Pfeuh (Pierre Faller)

Pfeuh is a regular writer on Manoucheries. He's also a guitarist with a decent level, a polyinstrumentist and a musician who writes music with a good sense of melody. Here are a few Internet links to what he does:

- Pfeuh's site
- Swing67's site
- Le P'tit Musette's site
- Gaby's band site

There are other links within the text. I wanted to ask him a few questions because of his always clean way to play and in connection with his musicality acclaimed locally (on Manoucheries that is). Someone so melodic and musical necessarily has something interesting to say!

How old were you when you started music ? With which instrument ? When did you start guitar ? And why guitar ?

I started guitar at 14. Every summer, my parents dragged me to the camping, and I saw there my first guitarists. They all played extremely well "Stairway to Heaven" and "The House of the Rising Sun". The most gifted ones could play "Les Jeux Interdits" or a little picking. I immediately knew that playing guitar would be part of my life, the same way I knew when at 10 I saw this little neighbor girl on the same floor, I knew she would become my wife. My father bought me one (a guitar, not an Isabelle) but in return, I had to go with him at the Mandoline Club every Wednesday evening, and attend the sol-fa lessons at the music school two years long, lessons that surprisingly enough interested me passionately.

Which instruments do you play ? Which stytles do you play? What does the fact that you are a polyinstrumentist in a wide range of musics bring to you ?

I do more "DIY" than I am an actual polyinstrumentist. Guitar is the only instrument I maintain every day, while I play the other ones periodically. What it brings is simply called openmindedness. Each new instrument gives an almost childish will to compose.

The first instruments that I played are guitar, bass and keyboards. A little drumming, but merely to understand how it works, as I never had any groove. Those were the instruments of Rock actually; my first idols were clearly Carlos Santana and Ritchie Blackmore, that was back in the seventies.

Among the other styles I have practiced, there’s Country music. I had to learn the basics of pedal steel guitar and of Dobro. Country music is very popular in Alsace.

Musette. I got interested in it after accompanying a few accordion players. I bought myself a little accordion. I started to play then to write my first waltzes. Writing without knowing a minimum how to play the instrument seems to me as a lack of respect...

Latin. I learned the main djembe patterns (I do not really like it but it is the typical instrument to learn percussions), congas, timbales, bongos, and some little more usual percussions. Therefore, I found it essential to tidy up my practice of piano and bass. Then I got a carpal tunnel problem and here were the congas and bongos forbidden for life.

I recently questioned myself as I have spent my whole musical life working by ear while I paradoxically write my own compositions. Therefore I have attended saxophone and flute courses for three years, at the wind section in Obenheim... A great school where you are taught nuances, reading, and the awareness of being a team: a single member messes up and that’s the whole team messing up. Showing off is absolutely out of question, it’s a collective work and that’s where the magic is.

Last but not least, ball. I’m not that kind of man who bites the hand that feeds him. I am very aware of what ball has brought to me in terms of listening. These days, I still temporarily replace musicians on bass and guitar. A minimum culture is needed of course but mostly a good ear that’s more important than culture. Besides, as a substitute, you don’t have to undergo the mean inner quarrels, people are nice with you.

How did you get in contact with Django’s music? Is it a regional influence? In what way are you interested in Gipsy jazz? What does Django represent to you?

I came to Gypsy jazz utterly by chance, and I do not regret anything. I met David (Favino881 on Manoucheries) four years ago. He’s the one who led me to Gypsy jazz. He was at the end of his Metallica period and was, and still is these days, completely fond of Gypsy jazz. I was at the end of a percussions period and was looking for something else since I could no longer play congas. One month later, the rehearsals would start for Swing67.

Music is similar to life. If you feel good somewhere, among your tribe, you stay without question. I feel really good in Gypsy jazz, so I settled here; it could last several years but it could also stop tomorrow. To play Fado, to set up another Power Trio, or develop an intelligent sheet music server. It’s far better that future unfolds day after day!

