Thursday night at Rusty’s Surf Ranch on the Santa Monica Pier, guitarist Duane Betts and his fellow Pistoleers guitarist Johnny Stachela joined the rhythm section of Gov’t Mule- drummer Matt Abts and bassist Jorgen Carlsson- forming the quartet, Bando. Throughout the summer, the historic ocean boardwalk hosts free Thursday night concerts on its planks. With an empty post-holiday date on the calendar, Rusty’s offered its own free show, bringing the four together for this unique one-off. Bando played a near two-hour set mostly of covers, ranging from Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones to a pair of classics from The Allman Brothers Band. Betts and Stachela alternated vocals much of the night, with Stachela taking on Hendrix with “Spanish Castle Magic” and several blues standards, while Betts offered the Stones’ “Silver Train” and two originals, including “Taking Time.” The pair of guitarists extended solos on nearly every entry, including over fifteen-minute versions of the Allman’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and a closing “Whipping Post.”

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On this night at the Roxy Theatre, the guitar was king. The six-string summit began early at the famous Sunset Strip venue; the house still filling in as Duane Betts and his Pistoleers took the stage a few minutes past eight o’clock. Tearing into the Rolling Stones nugget, “Silver Train,” Betts and his fellow axe man Johnny Stachela established the proverbial and literal tone right from the drop; blistering guitars and cranked-up amps. Plenty of jams rumbled through the half-hour set, with Stachela shining on slide and Betts driving sweetly melodic through his original “Taking Time,” then as the two paired up for a beautiful rendition of Betts’ father Dickey’s “Blue Sky.”  Yet, this was but the thunder before the lightning.

The curtain parted on the North Mississippi Allstars with just the sibling duo of Luther and Cody Dickinson, on guitar and drums respectively, onstage. Luther, working both fretboard and keyboard through a crunching opener that left him with a broken string, seemed positively possessed by the spirit.

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Your slide playing is fantastic. You have tone and touch that is hard to come by.  If I wanted to learn to play the slide today, where should I start?  Who should I listen to? 

The first guys that really caught my ear were Duane Allman and Ry Cooder. I love Elmore James. I think Derek Trucks has taken slide guitar beyond the stratosphere.  Good intonation is the most important skill when it comes to slide.  You have to really develop your ear.  The beauty is that without frets the possibilities are infinite.  It’s much easier to start with open E or G tunings.  You get the nice overtones while you’re developing your right hand technique. It’s nice to play in standard tuning as well because you can just pull out the slide in any song.

Give me one piece of musical advice you would give to a younger version of yourself.

I was fortunate when I was younger that I had good people around me. My friend Ron Rogers taught me a lot about recording guitar and he turned me on to Howlin Wolf and guys like Kelly Joe Phelps when I was getting serious about slide guitar. I always had people pushing me to get out of my comfort zone and explore new music. The best musical advice is to listen to as much good music as you can and study it.  It’s amazing how it will find its way into your own playing.

(Full Interview)