemed happy.”
He adds: “In 2002, that morphed into the current touring lineup of Paul McCartney, Abe Laborial Jr., Brian Ray, Wix Wickens and myself. Wix has been with Paul since 1989.”
Anderson’s debut solo record, Undressing Underwater, was released in 2001 and featured a guest appearance from his new employer.
He recalls: “After months of touring, I had the balls to ask Paul if he’d like to play on a song of mine. He actually said, ‘Yes.' So, I booked Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood. Along with David Kahne producing, Paul and the band went into the studio to record Hurt Myself. It was a new song I’d just written.
“Paul played bass and sang backing vocals along with me. He even played a cool guitar line in the intro. It was a surreal process. Lots of fun. David came up with some hooks in the chorus. It all happened pretty quickly with so much talent.”
While on tour with McCartney, Anderson keeps things pretty simple gear-wise.
“I’ve been using mostly Divided By Thirteen 9/15 amps with custom 2x12 speaker cabinets,” he says. “My main guitars are my signature Gibson ES-335 and also a Wraptail version, a Fender Strat with P90s, a ’64 Gibson ES-330, and a Danocaster Singlecut. There are also guitars just for other tunings.
“With Paul, I have a rack of pedals and effects that haven’t changed that much over the years. It’s like a pedalboard, but it doesn’t tend to break as much from stomping on it – knock on wood.
“I only use effects like a Memory Man delay, a Leslie, or whatever when it makes it sound better. For the most part, I try to avoid mushy guitar sounds that effects can cause.”
Anderson has also played on several of McCartney's albums, and as he explains it, the recording process is fairly straightforward.
“Paul just shows us the songs, and we start playing,” he shrugs. “We write charts and go.
“Usually, there is some sort of direction, and the texture of the song gets fleshed out. Sometimes he digs what we’re playing right away, and other times he has some brilliant idea or sonic adjustment suggestion.
“As far as wisdom goes, I’d say I use my intuition and trust my muse. And if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Although sometimes I’ll try.”
As for what Anderson enjoys most about digging into McCartney’s solo and Beatles back catalogue, he says, “Maybe I’m Amazed is always a fun song to play and sing. It’s got everything in one incredible tune, plus two guitar solos!
“But they are all fun to play, actually. It’s such a joy to play live music, especially with this group.
“It’s a spiritual experience. And with Paul leading the way and arguably some of the best songs ever written and the best crew, how can you lose?”
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