From the Kinks to the Cinelli Brothers and loving it
This is COLIN Burns Guitar tech, assistant engineer and VIDEO CURATOR of the Cinelli Brothers.
Before that happened he has had a long career touring the world with Famous bands such as the Kinks.
He is the man who probably saw the most of the British music scene in the 60’s. He’s got something to say about the modern London scene and most of all about electric guitars. Let’s read him!
interview by Marco Cinelli
Full given name and birthplace
Colin Henry Burns born in London
What is your first experience with music? Is there a crucial episode when you were young?
My grandmother was a music teacher and my dad played the piano so we had a piano at home all the time I was growing up. My uncle played church organ at a local church in West Derby in Liverpool and was an excellent keyboard player. I remember at age five being at my grandparents home one Sunday and after lunch my dad and uncle spontaneously started improvising stride boogie four handed on the piano. I had such a rush of joy and excitement from that experience that I don’t think I have ever fully recovered. My passion and curiosity for music started right then. My love for the guitar came a few years later when I heard Hank Marvin and the Shadows and Chuck Berry for the first time. Then came Jeff Beck and the course of my life was set…
Colin, you are a sound engineer, a media creator, a guitar player, a guitar technician and luthier, but in the core a great music lover. How would you define yourself?
I would define myself simply as a lifelong lover of and servant of the music who enjoys solving problems and within that sphere my greatest skill is to get the best out of guitars.
Colin’s first teenage band. He’s top right.
Please list all the shows of great bands or artists worth of mention that you have attended during the years 60 and 70.
Oh my! This will be a long way from complete. the Shadows, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones with Brian Jones, Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, Wally Waller and NickyHopkins, John Mayall, Cream, Delaney and Bonnie with Eric Clapton and George Harrison, Derek and the Dominoes, Yes, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, the Pretty Things, Traffic, Free, the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, the early Glastonbury and Isle of Wight festivals (Dylan and the Band), and so many many more... Many excellent gigs and a lot of great music was made in the 1970s as well Led Zeppelin, the Allman bros, Little feat, Grateful Dead, Santana, Ry Cooder: all of whom I got to see live.
Who is your favourite guitar player?
Top of a very long list is Jeff Beck as he was an inspiration to me as a teenager (hearing Becks Bolero for the first time and hearing him make the guitar talk and scream and cry had a huge and lasting influence on me) and has continued making great music to this day… followed closely by Jimi Hendrix, Peter Green, Mick Taylor. Jerry Garcia has also been a lifelong inspiration to me
You have been on tour with several bands during your life, each time with a specific role, am I right? Tell me a little bit about your touring days.
"by far the best experience for me was the almost 10 years with The Kinks"
Colin with Ray Davies from the Kinks during a gig at Jones Beach USA
The touring life chose me rather than me choosing it but a great deal of my prior experience of playing in bands, making high quality acoustic guitars at Fylde, my experience as a commercial repairer at Andy’s, repairing and setting up guitars for touring bands all made me an ideal candidate for a profession I had never considered. I was working in the repair department at Andy’s in Denmark Street when bands and crew members started to ask me to come on the road to look after their guitars and back line and after many years in dusty workshops it was a welcome change and obviously very exciting.
The Damned and Dexys Midnight Runners were among the first major bands I worked for.
Then the Fall who I went to America with for the first time (my time with the Fall has been well documented in Steve Hanleys book The Big Midweek). I also worked for the Manic Street Preachers, Paul Weller and Beautiful South (for many years I was their only back line tech for an 11 piece band) and many others and some awesome guitar players including Steve Hackett (Genesis) And Mick Taylor.
I was mainly employed as a guitar and general backline technician but by far the best experience for me was the almost 10 years of touring the world with The Kinks. During my time with the Kinks I worked for each member of the band (not all at the same time) and for many tours I was Rays guitar tech, stage manager and production manager (often all at the same time). I was such a huge Kinks fan in my teens that it was a joy to become a part of their touring crew and road family. I think both Ray and Dave must have recognised me as a fellow misfit…
Colin (foreground) with the Kinks crew somewhere in Japan
Going back to your luthier skills. What is your favourite guitar to put hands on?
Although I currently play a Strat (the first one I have ever owned) I am more at home with the scale length and string tension of Gibson SGs and Les Pauls. However there is something about the sound and feel of a Strat that really brings out the personality of the player and I am really enjoying responding to that just now. I do miss my old 1961 SG though. That thing could talk…
What do you think about Eastwood guitars?
I realise these are not as well built as Gibson, but I came to like them in time. I think they are magical somehow. Gibson have made some amazing guitars over the years but their reputation for quality control, customer service and their policies regarding dealership requirements have left a lot to be desired over recent years. They are also very expensive for what they are. I like the Eastwood (Mary in particular) sound. They are well made, resonant, easy to set up and are very good value for their price point. They also make replicas of Jerry Garcia’s main electric guitar (the original was made for Jerry by Dan Irwin). On Mary (just for the crowd: Mary is your main guitar especially for live) we only changed the machine heads for much higher quality Grovers but otherwise haven’t altered the guitar much except to set it up.
Mary (an Eastwood Arline Tuxedo) is my main guitar with the Cinelli Brothers. Colin adjusted it for my way of playing.
You have watched closely the Cinelli Brothers for a couple of years now. What do you think about the band? Pretend I am not here listening to you.