To me, Django is exceptional. Trying to mimic him is not my cup of tea. I have not transcribed any chorus from anyone for ages. When I was young, I transcribed Santana’s on Abraxas, and one or two from Deep Purple... But this was a long time ago, in 1974. However, I listen to Django every day. And there’s not necessarily any need to play a lick to understand its intention.

How did you learn the Gypsy picking technique? What did the lessons with Mandino Reinhardt bring to you? What has learning this technique brought to you?

When starting in this style, you start the rehearsals, you play rhythm, you do choruses, the main thing being to pull out a minor 6th or a diminished chord from time to time to get a color, and all’s for the best.

Then obviously interested, you start to go and see the bests (in Alsace, we’re spoiled, with the Schmitt, Lorier, Reinhardt, Loeffler families... Really great!) and you starting feeling uneasy. You get the impression to be a dummy, the rehearsals become a systematic source of disappointment.

When you reach this stage, there are two solutions: either you do something else, or you try to find a way back to the initial zip. I take some exceptional lessons with Mandino (Reinhardt). He hits the nail on the head, and I have weeks of homework before I go to see him again... Without any co-ordination, David had also questioned himself and took some lessons with Francky Reinhardt, who deserves to be more well known. To justify our incompetence, we invented the Gadjo Jazz concept.

Then there is also Gadjodrom/Manoucheries, a mine of information thanks to which I met enriching people humanely speaking in real life, like Amati, Max Marcilly, Poltreze, Cesar Swing (a French Gypsy music band from the south), sorry for those I certainly forget. There are also all the people I haven’t met yet but this is going to happen... Isn’t life beautiful?

You have rather caricatural and funny ideas about the different kinds of musicians. How much of this is real? Does the fact that you are a polyinstrumentist allow you to escape from one of these fates?

Everything is real, these are actual experiences, but I will give out no names. There’s no chapter about CAM (Computer-Aided Music) yet it could happen anytime soon. I just found some raw material.

It’s fun to be a polyinstrumentist. I like to make a snide remark about drummers, and when the guitarists laugh their ass off, I make a worse one about guitar players.

Beyond the mere clichés and instruments, what characterizes a musician in your opinion ?

Before anything, it’s the individual, music is secondary. Someone you want to play with is necessarily humane.

What’s hidden behind the concepts (important to you) of humility, origin and consequence, in how they apply to music ?

Playing music implies living in community, such as work or family. Why would anyone nasty at home or at work be nicer when playing music? The worse, it’s the forums... With a little training, you can spot someone in just two or three sentences.

I can feel in your music a serious will not to be taken seriously. How important is humor in music? It’s not linked to music, it’s general. I can’t stand those who fancy themselves. It’s almost physical. I would hate to become like that one day. If unfortunately it happens, I rely on my friends to make me aware of it.

Humor is the first step towards dialog. If this is true in real life, it’s true in music.

I personally think that you can write some really nice compositions, which on top of that you render available freely on the net. Where does this creation energy come from? Is it that easy by the way? What motivates this will to share?

I make money with my job, I am not attracted by money more than needed, and I’m too old to dream of grandeur... Why wouldn’t I offer my music? Moreover, objectively, this is the only way for me to make them known.

I don’t know if it’s easy, but it’s cool if it gives the impression. Actually, it’s 10% art, and 90% work. During the week, I only play 10 minutes before going to work. That’s when new ideas come, that I polish the next day, etc. It can take two days as well as two months. I always have several in the works. Some of them were never recorded though we play them with Swing67 (Pfeuh’s band), others were lost on the way, who cares? That’s the way I work.

My motivation to share stems from my community instinct. The world would be a better place if each one of us cared more for other people than for our own little self.

What do you think of the purely technical work? This is a constraint that is very concrete for most of the guitarists who have learnt to play with the wrist stuck on the guitar body. You seem to be very careful about the cleanliness of execution (in addition to your sense of melody). When do you deem that a recording is correct? How do you manage risk in improvisations?

