 | Name:
Keith Douglas Scott
Height: 5'11"
Nationality: Canadian
Nickname:
Troob, K-man
Born: July 20, 1954
Birth Place: Vancouver, BC,
Canada
Home: Vancouver, Canada
Live Role: Lead guitarist,
backing vocals
Eyes: Brown
Food: Pasta
Links: keithscottfanclub,
The
Fontanas |
Keith has been playing
and recording with Bryan for 25 years. Anyone who has been to a show will know
that it just wouldn't be the same without Keith. The guy is a total legend and
to many fans is more than just BA's right-hand man. He can deliver a guitar solo
that only a few musicians in the world have the talent to do and has created his
own signature guitar style. His father played jazz
piano and his mother sang occasionally but his first experience in music was quite
surprising! He played flute in a big orchestra at school... the reason being he
lived quite far away from the school and didn’t want to drag a large instrument
case around with him! He moved on though and soon was learning to play a cheap
dime-store acoustic guitar. He bought it from a friend on the summer of his 14th
birthday in '68... "got a guitar from a five and dime store... in the summer
of '68...". doesn't quite have the same ring to it does it! By the time Keith
was 17 he had somehow got enough money to buy himself a used 60's Fender Strat.
All his influences and guitar heroes used Fender Strats.... Jimi Hendrix, Eric
Clapton and Jeff Beck. Keith started out how most
guitar players do... in a band with a few mates from school. They based themselves
in a garage and travelled all over Vancouver to try and find people to join them.
They played gigs for free for about 9 months wherever they could, then Keith got
a break as a guitarist in a relatively well known top-40 band. During the 70's
he was on the road constantly with 'Bowser Moon', 'The Handley Page Group' and
'Zingo' playing about 300 shows a year in the then lucrative nightclub scene.
 | One
of the very first experiences Keith had infront of a live audience was with 'The
Handley Page Group'. Pictures to the left are a very young Keith (checkout
the pants!), Peter Paulus, Dale Dutton and Larry Dutton. |  | Keith
was part of the Vancouver club circuit with rock bands such as 'Bowser
Moon'. The picture on the left are the Bowser guys... John Hannah, Dave Jonsson,
Michael 'Casey' Boyle, Gerry Berg and of course Keith in his hot pants! John Hannah
of 'Bowser Moon' actually was BA's touring keyboard player before Tommy Mandel
took over in '88. |  | Another
band Keith was involved with in Vancouver were 'Zingo'...
seen on the left with: Frank Dato, Keith Scott, Joe Alvaro, David Charles Skinner,
Michael Skinner, and Victor Chambray. This was the 4th and last lineup the band
went through. Keith joined them as they restructed for the 2nd time in the mid
70's as they were touring supporting signed recording artists. |
As
the 70's were coming to an end though it was time for him to move on and he started
doing some recording work for a guy he had met on the street a couple of times,
and was also trying to forge a music career. That guy's name was Bryan Adams.
Things soon escalated and within a year Keith was touring with Bryan. They have
been together onstage ever since. You know the rest... Bryan's live show just
wouldn't be complete without Keith. He adds a totally new dimension to the show
and has been there since the beginning. He's played 1000's of shows from bars
to football stadiums, on massive tours. 
One
part of Keith's live career which is particularly impressive is when Bryan's band
were touring as a 3 piece from 1998 to 2002. Keith did all the rhythm and lead
guitar work simultaneously while Bryan was on bass and Mickey on drums. Nowadays
though, now the band is band in familiar 5 piece territory Keith plays lead guitar
while Bryan plays rhythm. During the liveset over the years Bryan often allows
Keith a 'showcase song' to show off his lead guitar skills. Bryan stands back
and lets Keith go to town on a solo Keith often makes up on the spot! During this
he sometimes uses mike stands, beer bottles, cameras... anything he can get his
hands on to enhance the sound on his guitar! Songs such as 'It's Only Love' and
'Touch The Hand' have seen some awesome Keith solos over the years.... and still
continue to this day. Keith on very rare occasions has also performed his own
songs at Adams shows... 'Your The Reason I Wear Black' in Japan during the 90's
for example. More recently he's sung lead on b-stage songs like 'Poison Ivy' also. 