I have watched them from very early days and it is amazing how far they have come in only a few years. To hear them now you would think they had been playing together for a decade or more. Until this pandemic hit and everyone’s gigs were cancelled they were constantly in demand for gigs and are very popular with audiences and Blues festivals all over Europe. Their reputation and public demand for the band has deservedly grown. Not many bands these days are in as much demand as the Cinellis. I know many bands who have been going for 5 years or more and can’t get as many gigs in a month as the Cinellis regularly do in a week. Since the pandemic hit we have done several live streams for blues websites in Europe and the USA and have had a very positive response particularly from the Bay Area.
You were credited as the assistant engineer for the record ‘Villa Jukejoint’, that means that you probably attended and worked in most of the session. What is ‘Villa Jukejoint’?
I think I did all the sessions. Villa Jukejoint is the name of the second soon to be released album by the Cinelli Brothers. I have never spoken to Marco about his reasons for the name but for those readers who aren’t familiar with the language of the delta a juke joint is (according to Wikipedia) the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern United States. These places featured ‘Juke’ boxes and also live music, mostly the blues. My take on the villa juke joint name is that it refers to Marco and Nanni’s bungalow where the album was recorded with many guests and session musicians as well as the four members of the band and myself. A fantastic atmosphere, some great times and I think we captured some real magic there.
What do you think I (Marco Cinelli) am missing to complete my ultimate gear update?
I would like to see you with slightly more powerful amps, approx 30 watt maybe a Supro or a Fender? And for you to have also an identical backup for live.
I am currently very interested in trying the Vertex Steel String Supreme pre amp myself and I think it would suit you too. Having heard you play a Les Paul recently particularly on the Peter Green numbers I would like you to own and to regularly use one live on a few numbers. Right now I would say what we need most is a bigger mixing desk for our recording set up. More channels and more microphones.
"Eastwood guitars are well made, resonant, easy to set up and are very good value for their price point"
Fair. Would you help me feel up the Christmas card next year to Santa Claus?
What is your favourite Cinelli Brothers song?
Can I pick two very different ones?
Nope. Yes :)
’Wanna Have a Good Time’. Love the joyful energy and sentiments of this one. It has everything I love about a great Stax or Atlantic soul era song.
’Last Cigarette’ paints a picture of someone alone at night looking back with regret on a lost love. This song is so visual and sets the mood and atmosphere of the lyrics so well you feel like you are there yourself and it is happening to you...
Where do you see the Cinelli Brothers in a couple of years?
Ah well this is a tough one. If the pandemic hadn’t hit I would have said that if they kept rising at the speed that they have in the last couple of years then global domination would be justifiably achieved in the next couple. What I do know for sure is that the longer this situation continues the more intense the desire to play for a crowd becomes… Be ready for magic and fireworks when that day dawns!
Do you have a funny or interesting episode of you and the Cinelli Brothers you would like to share?
There are so many that it would be hard to narrow it down. The banter/chemistry among the band members is a constant source of laughter and joy. Enzo’s animated antics and observations are always cracking us up. We have the best of times and I enjoy their company very much.
You also produce music on the side, I believe with your son Russell…
In fairness it is Russell who does all the production. He has been making music via computer for over 15 years and is amazingly creative and talented. I contribute ideas and help with arrangements but most often he will have a virtually finished piece that he wants me to put a guitar part or solo on. As a producer he has a knack of bringing out the best in me and I’m very happy with the music we are making together. But he does almost all of the work then I come along and do my best to shine and sparkle for ten minutes or so.
What is the greatest band in Uk today? No offence at all if not the Cinelli Brothers.
(laughing) Are there any great bands in the UK other than the Cinellis? Like any good survivor of the 60’s I still have very eclectic tastes in music. Killing Joke are still amazing live and I love a lot of what Dreadzone are doing. Gorillaz are great. I love Alabama 3... currently I am listening to the Cinellis a lot and revisiting the Band, and listening to folk artists Jon Boden and Martin Simpson. The last gig I went to was Jon Boden....
The Cinelli Brothers and Colin Burns out of the Bear Club, Luton (UK)
Tell me more about the London music scene of nowadays, up to date 2020.
Jade Danielle Williams/Du Bellows/Jade like the Stone. She is an amazing vocalist and songwriter. I come away from her gigs feeling cleansed knowing that I have been through a purification ritual. Georgia van Etten is my other favourite female vocalist on the current scene. Again an amazing voice and great songwriting. I enjoyed Connor Selby when he guested with the Cinellis recently. He has such a sweet touch on the guitar.
Who is your favourite British guitar player ever?
Jeff Beck 100%. I love the instrumental /melodic/orchestral stuff most of all (Blow by Blow and Emotion and Commotion are favourites). Peter Green is a close second. My favourite British acoustic players currently are Martin Simpson and Jon Boden.
When you go working for a show of the Cinelli Brothers and people recognise you, can they come talk to you or they better leave you do your thing?
I’m always happy to talk to people who share my love for the Cinelli Brothers, Blues, Soul and music in general. As long as they don’t expect me to do it during the show… Before and after is fine!
Ok, now tell me in all honesty, do you prefer to have a ’59 Les Paul or to tour one year with the Cinelli Brothers all over the world?
I’ve got my suitcase packed and my passport at the ready. I am opting for a year of great company and excellent music and I’m sure we will find some interesting guitars along the way…
Colin and the workshop, Denmark Street 2016. Picture by Rob Telford.
Colin with the Kinks looning around on a day off in Japan
Left to right the late Ian Gibbons (keyboards), Bob Henrit (drums), Colin and Dave Davies