Recently we chatted about playing the blues on a Telecaster with Guitarist Ritchie Dave Porter of the Birmingham blues duo Ritchie Dave Porter and Debra Susan. The focus being on the Twang of the Telecaster and what Ritchie Dave loves about his Affinity white telecaster and playing the blues on a telecaster in general. First lets hear Ritcie playing the blues on a telecaster in this short video from youtube
Welcome to Another Guitardoor Interview Ritchie So which Telecaster Player Influenced You the Most?
Thanks, I would definitely say that the Telecaster player that influenced me the most was without doubt Jimmy Page .
Page used a Telecaster on the ground breaking Led Zeppelin 1 album ,demonstrating a fabulous tone and technique on what was his Dragon painted Telecaster. I think Jeff Beck gave him that Telecaster from his Yardbirds days.
Two of my favourite blues solos that Page utilised his Telecaster on the first Led Zeppelin album were ‘You Shook Me ‘ and ‘I can’t quit you baby ‘ ,incredible performances.I also love the Stairway to Heaven solo which was recorded on a Telecaster. Another Telecaster player I love is Keith Richards he’s such a rock n roll legend with great riffs.The icy tone of a Telecaster always excites me as does Albert Collins the Iceman a true wizzard of blues on a telecaster. Albert was exciting to listen to, especially his funkier stuff with a horn section and those great Telecaster licks.
What makes a great Telecaster player?
For me the answer is a combination of practice and natural talent .
Any Telecaster, whether an Fender Squier Affinity Telecaster or a Fender Player Telecaster, is only as good as the player or guitarist that plays it.
It’s really down to practice,practice,practice and jamming along to records to get a vibe and energy.
The real tone is in the fingers of the guitar player as much as it is the chosen guitar.
A Telecaster will always sound like a Telecaster and will never sound like a Gibson Les Paul….its single coil and not humbucker pickups so a Telecaster has a more icy, treble, cutting tone which suits my own individual playing style fine.
I wouldn’t want to play any other electric guitar other than a Telecaster and I have seven of them which I absolutely love.
That’s a great guitar why did you choose the Affinity White in Particular?
I chose the Fender Squier Affinity Arctic White Telecaster because my fiance Debra Susan said I could choose a guitar for Christmas and I went to Birmingham PMT and there it was.I loved the look of it ,beautiful, stunning Telecaster in Arctic White. I played it and I simply had to have it so bought it with the money Debra gave me and it is one of my favourite guitars, especially for studio recording.’Sugar and Spice ‘ and a lot of our original songs were recorded by our producer Michael Tingle with me playing the Fender Squier Affinity Arctic White Telecaster. Great guitar.
Your Favorite Telecaster Blues Song to play of your own songs?
I would say, for pure Blues, ‘I Can Hear The Train A Comin ‘ ,’Lonely and Blue ‘ and ‘You Make Me Feel Bad In A Good Way ‘ are probably my favourite original Blues songs that Debra and I wrote where I enjoy playing a Telecaster. For our more southern rock songs I would definitely say ‘The River and The Preacher ‘ on Telecaster.
The River and The Preacher was Number One in the RADIO INDIE ALLIANCE Chart for Banks Radio Australia which was awesome and was very well received and reviewed by the Rock press which was lovely.Its a great late summery song with a great vibe and energy and I love the professional video we made to accompany the single which is available on Amazon and iTunes produced by Michael Tingle. Debra and I both think The River and The Preacher is one of our best original songs .
What is a good live video of you playing the affinity White Telecaster
I think ‘Lonely and Blue ‘ is a great video of Debra and I performing with me playing the Fender Squier Affinity Arctic White Telecaster.
The Arctic White Telecaster and the Lake Placid Blue Telecaster tend to be used more for studio recording purposes whereas the Arctic White with Black Pickguard FSR Telecaster tends to be used the most for Live performances.
There are great videos of us at The Great British Rock and Blues Festival at Butlins Skegness on the Blues Matters Stage where I’m performing playing Live with Debra Susan using the Fender Squier FSR Telecaster with Arctic White and Black Pickguard on YouTube and Facebook.
Finally Where can we hear you and Debra Live in the upcoming months with the Telecaster?
You can see our original Ritchie Dave Porter and Debra Susan blues and rock songs Live at The Old Pokey Hole in Lichfield on March 31st Friday 8pm start and also on May 27th Saturday at The John Bonham A Celebration 3 day festival.
We love performing, writing, recording and releasing our all original co written songs.
Debra writes all melodies and lyrics and sings all our songs whereas I write all chord structures, riffs and solos using a Telecaster through a Fender Champion 50XL amplifier with no effects pedals.
I’m not into effects pedals at all I think its better to play with just a Telecaster and a slightly overdrive amplifier to get a purer tone .
Telecasters have been around since 1951 and were designed perfectly by Leo Fender so due to the excellent design and sound they are still very popular today.
I join Jimmy Page and Keith Richards and Muddy Waters as a Telecaster player and life long fan of these spectacular sounding electric guitars.
Where to Check out Ritchie and Debra’s Latest songs and gigs
Ritchie Dave Porter and Debra Susan have just launched ‘The Girl Next Door ‘ single, available on Amazon and iTunes which was produced by Michael Tingle see the website for the guitar singer duo and follow them on Facebook for more Telecaster Blues.
Just Launched in September 2024
Update:September 2024 seen the release of Ritchie and Debra’s latest addition to their discography a rocky riff sounding anthem called “Cool September Rain” have a listen here and share with your friends and followers. We would also like to congratulate the Jazzy Blues Duo on their recent award in Atlanta for their musical creations check out their site for more on this and other cool stuff from the blues duo
Pete Feenstra