In
his sparetime Keith writes and records his own stuff and occasionally does sessions
for other musicians if and when he has the time. He is married and has 2 children. GUITAR
MAGAZINE INTERVIEW - WITH AUDIO! (MAY '05):
Everyone recognises Keith Scott’s
guitar playing style. Honest. At least anyone who has ever heard a Bryan Adams
song – and that’s probably just about everyone. However, he is not nearly
as well known as the singer and guitarist who stands onstage in front of him.
Maybe that’s because the hard working guys in the background are never honoured
enough. Keith Scott seems to be the perfect sidekick. He is inconspicuous but
it would be unimaginable if he were not by the side of his boss. Reliable and
– don’t be fooled – an accomplished guitarist, who discriminates
between the satisfaction of playing to thousands and the heroic feeling of having
just fired off a complicated lick. When did you
start to begin to be enthusiastic about music?
Keith: I played the flute
at High School – really! (laughs). In a big orchestra! The reason was I lived
quite far away from the school and didn’t want to drag a large instrument
case around with me – and so what is the smallest orchestral instrument?
The flute. At some point my love of guitars started… And
of rock music…
Exactly. A typical guitar career began: my first experience
was in a band with a few mates from school in a garage. It really was hard to
find musicians in those days. We travelled all over town to try to find people
who were mad enough to join us. We played our first gigs for free, but we didn’t
mind: we just wanted to play. This went on for about 9 months. Then I got a job
as guitarist in a relatively well-known top 40 band. At that time, there was quite
a lucrative night-club scene. I was on the road constantly for about 9 years with
2 or 3 club acts. I played 300 gigs a year. I was really lucky. How
did you happen to get together with Bryan?
I knew Bryan from my nightclub
days, but more as a friend than a musician. Then at some point he asked me if
I could record a couple of things for him. He said he had some songs and that
he worked with some brilliant guys. I said ‘Yeah, course, if you need a guitarist,
just let me know, I’d love to help out.’ But nothing happened at first.
Bryan rang me after a while and said ‘Sorry, I’ve just done a recording
in New York’. Apparently it hadn’t been possible to involve me with
the deal – naturally. New York is quite a distance away – but Bryan
invited me to play on his next tour and said that I would be involved with the
next recording deal. And that’s exactly what happened: I played on the tour,
and the next record was ‘Cuts Like a Knife’. Incidentally, this was
the record that gave Bryan his breakthrough. Since
then, you have played nearly exclusively for Bryan Adams. But I’ve found
another album credit – for Bryan Ferry!
Yeah, that’s true; for
‘Boys and Girls’. Bob Clearmountain was the producer and asked me whether
I wanted to try out a few things. I played a solo in the middle part, and the
boys thought it would be a good idea to play the tape with my solo on it backwards.
The result was quite a strange solo. I was quite proud of it, but for a radio
single, I think the original, melodic straight solo would have sounded better.
On the other hand it was a great honour for me to have worked with Bob and Bryan
Ferry. ‘Avalon’ (a previous Bryan Ferry album) is still one of my favourite
albums. During the eighties I still played recording sessions for various people,
this came through Bryan Adams: Tina Turner, for example. Now I concentrate more
on my own stuff. You write songs?
Yes! I
have just finished an instrumental album. This is brilliant as party music: Californian
fun surf music. Something like this. It’s not meant
to be serious, just a lot of fun. But I am really influenced by John McLaughlin
. This shows in pickings like this one. I really like that
sort of thing. And I’m also working on a blues album with a mate. It’s
an album with which we want to honour guitarists like Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck,
because we both love traditional English blues and these two have really influenced
us.
You often play doublestops, is that the
blues influence?
Yes, that’s the reason. I love that. I develop variations
on this theme. Am I right
in saying that these influences can be heard in the music with Bryan Adams?
Oh
yes. There are loads of examples. Let me think. How about this?
Or this? Perfect. Despite
your Gretsch Signature model, we remember you as a Strat player. Let me guess
why: Eric Clapton?