Pure technical work is unavoidable. It’s even more true for those who have a standard guitaristic history.

You can never be happy of a recording, you know it. It’s like an exam. There is a moment when you’re almost sure to have more than the passing mark, and depending upon the stakes, you may take the time to reach the A grade.

Risk is non-existent in a home studio. I first record the intro and ending theme on a track, and that’s done. Then I do many takes for the chorus. I always immediately listen to each one of them after playing to have a feeling of where it goes. This way, it allows me not to throw away a good idea. Choruses though are always a unique take from the beginning to the end, no cheating.

Last year’s Swing67’s recording (Bloody Pizza) is 100% live, three instruments, three mikes. I made the mistake to look after the sound, which drained all my energy. We roughly recorded two takes of each tune, and we kept the less bad one. A good half was censored because of mistakes or technical problems. The whole session did not last more than 3 hours altogether. Let’s hope that the next one will be better, which should not be too hard.

In live situations, almost all tunes last between two and three minutes. We’re here to offer something, not to participate to a jam session. Two choruses, that’s the maximum, trying to include a quotation. I don’t manage any risk since I don’t even ask the question.

What would you recommend to a guitarist with 20 years of occidental pop/blues/rock practice, but who’s an absolute beginner in the style?

That was roughly my situation a few years ago. It’s not complicated, you have to unlearn everything... From the "One finger per fret" statement to alternate picking via the vertical playing, the position of the arm around the body, everything, unlearn absolutely everything. Hence the disheartening moments like "Shit, I’ve been playing for 20 years and I cannot even make this stupid phrase sound good!" I reckon a true beginner can learn much faster than someone recently converted, even with 20 years of practice in his bag. Conversely, only the first instrument is tough. With the second one, you go directly to the main point.

How important is the guitar model? Which model would you recommend to start with?

As far as I’m concerned, any axe should do, as long as it’s playable. I have a Clayton made in Korea that’s worth around 400 euros, and a guitar made by an instrument maker that was made by a friend of mine, Philippe Vozelle, who deserves to be more known but who makes just one or two Gypsy guitars each year. In live situations, I always take the Clayton since Philippe has put a piezzo and a preamp on it. Since it can also hold up the Stimer, it fits any situations. I try in priority to do my sound with the SM57. If that does not work out, B-plan, piezzo or Stimer.

What kind of tools do you use to record the Gypsy guitar tracks? And on stage?

I do not claim any sound engineering competency, this is a job in its own right.I use Audacity, which is open source, multi-platform, and minimalist as everybody knows . It even runs on an eeePC. I lkike the software to be basic to be able to focus on music. Technically the sound is exactly the same as with the best professional software, save for the gadgets. A little Behringer table to do the preamplification of the microphone before getting into the sound card (a basic SoundBlaster). The mike is a Shure SM57, the very same I use on stage. Bass is a fretless directly plugged into the table. Important: wiring that allows quick switching from the loudspeakers to the headphone, because the mike takes are done with headphones.

A more practical question. How to conciliate family, work and music, especially at your good level? Extra question: how do music and computer cohabitate between your left and right brains?

It’s easy, there are priorities: family, job, music. Ten minutes of guitar a day before going to work do not hurt family life. Of course, there are a few rehearsals during the week, but missing an episode of the Experts or "Plus belle la vie" (a lousy French soap), I consider this as a bonus. And then at full speed on Sundays? Often on my own but that’s the way it is.

I discovered computer science quite late, at 23-24, but I have been hooked right from the start. At the time, I operated three shifts, so it was almost impossible to play regularly in a band. I compensated with MIDI and with the first sequencer that was worth it, Steinberg’s PRO24 on ATARI ST. If the question is "Have you ever done CAM?", the answer is "Yes". Even worse, at the time, I started developing video games as an amateur. That was the motivation to do my first sequences. Today, I’m a full fledged programmer but no longer in video games, rather in embedded systems. It’s cool to have a real job.