BY KAREN BOSSICK
It isn’t enough for Chip Booth to play like Tom Petty’s guitar man. He has to sound like him, too.
That’s why he bought a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar for Tuesday night’s Ketch’em Alive concert, in which he and others will pay tribute to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. And it’s why he bought another specialized guitar, as well, for the song the band plans to play as an encore.
“I love sound and I love not just playing like a particular guitar player but sounding like them, too. And for that you need the right pedals and all kinds of stuff,” he said.
Chip Booth is among seven valley musicians who have come together as the Wildflowers to play a Tom Petty tribute this summer. They’ll launch the free Ketch’em Alive concert series with it when Ketch’em Alive starts up at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 19, at Ketchum’s Forest Service Park.
They’ll stage an encore Thursday, July 12, at Mahoney’s Bar & Grill in Bellevue and on Wednesday, Aug. 1, for the Wicked Spud’s Wicked Wednesdays concerts.
“Every year Chip and I put together a different group of music to do a band tribute,” said Johnny Valenzuela. “We began with the Dark Side of the Moon and it was so popular that we did Pink Floyd before doing the Grateful Dead for three years. We decided to do a tribute to Tom Petty this year, not so much because he passed away but to honor his music and legacy.”
The band features Valenzuela; Booth; guitar player Mike Saul from the Kim Stocking Band, Brian Carney, who has played with Valenzuela since high school; Paul Gregory, whom Valenzuela describes as a “phenomenal musician;” drummer Jason Vontver and bass player John Crowder.
Special guests Kim Stocking and Ember Jensen from the Kim Stocking Band will fill in for the Stevie Nicks duet.
They named the band “Wildflowers,” after Petty’s solo album.
“He’s just such a good songwriter—so many songs. His songs are ingrained in all of us and they’re going to be around forever, like the music of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie,” said Valenzuela. “Even people who aren’t Tom Petty fans find themselves humming his songs as they’re everywhere. He had 51 singles on the radio.”
Wildflowers plans to play a lot of Tom Petty hits and a few songs that only album owners will know.
Among those songs is one that calls for the electric 12-string Rickenbacker guitar that was nicknamed the “frying pan” because of its long neck and circular body. It produces a classic jangly rock sound that’s associated with the Beatles’ George Harrison on “A Hard Day’s Night.”
Booth bought a Rickenbacker to play “Here Comes My Girl” and Saul bought one to play “Listen to Her Heart.”
“These projects always end up costing me way more than I ever make,” said Booth. “But both Mike and I are huge lovers of guitars. And, if you look at the classic album covers, you’ll see Tom Petty holding a Rickenbacker guitar. I’ve always loved that they used every cool guitar ever made at some point.”
And how many guitars does Mr. Booth have?
“I don’t know. That probably means I have too many. But I prefer to think of it as not enough,” he laughed.
Performing tribute concerts is always a learning experience for Booth.
“I’ve always picked performers who for me have been particularly inspiring. My own personal guitar style is almost like nothing like any of these people. So I work real hard to change the way I play and mold myself to the style of that person,” he said.
This concert may be the most challenging because of the way Tom Petty’s lead guitarist Mike Campbell played, Booth said.
“He’s a consummate guitar player--so tasteful with everything he plays. So he does just the right thing and never overplays,” he said. “I am, unfortunately, the opposite as I tend to overplay.”