Well…not really. The Strat is a comfortable guitar
with which you can produce many different sounds. Its neck feels good too. Now
and again I also play a Gibson but I always come back to the Strat. I’ve
played this Strat. for 15 years and it has never let me down.
So
it can be said that your choice of the Strat. Was not necessarily anything to
do with sound?
Yes, that really is true. I can say
that I always sound like Keith Scott and I have often thought about why that’s
so. I feel it’s because I have a clear idea in my head of what I want to
hear. It’s logical: When I play clean or distorted notes, the feeling is
the same, even the way I place my fingers and construct phrases but there still
remain two completely different sounds. I differentiate between sound and sounds.
Sounds is something that is constructed with effects. To find your own sound depends
on what you want to hear. Do you use many effects?
Not
really. Although I do like to make different sounds. I use a little chorus and
now again delays for the rhythm guitars. I add distortion. It’s boring if
you sound the same for two hours, both for the audience and for you. I occasionally
change instruments and play an acoustic guitar. Is
it possible that your vibrato system is switched to waver?
Yes there are
three springs that causes the vibrato to waver slightly. That’s a little
difficult due to the atmosphere, but that’s the only way I can play that
sort of thing. The way I see it, you still sometimes
put your palm on the vibrato, or else you muffle the strings with your palm. Doesn’t
that cause problems regarding tuning?
I only put my palm on them gently.
The only thing is you’ve got be a little careful with a set-up like that.
Now and again we tune down to Eb and then things really become critical. But if
you’re careful, it’s fine. It’s fun to be able to play things like
that.
You play with really thick strings –
is that because of the sounds or the wavering vibrato?
Both. The thick
strings allow the guitar to stay in tune, even when you let rip. How
much freedom do you have with Bryan Adams regarding your guitar playing? To what
extent are the guitar parts set down?
It varies. Sometimes there’s
nothing and I really have to think of something; sometimes Bryan comes along with
music – he’s a good guitarist as well – that I copy; sometimes
I have to work on an idea. When does the rest of
the band come into this?
Normally the songs are finished and are ready
on a demo tape, sometimes in a rudimentary form, at other times as a near-finished
production. Bryan programs drums and there are usually already 1 or 2 acoustic
guitars on the demos. How do you proceed when you
have to think up a guitar part?
There’s no special way of doing that.
However, I do try to keep the parts melodious. Melody is the most important thing
in music. Your solos are always very melodious.
Do you know what scales fit perfectly, or do you just go for it?
I just
go for it! Of course you can hear what key you’re in and whether you should
play it straight, a minor or a major chord, but when all is said and done, I just
go for it – that’s the wonder out of which magical things can come.
The best thing about improvisation is that you sometimes make a mistake. Sometimes
things come of these mistakes that you would not have expected. Do
you all improvise with Bryan Adams?
No. As far as we can, we stick to the
arrangements we have made. There are parts where we interact with the audience,
where we work with the dynamics, for example. You’ve got to remember that
most of the audience know the songs and sing along, and we want to put on a good
show for them. Do you warm up before a concert?
Yes,
but I don’t play any practice pieces. I just strum away.
It engages my brain and I can relax.. Do you need
some kind of balance to counter act the comparatively simple things that you play
with Bryan Adams?
That’s a difficult one to answer. It really is something
special to play in front of an audience, and you get a lot of feedback. When you
play in front of thousands of people – which for Bryan is a realistic figure
– the feedback you get is very satisfying, even though the music is maybe
not the most demanding. On the other hand, I make demands on myself that I want
to fulfil. That’s why I want to improve, but that’s my self-discipline. Three
years ago you were on the judging panel at the John Lennon Talent awards. Is it
important to you to encourage new talent?
Yes, very! In the right context,
it is exciting and very important for people like me who have been in the business
for many years. Unfortunately my favourite did not win (laughs). With
all your experience, do you have any tips for young musicians?
Yes: never
stop dreaming! Even when the result will never be as you dreamed it. I flunked
school in order to be a musician. I always said that I wanted to be a rock star!
Then I met Bryan just before he made it big and now I play gigs all over the world.
Not quite my dream, but not bad. And one more tip: never forget the most important
thing – have fun! | 
