Supertramp star shines solo
Published 9:02 am Sunday, May 31, 2015
Goodbye, stranger. It’s been nice.
Hello, Carl Verheyen.
The famed guitar virtuoso, best known for his three decade-plus tenure with the chart-topping rock group Supertramp, will visit the Treehouse Café in Lynwood for an intimate one-night-only solo concert performance Thursday, June 4 to showcase his latest personal work as well as stylish covers in a mixture of electric and acoustic renderings, and to share stories from the road recounting his career of more than 40 years as a working professional musician.
Named as one of the “Top Ten Guitar Players in the World” by Guitar Magazine, and one of the “Top 100 of All Time” by Classic Rock Magazine, Verheyen has recorded and performed with stars from all eras and genres including the late, great B.B. King, Little Richard, Albert Lee, Glenn Frey, Cher, The Bee Gees, Jane Siberry, Nickle Creek, Dolly Parton, Christina Aguilera, Robin Thicke and John Fogerty.
Verheyen has released nearly a dozen albums of his own music as well, and his latest, “Alone,” was produced by Bainbridge Island’s own Pat Colgan, his long-time friend and former roommate.
Most people know Verheyen’s work even if they don’t know it, because, in addition to his performing and recording work, Verheyen has contributed to the soundtracks of dozens of television and movie projects including “Stand and Deliver,” “Scrooged,” “L.A. Story,” “Gladiator,” “UP,” “Mission Impossible,” “The Crow,” “L.A. Law,” “Seinfeld,” “Happy Days,” “Sesame Street,” “The Tonight Show,” “Frasier” and “C.S.I.”
He has also been a featured soloist for the Academy Awards.
The show at the Treehouse, Verheyen said, will be his first concert on Bainbridge, though far from his first visit to the area.
“I’m a huge fan of the whole Puget Sound, island scene,” Verheyen said.
The experience of playing a smaller solo show is obviously different, but perhaps even more satisfying, he said, than playing with a group before a larger crowd.
“I love doing the solo thing,” he said. “When you come off stage you just kind of feel — if you did well, if you played well — you feel real good about yourself.
“When I play with Supertramp, we go out there on stage and these people have paid one hundred-and-something dollars to hear the exact songs we’re going to play,” he added. “So, all you got to do is strum the first few chords of ‘Give a Little Bit’ and everybody stands up and sings along and it’s a relatively real easy gig.”
Working a more intimate audience, by yourself and with lesser known material, is a whole different world and a much greater challenge, he said.
“They don’t really know the songs, and you have to try and win them over with the first couple,” Verheyen explained.
Not satisfied with being only a great performer or an A-list session player, Verheyen has become known as quite a renowned music teacher as well. He has produced numerous instructional videos, books, CDs and written columns for music magazines as well as been a featured lecturer and instructor at clinics and master class sessions around the country.
“I think I have a personal commitment to pass it down to the next generation, and that’s mainly so the next generation doesn’t wind up being a bunch of typers making music on the computers and not enjoying the beauty of making a musical instrument work for you,” he said of his motivations for becoming an instructor.
“I’ve always taught guitar lessons, even before I had a driver’s license,” he remembered, adding that the world is now a very different place for aspiring musicians.
“It seems like it’s super easy for guitar players to learn their craft nowadays, or any instrumentalist,” he said. “Because that stuff is all available now, whereas, back in my day, you had to listen to the Allman Brothers record 100 times to figure out how Duane was doing ‘Statesboro Blues.’”
Diversification is a trait Verheyen strongly encourages in his students and all young musicians.
“What’s become really obvious in the last 10 years is [that] you do need multiple income streams, whether it’s education or touring or selling the products,” he explained. “So, I try to stay involved with all that stuff.
“There’s a whole business side to it,” he added. “You do not want to be a musician for the reason that you don’t like to get up in the morning. The reason you should want to be a musician is because you just have to be one. You have to need to play the music. That’s the first step.”
Verheyen further encourages young musicians who hope to actually make a real living in the industry to not limit themselves to one single style, as adaptability will make someone “infinitely more employable.”
It’s solid advice from a life-long working instrumentalist who, he laughs as he admits, has “never done anything else for a living.”
“I’ve never really had a job,” Verheyen said. “I guess I was a box boy at a supermarket one summer to pay off a Les Paul guitar I bought, because the payments were a whopping $260 a month so I needed a real job, but after that I never really looked back.”
Verheyen maintains a fully-packed work schedule, and has a full calendar of solo shows lined up at various venues and festival around the country in the coming months and is also touring with Supertramp is Europe later this year.
Tickets for the June 4 are on sale; $25 or $35 each. The show is for those 21-and-over only.
Visit www.treehousebainbridge.com to purchase.
One night only
What: Superstar guitarist Carl Verheyen in concert.
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, June 4.
Where: The Treehouse Café (4569 Lynwood Center Road NE).
Admission: Tickets are $25 or $35 each. The show is for those 21-and-over only. Visit www.treehousebainbridge.com to purchase.
